Now that she's has been in the public eye for over a decade, we've really gotten a sense of Kate Middleton's royal style. She does mix things up every once in a while, and her style has really evolved (especially since Meghan Markle came around with her pantsuits and camel-colored coats), but mostly Kate falls back on a pretty reliable set of closet staples. Among them are coat dresses, pumps, tights, and all those gorgeous hats. Kate Middleton loves a headpiece, and she wears one so well.
Kate has been seen in full-on hats, fascinators, and even large headbands for years, and a pattern has emerged. Kate loves to coordinate her hat to her outfit so they're usually all one color and make a solid look from head to toe.
Kate's fascination with fascinators that match the rest of her look isn't surprising. She's always been unafraid to stick to one color palette throughout a look. She'll pair navy tights with navy shoes and a navy bag, gloves, dress, and hat. (For real, that photo is on this list and it's a must-see.) Kate even loves to coordinate her outfits with her daughter, Charlotte, during their public outings. And, sure, she probably has a royal stylist helping her pair items, but the obsession with color coordination makes it seem like it's also Kate's preference.
In the US, it isn't all that common to wear hats that aren't baseball caps or hats to block sun at the pool. But in England, hats are all the rage. Formal events usually require women in attendance to wear a headpiece, and because Kate attends so many fancy functions, she has quite the hat selection. Unlike with her dresses, she actually doesn't rewear them often. Sometimes she'll repeat a gown but go with a new hat to shake up the style.
Here are 20 times Kate's headpieces were the cherry on top of her color-coordinated outfits.
Glowing in Green
For a St. Patrick's Day celebration, Kate went all out with her green look. (No one was gonna be pinching her!) Her green felt hat goes perfectly with her wool coat dress, and we just love the little bow on top. It makes her look like a springtime bunny out in the green grass. She always pulls out all the stops for this holiday, but this was definitely one of her best looks over the years.
The Potato Chip Hat
This hat has been compared to a potato chip, and people aren't wrong to call it that. But even though it does look like a snack food, it's also a pretty fun fascinator. The color and fabric of the hat perfectly meshes with her pale patterned coat dress. Plus, the flowers are a fun touch that keep it from looking too potato chip-esque. Kate must not have minded the criticism, because she's worn similar hats since.
Potato Chip Part Two
The return of the potato chip hat! Well, not exactly. This one is very similar to the potato chip version, but it is a little less extreme and a little more yellow in tone than beige. It looks so pretty with her pastel yellow dress, especially with all of the flouncy flowers and fabric curlicues coming from under the fascinator. This toned-down chip look is A-OK in our books, Kate!
Spotted
Kate's black and white spotted dress meant she could basically go two directions with her headpiece, and wear a white fascinator or a black one. She chose a midnight-colored straw one with a crafty bow to highlight the black spots in her frock. She also wore it forward on her head and more centered, rather than to the side, which she has also done from time to time. She looks so flawless.
Pretty in Pink
This photo was taken at the 2013 Trooping the Colour, about a month before Prince George was born. The pink of her outfit may have made some people guess she was carrying a little girl. That turned out not to be the case, but she looked radiant here either way. We love that she carried the sweet pastel look all the way up to her straw and lace hat.
Outdoorsy
This woolen page boy hat is another bold choice for the Duchess of Cambridge, but it was perfect for the occasion. She was outdoors and it was snowing. She needed some warmth from her head attire that a fascinator just wouldn't give. Plus, she was with the scouts, so she needed to keep it a little casual for roasting things on a fire. We love how well the color of her jacket goes with her cap.
All Dressed in White
One color that Kate doesn't actually wear that often is solid white. But this crisp white coat dress looks so gorgeous on her, especially when paired with the white straw fascinator that's topped with a delicate curled feather. White goes with anything, so she could have gone with a colored hat, but the outfit makes even more of an impression with it all color coordinated.
Cowgirl for the Day
We're pretty used to seeing Kate wear fancy fascinators to events, but this was a total style switch-up for the royal. The hat was a fitting choice for the Calgary Stampede Parade in Canada, but it was no less shocking to see Kate having fun in a cowboy hat, jeans, and a giant silver belt buckle. We do love that she's wearing such a fancy sheer lace blouse to offset the rest of her rugged look.
