“Most of the ladies that come into my shop are in this sort of dilemma of ‘I have to look immaculate and perfectly groomed, but I also don't want it to look like I'm trying to steal all of the headlines from the bride,’” says Fennell. “It's a very difficult balance to get right. Once they're sat down in the church, the only thing other guests are going to see is the hat. So it really boils down to getting the hat right.”
"Once they're sat down in the church, the only thing other guests are going to see is the hat. So it really boils down to getting the hat right."
Admittedly, we’re skeptical that anyone would be able to upstage Markle on her wedding day, but we respect the sentiment.
One thing you apparently definitely won’t see at the wedding? Veiling.”You really see that more at Ascots,” says Fennell. “At a wedding like this one, there’s too much air-kissing for guests to opt for veil-detailing.”
Guests in fascinators (by the American definition) at the last royal wedding in 2011
Danny MartindaleAnd the question we've been dying to know the answer to: Will hats ever become a more consistent fixture at weddings in America? Fennell took a long pause. “I’m just as confused by this as you,” she said, finally. “I’ve worked with so many American women who are so excited by hats and love hats and want to wear hats, and yet for some reason the tradition hasn’t taken off at American weddings,” she says. “Well, certainly as of yet.”
Kate Middleton wears a fascinator (by the British definition) in 2008.
Max Mumby/IndigoOne piece of advice for anyone—on either side of the pond—looking to get the look exactly right: Don’t match your hat to your outfit. “Someone who’s never worn a hat before might come into our store and say, ‘I’m wearing a red dress so I need a red hat.’ And we’ll say, no, you need a hat that complements your outfit,” says Bonnell. “So we’ll ask, ‘What shoes are you wearing? What jewelry are you wearing? What handbag are you wearing?’ It might be nice then, to have a navy hat, with red petals going through the hat.”
“The matchy-matchy—that’s really eighties,” she concludes.
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