Tag Archives: Princess Hisako

This Week’s Extras

Posted on by

Back on February 22,  Princess Hisako wore a smart camel hat with kettle brim (love that sharp white stripe around the outside of the upturned brim) Takamadonomiya Hockey Japan award ceremony
The Swedish and Norwegian monarchs together this week in Seefeld, Austria, for the World Skiing Championships. It’s so nice to see kings in hats- even such casual ones!
Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and Princess Kiko attended national meetings on Tuberculosis Prevention in Tokyo on Thursday. Empress Michiko repeated one of her grey discs and Princess Kiko wore a beige bumper hat.
The stunning oyster silk Bruce Oldfield suit and Jane Taylor straw percher hat with roses and feathers the Countess of Wessex wore to the Cambridge’s wedding in April 2011 has gone on display at the Fashion Museum in Bath (a truly fantastic place to visit!). If you have a chance to see it in person, please share your thoughts!
The exhibition with outfits from Princess Eugenie’s wedding opened yesterday at Windsor Castle. It includes the Greville emerald tiara (which has not been on public display before) and the Sarah Cant headpiece Princess Beatrice wore. There’s a great article about the exhibition here on the British monarchy’s website; if you visit Windsor Castle in the next weeks, keep your eyes open!


Embed from Getty Images

The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Whimsical garden headpiece by British milliner Bundle MacLaren (surely to be worn to Ascot!)
Red bandeau with overlapping felt leaves by British milliner Laura Cathcart
Cream straw hat with butterfly folded brim by Dutch milliner Myra van de Korput
Beige teardrop percher beret with felt & leather appliqué and pearls by Scottish brand Angels & Insects Millinery
Purple straw disc with silk hydrangeas and curling quills from British milliner Jane Taylor
Chic two-toned red and burgundy felt fedoras from Dutch milliner Marianne Jongkind
Pale blue felt pillbox wrapped in a monichrome olive branch wreath from British milliner Stephen Jones
Exquisite detail on this dusky pink calot with tiny stand-up blossoms & lilac veil by Spanish milliner Eugenia Jiménez
HATalk Magazine released the winners from their annual competition- first place is a stunning mondrian design by Italian label Stybel Modista. Scroll through to see all the winners- two we have already admired here!

And from British milliner Julian Garner, this white straw boater with a garland of handmade floral trim that spans the seasons. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Wonderful shots of the Dutch royals (minus Princess Mabel and her daughters) taken during their annual ski holiday in Lech, Austria this week, complete with with a very amusing royal male photobomb
Embed from Getty Images
The loveliest casual portrait of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, taken and released for the 10th anniversary of their engagement and a sweet shot of Prince Oscar, shared for his third birthday

And two close, two lovely new family shots- first from the Bhutan royal family featuring the King and Queen, the King’s mother and young Prince Jigme (who is looking rather grown up!) and finally, the Monaco royal family, taken during their recent trip to Africa

Photos from Getty and social media as indicated

Imperial Anniversary Celebrations Continue at Tea Party

Posted on by

On Tuesday morning, a tea party for notable persons of the Heisei era was held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in continued celebration of Emperor Akihito’s 30 years on the throne. As hostess of the event, Empress Michiko did not wear a hat and as Crown Princess Masako did not attend, the most senior Imperial family member in a hat was Princess Kiko. We don’t associate Princess Kiko with millinery surprises but that’s exactly what she delivered at this event, joining her daughters in the bandeau trend that’s sweeping the globe!

In fact, all of the Akishino princesses appeared in bandeau headpieces- Kiko in a new cream one while Princess Mako repeated her beautiful peacock blue design with diamond pattern and Princess Mako repeated her pale lemon yellow silk jacquard bandeau with floral trim behind the ears.

 

The Mikasa and Takamado princesses also attended the tea party. Princess Nobuko wore a new pleated burgundy calot (it photographed as deep scarlet in some light but read as more purple on video footage) with single feather trim. Princess Akiko repeated a cream hat with short brim and pleated hatband and Princess Yoko repeated a tall, ruched dusty pink pillbox trimmed in wispy feathers.

Princess Hisako wore an interesting leaf green flat hat with what looks like square points and feather trim while Princess Tsuguko looked lovely in an orchid purple formed beret (covered in silk, I would imagine) with feathers on the side.

I suspect the emperor’s upcoming abdication has made this anniversary celebration into such a large, multi-day event but no matter the reason, it’s great to see the Imperial family lend their support (and their hats!) and I was particularly happy to see Mrs. Sayako Kuroda  in attendance. I wish we could see better views of the Takamado princess’ hats because they look memorable. Which designs here stand out most to you?

