The Most Memorable, Bizarre, and Fetching Fascinators in Recent History
By Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.Naomi Campbell
The British model topped her Alexander McQueen dress with something peach and floral for the July 2011 wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock.
By Scott Heppell/AP/REX/Shutterstock.Princess Beatrice
A princess in name, but the queen of wearing small hats, Princess Beatrice is shown here wearing an old favorite: a Philip Treacy straw beret with a dollop of a white silk rose and looping bits. The occasion was Lady Melissa Percy and Thomas van Straubenzee’s June 2013 wedding. (The couple did not make it, but Beatrice did wear this fascinator again.)
By Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock.Kate Middleton
The Duchess of Cambridge attended the Diamond Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral in this delicious-looking Jane Taylor Millinery topper. The beaded base was zhuzhed up with silk tulle and organza discs, plus a veil.
By Beretta Sims/REX/Shutterstock.Donna Air
The Dancing on Ice star, who was dating James Middleton at the time, wore a Jane Taylor Millinery fascinator to Pippa Middleton’s wedding. (Kate wore a different hat by the same designer.)
By Joanne Davidson/Silverhub/REX/Shutterstock.Princess Beatrice
Ah, the fascinator that will go down in infamy. This playful Philip Treacy piece turned heads internationally at her cousin Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011.
By Joanne Davidson/Silverhub/REX/Shutterstock.Princess Eugenie
Not to be outdone by her big sister, Princess Eugenie also wore a colossal chapeau by Philip Treacy to William and Kate’s wedding (though it was Beatrice’s hat that sold in a charity auction for over $100,000).
By Stephen Lock/REX/Shutterstock.Lady Emily Compton
What does one wear on one’s head to the funeral of Isabella Blow, noted advocate for headwear? Here, Lady Emily Compton with just one woman’s answer. (The late Blow, for the record, wore Philip Treacy.)
From REX/Shutterstock.Princess Eugenie, Fergie, and Princess Beatrice
The mother and her two daughters wore a trio of tiny but emphatic pieces to Chloe Delevingne’s September 2007 wedding.
By Tom Buchanan/Silverhub/REX/Shutterstock.Pippa Middleton
The younger Middleton daughter attended Lady Melissa Percy’s 2013 wedding wearing what looks like some sort of insect perched on her forehead. Upon closer inspection, it’s innocuous feathers painted silver over a cluster of pearls. Righto!
By Sean Gallup/WireImage.Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
In 2012, then-princess Maxima attended the nuptials of Luxembourg’s Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie wearing an extensive plume.
By David Hartley/Rupert Hartley/REX/Shutterstock.Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice
Perhaps these two have grown soft in their old age (a joke!), for their fascinators have diminished in size and verve. Still, these are two delightful examples of the form worn at the Easter Matins service at Windsor Castle in 2017.
From REX/Shutterstock.Victoria Beckham
Philip Treacy strikes again with this classic-looking piece sitting atop Victoria Beckham’s head for Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding.
By Sean Gallup/WireImage.Countess Luisa de Lannoy
The countess attended the wedding ceremony of her sister-in-law, Princess Stéphanie, to Prince Guillaume, heir apparent to the throne of Luxembourg, in this swooped masterpiece.
By Scott Heppell/AP/REX/Shutterstock.Pippa Middleton
Pippa attended the wedding of Lady Katie Percy in February 2011, which prompted at least one headline to call it a “dress rehearsal for Kate’s sister.” (Another fun fact unrelated to hats: the Percy family’s Alnwick Castle plays Hogwarts in Harry Potter.)
By Tim Graham Picture Library/POOL/Getty Images.Princess Beatrice
We end as we must: with a custom Philip Treacy piece alighting on Princess Beatrice’s head. She wore the tiny dreamscape for the marriage of her cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly in 2008. Hats off to her, indeed.
