Category Archives: All About Design

Inventory: Crown Princess Mary’s Green Hats

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Hello everyone! After a lovely break, it’s great to be back… even if the royal hats are scarce these days! Thank you so much for keeping the conversation going while I was away. On this quiet Friday, we’re going to look at another inventory of hats- this time, all of the green hats in Crown Princess Mary’s closet. There are just two so far:

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Designer: unknown; Neil Grigg
Introduced: May 12, 2004; March 10, 2005

While the first hat gets points for boldness, the more flattering and wearable design here is the second hat, which you can see from different angles here and here and here. Mary tends to stick to neutrals for her hats (the easier to mix them with different outfits, I suppose) so it’s not entirely surprising to see the green shelf in her millinery closet rather empty…. but we can still hope for some new additions here, right?!

Photos from Getty as indicated; Ryan Pierse via Getty

Inventory: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa’s Green Hats

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Grand Duchess Maria Teresa celebrated her 63rd birthday on Friday and in honor of this milestone, I thought we’d put together our first inventory of her hats. My excitement for all things spring has me yearning for green so that’s where we’ll start:

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Designer: unknown; Fabienne Delvigne
Introduced: unknown (this photo was taken Sep 19, 1993); Jun 12, 2004 

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne: unknown 
Introduced: June 23, 2006; May 30, 2011 

5.
Designer: Philip Treacy
Introduced: August 30, 2014

It’s a bit of a hodgepodge, isn’t it?! Shades of avocado and lime can be tricky to wear and for half of the green hats to be in these shades- well that’s just brave. Disregarding the first hat (from so long ago it’s rather irrelevant now), the remaining three  are is different in shape as three hats can possibly be- something else that’s brave. I don’t think of the Grand Duchess as a particularly experimental hat wearer but this first inventory makes me wonder if I’ve been underestimating her. What do you think of her green hats?

Photos from Steve Finn, Ragnar Singsaas and Pool via Getty; Getty as indicated

Millinery Update & A Look Back

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Back on January 16, Princess Akiko’s wore a blue silk veiled Breton hat that was admired by many of you at New Year’s Poetry Reading.

The hat popped up again last week at the official celebration of Emperor’s 30th anniversary on the throne:

Princess Akiko on January 16 and February 24

Something about this seemed familiar to me and set my millinery Spidey sense tingling. I enlisted the help of a Twitter colleague very knowledgeable about the Imperial royal family who came up with this BRILLIANT find:

My great thanks to Prisma for uncovering this surprise! This makes me want to dive into the Imperial royal photo archives and see what other instances of hat sharing we can find!
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Photos from Getty as indicated;  Sankei News and News 24 Japan

Queen Elizabeth’s Tallest Crowns

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A few weeks back, one commenter suggested we search for the tallest crowned royal hats worn in recent memory. Since we’ve already looked at Queen Elizabeth’s widest brims and biggest bows, I thought we’d start in her millinery closet. So, dearest readers- which of Queen Elizabeth’s hats has the tallest crown?

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Photos from Getty as indicated

Inventory: Princess Stéphanie’s Blue Hats

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Princess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, celebrates her 35th birthday today and in honor of this, we’re going to dive into our first inventory of her millinery closet. We don’t see Stéphanie wear many hats beyond Luxembourg’s National Day, Closing of the Octave after Easter and the occasional state visit but despite this, she’s stepped out in five blue designs so far during her royal life. Here they are in the order that they have been worn:

1.
Designer:  unknown
Introduced: May 5, 2013

2.  3.
Designer:  both are unknown
Introduced: June 23, 2013; Sep 21, 2013

4.  5.
Designer: unknown; Amelie D’Hooghvorst
Introduced: June 23, 2016; August 11, 2017

For someone who does not wear hats often, there are some brave designs here! I’ve always adored whimsical curling trim on #2 (SUCH a fun hat for a new princess!) and admired the bold shapes of flower #3 and ruched headpiece #4, both of which take some confidence to pull off. Stéphanie’s colouring matches well with lighter shades which suit her much better than the dark first hat. I’m impressed with this inventory, not because all the hats are flawless but because it shows the Hereditary Grand Duchess’ willingness to experiment with millinery shape and scale- something that makes me take more deliberate notice of her style. What do you think of  Princess Stéphanie’s blue hats?

Photos from Manuel Dias via Le Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg; Patrick van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis; Corbis;  The Catholic Church of Luxembourg; Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty

Inventory: Princess Marie’s Blue Hats

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Princess Marie of Denmark celebrated her 43rd birthday on Wednesday, an event that warrants a dive inside her hat closet! We’re going to start with a look at all of her blue hats:

1.  2.  3.
Designer:  unknown; Whiteley; Susanne Juul
Introduced: February 14, 2011; April 8, 2015; October 31, 2017

We don’t see Princess Marie wear hats more than a handful of times each year (usually just the Danish Opening of Parliament and major events or state visits) which partly explains why we see just three designs here. The first two designs, in straw and felt, have become workhorses for her and we have seen them worn multiple times while #3 has had just one public outing- something I’d like to see changed, along with a different placement of that hat on the head! What does this trio of blue hats in Princess Marie’s wardrobe say to you?

Photos from Corbis; Julian Parker and Ole Jensen/Corbis via Getty

Millinery Exhibition In Brighton Includes Royal Hats

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A millinery exhibition of hats made by leading British milliner Stephen Jones over the past 40 years opened yesterday at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton.

 

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Among the hats included in “Stephen Jones Hats at the Royal Pavilion” are at least four that we’ve seen step out on royal heads:

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Princess Diana’s stitched camel tam with chocolate band and bow worn in Wales, November 1982
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Princess Eugenie’s green straw percher with floral trim and flying leaves worn at Ascot, June 14, 2011
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Lady Sarah Chatto’s navy textured straw picture hat with mushroom brim worn for the Sussex’s wedding, May 2018
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The Duchess of Sussex’s ivory felt formed beret with stem worn to the Commonwealth Day Service, March 12, 2018
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Stephen Jones’ millinery aesthetic defies a single style and pushes limits of creativity and art. His designs aren’t ones I would always describe as beautiful but they are always interesting. The exhibition will be open until June 9 and if you are able to attend, let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the exhibit and, if you’re game, feature your visit here on Royal Hats. 
Photos from Getty and social media as indicated