Tag Archives: Queen Camilla

British Royals Commemorate Battle of Waterloo Centenary

Posted on by

Members of the British royal family attended a national service of commemoration at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London yesterday, marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

The Duchess of Cornwall repeated an ivory straw hat with wide brim that is slightly raised on one side. This hat is all about the  trim- a giant ostrich feather wrapped around the side of the hat’s crown. It’s a dramatic hat that she wears well, especially when contrasted against a streamlined coat as she chose yesterday. Incidentally, Camilla has a pair of hats in this style.

Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: June 28, 2012; September 10, 2011; July 28, 2009; July 16, 2009; May 12, 2009; July 1, 2006; June 19, 2006

Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington, Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo, wore a simple black straw hat with wide mushroom shaped brim. The hat is trimmed with band around the base of the crown and beautiful stitching around the edge of the brim. With her cerise suit, the look was exceptionally elegant.

The Duchess of Gloucester repeated her slate grey straw beret and matching coat dress. Again.

Battle of Waterloo service attended by Boris Johnson and Alan Yarrow

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester greeting the Lord Mayor of London, Alan Yarrow

The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo culminates tomorrow in Belgium with a re-enactment of Napoleon’s defeat.
Photos from Ik Aldama/Demotix via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot, Part Two

Posted on by

Royal Hats After looking at the hats worn by Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, we now turn to the hats worn by the Countess of Wessex and York Princesses. Joining this conversation are three milliners whose work has graced royal heads –  Christie Murray, Jill Courtemanche and  Fiona Mangan.  I’m thrilled to have these ladies join for Ladies’ Day at Ascot today!

Countess of Wessex in a revised hat by Jane Taylor

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Christie:  How lovely is the Countess’ dress! I love the detailing at the bottom.  Jane’s done a lovely job with this bias, mesh sinamay brim.  The patterning works beautifully with her outfit, as well as the colours and  textures of the vintage-style veiling. For me, I don’t think that the trim is quite balanced. I can see what she was going for, but I think it’s just missed the mark. Otherwise, it’s a beautiful look. I’m loving that everyone so far hasn’t gone for the traditional ‘lace and floral’ for Ladies Day!  More paired back, chic and minimalist elegance. It’s modern femininity and I just love it.

Jill: Thank goodness for Sophie this week, she really has been the vision. Another beautiful, classic, ladylike outfit topped with a gorgeous hat. I really like the pattern on the straw with the detail in her dress and that the feather trim on the hat extends above and below the brim, that is quite nice. I do think the design on the trim is a little too harsh next to the face, the veiling adds a little softness but it seems a bit unfinished. Overall though I think this look is a winner and with the earrings and broach it’s stunning!

Fiona: Love the dove grey colour in the dress but feel the style is suited to someone a little older. Sophie looks so much more elegant in a tailored outfit so to be honest, this dress is a little disappointing. I quite like the hat shape but the trimming is too wild for my taste with the feathers looking like they were dropped out of the sky without much thought on how they were arranged. Again, the veiling is not properly trimmed!

Royal Hats: I believe this is the same hat Sophie wore to Ascot in 2012 but with different feather trim. The previous feathers had a larger and more natural sense of movement which I think I might prefer. Feathers aside, for me the star of this hat is the brim and the use of the lattice weave is absolutely brilliant.

Princess Beatrice in Laura Apsit Livens

Royal Hats: I adore this hat! I love the contrast between the traditional shape and the modern colour blocking and love that while it is completely unembellished, it is anything but boring! Hats at Ladies’ Day are famous for being trimmed to death (or into complete absurdity) and I adore that Princess Beatrice caught everyone’s eye today with this very streamlined piece.

Fiona: Love her whole ensemble. Her dress is so classic, so simple and against the bold colours of the hat and shoes this is a winner for me in a lot of respects. I do however feel the hat would have been really nice if she had tilted it, though sitting straight across her head adds a bit of the unexpected and quirkiness to her look. The hat itself is beautifully finished. I keep thinking there should be some other trimming on it but the boldness of the design approach is like that of when you walk out the door all dressed up for an occasion, which is to remove one accessory piece– the Less is More Concept! A Bold and Brave hat I would say!

Jill: There are a couple things I like about this hat, the turquoise is a lovely color on Princess Beatrice, very flattering to her coloring and I like the very wide straw edge on the brim but that is where it ends for me. The shape is too flat and I am not a fan of the orange / turquoise combination. Her dress is a lovely, classic silhouette and really an open canvas as far as hats go. The only way I could see this working is if she added a statement necklace which picked up on the turquoise but even then the hat could benefit from some trim (and less orange).

