On  March 17th,  Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan welcomed the President of Vietnam, Mr. Truong Tan Sang, and his wife on a state visit to Japan. While Empress Michiko wore one of her regular saucer hats, this one was larger than we often see on her. Trimmed with white blossoms, green leaves and what looks like a grey ribbon bow, this austere black hat was lightened (no mourning here) to a rather attractive hat. That being said,  I think I may have preferred this black and white hat with the black jacket and hound’s tooth skirt the Empress wore for this state welcome. What do you think?

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat. 

Photo from the Imperial Family of Japan

It seems that in my coverage of the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko’s recent trip to India (here, here and here), I missed two new hats worn by the Empress.

On December 3rd, the Imperial couple visited India International Centre (the same building they had visited in 1960 to lay the cornerstone). Empress Michiko wore one of her characteristic saucer hats- this new one was larger than usual and featured a slightly higher raised crown than we usually see on Michiko’s hats. It was also trimmed with a lovely apple green ombre bow to match her white and apple green suit. I thought it looked lovely and very, very fresh.

Also on December 3rd, the Emperor and Empress visited the Japanese School in New Delhi. At first glance, I thought Empress Michiko repeated the hat she wore to embark on this tour but alas, it is different! This hat was another larger scaled petite saucer with a trailing bow to coordinate with Michiko’s cream, black and hounds tooth checked suit.

Looking at these hats, they look very similar in shape and size. I wonder…. do you think Michiko simply changes out the bows on the hats, or are these two separate hats? I suspect they are separate hats (those bows look very firmly attached) but it is interesting to ponder. What do you think?

Photos from The Imperial Family of Japan

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko met Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony welcoming them to India yesterday. The Empress wore a new hat- a large (much larger than usual!) white saucer hat trimmed with a large green leaf and pink flower petals. I was very pleased to see her in something with such a large brim.

Embed from Getty Images

Later in the day, the Imperial couple visited Jawaharlal Nehru University. This hat also appears to be a new one, although exactly the same shape of saucer (with slightly upturned rim at the back) as these two grey saucer hats. This hat was trimmed with a fabric flower in the same charcoal grey fabric as Michiko’s tailored suit.

Photos from Hindustan Times, Raveendran, and Prakash Singh via Getty; AFP and AFP

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in India on Saturday for their first visit in over 50 years. Empress Michiko unveled a new hat and outfit for her arrival; the hat was one of her regular petite saucers, this time in cream, with a cream and beige hounds tooth check flat bow. Her hat coordinated perfectly with her outfit and she looked very smart.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the first two hats worn by Empress Michiko on this tour.

Asahi Shimbun via Getty and Getty