Tag Archives: Duchess of Sussex

British Royal Family Celebrate Christmas- Part 1

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Members of the royal family spending Christmas in Norfolk joined Queen Elizabeth for traditional Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church. The Queen wore a new outfit and hat again this year in pale dove grey with fuchsia trim. The hat, covered in the same wool silk crepe as the coat, features an upturned kettle brim and flat crown and is trimmed with a wide fuchsia hatband and a large grey ostrich feather wrapped around design.

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I so want to like this hat but I’m afraid the dull colour and feather trim fall flat for me… not to mention the awfully distracting pink trim on the coat.

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Designer: Looks like Angela Kelly
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Duchess of Cambridge looked festive in a burgundy velvet kokoshnik style headpiece. Kate has worn several hats of this design this year and while this one links around the back in a circle, the raised kokoshnik shape and fluted bow at the back save the headpiece from looking like an open crowned doughnut. The pairing of this hat with Kate’s stunning red coat and burgundy accessories works beautifully, especially for such an unexpected colour pairing.

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Designer: Jane Taylor; it is a bespoke version of the “Halo” design from AW 2018. Coat by Catherine Walker
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Duchess of Sussex also repeated one of her go-to hat shapes this fall, a formed beret in black felt. The blue ombre dipped goose feathers and black flying crin bow on this hat make for wonderful trimming, adding some life to the piece and bringing Meghan’s black and navy ensemble together. What a great new hat to add to her wardrobe (and from a new milliner, too!).

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Designer: Awon Golding. It is the “Vika” design from AW16/17. Coat from Victoria Beckham.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
What do you think of this trio of royal hats at Sandringham this morning? Make sure to also watch the Queen’s Christmas message this year- you can see it in full here. 
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Photos from Getty as indicated

Inventory: Duchess of Sussex’s Black Hats

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Black hats are a staple in every royal millinery wardrobe and it’s no surprise that less than a year into her royal working life, the Duchess of Sussex already has several:

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Designer: Stephen Jones; Philip Treacy
Introduced: Apr 25, 2018; Apr 25, 2018

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Designer: Philip Treacy; unconfirmed; unconfirmed (I suspect both are Stephen Jones)
Introduced: Aug 4, 2018; Nov 11, 2018; Nov 11, 2018

UPDATE- Since this post was published, the Duchess has added the following hats:

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Designer: Awon Golding, Stephen Jones
Introduced: Dec 25, 2018; Nov 10, 2019

This is the first inventory we’ve started for Meghan and I’m curious about your thoughts. At first glance, it’s not the most exciting of hat collections but black hats seldom are. I appreciate some of the small details here- that marvelous beaded dragonfly on #2, the exuberant twists on #3 and even the luxe velvet texture of #4. No doubt we’ll see this group of hats grow over years to come but for now, what do you think?

Photos from Getty as indicated

British Royals Attend Armistice Centenary Service

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Queen Elizabeth was joined by members of her family last night at Westminster Abbey for a service marking the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended WWI. For this service, she repeated I suspected might have headed into retirement- her purple felt stylised Homburg with layered purple and black hatbands and black velvet oak leaf trim.

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While the masculine hat shape isn’t my favourite, I’ve always loved this saturated purple on Her Majesty and admire how the black trim on the hat links with that splendid velvet coat collar. The brass buttons on the coat give a slight military nod, most fitting for this event,  and the overall look is good one. I had suspicions this hat had been sent into retirement but I’m very pleased to see it has not.

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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: Dec 21, 2014; Nov 21, 2013; May 13, 2013; Feb 3, 2013; Nov 26, 2012; Oct 25, 2012; Nov 11, 2009 

The Duchess of Cornwall wore repeated a magnificent purple velvet felt boater hat with oblique crown and brim trimmed with double rows of raw-edged pleated silk and a spray of purple feathers. There’s so much to love here- colour, texture, sheen, presence, whimsy, shape, scale- I could go on and on. When a hat is done as well as this one, I’m happy to see it trotted out again.

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Duchess of Cambridge topped her green coat with a tall bandeau headpiece of black velvet.

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This is the third kokoshnik shaped bandeau we’ve seen on Kate in recent months and while I applaud her experimentation with new millinery styles, I think this is a difficult shape to wear. Yes, it frames the wearer’s features in a lovely way but it also exaggerates elongated oval-shaped faces like Kate’s and I’m just not sure it flatters. I think a royal hat should look good from all angles- some views of this bandeau (like the one below) are great but others (some of the side views above) show it to be a bit clunky and awkward. Far away views are lovely but close up…. I need help seeing it as something other than an oversize black banana.

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Designer: Jane Taylor. It is the “Velvet Headband” from AW 2018
Previously Worn: This headpiece is new

Duchess of Sussex wore a black felt blocked beret hat with center ‘stem’. The connection between berets and the military make this hat style a fitting choice for this event; its pairing here with a navy suit makes for a fittingly solemn ensemble that’s a welcome step away from head-to-toe black. This hat is a simple and streamlined one that I might consider boring at another event but here, works well.