Photos from FNN; The Asahi Shimbun and The Asahi Shimbun via Getty

Imperial Royals Celebrate Emperor’s 30th Anniversary

Posted on by

January 7, 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of Emperor Akihito’s accession to the Chrysanthemum throne. This anniversary was officially marked yesterday with a series of celebrations, beginning with the Emperor and Empress receiving family members, all in formal daytime court dress, at the Imperial Royal Palace. Crown Princess Masako repeated a blue silk bumper hat- a short video clip shows this piece has an interesting twisted brim around the back, something I don’t think we’ve been able to see until now.

Embed from Getty Images

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Dec 9, 2018; Dec 9, 2017; Dec 9, 2015
Princess Kiko wore a cuffed calot hat covered in peach silk that I think is a new design for her. Princess Mako repeated the bandeau calot she wore on the day of her engagement announcement back in September 2017. Not visible here, the piece is trimmed with silk roses and leaves on the right side. It’s an interesting choice, particularly as her dotted silk gown has previously been worn with a matching bespoke calot covered in the same fabric. Princess Kako repeated her soft yellow spadded bandeau trimmed with a trio of silk blossoms on the bottom of each side, tucked behind her ears. Check out this bandeau’s previous outings on October 20, 2018 or January 14, 2015 for a better view. 


I believe Princess Hanako repeated her dark green velvet hat with clamshell-shaped bumper brim with ostrich feather trim. This view shows the design is completed with a bow at the back. Princess Yuriko of Mikasa (grandmother to Princess Akiko and Princess Yoko) wore a low-profile bumper hat in deep eggplant purple with ribbon detail on the back. 

Princess Nobuko of Mikasa wore an open ring-shaped headpiece wrapped in green velvet. Princess Akiko topped her blue silk suit (with beautiful cutwork collar and yoke) with a matching silk rolled brim hat trimmed with ostrich feathers and blue veil. Princess Yoko’s tall, pale gray-green silk hat with high cuffed bumper brim had a retro 1960s feel, amplified by its placement on the back of her head. 

Princess Hisako of Takamado topped her textured pale lilac suit with a matching flat crowned hat with double brim, the outer one wrapped in the same fabric as her suit. Princess Tsuguko was also in a flat-crowned design, her repeated peach silk hat trimmed in looped peach fabric around the bumper brim.

The Emperor and Empress then attended an event hosted by the Japanese government at National Theatre in Tokyo. Empress Michiko repeated her slightly domed saucer hat covered in pale pink silk with white lattice crin underbrim, beautifully trimmed with silk cherry blossoms and a luminous silk bow

Embed from Getty Images

While the hat is not unlike Michiko’s other hats in terms of shape and scale, the colour is a slight departure (so good, right?!) and the trim is simply lovely. It’s a good hat for her as saucer hats go and I’m glad she chose something outside her usual grey palate for this celebration.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Designer: likely Akio Hirata
Previously Worn: Nov 14, 2018

The evening saw a dinner at the Imperial Palace (Crown Princess Masako arrived in plum and Princess Kiko in vibrant blue) while today, most of the extended Imperial royal family was seen at a formal tea party. These photos certainly don’t show great view of these hats- despite these shortcomings, do any hats stand out to you?

Photos from Getty as indicated; The Asahi Shimbun, The Asahi Shimbun, The Asahi Shimbun and The Asahi Shimbun via Getty; Sankei News

