Category Archives: All About Design

Princes of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall Commemorate VJ Day

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The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attended the VJ Day National Remembrance service held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire this morning. For the event, the Duchess repeated her oyster straw picture hat with large ostrich feather wrapped around the crown.

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The neutral palate of her ensemble fit well with today’s outdoor service. The hat’s shape is a familiar one for Camilla- she carries it so well- and there was something calm and serene (even with those feathers blowing in the breeze!) about the look that fit the memorial event very well.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: May 15, 2018;  June 11, 2016; June 19, 2015; June 28, 2012; September 10, 2011; July 28, 2009; July 16, 2009; May 12, 2009; July 7, 2006; July 1, 2006; June 19, 2006

The memorial itself was incredibly moving- the outdoor setting, the personal reflections and the beautiful music. BBC reporters interviewed some veterans and other survivors of WWII and their family members as they arrived and the stories shared were compelling to say the least. 75 years has not dulled the emotional impact of what was personally experienced during WWII or lessened the memory of those who were lost. If you’re able to find a repeat of the service, do watch it.

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Photos from Getty as indicated 

Inventory: Princess Anne’s Green Hats

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To celebrate Princess Anne’s 70th birthday on Sunday, we’re diving into her millinery closet for an inaugural inventory of her hats. At the turn of the millenium, the Princess Royal had just two green hats in rotation, both introduced during the previous decade (and both repeated within the past nine years years):

As we’re all aware, the Princess Royal has a knack of reintroducing hats from decades past- in July 2013, she brought back a straw picture hat painted with peacock feathers by John Boyd that goes back to at least 1982 and on December 31, 2017 she attended church in a deep forest green velvet cloche that dates to at least December 1984:

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Since 2000, Princess Anne has added eight additional new green designs to her wardrobe. Here they are, in order of introduction:

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Designer: unknown
Introduced: June 21, 2000; March 12, 2002; June 18, 2009

4.  5.  6.
Designer: unknown; Amy Morris-Adams; unknown
Introduced: December 25, 2011; June 22, 2017; March 9, 2018

7.  8.  
Designer: both are Amy Morris-Adams
Introduced: April 4, 2019; June 20, 2019

I’ve held off tackling Princess Anne’s inventories because they require going back 40+ years to catch all the hats we still see her wear today (the longevity of her wardrobe is clearly one of her superpowers). This first group of green hats surprised me. There are less here than I imagined there’d be- perhaps green is not Anne’s favourite colour but when you think about how many  events/engagements she attends (509 in 2019), this is a proportionately small collection. This group also covers a wide breadth of different shapes- there are not two designs close to being alike. Sure, some shapes look more dated than others but it also indicates a more sophisticated ability to carry off very different hat styles that I suspect I’ve underestimated.

As for favourites- I like the new additions from Amy Morris-Adams and hope their collaboration continues. I also love the early 1980s green straw John Boyd picture hat painted with peacock feathers and would love to see it worn again (although, not with it’s original matching outfit!).

So… what do you notice about this group of hats? Which designs do you think suit Anne best?

Photos from  Allstar Picture Library Ltd via Alamy; Fiona Hanson/PA Images, Joe Giddens/PA Images, Tim Graham Photo Library, Max Mumby/Indigo, Mark Cuthbert/UK Press, Hollie Adams, Max Mumby/Indigo, Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty

Inventory: Princess Beatrice’s Blue Hats

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Princess Beatrice celebrated her 32nd birthday on Saturday. To celebrate this, I thought it was high time we dove into her millinery closet for an inventory. Surprisingly, she has publicly worn 20 different blue designs:

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Designer: All are Philip Treacy
Introduced: December 25, 2002; June 12, 2010; June 17, 2010

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Designer: unknown; Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren); Stephen Jones
Introduced: June 16, 2011; July 30, 2011; June 5, 2012

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Designer: Sarah Cant; unknown; Sarah Cant
Introduced: June 4, 2013; August 11, 2013; June 17, 2014

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Designer: unknown; Laura Apsit Livens
Introduced: November 19, 2014; June 18, 2015

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Designer: Juliette Botterill; unknown; Laura Apsit Livens
Introduced: June 19, 2015; May 26, 2016; June 16, 2016

 15. 16.Embed from Getty Images 17.  
Designer: Gina Foster; Laura Apsit Livens; Emily London; 
Introduced:  June 18, 2016; May 16, 2017; June 17, 2017 

18. 19. 20. 
Designer: Juliette Botterill; Stephen Jones; Juliette Botterill; 
Introduced: December 25, 2017; May 19, 2018; June 19, 2018

