Princess Anne attended the second day of racing in an outfit that has received much attention.
The early photograph has been dated back to a Buckingham Palace reception for the president of Botswana in 1978. With clothing sustainability becoming more and more of an issue, I think this repeat is absolute fabulous. The hat appears to be a more recent addition, covered in a darker blue. The sidesweeping brim is emphasized by contrasting navy binding and it looks like the same light blue fabric of the dress has been repeated on a bias cut hatband. The hat is finished with cream silk flowers placed on the side.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
I adore the contrasting binding on Princess Anne’s hat but am on the fence about the various shades of blue in the overall ensemble.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence repeated his grey felt top hat.
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I wouldn’t say this is my absolute favorite look for Anne, but overall I do love this, especially now knowing how she mixed old and new pieces! I think this new hat suits her well and is one that can easily be a work hat while also stepping into more fanciful roles. Brava!
The Princess Royal looks wonderful. It’s an unusual hat but wonderful colours for her. I love the dress and it’s story.
I suppose the three different blues in the hat mean it can be worn with more outfits in the future!! I think the white flower trim looks out of place, partly because the definite line of the navy binding gives it a geometric vibe that to me suggest a more modern trim would have looked better (maybe loops or arrow shapes) – that or perhaps navy flowers to tie it all together better (if the white is intended to tie it to the jacket, it really doesn’t work). The jacket and dress work well together, but somehow the whole ensemble doesn’t quite come off, and I think maybe that’s down to the hat introducing more elements rather than bringing together what’s there already.
I absolutely love the dress and the jacket as well as the hat. Actually, for me, it’s the binding that looks totally out of
place. How many people can still wear a dress from 50 years ago! Not only sustainable, but kudos to her for keeping
her perfect figure!
This dress looks pretty current now I think. It’s simple and quite chic. Not totally sure that the combo works, if the jacket had tied to the hat more that could have been better. But hey, she’s in a 50 year old dress, she wins!
Well – the hat’s ok- a good size, and good colours on her, and whilst I Iove Pcss Anne, and am all for sustainability, there does come a point where something is past its best, and/or out of date, which Im afraid is the case here.