Christie: The colour choice is really youthful, I love how Princess Beatrice and worked it in with her shoes. And I love the chic minimalism of her white outfit, just gorgeous! For me, the shape of the crown and the depth really doesn’t work with the brim though. It looks far too large for her head, and squashes the look. I would have love to have seen and smaller and slightly taller crown, or more angular, to really work with this outfit. I do love that they’ve let the colours do the talking and haven’t killed the hat with a trim. Perhaps, if it was sitting further back on the head, it would work even better? Great idea but just hasn’t quite been pulled off, in my opinion.

Royal Princess Eugenie in Nerida Fraiman

Jill: Princess Eugenie’s hat is youthful and fun, very nice on her. The deep green is flattering and the lightness and movement of the crin trim is very pretty. I particularly like this look in the photo above when she has her jacket off, it’s a terrific match with her fun dress and really makes her eyes pop. I am not a huge fan of the brooch trim but it does brighten the whole look and is a modern, young way to add jewelry to her ensemble.

Christie: I think this headpiece is really gorgeous! Porkpie hats are difficult to block in sinamay and I think it’s hard to make crinoline not look tacky. Nerida’s done a wonderful job. The colour of the headpiece looks beautiful with Princess Eugenie’s eyes and hair colour. From a styling perspective, I would have been more likely to pull out that pastel, flamingo pink in to the body of the hat, which would have balanced the pattern on the bottom of her dress, stood out against her hair colour, and been more age-appropriate than the green. But I do think she looks gorgeous.

Royal Hats: This hat is one of my favourite colours- a colour that looks beautiful on Eugenie. While the colour scheme on this hat is certainly dark, I think her summery dress balances it and makes it work.

Fiona: Another beautiful look from one of the younger Royals. Her dress with the graphic print is age appropriate and fun. The petrol blue hat has a great shape and her placement is perfect. I love using crin myself but in a more structured way – this is a very typical Nerida Fraiman application of crin, where she sculpts it which works to soften the structure of the hat.

While it was officially Ladies’ Day, a number of very dapper royal men in top hats were spotted as well:

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece

Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and the Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York

I adored Countess Spencer’s beautiful teal blue saucer below, trimmed in what I suspect are handmade silk roses. And my favourite non-royal hat of the day?  This beautiful Rachel Trevor Morgan design worn by none other than the designer herself.

Numerous members of the British royal family who usually attend Ascot instead took part in events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. We will look at hats worn at these events along with all those worn on the fourth day of Ascot later today. Until then, what did you think about these and the other royal hats worn today for Ladies’ Day at Ascot Racecourse?

Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in Belgium

Posted on by

The Prince Of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were in Waterloo, Belgium, this morning, to attend the opening of a restored Hougoumont Farm and unveil a statue to honor the British and allied forces successfully held off Napoleon’s army at this site during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. For this event, the Duchess of Cornwall repeated her an ivory straw picture hat with an off-centre peak atop the crown, balanced by a wide, asymmetrical brim. This hat is trimmed in lengths of sand coloured straw ribbon wrapped in multiple layers around the crown and looped into a side stylized bow.

Designer: Philip Treacy. It appears to be a bespoke version of OC 920
Previously Worn: June 6, 2014 

We recently saw Crown Princess Victoria wear a hat with the same, off-centre peak atop the crown. This new shape stood out much more on her hat than on Camilla’s today, where the distinct shape seems a little lost. At Camilla’s appearance at Ascot yesterday, several guest milliners commented on her penchant for pastels. While this is a lovely enough hat, I think it would be so much more alive and dynamic if it was in a vibrant hue (perhaps the violet shade, olive green or blue hue of these Treacy designs).

Princess Astrid of Belgium was also present, in a chic cream fedora hat with pleated blue band around the base of the crown.

Princess Astrid, June 17, 2015 Royal Hats Princess Astrid, June 17, 2015 Royal Hats

This ceremony was also attended by the Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg and kicks off three days of events (including a huge re-enactment) to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

What do you think of the Duchess of Cornwall’s hat?

