Jackie covers drama and lifestyle content on GBH.org. She is a writer, editor, and content producer with an abiding love for the weirder side of the internet, and the creator, producer and host of GBH's Drama After Dark.
April 26, 2026
As the first season of The Forsytes comes to an end (and what a bombshell of an ending!) we find ourselves just one week away from an event that in many ways is as close as Americans get to the fashion and culture we’ve just seen on screen: the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby began in 1875, right around the setting of The Forsytes. At the time, fabulous hats would have been worn as a matter of course; in fact, the hat fashions became so extravagant that they nearly led to the extinction of certain bird species. As time went on, fashions changed, but hats remained a horse race mainstay. To celebrate the Forsyte family’s marvelous millinery, we’ve compiled a gallery of some of the best toppers from this season so you can get a closer look.
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Ann (Francesca Annis) dons a feathered hat for her grandson's wedding.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Frances (Tuppence Middleton) matches her hat to her gown. Her hats often feature flowers rather than feathers.
Photographer: Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Frances (Tuppence Middleton) wears a woven hat with berry and flower details to the races
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Winifred (Eleanor Jackson) favors simpler designs than her sister-in-law Frances.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Mrs Heron (Fiona Button) wears a woven hat with minimal adornments while Irene (Millie Gibson) has a hat with a veil and more flowers to reflect both her innocence and her heightened financial position as a future Forsyte.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Frances (Tuppence Middleton) wears a showstopper that's just shy of upstaging the bride at Soames and Irene's wedding.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Winifred (Eleanor Jackson) and June (Justine Moore) both wear hats that show their status and their place within the family; Winifred as the established daughter with a dubious husband, and June as the next generation carrying the weight of her family's expectations.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Ann (Francesca Annis) wears a hat that oozes simplicity but doesn't skimp on luxury, with a profusion of feathers and bows.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Frances' riding hat seems simple, but it features lush fabrics and a long veil.
Lady Carteret (Susan Hampshire), Ellen (Josette Simon), and other guests at the fundraiser sport effusive hats for an outdoor event.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Mrs Heron (Fiona Button) and Irene (Millie Gibson) dress for mourning in black hats and veils.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Philip (Jamie Flatters) wears a coonskin cap which reflects his social status as a working-class outsider.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Ellen (Josette Simon), Frances (Tuppence Middleton), Lady Carteret (Susan Hampshire), and others all wear a variety of hats for this outdoor event.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Alicia (Sharon Rose), sports a fascinator with feathers and bows.
Sean Gleason / Courtesy of Mammoth Screen & MASTERPIECE
Jackie covers drama and lifestyle content on GBH.org. She is a writer, editor, and content producer with an abiding love for the weirder side of the internet, and the creator, producer and host of GBH's Drama After Dark.
