May
The one thing which us Brits do so well is the pomp and ceremony of royal occasions, marking the centuries of history unique to the British Isles.
While we are not here to dwell on some of the darker parts of history, we truly believe that our British royal family does more good than harm – from the revenue generated by tourists hoping for a glimpse of the royal family, to the support our royals give to worthy causes. And as most 74-year-olds like will be putting up their feet and settling for a quiet life, King Charles is starting a brand new top job. And what big shoes he must fill, following the death of one of the longest serving and gracious monarchs in the world, the late Queen Elizabeth.
But what we mostly loved about the recent coronation were all the fabulous hats and outfits. Of course, the King and Queen had the most glorious headwear, but we didn’t envy them having to perch such heavy crowns on their heads – they looked distinctly uncomfortable, particularly when the Red Arrows flew over the balcony and they couldn’t even tilt their heads to look up.
And we totally loved the beautiful tiara-cum-headbands-cum-fascinators worn by the Princess of Wales, and by Princess Charlotte. By the way, I looked at her milliner’s website which does indeed have fabulous couture pieces on there, but at eye-watering prices. I think you would need more than a mortgage to have such beautiful bespoke pieces like theirs.
Our eyes were glued to the screens as the guests arrived from all parts of the globe, showcasing traditional dress and fabulous hats, hatinators and fascinators to complement their carefully chosen outfits.
I’ll be honest – there were some outfits I wouldn’t have put together (I won’t show and tell) …. with some headwear which really didn’t go with the dresses. Pastels dominated the colour themes – as they tend to do with our own customers who are mothers of the bride or groom – pinks, blues and champagne shades are always popular, but there was a smattering of orange and hot pink and vibrant emerald green.
Top outfits with matching hats for us were Katy Perry’s eye-catching lilac Vivienne Westwood outfit – though maybe the hatinator was just a little too big for the occasion – the poor people sat behind her probably couldn’t see a thing. We also liked Pippa Middleton’s elegant lemon dress with matching hatinator. MP Penny Mordaunt, who as the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council carried the 17th century Sword of State in Westminster Abbey, was wearing one of this year’s fashion trends of a caped dress, with a matching headband. While we aren’t huge fans of headbands, it was the perfect accessory for such an important role, ensuring she had perfect vision for the whole event, without having to keep a hat in place.
There were a few mismatched and in our humble opinion, unsuitable outfits, but everyone’s taste is different – which is what makes fashion fun! Head on over to our shopping pages to see some of our own beautiful designs for summer occasions.
