Author Archives: Royal Hats

Queen Visits Royal Philatelic Society

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Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to the new headquarters of the Royal Philatelic Society in London today. For this engagement, she repeated her dark turquoise felt hat with Pork Pie indented crown and upturned kettle brim edged in dark teal velvet. The hat is trimmed with overlapping velvet quilted leaves on the side.

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Each time I see those velvet leaves, I admire them more and more. Beautifully made, they add a lovely contrast to the design. The shape is this hat is a little clunky but those leaves are wonderful.

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Designer: Angela Kelly. Made by Stella McLaren
Previously Worn: Sep 1,2018; Apr 13, 2017

What do you think of this hat on this, it’s third outing?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

Monday Multiples: Princess Anne

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Thanks to Jimbo for providing the introduction and background research for these “Monday Multiples” posts- you’ll see more in this series in coming weeks!

Jimbo’s Introduction: Princess Anne has been creative with fashion through the years, using one coat with at least two different hats. Here is one wonderful example with a red plaid suit.

Look #1: Dark fur pillbox worn on an April 20, 1978 visit to Nailsworth, near her home in Gloucestershire

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Look #2: Ecru trilby in brushed felt with red hatband and curled feather brim worn on a December 5, 1986 visit to the East Midlands.

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Which hat do you prefer most with this suit?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

This Week’s Extras

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Last Sunday, Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi wore a burgundy velvet bandeau to Giorgio Armani’s Pre-Fall 2020-2021 Collection show.
The same day, Princess Tsuguko wore a hat in pleated pink printed silk with a mini rolled brim to take in the final match of the Japanese Squash Championship in Yokohama.

Also last Sunday, Queen Elizabeth repeated a turquoise straw Rachel Trevor Morgan designed hat to attend church.

On Monday, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted the second Daikyo-no-Gi grand banquet. The Imperial Princesses were in attendance in a colourful array of hats.

On Wednesday, Princess Akiko attended the Japanese Chrysanthemum Flower Festival in Niigata in what looked like a burgundy fedora.
Lady Amelia Windsor shared photos of herself this week sporting casual winter hats- see here and here.
On Thursday, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrived in Mie Prefecture for a 3-day visit. For their arrival, Empress Masako wore a white hat with wide, beaded headband and kicky trilby-style brim. Yesterday, the couple visited Ise Grand Shrine to report recent enthronement and Daijosai ceremonies and worship. Arriving there, the empress repeated a cream jacquard silk bumper hat shown below. She and the emperor wore traditional dress for the ceremony (see photos here and here)

The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Spectacular navy & silver pearl covered button percher with sleek feather trim by Irish milliner Teresa Nugent
Scarlet felt hat with pork pie crown, trilby brim and silk hatband from British milliner Rose Collins
Pale lilac straw saucer with deep purple silk bias binding and bow explosion by British milliner Dillon Wallwork
Interesting cutwork (with peek-a-boo sequins) on this grey felt cloche by German milliner Stefani Garbrecht
Great colour and shape on this deep raspberry felt fedora by British milliner Tracey Miller
Stunning “Climbing Rose” headpiece in pale, tawny pink from Australian milliner Jill Humphries
Russian milliner Denis Gulyaev’s chic take on a trilby in mustard yellow with twisting charcoal floral & net trim
Grey felt unstructured beret with wonderful cut scroll trim by British milliner William Chambers
The most wonderful textured fuchsia and purple buclé fabric covered pillbox by Australian milliner Chris Mullane
Lovely tones in this rust felt fedora with copper hatband & golden feathers by Dutch milliner Amélie D’Hooghvorst
Fantastic denim blue straw bandeau with swirling feather trim by British milliner Isabella Josie
Pair of elegantly trimmed red felt beret perchers from Zambian-Dutch milliner Alice Ng’andwe Vermeulen
Such a darling tan and black houndstooth check cloche by Scottish milliner Maggie Mowbray

And from Surrey-based Karen Geraghty who works under the ‘Mind Your Bonce’ label, this midnight blue beauty with Dior brim and angular crown trimmed with sparkling winter night sky and shooting star.

Lovely group photo captured of the Grimaldi royal family members present at Monaco’s Fête Nationale celebration on Tuesday.

Royal photographer Chris Jackson took the most beautiful portrait of the Duchess of Cornwall this week during her and the Prince of Wales’ visit to New Zealand
We end this week with this gem from Queen Elizabeth.

Photos from social media as indicated

Duchess of Sussex’s Christmas Hats

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While we’re not going to see the Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day this year (she, the Duke and young Archie are reportedly spending the holidays with her mother in California), Meghan has made two Christmas Day appearances with the royal family so far:

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Copper brown felt brimless design with side twist by Philip Treacy in 2017;
Black felt beret percher with crin bow and navy feathers by Awon Golding in 2018

I’ve always admired Meghan’s first Christmas Day hat- it’s such a bold shape for her first public hatted event and the colour was wonderful against her complexion. I’m not brave enough to carry off a hat such as this and I so admire that she did.

Photos from Getty as indicated

Queen Máxima Opens Science & Humanity Exhibition

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Queen Máxima opened an exhibition on humanity at the Nemo Science Museum in Amsterdam this morning. For this event, she repeated her deep, midnight navy felt fedora with relaxed brim and tall pinched crown, trimmed with a wide navy hatband with flat, folded bow at the side.

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On paper, a relaxed fedora, chiffon dress and ruffle necked coat don’t seem like a good combination but the intensity of colour, and the pattern of the dress drawing everything together, makes it work. I’m surprised how much I like the pairing of chic, less formal hat with the floaty dress (again, I think the pattern makes it work) and find the balance of the overall ensemble, from dark hat to scarlet shoe, to be surprisingly good. Styling sometimes elevates a hat and I think this was the case today.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: Oct 5, 2017; Oct 3, 2016

This is the third outing we’ve seen of this fedora- I’m warming to it more and more. What do you think?

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Photos from Getty as indicated