this photo was shared last week and immediately caught my eye. On February 8, 1992, a quartet of Imperial princesses attended the Kanto Tokai Flower Exhibition.
From left to right we see: Princess Kiko in a black boater with floppy brim; Princess Hisako in a black velvet bumper with pheasant feather trim; Princess Nobuko in a white hat with rolled fur brim; and perhaps most notably, Princess Hanako in a design with black button crown and cream cartwheel brim, trimmed with white pompoms. Your eyes are not deceiving you- those are indeed pompoms!
Click on the photo below to jump to its source on Twitter, and click on it again there to see an enlarged version. There are some great details to check out.
Princess Kiko, Princess Hisako, Princess Nobuko, Princess Hanako and Prince Akishino attend 41st Kanto Tokai Flower Exhibition on February 8, 1992. 📸 https://t.co/EvUfGqSPaopic.twitter.com/cbUBaAArBg
On January 31st, Princess Nobuko and Princess Hisako visited the 69th Kanto Tokai Flower Exhibition at Sunshine City Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo. Princess Nobuko wore a black brimmed hat while Princess Hisako donned a gey felt Pork pie-crowned design with rolled brim and burgundy hatband
On January 31st, Princess Nobuko and Princess Hisako visited the 69th Kanto Tokai Flower Exhibition at Sunshine City Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo. The exhibit features some 1650 flowers from 11 prefectures. 📹 ANN https://t.co/vmNJL6KHH7pic.twitter.com/6ZvgJtyO5c
Chic grey felt boater hat on Princess Hisako today to open the 2020 Tokyo Tableware Festival
On February 2nd, Princess Hisako attended the opening ceremony of Tableware Festival 2020 at Tokyo Dome. The 28th edition features about 130,000 items and special displays on Seto ceramics, Italian design, and Japan-inspired Western tableware. 📸 https://t.co/MoYzTBUkjnpic.twitter.com/qtvOrYAhfu
Queen Elizabeth in a familiar blue felt hat with feather flowers by Angela Kelly, made by Stella McLaren, to attend St. Peter and St. Paul church this morning in West Newton near Sandringham
And this wonderfully elegant grey straw design with rolling wave cuffed brim, veil, feather quill twist and diamante bumble bees from British milliner Rachel Henry
Members of the Imperial Royal Family attended the annual New Years poetry reading yesterday at the Royal Palace in some colourful and interesting hats.
Crown Princess Kiko repeated a mint green silk covered bumper hat, trimmed with a diamond of the same woven lattice silk as the bodice of her gown. Princess Mako repeated a pale, ice blue silk floral jacquard covered calot hat with narrow, upturned, cuffed brim. Princess Kako repeated a royal blue silk bumper hat with beaded edge on the top of the upturned brim.
Princess Nobuko wore a new apricot silk covered bumper hat studded with tiny sparkle beads. The silk on the bumper brim is covered in bias stripes, giving a subtle diagonal movement to the design. Princess Akiko topped her cornflower blue gown with a matching hat. The hat’s button crown is covered in what looks like appliqued silk in the same hue, and a slim bumper brim circles the design.
Princess Nobuko and Princess Akiko of Mikasa attend New Year's Poetry Reading "Utakai Hajime" on January 16.
Princess Hisako repeated hat with saddle shaped brim covered in cream silk and an avocado green narrow crown embellished with the same applique cutouts as on her coordinating gown. Green silk flowers and leaves cascade from below the brim’s raised back – a design feature I don’t recall seeing before on a royal hat. Princess Tsuguko also had a new headpiece in teal, gold and taupe with peach silk roses.
Princess Takamado (Hisako) and Princess Tsuguko attend New Year's Poetry Reading "Utakai Hajime" on January 16.
This event usually shows us some of the most colourful and memorable Imperial royal hats of the year and yesterday did not disappoint! Which ensembles stand out to you most here?
Mikasa and Takamado Princesses at New Year's Poetry Reading "Utakai Hajime" on January 16.
Princess Tomohito (Nobuko) and Princess Akiko of Mikasa Princess Takamado (Hisako) and Princess Tsuguko
The Akishino princesses all repeated silk covered hats, Princess Kiko in an ivory bumper hat with gold threaded brocade fabric covering the crown; Princess Mako in her peacock blue wide bandeau with large diamond pattern and multi side bow; and Princess Kaiko in a buttercup yellow bandeau with silk blossoms on the side.
Princess Nobuko repeated an aubergine silk bumper hat with beaded split brim. The colour is divine and I adore the subtle bit of sparkle dressing up the split brim. Princess Akiko repeated a pale blue Breton wrapped in an ostrich feather hatband and frothy veil. Princess Yoko wore an ice blue silk covered bumper hat studded with pears that I don’t think we’ve seen before.
Princess Nobuko, Princess Akiko, and Princess Yoko of Mikasa attend New Year's Lectures on January 14th.
Princess Hisako repeated the peach hat that wowed us at the Imperial inauguration. This improved view of the piece shows it to be a boater base covered in apricot silk. The beaded applique around the neckline of Hisako’s gown is repeated on the top of the crown and the brim is overlaid in ombre dyed layers of silk (maybe layered with crin?). Silk calla lilies in the same ombre shades adorn the side of the hat, studded with pearls. Princess Tsuguko repeated a headpiece of overlapping silk leaves in various shades of purple, trimmed in gold, anchored around the back of her head.
Princess Takamado (Hisako) and Princess Tsuguko attend New Year's Lectures on January 14th.
We see few royal events attended in traditional court dress which is a shame, because the combination of gown and hat can be spectacular. Which ensembles stand out to you most here?
Mikasa and Takamado princesses at New Year's Lectures on January 14, 2020
Princess Tomohito (Nobuko), Princess Akiko, and Princess Yoko Princess Takamado (Hisako) and Princess Tsuguko
Back on December 5, Princess Yoko wore a smart grey hat with lighter gray brim and black hatband for a visit to a duck preserve in Ichikawa.
On December 5th, Princess Yoko of Mikasa attended duck netting with diplomats at Shinhama Imperial Wild Duck Preserve (Shinhama Kamoba) in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. Princess Yoko with Kazakhstan's Ambassador Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhatayev. 📸 https://t.co/21hmJPU2LFpic.twitter.com/lU7keyTLgP
Princess Nobuko in a feather trimmed cream pork pie hat to take in a match of the Women’s World Handball Championships on Wednesday
On December 11th, Princess Tomohito (Nobuko) of Mikasa attended the 24th IHF Women's Handball World Championship Main Round Group 2 match between Spain and Russia in Kumamoto Prefecture.https://t.co/oixTEBwWzR
On Thursday, Princess Yoko continued her visit to Myanmar with a stop at Yeway Japanese War Cemetery in Mingaladon Township, Yangon. For this event, she wore a fedora belonging to her late father.
Back on November 30, Prince Léopold of Nassau (son of Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg) and Princess Maria Carolina (daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Castro) were photographed at the Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris
this photo was shared last week and immediately caught my eye. On February 8, 1992, a quartet of Imperial princesses attended the Kanto Tokai Flower Exhibition.
