A few other royal-ish hats were spotted on Ladies’ Day:
Lady Carolyn Warren
Lady Susan Hussey
While the first two days of racing at Royal Ascot were very special and saw the most wonderful hats, Ladies’ Day was something extra. In the Royal Enclosure, where I was so fortunate to be a guest of my fellow British Millinery Association (BMA) colleague Jane Fryers, the fashion was that little bit more. It was evident that most people had put a lot of thought (and perhaps expense?!) into their ensemble.
It was also a meet-up of milliners. This part of it was so lovely, and it was just wonderful to meet people I’ve written about here or been in contact with through my role as Education Coordinator with the BMA. Rachel Trevor Morgan walked by and I somehow gathered the courage to run after her to say hello. She was gracious and lovely (and so complimentary of Royal Hats!) and introduced me to her companion, the incomparable Stuart Parvin who many of you will recall as the tailor behind many of Queen Elizabeth’s most beautiful outfits. They warmly chatted for several minutes, which was just amazing. On the whole, there was such a strong sense of millinery camaraderie and a palpable sense of admiration and respect for the work of other milliners. After visiting Luton, the former millinery manufacturing center of the UK, and seeing firsthand just how much the industry has declined, I left Ladies’ Day feeling so much more hopeful. There are some incredibly talented people making hats in the UK and seeing their work on hand was simply inspiring.
My favourite design was an Ian Bennett creation in pleated black crin with sinamay stripes that was incredible, both in terms of design impact and impeccable craftsmanship. Worn by his good friend Amanda Macor (who was absolutely lovely to chat with!), it was an absolute showstopper.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Now for my hat. The pressure of creating something for Ladies’ Day, a day where I would meet many of my BMA colleagues in-person for the first time, was overwhelming. I waffled for months about what flowers to make and found myself a week before leaving for Europe with nothing complete and no plan. Garden roses have become a go-to flower for me so I made a handful in different sizes, all hand-dyed in vibrant colours, with two dozen leaves.
After arriving in the UK, my colleague Katie Vale generously offered me lessons in hat blocking and finishing, a process that had me swearing under my breath at moments but with even more respect for the millinery craft. I sandwiched deep purple-blue sinamay in between two layers of cerulean blue to give some depth to the colour.
The saucer was finished with bias binding, hand sewn with invisible stitches (the shape below was ironed out after the binding was sewn on for a completely smooth finish).
After sewing in an Alice band (to comfortably secure the hat to my head), it was time to start adding flowers!
And so, dear readers, you have seen my very first hat made by hand from start to finish. I’m so thankful to Katie for her patient coaching. The end result was a hat I adored and was very proud to wear on my final day at the races. My cotton fair-trade dress was again from Zuri.
There were so many incredible hats on Ladies’ Day. Which ones stood out to you?
Images from Getty as indicated and Abloom Designs. Photos from Abloom Designs can not be replicated on any platform whatsoever without written consent.
Royal Hats 
I love your hat! Compliments to the Creator!
Ian Bennett ‘s creation is stunning. I love the colors, the scale, the outcome. Just brilliant!
What a thrill to meet Rachel Trevor Morgan, have her compliment the blog, then introduce you to Stewart Pravin and have a chat. Good to know about the camaraderie in the profession when it seems as though milliners might have to compete to survive.
Agree that Ian Bennett’s creation is a real showstopper. Such an original design!
I can’t believe that is your first complete complete hat! I think I remember Wies talking about layering two colors of sinamay for extra depth. That blue sets off your stunning roses beautifully! It’s such a happy hat!
Thank you for your reflections from the days you attended Royal Ascot. I’ve really enjoyed them and your additional insights into the event and hats. How exciting that you were able to be there! Thank you.
So jealous of your Ladies’ Day adventures, HatQueen! But I’m so, so glad you got the chance to do it and finally meet so many wonderful people we only get to chat about here. And your hat, so many beautiful colors(!), and you can easily focus on one or two of them when looking for other outfits to wear with this hat. How fantastic to make and then wear your hat to arguably the biggest day of Hat Christmas (a.k.a. Royal Ascot)! I just can’t imagine the incredible memories you made on this trip and how you will carry them with you forever. (clearly I can’t stop gushing with admiration and a hint of jealousy haha)
Such an ingenious idea to contrast your black and white (non-colour) dress with an extremely colourful hat – it works so well! To spread the flowers and leaves all over the brim and even on the underside makes it magical. (The Ian Bennett hat is certainly impressive, but for my taste not really wearable.)
I love the color contrast, a hat to be proud off
Your hat is gorgeous! And so exciting that it’s so truly yours! You look great! Thanks so much for all the sharing and hard work this week!
Your Ladies’ Day hat is so unique and stunning. Well done. And so interesting to see how you made it.
Absolutely fascinating to read all about Ladies’ Day in the Royal Enclosure. It must have been a real treat for you to meet all these amazing people from The Millinery community.
I am heartened to hear that you feel more hopeful about the future of the British Millinery industry.
I’m old enough, just, to remember my Maternal Grandma who would never be seen without a hat. Even indoors, when she visited us, she never removed her hat.
I think this year’s Ascot Week was really wonderful for hats. I think I detected a move back to larger brims! I hope so!
Lady Carolyn Warren’s hat was perfect and Lady Susan Hussey looked lovely. Amanda Macor’s hat was truly a work of art.