Members of the Imperial Royal Family attended an annual spring garden party hosted by the Emperor and Empress yesterday at the Akasaka Imperial Garden.
Empress Michiko led her family in an elegant white wool suit topped with her large white saucer hat with pink petal trim. Within the realm of the empress’ style, it was a lovely hat for this event.
Crown Princess Masako was also in white, pairing her suit with a squared bowler hat with short, upturned brim. If you look closely, you will see that the band around the crown of this piece is anchored by very slim braided trim which brings some much needed texture to it.
From a distance, Princess Kiko’s pale green hat looked to be a silk covered pillbox but closeup, it revealed itself to be a bumper hat with flat, upfolded cuff brim. Her daughter, Princess Mako, wore a square-crowned pink hat with short rolled brim.The shape of this piece looks like a cross between a bowler hat and a top hat… a hybrid that I’m not keen on.
Princess Nobuko of Mikasa topped her pale aqua suit with a whimsical hat wrapped in a swath of coordinating tulle that leaves one thinking of cotton candy. Princess Princess Akiko’s rounded crown white hat featured what looks like a moulded sash and brim combination in the same pale celery as her suit. Princess Yoko wore a pink hat in the same square crowned shape as the one worn by Princess Mako. A wide ruched silk sash wrapped around the crown, ending in a flat bow on the side.
Princess Hisako of Takamado wore an suit and matching hat, both from the same ecru patterned silk. The hat featured a low, flat crown and short, U-shaped curled brim- a shape which, unfortunately, looks like a squashed top hat.
The most dramatic millinery shapes of the day were worn by the younger Takamado Princesses. Princess Tsuguko topped her navy and black printed dress and jacket with a wide brimmed black picture hat trimmed in what looks to be a wide bleu sash (or long navy feathers?) wrapped around the flat sided crown. Princess Ayako topped her pale lilac ensemble with a matching saucer hat, placed at the most rakish angle we’ve seen among the Imperial royals in a long time. Both ensembles showed more personality than we’ve seen in a long time on Imperial Royals, something that fills me with glee!
It is always fun to see such large scale royal hatted events such as this one, even if the hats are not exciting. The last two certainly piqued my curiosity (oh how I wish we could see them better) which is not something I often can say about Imperial millinery. What do you think of this parade of Japanese royal hats? Are any of them worthy for your nomination of favourite hat worn this month?
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko departed Tokyo this morning for the Philippines where they embarked on a four day visit. The Empress looked very smart in a dark slate blue rimmed saucer hat trimmed in a large crepe silk folded bow.
Designer: likely Akio Hirata Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
The couple were bid farewell by members of the Imperial Family. Crown Princess Masako wore a vibrant blue wool coat with matching hat which features a flat crown and upturned brim. The piece is trimmed with a wide ribbon around the crown that coordinates with the black accents on her coat. She stood out in a sea of neutral toned Imperial royal ensembles and I love her for it.
Designer: unknown Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Kiko repeated a simple navy hat with short, upturned brim and a rounded, straight sided hat. The hat is trimmed with a thick navy band around the base of the crown, giving a slight stepped detail to the piece.
Princess Mako wore a navy felt cloche hat embellished with a double grosgrain ribbon bow at the side. A band, edged in folded ribbon on both sides, encircled the base of the crown’s hat, giving it some contrast and dimension.
Princess Tsuguko of Takamado wore a fedora in winter white wool trimmed with a spiky spider mum flower at the back. It’s a wonderfully chic hat that worked so well with her black and white suit and black cape.
Princess Yoko of Mikasa wore a cream hat with flat crown, vertical sides and a short, rolled brim. Her sister, Princess Akiko, topped her winter white coat with a matching cloche hat with an upturned cuff brim. Their mother, Princess Nobuko, wore a streamlined grey toque hat that provided interesting style and texture contrast with her fur coat.
Arriving in the Philippines, the Empress removed her coat and scarf to reveal a tailored jacket in large plaid to match her hat and skirt. At closer look, the hat also features a layer of the plaid fabric incorporated in the bow, tying the ensemble together. It’s a very predictable hat for the Empress, both in shape and in colour, but one she wears well.
Members of Imperial Family joined the Emperor and Empress at the Imperial Palace yesterday for the Ceremony of the Utakai Hajime, the annual New Year’s Poetry Reading.
As she hosted the event in her home, Empress Michiko did not wear a hat. Princess Kiko repeated a cream silk covered bumper hat that looks to be trimmed in the same braided detail adorning the bodice seams of her gown. While impeccable, the demure ensemble is a little boring. Princess Mako was slightly more adventurous in a new pale blue calot hat with curved brim that rolled back closely around the hat’s crown. The hat is covered in the same silk as her floral gown and trimmed with two silk blooms at the side. It’s not an exciting hat but the shape looks great on Mako and works particularly well with her fringe.
