Tom Ford - Princess Beatrice Couldn't Carry Off Hat

Princess Beatrice Couldn't Carry Off Hat

TOM FORD says Princess Beatrice didn't have the right skills to pull off the hat she wore to the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The redheaded royal caused a worldwide sensation when she turned up to the April 29 nuptials wearing an over-the-top Philip Treacy creation and while the hat was widely slammed, Tom believes there was nothing wrong with the headwear. Instead, he thinks it was too much for Beatrice and someone like the late Isabella Blow could've done it Justice.

The designer told Bergdorf Goodman's blog: "I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but at the Royal Wedding, one of the princesses wore a now-very-famous (or infamous), Philip Treacy hat - that hat wore her.

"Now, Isabella Blow, a woman those of us in fashion knew well - had she worn the same hat, it would have looked great. She would have worn the hat. She knew what she was about, what she wanted to express in fashion."

In May, the outlandish headpiece - which had been likened to a pretzel and a cat flap - sold for $131,000 by an unnamed person on auction website eBay.

Beatrice admitted she was "amazed" by the comments her headwear attracted but said she was pleased to raise funds for children's charities Unicef and Children in Crisis by auctioning it.

In a statement on eBay she said: "I've been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to raise as much money as possible for two fantastic charities. I Hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have."