God save the queen.
Or at least those fabu lous hats.
Her Majesty, Elizabeth II of England, gave a lesson in fashion deportment during her six-day stateside jaunt, which included stops in Jamestown, Va.
; the Kentucky Derby; and the White House itself.
This is a look that hasn\'t varied much during the last 40 of her 81 years: demure, ladylike suits in a veritable 64-pack of Crayolas. Her brooch is often pinned above her left breast.
Her shoes are prim, sensible pumps, generally in black or white. The queen also is a well-gloved woman, most likely single-handedly (double-handedly?) keeping British glove makers in business.
Trends may come and go, but the queen remains the same. Elizabeth has rarely been caught in an unscripted her hemline, her knees are firmly locked together no matter carriage. It\'s as though she decided how a queen should dress just after she was crowned in 1952, and hasn\'t appropriate, consistently proper and, well, more than a bit side curls and swept-back bangs, and indeed, it\'s not dollar bills.
But for a woman who often wears a tiara, perch for a crown or a hat.
She not only wore a hat to the Kentucky Derby, as is tradition, but at nearly every stop along her way, allowing plenty of opportunities for mild ribbing.
To me, her ever-present chapeaux always have represented herself in her wardrobe.
Her hats are no mere sun protection -- they are usually fancifully, fantastically ornamented, with feathers and pins and rosettes, bows and ribbons and pompoms, her brims tilted a rakish angle. The colors are vibrant, bringing to mind marzipan candy and Martha Unlike in America, hats still play a major role in British style, with women sporting them for weddings, funerals and other formal events. There are hat makers in Britain -- adulation we reserve for celebrities here.
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