Fancy Hats Are Still The Rage At Royal Weddings * Age of Grace

In America, we have the Kentucky Derby, a horse race held on the first Saturday in May. The annual tradition calls for women to wear lavish and elaborate hats. When it comes to headwear, the bigger and bolder, the better. Now, I didn’t get to go to the Kentucky Derby, but watching Meghan Markle marry Prince Harry made me want to get out the fascinator that I never wore. Did you view the royal wedding? Everyone wore such fancy hats.

It’s a British royal wedding tradition to wear hats or fascinators. Meghan and Harry’s wedding was star-studded, and their high-profile guests wore over-the-top millinery at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel. When church and religion come into play, sometimes we have rules to follow, unlike last week’s post of the Met Gala Red Carpet interpretations of Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Church.

It’s impressive in this day and age to see etiquette in practice. A few rules of etiquette for attendance at the royal wedding:

♥ Formal Attire
◊ No white for female guests
♥ Hemlines Conservative
◊ Closed-Toe Shoes
♥ Shoulders Covered
◊ No Super High Heels
♥ No Bare Legs
◊ Cover Your Head
♥ Proper Attire for Men as Well
◊ No Social Media

While Paris gets all the attention internationally, British women’s claim to fame seems to be their spectacular hat toppers.

So, what exactly is a fascinator? A fascinator hat is a small ornamental headpiece that fits on the head using an Alice-band-type base or headband or even a tiny comb. It is always lightweight and usually features feathers, beads, or flowers. The term fascinator began in the 1990s when such headpieces became famous for wearing at weddings without ruining your hairstyle or giving you a helmet head.

Great Fascinator Moments:

Female Guests at The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Wedding:

One of the first guests to arrive at the Windsor Castle chapel, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey donning her custom Phillip Treacy pink hat and long-sleeved, pink Stella McCartney dress. I saw great monochromatic looks from Amal Clooney in yellow, Victoria Beckham in navy, Priyanka Chopra in lavender, and her Phillip Treacy hat.

My favorite royal wedding look was Meghan’s former Suits co-star actress Gina Torres. Torres stood out in a bright orange print from Greek fashion house Costarellos, a white fedora, with a matching nude clutch and heels.

Meghan and Doria riding in Rolls Royce — Meghan Markel and her Mom, Doria Ragland, are riding to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in a burgundy Rolls Royce.

Doria Ragland wearing mint Oscar del a Renta — Doria Ragland, Meghan Markel’s Mom, leaves the Rolls Royce before Meghan enters St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Image credit: Getty

Meghan Markel and Prince Harry at Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel. — The royal wedding of Rachel Meghan Markel and Prince Harry on Saturday, May 19, 2018. Meghan is wearing a Clare Waight Keller’s Givenchy gown. Her tiara, borrowed from Queen Elizabeth, is Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara. Side note: I love seeing the image of the bride’s mother, Doria, in this photo. Getty Image

I got up on Saturday, May 19, at 5 a.m. (with the rest of the world, it seems) to see the first American biracial woman to become a princess. The moments that stood out to me include Karen Gibson and the Kingdom Choir singing “Stand By Me.” I also loved the sermon address by the Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry of Chicago and the 19-year-old cello player. Finally, the Etta James song “This Little Light of Mine” rendition as the newlyweds exited the chapel was beautiful.