Dutch King and Queen in Noord Holland

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Royal Hats

After a relatively quiet week of royal hats this week, one of the more fearless royal hat wearers brought some millinery drama to end things on a brighter note. King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited Noord Holland today where the Queen repeated a hat in bright magenta straw.

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We have seen Máxima in other stovepipe hats before and while the shape is not my favourite, it does pack a lot of visual punch without a huge brim. Máxima wears a magenta hat better than anyone- the colour is marvelous on her and works well with her dress.

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Interesting note about Máxima’s dress- it was designed by a ten year old Dutch girl name Luna, who is suffering from leukemia. The Make-A-Wish foundation linked Luna with Natan designer Edouard Vermeulen, who created her design. With this knowledge, this whole outfit suddenly becomes so much more special, doesn’t it?

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: October 17, 2005; May 26, 2004

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Photos from Getty as indicated

Queen Máxima Opens Education Center

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Royal Hats

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands openned the Center for Educational Excellence at University College Roosevelt in Middelburg this morning. Máxima wore an ecru straw picture hat with upturned brim edged in unfinished straw fringe – the rough fringe was repeated in a band around the crown of the hat. While the shape and scale of the hat is something we have seen on Máxima many times (because it works so well on her), the unfinished straw fringe makes the hat unique and interesting. We don’t often see Queen Máxima in beige from head to toe- the rough straw trim on the hat and the trim on her dress keeps the whole outfit far from boring. I think the whole ensemble is elegant and the roughly edged hat works rather well. What do you think?

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While this hat looked familiar to me, I was not able to find it anywhere so guessed it was new (these Fabienne Delvigne unfinished straw hats have been worn by several royals and have started running together in my mind).Thanks to those of you who pointed out this is the same hat that Máxima’s mother, María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart wore for Princess Amalia’s christening in 2004. Fantastic observation! This hat was such a perfect match for Carmen’s ensemble that I can only imagine it was custom made for her at the time. I wonder if it was always meant to end up in Máxima’s millinery closet?

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María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart in Fabienne Delvigne and Queen Beatrix in Emmy Hill, June 10, 2004

Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: June 10, 2004

Photos from Albert Nieboer, Patrick van Katwijk, Albert Nieboer, and Albert Nieboer via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

200th Anniversary of the Netherlands

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Royal Hats

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima hosted celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Maastricht today, welcoming Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, and German President Joachim Gauck and his partner Daniela Schadt.

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Queen Máxima repeated a hat we have seen on her numerous times (and recently discussed at his post), a tan straw picture hat with dramatically upturned ‘slice’ brim. I love the pairing of this hat with her aqua printed dress and thought the styling of this ensemble was perfect on Máxima.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: May 24, 2014; May 30, 2013; January 24, 2013; January 21, 2013; July 2, 2011

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa topped her lovely green suit with a cocktail hat in leaf green straw. This hat, which featured a beret-style base, was wrapped in swirls of wired organdy ribbon. The effect was light and fresh and this hat looked wonderful on the Grand Duchess. I can not recall the last time we saw her in green and this colour was beautiful on her.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: This is a new hat

Queen Mathilde repeated the orb of dusty rose shredded straw she debuted last month. Its pairing with Mathilde’s dusty rose peplum dress was much more successful and I found myself less opposed to this headpiece than I was when we first saw it. It is still not my favourite piece of millinery but with her outfit today, it worked.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: July 10, 2014

Daniela Schadt wore a simple natural straw hat with rolled brim which coordinated well with her blue and tan ensemble. It was not as spectacular as the royal hats but somehow, it was just right for her.

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My favourite royal hat at this event was worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa although I thought the other two queens looked fantastic. Which hat today was your favourite?

* Join in the conversation at this post about which outfit you like best with Queen Máxima’s straw slice hat.

Photos from Getty as indicated

Planning a Royal Hat Dinner Party

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Royal Hats

I was interviewed on the marvelous royal blog, Luxarazzi yesterday (you can read our chat here). The last question asked if I could invite six royals (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would find an invitation in their mailbox? It was an incredibly difficult question to answer but here is my response:

There are six particularly fearless royal hat wearers who immediately come to mind: Queen Elizabeth, Princess Beatrix, Queen Mathilde, Queen Máxima, the Countess of Wessex and Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Sheikha of Dubai. I would love to hear each of these royal ladies’ approach to hat wearing, their funniest stories involving hats and how much input they have (or would like to have) in the design process. Of course, dinner would not be complete without asking about their favourite and least favourite hats.

After more thought, I need to stretch my dinner table to include the Duchess of Cornwall as well.

As we move into the weekend, dear readers, I pose this same question to you: If you could invite six royals (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would find an invitation in their mailbox? I look forward to hearing your responses!

Photos from Patrick van Katwijk via Monarchy Press; Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty; Remko delWaal via AFP; Stephen Lock/Rex Features via i-Images ; Dean Mouhtaropoulos, Chris Jackson, and Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty

One Hat, Seven Dresses, Trousers And A Gown

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Royal Hats

Royal Hats Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is well-known on this blog for her dramatic hats. One of the hat shapes she has embraced in recent years is the ‘slice’- a picture hat with the brim folded sharply upward on one side and downward on the other to create a hat that appears to sit diagonally on the wearer’s head. One of my favourite of Queen Máxima’s ‘slice’ hats is a natural straw version designed by Fabienne Delvigne. Máxima has paired this hat with four different dresses and a pant suit – I am curious, dear readers, which pairing do you think was most successful?

Look 1: With an orange organza pleated dress for the Monaco royal wedding, July 2, 2011

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Look 2: Blue and white floral peplum dress worn in Brunei, January 21, 2013 and in Gelderland, May 30, 2013

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Look 3: Pastel silk striped dress and pink cardigan worn in Singapore, January 24, 2013

Queen Máxima, January 24, 2013 in Fabienne Delvigne | Royal Hats

Look 4: Queen Máxima also paired this hat with a monochrome bowed blouse and trousers in May this year for the Cordaid centenary.

Queen Máxima , May 23, 2014 in Fabienne Delvigne | Royal Hats

UPDATE: Since this post was initially published, Queen Máxima has worn this hat with the following looks:

Look 5: with an aqua and gold printed dress to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Maastricht on August 30, 2014.

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UPDATE: Look #6: A surprise pairing with a Claes Iversen silk blouse and embroidered skirt for Prinsjesdag on September 20, 2016 which elevated the hat into super formal wear.

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Look #7: With a textural, open-weave Natan dress on October 10, 2017 while on state visit to Portugal

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Look #8: With a purple embroidered Natan dress on June 21, 2018 to open a new building and on September 27, 2018 to launch an anti-loneliness campaign