Designers: unknown Previous Wearings of Princess Kiko’s hat: December 23, 2011
Princess Hanako of Hitachi stood out in a new vibrant blue gown in a coordinating hat. The hat’s domed crown was covered in plain silk while its small brim was wrapped in the same leopard printed blue silk as Hanako’s gown. It looks like the hat was completed with feather trim at the back. While the ensemble has a slight 1980s air about it, the bold colour and slightly racy pattern is such a departure from most things we see on the Imperial royals that I’m inclined to love it anyway.
Princess Nobuko topped her pale grey gown with a calot hat trimmed in a huge blossom on the side while her daughter, Princess Akiko, chose a simple calot in the same bubblegum pink as her silk gown. Princess Hisako of Hitachi wowed in a teal suit with lavishly embroidered sleeves and skirt. Her new pillbox hat looked to contain similar embroidery around the perimeter, making for a rather spectacular ensemble. Her daughter, Princess Ayako, topped her pale yellow silk jacquard suit with a matching new calot hat. While I’m all for a calot, the bows on either side of this piece lend a Princess Leia vibe (a vibe that is particularly ironic for a hat worn by a young Imperial princess!)
Designers: unknown Previous wearings of Princess Nobuko’s hat:August 5, 2015 Previous wearings of Princess Akiko’s hat:January 9, 2015
I always enjoy seeing court dress and thought Princess Hanako and Princess Hisako knocked it out of the park at this event. What did you think of the Japanese royal hats at this poetry reading?
Members of Imperial Family attended traditional annual Imperial New Year’s Lectures hosted by the Emperor and Empress at the Imperial Palace yesterday. One of the few royal occasions that still requires court dress, this event provides us a wonderful opportunity for hat watching every year.
As the Empress hosts the event in her home (and thus, does not wear a hat) and Crown Princess Masako did not attend, we’ll start off a review of this ceremony with Princess Kiko of Akishino who wore a pale grey-blue calot hat. The hat appeared to feature some sort of trim or contrasting fabric on the crown and an unembellished cuff brim around the front. While a fairly typical hat for Kiko, I would have loved to see some of the incredible silver thread detail on the bodice of her gown incorporated into the hat. Her daughter, Princess Mako, wore a simple black pillbox that I believe is a new hat for her.
Designers: unknown Previous Wearings of Princess Kiko’s hat:January 15, 2014
Princess Hanako of Hitachi wore a new jade green brimless hat with pork pie crown and bow trim at the side. While the photo below suggests the hat was a slightly different shade than her lace gown, I suspect that in reality, the two were a match. Princess Nobuko of Mikasa repeated a ruched toque hat with feather trim at the side made of the same grey silk as her structured gown. Her daughters both wore new hats with unexpected twists- Princess Akiko’s blue headpiece appeared to be made of blue and silver petals (or sequins) perched in a mass on the top of her head while Princess Yoko’s tall pink pillbox was trimmed in chevron stripes of matching feathers.
Designers: unknown Previous Wearings of Princess Nobuko’s hat: January 16, 2015
The Takamado princesses were also in attendance. Princess Hisako topped her goldenrod yellow velvet gown in a brimless pork pie hat covered in the same fabric and trimmed in coordinating feathers. Princess Tsuguko highlighted the taupe sheen in her Victorian style suit with a taupe pillbox hat, also trimmed in feathers. Princess Ayako, who we do not often see as she has been studying in Canada for several years, wore a pale pink calot hat. The calot appeared to be trimmed in monochrome lace around the perimeter which I suspect may frame her face in a lovely way.
While this event often showcases the most daring of millinery worn by the Imperial Princesses, these hats fit with the more typically demure style we often see worn by the Japanese royals. Are there any pieces that stand out to you in particular?
As per your request, here is a review of the remaining new hats we saw worn this year by members of the Imperial Royal Family. As the first post in this series, I have numbered each one and invite you to name which hats are your favourites in the comments as there are simply too many for a poll. Many of these hats were featured in original posts here- click on photos below jump back to these posts with additional information, views and detail on each hat..
While I still do not think any of these hats are in the running for best overall new royal hat of the year, there are some beautiful millinery details, wonderful shapes and unexpected trimmings not to be missed.
Princess Nobuko returned to royal duties this year after an extended absence due to health issues. I’m so pleased to see that she has recovered because her hats have become some of the most interesting among the Imperial royal family. Which hats here stand out most to you?
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Royal Hats 