This Week’s Extras

Posted on by

Princess Hisako publicly endorsed the Race For Water Foundation in early February with a sporty baseball hat.
On February 15, Princess Tsuguko attended the opening ceremony of this year’s Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival in a pink silk hat with floral trim. Her sister, Noriko Senge accompanied her and in a sweet touch, Tsuguko referenced her sister during her speech (Noriko’s personal emblem as a princess was an orchid)
The Prince of Wales presented campaign medals to the 1st Battalion Welch Guards on Tuesday while on Wednesday, the Duke of Sussex, who is Captain General Royal Marines, visited the 42 Commando Royal Marines at their base in Bickleigh to carry out a Green Beret presentation. Both wore military uniform berets for these visits.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Back in October, we looked at the wedding of Duchess Sophie von Württemberg and Count Maximilien d’Andigné. I  came across photos of the couple’s civil ceremony which show the bride in a delicate pink floral bandeau. So pretty. Another sweet touch- Sophie wore her paternal grandmother’s wedding dress for the religious ceremony and here, for the civil ceremony, she wore a retro shift dress belonging to her maternal grandmother.
The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Wonderfully graphic black felt beret with grey & cream rose by Danish milliner Katrin Cecilia Jacobsen
Marvellous red felt fedora with extended brim and belted hatband by Polish milliner Marta Ruta
Beautiful ivory upswept saucer with curling quills & pink flowers by British milliner Vivien Sheriff
Vibrant orange printed saucer hat by EnaGancio fashion, which specializes in African prints
Black straw hat with ruffled upsweep and gold straw trim by British milliner Isabella Josie
Fuchsia straw picture hat with abacca fan and straw twists by British brand Rebecca Couture Millinery
Adore the leaf trim on this elegant navy & ivory straw disc by Australian millinery student Abigail Fergusson
Luxe midnight blue velvet percher with leather flowers, straw twists & veil by Irish milliner Julie Kenny
Headpiece of more than 700 individually placed feathers made by American milliner Milli Starr

And oh my- how I adore this exquisite coral straw teardrop beaded percher with silk abacca twists by Irish milliner Michelle Gleeson. Stunning simplicity at its best.

The Japan Times published two interesting articles this week that are both an insightful read:
Princess Charlene shared this wonderful series of snaps taken during Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques’ first trip to her home continent.
Princess Madeleine shared this lovely portrait, taken for Princess Leonore’s fourth birthday and Haga Palace released these snaps of Princess Estelle on the occasion of her 7th birthday this week


On Thursday, King Harald celebrated his 82th birthday- Princess Märtha Louise shared this very fun family portrait with a sweet message wishing him a happy birthday.
We send you off this weekend with a royal red carpet moment from Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, who accompanied their parents to yesterday’s opening of a new development in Monaco. It’s worth noting that the sun was rather bright upon their arrival…
Embed from Getty Images
Photos by Getty and social media as indicated

This Week’s Extras

Posted on by

Last Sunday, Princess Hisako wore a jaunty cream felt hat with purple hatband for the annual Japanese Tableware Festival
On Tuesday, Princess Hisako attended a photography exhibition at Sankeien Garden in Yokohama. She repeated her grey felt hat with Pork Pie crown and short, kettle brim with wide burgundy hatband and side spray of feathers for this event.
On Friday, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako attended the 64th National Youth Book Report Contest award ceremony in Tokyo. Princess Masako wore a burgundy felt hat with domed crown and short, upturned Kettle brim, simply trimmed with a wide velvet hatband.

Crown Prince Haakon Crown Princess Mette-Marit popped over to Sweden this week to enjoy a day out skiing with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel and take in the 2019  Alpine Ski World Championships along with Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, Princess Ingrid and Princes Sverre.


Embed from Getty Images

British milliner Dillon Wallwork shared this peek into a sketchbook he used while working for Philip Somerville. It’s fascinating.
The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Beautiful cream straw button percher with ombre watery blue twists by British milliner Vivien Sheriff
Wonderful striped ribbon placement on this navy straw percher from Italian milliner Giulia Mio
Lovely embroidery of spring flowers on this cream straw bandeau by Ukrainian milliner Elena Martynenko
Sky blue straw percher with flowers and soaring twists  by Yorkshire milliner Justine Bradley-Hill
Pale pink straw upswept saucer with silk peonies by Spanish milliner Eugenia Jiménez
Practically perfect Mary Poppins vibe on this crimson wool felt design from Italian brand Birdcage Hats
Statement black straw picture hat with woven green brim overlay & feathers from Aussie brand Millinery by Mel
Adore the movement on this blue straw and crin percher by Spanish-based British milliner Donna Hartley
The prettiest pale green and grey headpiece by Ghanan milliner Velma Owusu Bempah
Stunning black and white straw sculptural pinwheel design made by Australian milliner Chris Mullane at a workshop taught by Dutch milliner Eugenie van Oirschot (see the finished hat here with some others from the workshop)

And from Spanish brand Conchitta, this cream picture hat with pleated brim and feather flowers. It’s exquisite.


Reader Lisa also shared this fascinating article about the folded headdresses worn my Malaysian monarchy, following our discussion last week on the new Sultan’s coronation headgear. It’s worth a read.
Princess Akiko’s cultural organization, Shinyusha, hosted a traditional clothing workshop at the Kamigamo Shrine on January 26, 2019. During the workshop, she donned a traditional jūnihitoe.

 

Photos from Getty and social media as indicated