Flouncy Fascinator
For this event, Kate went with a bubblegum pink dress and matching straw hat. To break up the color palette a little, she opted for a fascinator with several ribbons in varying shades of pink. It's still coordinated, still on theme, but a little more interesting for the eye. She's such a pro at knowing how much matching would be too much, and then she shakes it up a tad.
The Groutfit
An all-gray outfit is commonly referred to as a "groutfit," and that's totally what Kate is rocking here all the way up to her head. It's not all one block of color, thanks to the plaid pattern of the coat dress, but it is all in the same color family. Instead of a straw fascinator, she went with a felt one adorned with sheer gray ribbons. The effect gives a lightness to the headpiece that's necessary considering the sort of darker, drab color of the felt.
Stunning in Silver
Here's a new one for the duchess! For a 2014 balcony appearance, Kate went with an unusual (for her) color palette. Usually she sticks with colors of the rainbow, but she donned a silver-toned coat and skirt for this event. She topped it off with a silver straw hat bedecked with flowery appliqué. She was absolutely shining in this look, and it deserves a gold medal — even though it's a silver outfit.
A Different Way To Match
Instead of opting for a green hat to match her green dress for St. Patrick's Day, Kate opted for a black hat to match the rest of her outfit. The pregnant mom-to-be wore a black turtleneck, black tights, black gloves, and black shoes to keep warm on the chilly March day, and that's the color she choose to coordinate her fascinator with. She's always gonna keep us on our toes, stylewise.
Royal Wedding
For Princess Eugenie's wedding, Kate opted for a crisp magenta gown and a frilly fascinator to match. This hat was a little more done up than some of her more everyday ones, likely because of the high-profile occasion. In addition to the magenta silk body of the hat, it features a cascade of matching flowers and magenta netting to tie the whole look together.
Seeing Red
The duchess wore this stunning red ensemble in March 2019 for a Commonwealth Day service, but she previously wore the dress with a different red hat on a trip to Australia in 2014. That time, she went with a red Jackie Kennedy-style pillbox hat. In 2019, she updated to more of a traditional red felt fascinator. She rocked both looks.
Black Velvet
This is a much more subtle touch of coordination than Kate usually goes for. Instead of matching her headgear to her gray dress, she matched the sleek black velvet fascinator to the velvet collar on the dress. She also opted for a black clutch to keep the look cohesive. We can't see her legs in this picture, but she's wearing black tights and black heels.
Feathers for Days
Kate was back to her matchy-matchy game for this April 2019 appearance. With the exception of her clutch, which is green, and her gloves, which are navy blue — everything else she's wearing is this rich blue color. Because she kept her actual dress pretty modest, we love that she went for a bold hat. The feathers that top this fascinator make the look totally fascinating. (Pardon the pun.)
Robin's Egg Blue
Kate took her coordination skills to a whole new level here. Not only is she wearing a stunning pale blue dress and fascinator, but she even dressed little Princess Charlotte and Prince George in light blue. Kate loves a matching moment, and she made sure it was full blown at the 2018 Trooping the Colour. She knew she was going to be photographed a lot on that balcony, and she wanted to make sure her family didn't come to play with color choices.
Somber Black
Remembrance Day in the UK is a day to honor those lost in battle, so it's not appropriate to wear bright colors. For the 2019 service, Kate went with a strong black coat dress accentuated with a black fascinator complete with black netting. She wouldn't have looked out of place at a funeral, and that's the whole point. She never misses a fashion step, even when mourning the country's fallen soldiers.
Pastel Blue
This dress is maybe one of the prettiest things Kate has worn. It's all stunning lace and tulle and mesh, and we will never get over it. The cherry on top of this pastel dream was the duchess's hat in all its color-coordinated glory. The oversized flower, the fabric … everything about it is absolutely perfect and completes this beautiful look in the best way.
All Navy, All Day
This is the match-iest outfit we have ever seen. Kate is not wearing a single other color besides navy blue. Her shoes, tights, dress, gloves, purse, and hat all feature that color. Prince William also opted for a navy suit. It's a whole lotta monochromatic, but it also doesn't look bad. Kate loves to match so much that we're kind of used to it. We do love that she went with a wide-brimmed hat for the occasion, to shake things up from her fascinators.
