Hattery Event: Christening of Princess Estelle of Sweden
"Seriously, hatters, what are all of you looking at?"
What we're looking at, of course, is the christening of the future Queen Estelle of Sweden, a fabulous hattery occasion if ever there were one!
And while she chose to go hatless for the occasion, her mother pulled one of the weirdest architectural/floral mini berets I've ever seen out of her millinery closet for the day. From this angle, it just looks like flowers in her hair, but when she leans down a bit...
Yep, that happens. I really don't get it.
But Victoria was far from the only royal to go back-of-the-head with her hattery, unfortunately. We've got the always-lovely Princess Madeleine in feathers and purple netting:
Okay.
And then there's the mysterious case of Princess Mathilde's back-of-the-head turban.
Now you don't see it...
And now you still sort of don't see it. It's a bunch of gray fabric stuck to the back of her head, you'll all just have to trust me on that one.
Speaking of crumpled up gray fabric stuck to one's head:
We've got a brand-new hatter in our midst! This is Countess Stephanie de Lannoy, fiancee of Hereditary GD Guillaume of Luxembourg. Their royal wedding is scheduled for October. Clearly she's using her mother-in-law's milliner already.
Also in typical mode was the always delightful Máxima, who chose a turban (eh) in red-orange (YAY) amid the sea of drab neutrals. God love ya, Máx, we can always count on you for some panache.
Daisy went for an even bigger Baldy than usual...
... while the angels apparently told Märtha Louise that diaphenous pink with a too-tall crown was the most appropriate choice for the christening of her Scandinavian cousin.
Godmother Mary went to her hattery archive for this one -- we've seen it on her at Prince Albert's wedding and (I think?) Vincent and Josephine's christening last year. A couple of other royals have it, too. Eh.
It's fitting that one of my favorite hatters of the day was the first-time grandmother, turban and all. How regal does she look here? Very Queen Mum, and I LOVE it. (PS - did we see this from her, or something similar, at the pre-wedding events in 2010? I know it's in the archives, but I haven't trawled through. Or is it just genuinely giving me Queen Mother flashbacks?)
What I didn't exactly love was this:
Oh, Snake Lady. An invite to this event suggests that you're firmly in the royal fold, so I'll be nice. But seriously, maybe you shouldn't really pick just-rolled-out-of-bed hair with your fascinator for your maybe-niece's christening -- sends a slightly odd message. Godspeed, Miss Slitz!
And that's it from Stockholm today! Next up -- Jubilee time! Get excited, hatters!
PHOTO CREDITS: Chris Jackson/Getty Images, Scanpix, AP Photo/Claudio Bresciani, Pool, Chris Jackson/WireImage, Chris Jackson/WireImage, PPE, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/GettyImages, PPE, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/GettyImages, Chris Jackson/Getty Images, Chris Jackson/Getty Images, Chris Jackson/WireImage, AP Photo/Pontus Lundahl, Pool
Tags: beige, fascinator, feathers, flowers, gray, navy, netting, orange, pink, purple, turban, white
First off: Estelle is one expressive-faced baby! All the photos I saw of her cracked me up.
Moving on to the hattery: I loved Victoria's little beret/fascinator hybrid, especially the color. Sylvia's turban also got huge points from me as well; if it's not going to have a brim, I love what she wore as an alternative. Máxima almost always brightens my day anyday, and I'm so glad she brought out some color (especially one that she looks so sexy in--er, can I say that?), even though the turban is somewhat disappointing; bring back the giant brims Máx! I was also beyond surprised to see Daisy bust out new hats at this event and the military parade at Windsor Castle last weekend; this one isn't my favorite, but I give it a thumbs up for something new and not being that dreaded Adidas monstrosity (*shudder*).
I was rather underwhelmed by the rest mainly due to the lack of color and/or creativity, but it's nice to see some royals reappearing on the blog (Märtha Louise) or making their debut (Countess Stephanie de Lannoy, who I thought took her cue from Queen Paola this time).
My favorite picture is the one where Victoria is holding the baby, with her cheek next to the baby's head. Just beautiful. Lucky Estelle.
That's one cute baby and a lovely shot of her mum and dad with big smiles on their faces (maybe she'd just let rip a humungous baby burp
).
The adults in the party obviously got the round robin email that specified pale, neutral colours ... and then Max and Daisy decided to ignore it! You go girls!!
I never noticed what beautiful legs Mathilde has. Usually I don't like skirts above the knee for adult women, but she pulled it off. Especially the one where she's going down the steps. So elegant and graceful - I love her whole look.
I really liked Martha Louise’s hat. From the picture it looks really pretty and elegant.
I actually like the fascinator Carl’s girlfriend is wearing. (Plz don’t hate me!) From another picture, at a different angle, it looked really nice and flattering.
MrFitzroy predicts, given the amount of personality that the young Princess projects...we shall rarely see her out of the press for the next 70 or so years! What a little firecracker!
Madeleine is stunning, if underplaying it a bit to make sure she held the supporting role of adoring aunt and not grabbing the spotlight.
No question that Silvia's hat immediately channeled thoughts of the late Queen Mother, and in a most charming way. Overall Sil's outfit seemed like it could have easily been a stunning mother-of-the-bride ensemble (she must have an extra stashed away from Mad's upended nuptials) -- but it's also perfect for an elegant Queen-Granny.
I sincerely hope that the next British heir is a boy. There is no way Princess Estelle would put up with a British upstart!
I'm ususally a big Max and Mary fan but Mathilde is really bringing it here (though I could live without her hat).
One just for Ella. I found this picture of she who shall not be named ... it may be my eyes but I swear we can see her underwear. Not a very refined choice when you're hob-nobbing with a Royal Family, officially, for the first time.
http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/201205228128/princess-estelle-baptism-guests/
Oh dear, what a lovely set of parents and that delicious baby! Who cares what the guests decided to wear; it was her day!
They all looked lovely but Silvia wins for best hat IMO.