Photos from Pool / Frédéric Sierakovski/Photo News S.A. and Pool / Frédéric Sierakovski/Photo News S.A. via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

Ascot Day 1: British Royals Part 1

Posted on by

Royal HatsJoined by Australian milliner Christie Murray, Irish milliner Fiona Mangan and American milliner Jill Courtemanche, let’s get right back to our next group of royal hats from the first day of Ascot races today.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in a new hat by Philip Treacy

Jill: I admire the Duchess of Cornwall for taking chances and continuing to try new shapes and trends in millinery. I like the softness of the twists against the face but I want to push the whole hat deeper into her head so the crown is not sticking up so much, it looks a little too narrow and takes away from the clean architectural line of the detail work. I do love the color though and there is no doubt that the hat is the best part of this outfit…

Christie: Ah, Mr Treacy, the king of line and flow. I love what he’s done with this piece.  It wouldn’t have been easy to colour-match this sinamay, his colourists have done a great job. It’s an interesting place to put a jinsin trim, but I kind of get what he’s going for. By colour matching the trim to The Duchess of Cornwall’s hair, it nearly becomes part of her whole look. It’s as if the jinsin comes out from underneath her brim and flows away from her, creating an elegant and chic final look.

Royal Hats: It’s a new shape for Camilla, smaller than her usual picture hats. I adore the twisted trim but something about the proportion and washed out colour is a little off for me.

Fiona: She is the ‘Queen’ of pastel colours, sometimes I wish she would go for brighter hues. Again a classic hat with a wide brim. Its a style she returns to again and again, but it works for her. Always elegant is Camilla and she can afford to wear the wider brim to tame that appearingly flyaway, but perfectly styled hairdo. Not too mad on the lapel and cuff detailing of the coat, think it is a little old for her but more or less on the button here.

Princess Beatrice in a new disc hat by Nerida Fraiman. Skirt and blouse by Roksanda Ilincic.

Princess Beatrice in Nerida Fraiman, June 16, 2015 | Royal Hats

Christie:  Ok, so being a milliner on the younger side, can I firstly say that I love her outfit and shoes! I would totally wear this – love it. And I like the youthful playfulness of her hat. I absolutely see what they were trying to go for. It looks like a shot sinamay, with a bit of bling? How much fun!  I love the spot of bling in the centre of her trim too, I think it works well with the circle detailing in her skirt. The only thing that I think is letting this hat down is the crinoline trim.  I feel like it needed a deeper black trim, to play off the black in the skirt and her shoes. The sparkle in the hat base does dampen it’s colour, and paired with the crinoline trim, tends to wash it out somewhat. With more of a punchy, black trim, it would pick up the bold and modern look of the outfit, and be more balanced.

Royal Hats: I really like this hat but wish it was worn at further forward and with a different outfit. The dramatic black circle on the skirt needs an equally bold hat to balance the ensemble- something similar to the Countess of Wessex’s hat yesterday. Alternately, I think this hat would be beautiful with a simpler dress, like the one Beatrice wore for Trooping the Colour on Saturday.

Fiona: Love her outfit but the hat in my opinion is not working for her. I wouldn’t have put black with those pastel colours (even though there seems to be a small bit of black in the skirt). Her hat placement is off, it looks like it is not sitting into her head at all and appears to be on the verge of falling off! She should have chosen a more pastel coloured hat or richer hued hat than the beautiful outfit. Sorry Beatrice, you were off the mark for your hat on this one but the outfit is quite fitting!

Jill: I like this hat – it’s youthful and a model of modern simplicity, plus I love that it is held on with this beautiful jewelled hat pin but I want it to sit a bit more forward on her, over the brow rather than on the side so it feels more balanced.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex in a new hat by Jane Taylor. Dress by Emilia Wickstead

Jill: Wow! This outfit is gorgeous and so ladylike, absolutely beautiful. I love the cream and the detail on the hat is lovely, the height is perfect paired with the tall collar of her dress and her profile is stunning.

Fiona: This is my favourite Royal look of the first day at Royal Ascot. Love the huge slice headpiece which sits almost vertically – really creates drama. Hair is perfect, outfit colour is so fresh and that high neckline which I am a fan of myself, is divine with a hem length that is daringly verging on evening attire. Full marks to Sophie for pulling out all the stops!

Christie: From a general, over all look, this hat would have to be one of my favourites of the day. Colour-wise and texturally, it’s bang-on with that dress.  And it’s sitting just perfectly on her head. I love how they’ve done such a beautiful trim, bringing in jinsin with that beautiful material. The lines just work so well with her face and the material of her outfit.  My only, tiny thing to pick would be the finishing of the piece.  For such a beautiful hat, I would have love to have seen those tiny fly-aways on the brim trimmed off and the folded brim bind invisibly and hand-stitched down. Otherwise, it’s just gorgeous.

