Category Archives: Japan

October Review: Week 2

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A survey of all the hats we saw during the second week this month, October 8 to October 14:

Sunday, October 8: Queen Elizabeth attended Sunday Service at Krathie Kirk in a repeated turquoise straw hat with feather trim. The Duchess of Cornwall was also in attendance in her taupe beret percher with pheasant feather trim.

Oct 8, 2017 | Royal Hats Oct 8, 2017 | Royal Hats

Monday, October 9: Queen Sonja attended the opening of parliament in Oslo in a repeated black felt cloche hat with upturned brim printed with diamond shapes on the underside.

Oct 9, 2017 | Royal Hats Oct 9, 2017 | Royal Hats

Tuesday, October 10: Queen Máxima repeated her natural straw picture hat with upswept vertical ‘slice’ brim for her and the king’s first day of state visit to Portugal.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Tuesday, October 10: Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko of Akishino attended the closing of the National Sports Festival in Ehime. Princess Kiko wore what looks to be a new hat with wider than usual brim and pleated cafe-au-lait hued hatband.

Oct 10, 2017 | Royal Hats

Wednesday, October 11: Queen Máxima repeated a silk floral headpiece for Day 2 of the Dutch state visit to Portugal.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Wednesday, October 11: Prince Fumihito, Princess Kiko and Princess Hisako joined the Empeor and Empress for a memorial concert at the Imperial Palace. The princesses wore navy and black brimless hats.

Oct 11, 2017 | Royal Hats

Wednesday, October 11: Princess Akiko of Mikasa attended the 15th commendation ceremony of People’s Self-Defense Force Officers in a sharp navy trilby variation with upturned front brim and wide cream hatband. The same day, Crown Princess Masako attended a memorial in Tokyo for victums of industrial accidents. She wore a navy Breton hat.

Oct 11, 2017 | Royal Hats  

Thursday, October 12: Princess Beatrix attended the 250th anniversary celebration of the “Society for the Rescue of People from Drowning” in Amsterdam in a large burgundy straw bumper hat.

Oct 12, 2017 | Royal Hats  Oct 12, 2017 | Royal Hats

Thursday, October 12: Princess Astrid of Belgium joined the Duke of Cambridge for the New Zealand National Commemoration for the Battle of Passchendaele. Her repeated hat in black felt features a flat crown, wide cartwheel brim and slim hatband.

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Embed from Getty Images

Thursday, October 12: Infanta Elena donned her trusty straw fedora for a National Day military parade in Madrid

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Thursday, October 12:  Queen Máxima repeated a pale pink striped abacca headpiece with silk flowers for the final day of the Dutch state visit to Portugal

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Thursday, October 12: Princess Alexandra repeated her cream straw hat with domed crown, stacked straw hatbands, tulle veil wrap and feather trim to open a learning and development centre at Holy Cross Hospital in Haslemere.

Oct 12, 2017 | Royal Hats Oct 12, 2017 | Royal Hats

Saturday, October 14: Princess Beatrix opened the renovated windmill “Googermolen” in Roelofarendsveen in a gold straw bumper hat.

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I’m curious- do any of these hats warrant, in your estimation, inclusion in our top hats of the month polls?
Photos from Abermedia, Vidar Ruud/NTB Scanpix; Sankei; Sankei; Sankei; Sankei; Belga

October Review: Week 1

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Hello again, dearest readers! It’s wonderful to be back with you- thank you all so very, very much for keeping the conversation going while I was away. I want to quickly review the hats we’ve seen this month and give you all the opportunity nominate any designs you wish to see in our October favourite new and repeated hat polls. Here are the hats we saw October 1 to October 7:

Sunday, October 1: Empress Michiko in a repeated pale grey rimmed saucer with origami circular trim worn on a visit to Ehime Prefecture

Oct 1, 2017 | Royal Hats

Tuesday, October 3: Crown Princess Victoria attended the opening of the Swedish Church meetings at Uppsala Cathedral in a new headpiece of dark green silk folded into dahlia blooms, each with a knotted silk center scattered with beads. It’s from Swedish label “Parant Parant” by Örjan Jakobsson.

Embed from Getty Images Oct 3, 2017 | Royal Hats

Tuesday, October 3: Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako attended the closing meeting of the 14th Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto in a repeated caramel brown bowler style hat with upturned Kettle brim, edged in a wide stripe of ribbon.

Oct 3, 2017 | Royal Hats

Tuesday, October 3: For the opening of Danish Parliament, Queen Margrethe repeated her blue beanie hat with black patent leather cuff by Per Falk Hansen. Princess Benedikte repeated her red felt brimless hat with stacked crown by Susanne Juul, Crown Princess Mary repeated her Jane Taylor designed purple pillbox with beaded side feather trim and Princess Marie repeated her navy straw fedora with wide net tulle hatband wrap and silk flower trim

2017-10-03 Opening of Parliament 6 450 2017-10-03 Opening of Parliament 7 450

Danish Royal Family, Oct 3, 2017 | Royal Hats

Tuesday, October 3: Princess Hisako of Takamado attended a conference on public nutrition in Shimane Prefecture. She repeated an oyster grey straw variation on a boater hat with textured straw hatband, side bow and feather spray.

