Category Archives: All About Design

Closer Look: The Purple Somerville Pillbox

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Royal HatsQueen Elizabeth has a few hats worn over the years that are instantly recognisable. One of these is a lilac straw pillbox hat made for her by Philip Somerville with a distinctive fan ruffle at the back, filled with silk violets.

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This hat is one of many pieces on exhibition at Holyrood House this summer, ‘Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen’s Wardrobe’ and The Royal Collection Trust recently released this short video of it. For those of us not able to make it to Scotland this year to see it in person, this short clip provides a great closer look.

This closer look shows how beautifully the hat is finished but also reveals a number of small holes in the left side of the pillbox base, no doubt from hat pins. We seldom see such visible signs of wear and tear on a royal hat and it’s an interesting glimpse to have.
Photos from Getty as indicated

Seen It Before: Queen Elizabeth’s Somerville Swirls

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Royal HatsLast year, Queen Elizabeth surprised us by repeating a black and white hat by Philip Somerville with distinctive crown in white swirled silk.

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Many of you will remember a similar hat with swirled crown the Queen wore several years ago, also by Somerville, in softest petal pink.

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These, however, are not the only two swirled crown hats that Philip Somerville made for Her Majesty. If you go back a decade, you’ll see an even earlier version

Visit of Queen Elizabeth II in France

On a visit to France, June 9, 1992

I find it fascinating to see Somerville’s experiments with this shape from the earlier hat to the later ones. I suspect most of us will prefer the later hats but I have great appreciation for the earlier one as well. Looking at this group I’m left with admiration for Queen Elizabeth’s millinery bravery- while some royals find a particular hat style and stick to it for decades (or more!), she has has continued experimenting with different shapes and styles of hats. Thanks to the immense creativity of her milliners, hers is truly an evolution of style. 
Photos from Getty as indicated and Bisson-Le Segretain-Orban/Sygma/Corbis

 

 

Inventory: Queen Mathilde’s Green Hats

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As we have seen during previous inventory tours, Queen Mathilde has numerous brightly hued hats in red, orange and blue. However, like her Dutch counterpart, there is just one green hat to be found in the Belgian queen’s  millinery wardrobe:

1.July 21 2008 in Christophe Coppens | Royal Hats

Designer: Christophe Coppens
Introduced: July 21, 2008

UPDATE: Since this post was published, the following green hats have been added to Queen Mathilde’s wardrobe:

2.     3.    4.

Designer: unknown; Fabienne Delvigne; Fabienne Delvigne
Introduced: March 16, 2018; October 24, 2018; September 6, 2019

This has always felt like a very fresh,youthful hat to me and I think the simple spiral shape is cheeky and fun. We don’t often see Mathilde in pecher cocktail hats and I’ve always thought the lightness of this piece was a great match for her. It also shows how great she looks in green, a colour I’d love to see her wear more.

Photo from RoyalPress Nieboer/dpa/Corbis; Benoit Doppagne via Belga Photo; Hans Punz and Olivier Matthys via Getty  

Inventory: Duchess of Cambridge’s Green Hats

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While the Duchess of Cambridge is a newcomer to the royal scene and has not had time to build up as extensive a millinery wardrobe as many of the other royals we follow, she has added two two green designs to her collection so far:

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Designer: Gina Foster; Lock & Co.
Introduced: December 25, 2013; December 25, 2015

Update: Since this this post was published, Kate has added the following green hats:

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Designer: Lock & Co.
Introduced: March 17,2019

It’s no surprise that both these hats made their début as Christmas hats- the shade is perfect for the holidays and Kate wears it very well. I would love to see her try out more springtime shades like this one from Rachel Trevor Morgan’s SS 2016 collection (or this more daring design from RTM SS 2014) as I think they would be fantastic. Thankfully, Kate has many years of royal life ahead to experiment with her millinery fashions.

Photos from Getty as indicated

Inventory: Countess of Wessex’s Green Hats

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We’re continuing our March 2016 look at all things green with a peek inside the hat closet belonging to the Countess of Wessex. During the course of her royal life, Sophie has worn three green designs:

1.Countess of Wessex, December 25, 1999 | Royal Hats Countess of Wessex, December 25, 1999 | Royal Hats   2. 

Designer: unknown; Philip Treacy
Introduced: December 25, 1999; June 21, 2000

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Introduced: June 17, 2008

While the first two hats err toward the Mad Hatter end of the spectrum, I have always thought the brim on the first piece was among the most creative designs I have ever seen. Some of you might also remember the lime percher with extravagant trim repeated last year when Sophie wore it for the Battle of Britain anniversary, beautifully paired with a white summer dress. With the first and third hats retired now for many years, I think it’s time Sophie went shopping for something new in green and a fedora in deep forest would be an excellent start. What do you think?

Photos from Tim Graham, Tim Graham Photo Library, and UK Press via Getty