Royal Hats: Agreed on all accounts! This piece is absolutely sublime. Not only my favourite royal hat of the day, this is my favourite overall royal hat so far this year.

Princess Michael of Kent in a repeated hat by Philip Treacy

Princess Michael of Kent in Philip Treacy, June 16, 2015 | Royal Hats   Princess Michael of Kent in Philip Treacy, June 16, 2015 | Royal Hats

Christie: This isn’t an easy shape to block so seamlessly in sinamay, so that is to be commended. I’m just not sure that the shape of the feather trim is purposeful enough?  It’s an incredible feather, and I don’t mind where it’s sitting, I just feel like it could have been shaped in a slightly more angular fashion, to work with the lines in her dress.

Jill: I like this hat a lot but I think on it’s own it is a bit of a bore, her dress actually makes the hat look better! All together it is a clean, modern look but I am not wowed. I must admit I am doing everything I can not to make any pirate references here…but she should have ether played up the unavoidable eye patch and had some fun with it or avoided a black hat.

Royal Hats: I’m not bothered by the eye patch (although white might have blended better)- it’s the earrings that are standing out like a sore thumb for me. Somehow, this fabulous, dramatic hat is lost in this ensemble.

Fiona: Quite like this, a little less formal in a lot of respects with the relaxed fitting dress, the not-so-matching necklace and earrings and quite formal structured hat with an enormous feather. She is playing safe but with a slightly quirky look. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I certainly think she looks well.

What did you think of this quartet of Royal Ascot hats. Stay tuned for one more group of British royal hats that appeared today at Ascot!

Photos from Steve Finn/Splashnews, MK/Splash News and MK/Splash News via Corbis; Getty as indicated

British Royals Celebrate Order Of the Garter

Posted on by

As they do each year on the day before the start of Royal Ascot, members of the British royal family and distinguished guests gathered at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, for the annual Garter Service. This service, which celebrates The Order of the Garter (the highest order of chivalry and one of the most prestigious honours in the United Kingdom awarded at the Sovereign’s pleasure as a personal gift) dates back to 1348 and remains a highlight on the royal calendar each year.

Embed from Getty Images

Members of the Garter wear elaborate robes and accessories for the Garter Service including a special hat. The hat, in the style of a Tudor bonnet, is made of black velvet and trimmed with a glorious plume of white ostrich and black heron feathers. Queen Elizabeth, who is Sovereign of the Garter, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is a Royal Knight of the Garter, and the Prince of Wales, who is Knight Companion of the Garter, all appeared today in the procession to St. George’s Chapel in this regalia and hat.

Embed from Getty Images

Numerous other members of the British Royal Family have been welcomed into the Order as Royal Knights and Ladies – they also attended the service in Garter robes and hats.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall repeated another one of her cream picture hats with wide, curving up-swept brims. This piece, in sparkling metallic straw, is trimmed with a large ruched band that circles around the perimeter of the hat. It’s a lovely piece, particularly with Camilla’s streamlined gold and cream jacket, but she has several hats in this shape she as worn in the past few weeks and I am more than ready to see something different.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Designer: Philip Treacy. Dress and coat by Bruce Oldfield.
Previously Worn: June 15, 2013; September 16, 2012; June 19, 2012; June 3, 2012; 

The Countess of Wessex repeated her black velour cocktail hat with draped silk twisted bow. The hat coordinated beautifully with her other black accessories to provide the perfect contrast to her green silk dress. I adore this dress on Sophie and thought the hat was paired very well to it.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Designer: Jane Taylor. Dress by Suzannah.
Previously Worn: March 26, 2015

The Duchess of Gloucester repeated a grey straw beret hat. While I have oft’ mentioned my desire to remove the hat’s “stem”, this piece is well matched to Brigitte’s grey and blue dress and she wears it well.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Designer: unconfirmed. My guess is Lock & Co.
Previously Worn: November 6, 2013; June 19, 2013; June 5, 2012

It is always wonderful to see the British royals enjoying an event together and such seems to be the case today. One of my favourite parts of the Garter Service is that it heralds the coming of Royal Ascot, which starts tomorrow! Stay tuned early Tuesday morning for a review of the hats seen at the first day of the races.

Photos from Getty as indicated