Oct 3, 2017 | Royal Hats

Wednesday, October 4: Queen Máxima  opened an exhibition at the Mauritshuis museum in a new cranberry felt Garbo hat with hatband and side bow from Fabienne Delvigne

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Wednesday, October 4: Princess Ayako in a black straw Breton hat to attend the National Sports Festival

Wednesday, October 4: Princess Anne was joined by the Duke of Kent and Princess Michael of Kent at the memorial Mass for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor at Westminster Cathedral. Princess Anne repeated a black cocktail hat with net veil wrapped beret base circled in feathers by Amy Morris-Adams. Princess Michael repeated a  black felt Breton hat with side bow.

Oct 4, 2017 | Royal Hats Oct 4, 2017 | Royal Hats Oct 4, 2017 | Royal Hats

Wednesday, October 4: Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the Brunei Embassy in Tokyo to sign a guest book of good wishes for the Sultan of Brunei. The Empress repeated a small grey rimmed sauce hat with origami bow.

Thursday, October 5: The Earl and The Countess of Wessex attended The Sultan of Brunei’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. Sophie repeated the natural straw saucer hat she first debuted at Ascot, with a slight change of trimming. The hat’s first outing featured black silk twists which were replaced here with taupe crin ones and a large coral pink feather.

Thursday, October 5:  Queen Máxima attended a Teachers’ Congress in Amersfoort, repeating her midnight blue felt fedora.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Friday, October 7: Princess Beatrix in a navy straw bumper hat (with giant belt loops) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Team Motor Assistance in Driebergen.

That wraps up the hats we saw during the first week of October- do any of them receive your nomination for top new or repeated hat this month?

Photos from Asahi; Stella Pictures; Sankei; Press Association; Keld Navntoft/Scanpix; Søren Bidstrup/Scanpix; Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk; Chugoku Shimbun; Asahi Shimbun via Getty

Imperial Royals Celebrate Youth Charity

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On Saturday, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako attended the ceremony in Tokyo to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Big Brothers and Sisters Movement in Japan. For the event, Princess Masako wore an ivory bowler style hat with upturned kettle brim, simply trimmed with a wide hatband in the same pale gold as her suit.

Crown Princess Masako, Sep 23, 2017 | Royal Hats Crown Princess Masako, Sep 23, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
I’d describe this hat as simple but serviceable – what’s your take on it?
Photos from The Asahi Shimbun and The Asahi Shimbun via Getty

Events for Imperial Royals

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On Tuesday, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako attended the opening ceremony of LAWASIA (The Law Association for Asia and Pacific) in Tokyo. Masako wore an ecru hat with trilby-esque upturned back brim, trimmed with a wide blue hatband. I suspect the design is new.

Princess Masako, Sep 19, 2017 | Royal Hats Princess Masako, Sep 19, 2017 | Royal Hats

Also on Tuesday, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko commemorated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Japan War-Bereaved Families Association. For this event, the Empress wore a larger scale white rimmed saucer hat trimmed with a silk bow in the the same buff and black printed silk as her blouse. I can’t say that I think the pairing of this particular silk with white was a great idea. As we’ve said many times here, it’s all a bit too much biscuit.

Empress Michiko, Sep 19, 2017 | Royal Hats

Empress Michiko, Sep 19, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown. Eagle eyed reader Jessica pointed out a different hat was worn with this suit in 2014. 
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Yesterday, the Imperial couple were in Hidaka where they paid a visit to the Koma Jinja Shrine. For the event, Empress Michiko repeated her white saucer hat with transparent lattice underbrim and a curling ribbon ribbon in the slate blue accent as on her suit.

Empress Michiko, Sep 20, 2017 | Royal Hats

Empress Michiko, Sep 20, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Mar 4, 2017

Thoughts about this trio of Imperial hats?

Princess Mako Announces Engagement

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Princess Mako formally announced her engagement to Mr. Kei Komuro, a lawyer she met  in 2012 while attending International Christian University in Tokyo.  Princess Mako arrived at the Imperial Palace in a pale turquoise calot hat with silk floral trim at the side that she removed for the press conference. It’s a typically demure design that while unexciting, is a lovely colour on the young princess.

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: This hat is new
The young couple is expected to marry sometime during the autumn of 2018. Princess Mako’s royal status will end with her marriage, although I suspect we’ll still see her from time to time at family events (as we do with her aunt, Sayako Kuroda and cousin, Noriko Senge)
Photos from Asahi and Asahi