Posted on by V.G. Farrell

Royal Ascot: Day One Hats

Day One at Royal Ascot was full of white/cream coloured hats gracing royal heads.

Duchess of Cambridge

My favourite of the day is worn by the Duchess of Cambridge. It is remarkably similar to what she wore head to toe last year. The Telegraph noticed that too.

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Designer: Unknown. Dress by Alexander McQueen.

Duchess of Cornwall

The Duchess of Cornwall (fka Camilla Parker-Bowles) wore one of her larger than life hats.

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This is a new hat. Designer: Philip Treacy.

Next up, some honourable mentions.

I always seem to love the hats worn by Zara Philips Tindall (daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips) and the Countess of Wessex (Prince Edward’s wife).

Countess of Wessex

Here is Sophie Wessex arriving at the Royal meeting with her husband and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The hat is embellished with straw curls.

Embed from Getty ImagesSophie Wessex, Day One, Royal Ascot 2017.

This a new hat. Designer: Jane Taylor. Dress by Emilia Wickstead.

Zara Tindall

Here’s my girl. She never disappoints. Love the playfulness of this hat worn by Zara. Described by the designer as a “white sloped beret in visca straw trimmed with an upturned bow in three tones of blue.”

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Designer: Sarah Cant.

Looking for more? Hop over to the Royal Hats blog.

More millinery fun to come.

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Posted on by V.G. Farrell

A look at world reknown Lock & Co. hats for ladies

Lock & Co. hatters shop front. London.
Lock & Co. hatters shop front. London.

There are few things in life I love more than hats. My dream is to someday have a hat made by Lock & Co. hatters.

Lock & Co. Hatters (formally James Lock and Company Limited) is the world’s oldest hat shop, the world’s 34th oldest family-owned business and holds two Royal warrants. Its shop is located at 6 St James’s Street, London and is a Grade II listed building.

Here are some recent favorite women’s hats created by Lock & Co. hatters.

Click Image to Read New York Times article.
Click Image to Read New York Times article.

 

The above are just a few ladies’ hats. Lock & Co. are also reknown for their men’s hats.

Related Reading

“Centuries of Hats“, by Ginanne Brownell Mitic, New York Times, March 29, 2016

Posted on by V.G. Farrell

Choose a hat that suits your face shape

Clara, writing for jazzy UK milliner Karen Henricksen in the Style Guides, Women’s Hats section, says:

There are many rules relating to face shapes and what hat styles do or don’t work… Here at Karen Henriksen HQ we think those rules are useful, but should be taken with a pinch of salt. We thought it might be useful to create a style guide specific to Karen’s unique hats. But please feel free to experiment and be playful!

Go there now »

Posted on by V.G. Farrell

Dramatic pillbox design from Karen Henriksen

Love grey. Love hats done in fine straw. Love the delightfully different.

Karen Henricksen expresses all three in this wonderful pillbox she shared with us on Twitter.

These are the sort of hats dreams are made of. I do dream of wearing a hat like this!

Posted on by V.G. Farrell

Gorgeous hats worn by Zara Phillips Tindall

Here is a collection of gorgeous hats worn by Zara Phillips Tindall. Zara looks fabulous and is not afraid to experiment with the avante garde.

I have often wondered why Zara does not go by the title Princess. She is after all the granddaughter of HM The Queen and daughter of The Princess Royal.

So I looked it up and came across this:

While many little girls dream of being a princess, Zara Tindall (whose grandmother is the Queen herself!) is glad she grew up without a royal title.

Zara’s mother, Princess Anne, famously turned down Queen Elizabeth‘s offer to make her daughter a princess when she was born.

Zara, 34, and her older brother, Peter, 37, were not entitled to royal status by birth since titles can only be given to a monarch’s grandchildren through sons, not daughters. But the Queen extended a courtesy title to Anne’s children, which she declined.

Their father, Captain Mark Phillips, was a commoner and also turned down a title that would have been given to him as a wedding gift from the Queen when he wed Princess Anne.

“I’m very lucky that both my parents decided to not use the title and we grew up and did all the things that gave us the opportunity to do,” Zara told The Times in a recent interview.

More at Source »

Posted on by V.G. Farrell

Hats I like at Pippa’s wedding

The Duchess of Cambridge looks demur in a pale dusky pink percher by Jane Taylor “built on a flat straw base and features a large crin saucer brim with back fluted pleat with a silk rose and ribbon twists for trim”. Seen below with Princess Charlotte, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, and of course the bride.

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Princess Eugenie looks lovely in a “sinamay straw pillbox with abaca silk bow detail”.  The Princess is divine in that dress and while I may wish she had gone for something a little more provocative, I can see why she opted for a classic millinery look.

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Lady Gabriel Windsor’s hat is a showstopper and reminiscent of some of the Duchess of Cornwall’s hats. This one is not super sized like Camilla’s but I wonder how it would have looked with slightly larger brim. Never mind. She looks delicious. This is no doubt a Philip Treacy hat.

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Here is the mother of the bride, Carol Middleton, looking pretty in pink.

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Another another muted but chic ensemble worn by mother of the groom, Jane Matthews. She wears a “pale mist green structured beret percher trimmed with coordinating feathers”.

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Getty images as indicated.

What do you think?