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The royal red carpet outside Westminster Abbey was a hotspot for fashionable ladies and gents, not least the celebrity guests but the noble gentry dressed to impress! The fashion forward guests donned top designer labels with suitably tasteful designer hats. Some of my favourite examples of trend-led designs were worn by the sister of Lord Frederick Windsor, Lady Gabriella, and the elegant wife of Crown Prince Pavlos, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal.
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Stylish and flattering, both styles are a tilted disc form with feature antique-style silk roses at the point where it meets the head. Styles such as these were featured heavily at the wedding with the Mother of the Bride Carole Middleton wearing a slightly more reserved disc Hattenator. Designed by Milliner Jane Corbett to compliment her Catherine Walker ensemble, it had matching satin piping and frog braid detail at the front, and too had focal detail at the ‘under-crown’.
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Maintaining the trend for asymmetric hattenators, royal style icon Zara Phillips chose a gunmetal coloured buckram disc with accentuated crown and twist side detail, by royal milliner and celebrity favourite, Philip Treacy.
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Even the more senior ladies of the royal family were eager to show their inner fashionista with Queen Sofia and Camilla sporting uniquely transparent styles. With these examples the brim reaches higher than the crown but is made from an open weave, or ‘waffle’ sinamay to allow for a semi-transparent effect across the crown. Soft muted colours such as Taupe, Duck egg blue and Ivory were warming for their skin tones and very demure for the older lady.
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Having said that I think that we were all pleasantly pleased to see the Queen in such a joyful spring shade of Primrose. Many others and myself were convinced it would be blue, but Her Royal Majesty dressed to reflect the mood of the day perfectly, splashing out the sunshine tone in an Angela Kelly ensemble. The hat itself was very traditional with silk ribbon roses and it appeared to be made from felt as opposed to the popular summer fabric sinamay. She wore the Queen Mary’s True Lovers Knot brooch upon her coat lapel, in keeping with the happy occasion!
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Although there were many contemporary trend led shapes at the wedding, it was also nice to see shapes from past fashion trends. I particularly loved this 1970’s inspired hat worn by Prince Albert of Monaco’s bride-to-be Charlene Wittstock. It is simple yet sophisticated and the floppy shaped brim with shallow domed crown is reminiscent of the casual styled sun hats that were featured at London fashion week and that are so on-trend at present!
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It was Retro style for Crown Princess Letizia. Influenced clearly by the 1940’s this almost Cloche style hat is a vintage triumph and the inclusion of lace and millinery face veil, finishes the look perfectly, well done Pablo y Mayaya!
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When I spotted this Fascinator worn by Frances Osborne, I was instantly reminded of the fashion image by Henry Clarke, very retro fifties glamour! The statement coque feathers with their natural markings are classic and the combination of black and white is striking.
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Fascinators are still a popular choice for wedding guests and race-goers alike, and it was nice to see a variety of styles, many of them refreshingly different from the classic sinamay twist with a few feathers!
Here are some of my favourites…
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I particularly love the the mix of textures in the examples worn by Prince William’s cousins, and the floral elements juxtaposed against the more gnarly forms. As ever Victoria Beckham is setting tends, with influxes of requests for her style of mini-hat/fascinator, I’m sure this new style will prove popular, although maybe only for a limited time!
Hats were predominant throughout the sea of colour and feathers, and as the cameras panned around Westminster Abbey, it was refreshing to see the variety of styles and shapes worn by the dignitary. A surprise for me was the number of shallow domed crowns with curved, smooth lined brims, that had been blocked as one piece. They were almost oriental in their style, yet stylish and contemporary! There were also plenty of traditional shapes on show, and many very similar in shape to the popular designs that we have to offer in our Boutique range! Below we see a guest wearing what appears to be an Ann Balon two-piece, an occasion-wear designer that feature our coordinated hats in their new catalogue!
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Whatever the event there are no excuses not to wear a hat or fascinator. They are the best way to finish off an outfit, express your personality, and can really make statement about your style.
Remember to choose a style that suits you and you feel comfortable in, and always carefully colour match your accessories. An outfit can be ruined by a mis-matched hat or fascinator, so contact us and we will be happy to prevent any fashion mishaps with our colour matching service!
Happy Hat Hunting!!!
Tomorrow look out for our blog on the Boutique Collection hat that was spotted in the front row of Westminster Abbey!
See our choice of hats perfect for a Royal Wedding here
