to this day in 1985, an Imperial royal visit to Ireland and an empress (who was then a crown princess) in a flat crowned, flower trimmed boater hat. While she doesn’t wear brimmed hats these days, this hasn’t always been the case for Empress Michiko.
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Photo from Getty as indicated
In the midst of a busy schedule of royal events over the past two weeks, I completely forgot to wrap up the Imperial visit to Thailand. My apologies!
On Sunday, March 5, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in Thailand (see their departure from Vietnam earlier that day at this post). The Empress disembarked the flight in a new grey saucer hat with flat bow across the front, trimmed with a dotted black net tulle veil. The addition of the net veil is a trimming departure for the empress, one that gives a bit of textural contrast to the hat.
After a quick 24-hour visit, the Imperial couple departed on Monday, March 6 to return home. For their departure, Empress Michiko wore her ninth new hat of the tour. The pale grey rimmed saucer hat is trimmed with a double looped half bow in the same darker grey silk as her dress. This design is not a departure from anything else we’ve seen on the Empress, although the balance between the saucer brim and the side bow is particularly pretty in this piece.
The royal couple arrived home on the evening of Monday, March 6. The Empress disembarked the Japan airways jet in a repeated saucer hat in the same tiny black and white check as her coat, trimmed with a large curved bow.
Designer: Designer: unknown
Previously Worn:March 18, 2016; January 19, 2015
Most of the extended Imperial royal family greeted the Emperor and Empress at the airport. Crown Princess Masako wore a new black (or navy?) hat with upfolded velvet brim, edged in braid trim. Some of you may recall that she wore a green version of this same for the Emperor and Empress’ departure.
Princess Kiko, Princess Kako both wore variations on bowler hats while Princess Mako repeated a navy cloche with upturned, short trim trimmed with a bow on the side.
Princess Hanako repeated a white cloche variation with short mushroom brim and wide grey ruched hatband. Princess Nobuko looked to be wearing a large navy saucer hat (worn at a wonderfully jaunty angle) while her daughters Princess Akiko wore a grey trilby with navy hatband and Princess Yoko sported a white design with short brim and tall crown. Princess Tsuguko of Takamado looked to be wearing her navy indented pillbox with back bow and Princess Ayako topped her camel coat with a matching hat that appears to be trimmed in a Lady Amherst pheasant feather.
Several of you have commented about the tradition for extended Imperial family members to greet the Emperor and Empress at their departure and arrivals home- it is a lovely tradition and one that allows us to see lots of hats! Which designs here stand out most to you?
The Imperial Household Agency announced last week that the gruelling pace of this tour caused sickness for the Empress, who has now suspended engagements in order to recover. We wish her the very best in her return to health.
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko continued their visit to Vietnam over the weekend in the former Vietnamese imperial city of Hue. As they toured the former imperial citadel on Saturday, Empress wore a new saucer hat. In pale grey, the large scaled saucer features a slightly raised rim and is trimmed in a double bow in the same fabric as Michiko’s suit and striped tunic. The striped bow ties beautifully with the tunic, which extends beyond Michiko’s black jacket in a style we don’t often see on her but one that looks so sharp.
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Also on Saturday, the emperor and empress visited the gardens and memorial house of Vietnam’s nationalist Phan Boi Chau (1867-1940) who campaigned for a strong relationship with Japan to gain Vietnam’s independence. For this visit, Empress Michiko wore a gently sloped white saucer hat with a white transparent lattice underbrim and a curling ribbon in the slate blue/grey accent as is on her suit. The curling ribbon is backed in a high sheen silk which gives the piece a bit of sparkle in the sunlight.
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Yesterday, the royal couple departed Vietnam for Thailand. Empress Michiko wore a white rimmed saucer trimmed with a folded bow in the same grey silk as her suit and a sprinkling of white silk blossoms. The light, delicate feel of the hat compliments her graphic suit really well.
The landmark visit of the Japanese emperor and empress to Vietnam this week has included four new hats so far for Empress Michiko (see the first one, worn for her arrival, here). On Wednesday, she topped a white suit with a petite new design. The hat features a central saucer with slightly raised edges, and a delicate, transparent lattice underbrim. We’ve seen a few of these lattice underbrims on Michiko’s newer hats- it can’t be easy for her milliners to come up with subtle touches to rev up a saucer hat and this underbrim is a really lovely addition. The hat is trimmed in a knotted silk bow in the same palest celery green as the collar on Michiko’s suit, and five silk leaves. The leaves have a slight seaweed vibe but give a much needed hit of colour to the hat.
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Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko departed Japan yesterday en route to Vietnam where they will take part in a six-day visit. The royal couple were seen off at the airport for this historic visit (Akihito is the first emperor to visit Vietnam) by members of their extended family. Empress Michiko looked very smart in her repeated black saucer hat trimmed in origami folded bow, backed in the same black and white hound’s tooth check as her skirt.
Crown Princess Masako topped her emerald coat with a matching hat in velvet felt. The flat crown and upturned brim shape of this hat is one we’ve seen on Masako before but in a saturated colour and with the addition of braid around the brim edge, the familiar shape is transformed into something special.
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Princess Kiko wore a cloche variation in camel felt with diagonally upturned brim. The brim shape is an unexpectedly pert departure for Kiko that works well for her.
Princess Mako and Princess Kako both sported bowler variations with rolled brims and squared crowns in chocolate brown felt. This side-by-side view of these two very similar pieces shows the significant difference that subtle changes in crown height or tightness of brim roll can make to the overall look of a hat.
Princess Nobuko and Princess Hanako both sported navy and white hats (far left, below). Princess Nobuko’s winter white felt ddesign (a fedora variation maybe?) featured an upturned brim and navy hatband while Princess Hanako’s hat contrasted a cream brim against a navy crown. Both hats are sharp, stylish pieces that I wish we could see up close.
Princess Akiko repeated her winter white cloche hat with an upturned cuff brim while her sister, Princess Yoko topped her yellow coat with a matching bowler variation with yellow squared crown and rolled ivory brim. Princess Tsuguko of Takamado wore what looks like an ecru bumper hat with large bow trim at the side.
When the royal couple touched down in Hanoi, Empress Michiko embarked in a mushroom grey hued suit with coordinating hat. One of her larger saucer shapes, the hat is simply trimmed with a curling ribbon in the same two shades of grey as her silk suit. It’s a simple hat but one that works really well with this ensemble.
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Royal Hats 