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Designer: Bundle MacLaren
Introduced: June 18, 2019

UPDATE: Since this post was published, Princess Beatrice has worn the following blue hats:

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Designer: Juliette Botterill
Introduced: June 3, 2022

There’s considerable diversity of shade and shape here- saucers, boaters, fedora, bandeau, pillbox, teardrop and button perchers and brims of all sizes. Seeing this collection reminds me how well Beatrice wears hats, how much we underestimate her millinery sophistication and how wearing the work of numerous milliners (at least nine here) pushes her style and saves her from falling into a single signature look. The wide brimmed Sarah Cant and Gina Foster designs (#9 and #15) remain long held favourites for me because they are just so beautiful, along with the wonderful blue embroidered Bundle MacLaren Matador (#20). I also have a soft spot for the pair of blue and orange Laura Apsit Livens designs (#11 and #14) that were punchy, bold, and very unexpected choices that certainly stood out in the crowd. And you know, I love a hat that stands out!

Which blue hats in Princess Beatrice’s hat closet are your favourites?

Photos from Max Mumby/Indigo; RMA Sandhurst; Max Mumby/Indigo, Paul Ellis / AFP, Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse, Samir Hussein/WireImage, Gareth Fuller – WPA Pool, Chris Jackson and Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty and Getty as indicated

Monday Multiples: Crown Princess Mary

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Crown Princess Mary’s tall crowned pink straw hat by Danish milliner Susanne Juul with its elegant lines and very pretty, transparent brim, is such a lovely summer hat. It’s also very versatile- Mary has paired this hat with eleven different ensembles:

Look #1: With an ecru coat and muted pink dress, scarf and leather gloves for a June 20, 2005 visit to the Faroe Islands

 

Look #2: With a cream silk blouse and skirt and a dusky pink coat September 4, 2005 for a parade celebrating Hans Christian Andersen’s centenary (notice the flower trim moved to the other side!)

 

Look #3:  With a deep pink dress for a May 4, 2006 visit to Odense

Look #4: With a printed brown and pink silk Maline Birger dress worn to open an International Rotary congress in Copenhagen on June 11, 2006

Look #5: With a fitted grey jacket and patterned pink and purple striped skirt for a June 18, 2008 visit to Svendborg on the annual summer cruise

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Look #6: With a tailored cream coat with box pleated skirt worn during visit to Greenland, June 21, 2009

 

Look #7: The hat, without the floral trim, paired with a grey silk blouse and pink pleated floral skirt on August 15, 2010 for a service at Holmens Kirke in Copenhagen to mark the Danish navy’s 500th anniversary.

Look #8: Flower trim reinstated with a draped dress in deep mulberry and printed scarf on August 22, 2011 for a stop in Skagen during the annual summer cruise

Look #9: With a new silk rose trim on the hat and a black and white floral dress for a November 22, 2011 stop in Canberra during an Australian visit

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Look #10 Back to the original flower trim on the hat with a grey silk Hugo Boss dress and pink cropped jacket on June 13, 2012 to welcome the Chinese President

Look #11: With a pale pink silk Prada dress (shown below with a different hat as no photos are available) worn May 18, 2013 for Prince Nikolai’s confirmation

Which coat do you prefer most with this hat?

Photos from Keld Navntoft/Scanpix; Tim Rook via Shutterstock; Bauer Griffin; BestImage; Niels Henrik Dam via Getty and Getty as indicated 

Inventory: Lady Frederick Windsor’s Blue Hats

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Today we’re diving into the millinery closet of Lady Frederick Windsor. Sophie is not a high profile royal hat wearer but she has appeared in seven blue hats at royal and public events and the diversity of shapes and styles might surprise you:

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Designer: Philip Treacy; unknown
Introduced: April 29, 2011; June 11, 2016

3. 4.  5.  
Designer: Siggi Hats; Catherine Walker; Catherine Walker
Introduced: March 16, 2018; July 15, 2018; October 12, 2018

6. 7.
Designer: Both are Catherine Walker
Introduced: May 18, 2019; June 8, 2019

Sophie is, arguably, a minor royal and yet, there’s more variation of style in this group of blue hats than in those of some major royals! I appreciate her willingness to experiment with bold shapes – Catherine Walker’s new millinery line has some dramatic looks and I hope Sophie continues working with the brand as it develops.

What do you think of Sophie’s blue hats?

Photos from Chris Jackson and Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty; Catherine Walker; James Gourley via Shutterstock; WPA Pool and Pool/Max Mumby via Getty; Paul Ratcliffe via Twitter, used with permission