Flat cap comeback

TOPPING off your outfit with panache used to mean an appointment at the milliner's.

These days the girl about town is likely to reach for something that would be much more at home in her grandfather's wardrobe.

Flat caps, in tweed, check or plain worsted styles, have become the headturning accessories of the moment.

Gwyneth Paltrow, known for her cool brand of understated elegance, plonked one over her blonde ponytail when she had dinner at one of London's most fashionable restaurants.

While the rest of the diners at Nobu in Mayfair were smartly turned out, the 30-year-old actress looked a little more homespun.

'Flat caps are not generally worn

at places like Nobu - it's usually much smarter than that,' an onlooker said.

'But Gwyneth didn't seem to care and wore the hat with pride.

'Some people didn't recognise her at first, which might have had something to do with the flat cap.

'Whatever the reason the general consensus seemed to be that she would have looked better without it.'

Miss Paltrow has hardly led the way for the flat cap fraternity.

Cameron Diaz, Martine McCutcheon, Patsy Palmer, Britney Spears and Gail Porter are among those who already favour them for bad hair days. Madonna has taken to wearing matching caps with her husband Guy Ritchie while Billie Piper, the wife of Chris Evans, also has a selection.

Milliner Cozmo Jenks, whose clients include the Countess of Wessex, admits to having a soft spot for flat caps. 'If you want to wear a hat that doesn't stand out so much then they are ideal,' she said.

'I think they look quite cool and are definitely moving away from the old-fashioned image they used to have.'

l.benjamin@dailymail.co.uk

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