Category Archives: Ascot

Ascot Day 3: Duke & Duchess of Gloucester

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For those of you craving colour, the Duchess of Gloucester delivered! Brigitte looked amazing today in an emerald green textured straw boater hat, trimmed simply with a wide green ribbon hatband.

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On its own, this hat is such a great colour, scale and style for the Duchess, who hasn’t worn a boater shape in a very long time. As much as I like the hat in isolation, it’s pairing today with with her coppery orange silk shirtwaist dress, emerald drop earrings and emerald and pearl necklace is SOOOO good. Colour blocked outfits can be difficult to balance but this one is fantastic!

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: June 19, 1991
UPDATE: It appears that in fashion, fashion keeps coming around! Thanks to reader George A who remember this hat from the early 1990s.  What do you think of this green boater on Brigitte today?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Ascot Day 3: Earl & Countess of Snowdon

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How lovely to see the Earl and Countess of Snowdon at the races today. While the Earl wore his black silk top hat, the Countess repeated her basket weave white hat with button crown and short, cartwheel brim, trimmed in a pair of black and grey ombre pheasant feathers. The streamlined hat pairs particularly well with Serena’s royal blue Asian printed dress, don’t you think?

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Designer: Stephen Jones
Previously Worn: June 21, 2017
Photos from Getty as indicated

Ascot Day 3: Princess Royal & Vice Admiral Laurence

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Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence rode in today’s royal carriage procession in the second carriage, joined by the York Princesses. Princess Anne repeated an embellished, vibrant turquoise trilby hat I don’t think we’ve seen since its debut six years ago.

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This straw design features a characteristic short trilby brim, upturned around the back and downward facing in the front, with a tall, pinched crown trimmed with a mass of different varieties of turquoise feathers at the front.

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The feather trim is a bit haphazard and madly off in all directions for my taste- I think it would benefit with a haircut and slight shift onto the side of the hat. Feather quibbles aside, the colour is glorious on Anne and I love the cheeky interplay between the hat’s short brim and the raised collar on her jacket.

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Designer: Walter Wright  
Previously Worn: June 5, 2012; 
Vice Admiral Laurence looked very distinguished in his gleaming black silk top hat. I particularly like the hat’s contrast with his pale aqua tie.
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I call this hat a win for Princess Anne, simply based on colour and scale. What do you think?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Ascot Day 3: Countess of Wessex

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The Countess of Wessex attended Ascot today for the third day running, in a third new hat! With a raised button crown, this muted grey-lavender straw hat is all about its brim, which is entirely covered in ostrich feathers.

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This is not the kind of hat that translates well for ‘regular’ royal engagements but for Ascot, makes a wonderful statement! The feathers, which cover a narrow spectrum of shades from a barely-there tinge of palest purple through to lavender and darker lilac, give an airy lightness to the piece and a sense of humour. I particularly like the styling of this design with this dress- it’s beautifully balanced with the pleated skirt and the grey shade, perhaps dull on its own, links so well with the grey undertones of soft purple in the hat.

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Designer: Jane Taylor. Suzannah ‘Eleanor’ Dress
Previously Worn: this hat is new
Thoughts on the hats aside, these additional photos of the Countess today show the full spectrum of emotions one experiences at the races. They were too fun not to share!
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Ostrich feathers and Ascot have a long association with many designs over the years that can best be described as over the top. I think this hat, while certainly a statement, is a soft, elegant and very fun take on ostrich feathers for Ascot and Sophie wears it well. What do you think of this feathered fantasy hat?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Ascot Day 3: Princess Eugenie

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Princess Eugenie wore a new hat at Ascot today, described by the designer as a “hand-made hand-blocked panama straw hat with a vented brim and trimmed with handmade silk duchesse origami flowers.” Following the traditional shape of a boater hat, the hat takes a decidedly modern and creative twist with the vent between the brim and the base of the crown.

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This boater hat’s twist on the traditional shape makes a wonderfully bold style statement! The unusual shape is softened by the white floral trim, which also links the hat with Eugenie’s dress. It’s not a look for the fainthearted (and works much better when there is not wind whipping hair up the void!) and I seriously admire the bravery needed to pull it off.

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Designer: Sally-Ann Provan ‘Naeva’ boater hat.  Erdem ‘Bernette’ dress
Previously Worn: This hat is new
This hat has steadily grown on me since first spotting it early this morning – it is beautifully constructed and I adore how it pushes Princess Eugenie’s style in a new and surprising direction. I suspect the hat will yield strong opinions- what do you think of it?!
Photos from Getty as indicated