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Designer: My guess is Stephen Jones
Previously Worn: This hat is new
I’ve often commented about the challenges that memorial events such as these pose to royal fashion and thought the use of deep, jewel tones seen here hit a brilliantly appropriate balance. What do you think of this quartet of hats yesterday at Westminster Abbey?
Photos from Getty as indicated

British Royals Commemorate Remembrance Day & WWI Armistice Centenary

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As this year’s Remembrance Sunday coincided with the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, special consideration (and royal attendance) surrounded this commemoration. A ceremony at the Cenotaph at Whitehall, in central London, occurred as it does each year, led by the Prince of Wales. He was joined by the Dukes of Cambridge, Sussex, York and Kent, the Princess Royal, the Earl of Wessex and Prince Michael of Kent, all in military uniform with respective caps of their rank.

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Queen Elizabeth, who watched the service from a Whitehall balcony for the second time, wore a new hat in black felt. The design features an upturned kettle brim and tall molded crown, the top of which looks to be off the same block as Angela Kelly’s split crown hats. The hat is simply trimmed with a layered leather and felt hatband which circles the crown midway, finishing at the front in a looped knot. The streamlined embellishment works well on this design to balance the slightly awkward shape of the crown’s top.

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Designer: Looks like Angela Kelly
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Duchess of Cornwall repeated her large black black felt hat with flyaway raised brim edged in a wide band of bias-woven ribbon. It’s still a dramatic statement piece for her with the most magnificently sleek lines.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: Dec 25, 2016;  Nov 13, 2016; Dec 25, 2015

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a new hat which, interestingly is a winter felt version of this straw hat already in her wardrobe. The lines of this design, with extended brim around the upswept back of the design are particularly lovely and beautifully punctuated with the slim binding around the brim. The choice of a single curling quill for trim is also the right one for this hat- overall, it’s an elegant piece that, I think, will be a good addition to Kate’s millinery collection.

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Designer: Lock and Co. It is a bespoke version of the Abney from AW 2018. Coat is Alexander McQueen.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Duchess of Sussex wore a black percher hat with bumper shaped base, trimmed with a single-looped side bow. These smaller profile millinery designs suit Meghan well and I really like the textural difference between the velvet felt of the hat and the silk wool of her coat. Large base button perchers sometimes read as a bit boring and the cuffed, bumper shape of this one has a slight military nod that fits this event very well.

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Designer: unknown (my guess is Stephen Jones). Coat by Givenchy
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Countess of Wessex’s modified saucer hat features a shallow button crown and wide brim and is trimmed with a large silk bow that drapes over half of the design. The sharply upswept angle that the hat’s base (visible in the third photo in the gallery below) places it on the head is key here- without it, I suspect the hat might read a bit 1980s twee but the elevated position keeps the piece looking modern and fresh.

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The Countess of Wessex wore this hat later in the day when she and Prince Edward attended the Welsh National Service of Thanksgiving at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.

Designer: Jane Taylor
Previously Worn: This hat is new. 
After the Cenotaph service, other royal family members traveled also to other services marking the Armistice centenary held around the United Kingdom. Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence attended the Scottish Commemorative Service at Glasgow Cathedral where Princess Anne repeated her black percher hat with net veil-overlaid round button base trimmed with a crescent of pointed black feathers. The percher style is a fairly new one for Anne but one I hope she continues to embrace as it works particularly well to modernize and soften her hairstyle.
Designer: Amy Morris-Adams
Previously Worn: Nov 10, 2017; Oct 4, 2017; Jun 27, 2017
The Duke and Duchess Gloucester attended the Armistice Day Service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, the Duke in a black bowler hat and the Duchess in a lovely new peacock blue felt pillbox with domed crown. The colour of this piece is wonderful on Brigitte and pairs so well with her navy coat to create an overall ensemble that is a little punchier than we usually see at such memorial events but still perfectly appropriate. 


Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Finally, the Prince of Wales attended a Remembrance Service at the Guards’ Chapel at Wellington Barracks. The Prince, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards Regiment, wore a traditional regimental bowler hat.

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Several family members also attended a service at Westminster Abbey commemorating the centenary of the WWI Armistice- we’ll look at those hats in a post coming up first thing tomorrow morning. For now, what do you think of this first round of hats we saw worn for Remembrance Day yesterday?
Photos from Getty and social media as indicated

Sussexes Arrive In Fiji

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex continued their South Pacific tour today in Fiji where they will spend two and a half days before moving on to Tonga. For their arrival in Suva, the Duchess topped her white silk dress with a white sinamay percher hat with blocked base in the shape of a flat beret. The design is trimmed with white silk tulle, crin, widely woven net veil and a flat, rolled bow in the same straw as the hat with unfinished, frayed edges.

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The white straw base has a faint metallic thread in its weave which shows beautiful luminosity and a faint sparkle in the photos taken at dusk. The shape and scale isn’t anything particularly memorable (we’ve seen it often before) but suits Meghan well but the colour is noteworthy for how beautifully it contrasts against her complexion and dark hair. I’m less enamored with the hat’s trim, which I suspect is a haute couture statement but to my eye, ends up looking a bit haphazard and messy.

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Designer: Stephen Jones. It is the “Afternoon Tea” design from Miss Jones SS 2016 Collection
Previously Worn: This hat is new
I was surprised to see Meghan step off the plane today in a hat but it topped an elegant ensemble and is, undoubtedly, a classic enough design to be easily paired with another ensemble in the future. What do you think of this white percher hat today in Fiji?
Photos from Getty as indicated