The much-mocked hat worn by Princess Beatrice to Britain's royal wedding last month -- widely described as looking like a "toilet seat" -- is up for sale on eBay where bids have reached 18,400 pounds ($29,940).
The tea rose, silk hat was "the most talked about hat of the whole occasion" Harold Tilman, Chairman of the British Fashion Council, said on eBay.
The fuss over the hat worn to the royal wedding of her cousin Prince William to longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton seems to have taken Beatrice -- who is the daughter of William's uncle Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson -- by surprise too.
"I've been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted," Beatrice said on the auction site. "I hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have."
Money raised by the sale of the hat will be equally split between two charities: UNICEF and Children in Crisis.
The hat, by milliner Philip Treacy, was given a starting price of 5,000 pounds and 32 bidders have placed 60 bids in the last six days.
The eBay site has linked the auction to Facebook where members of the public have celebrated the hat design.
Treacy said he was "delighted, flattered and touched by HRH Princess' Beatrice's decision to donate the hat to charity."
The auction continues until May 22.
英國(guó)公主比特萊斯近日在易趣網(wǎng)公開(kāi)拍賣自己上月參加王室婚禮時(shí)所戴的一頂帽子,價(jià)格已升至1.84萬(wàn)英鎊(合29940美元)。這頂帽子曾備受嘲諷,不少人認(rèn)為它看起來(lái)像“馬桶圈”。
英國(guó)時(shí)裝協(xié)會(huì)主席哈羅德•提爾曼在易趣網(wǎng)上說(shuō),這頂茶玫瑰色的絲綢帽子是“這場(chǎng)王室婚禮中最受關(guān)注的帽子”。
公眾對(duì)這頂帽子的關(guān)注也令比特萊斯公主本人大吃一驚。比特萊斯公主是威廉王子的叔叔安德魯王子和前妻莎拉•佛格森的女兒,她戴這頂帽子參加了威廉王子和相戀多年的女友凱特•米德?tīng)栴D的婚禮。
比特萊斯公主在拍賣網(wǎng)站上說(shuō):“我很驚訝這頂帽子受到這么大的關(guān)注。我希望無(wú)論誰(shuí)拍得了這頂帽子,都能和我一樣為此很開(kāi)心。”
拍賣帽子所得的善款將平分捐贈(zèng)給聯(lián)合國(guó)兒童基金會(huì)和“救助危機(jī)中的兒童”公益項(xiàng)目。
這頂帽子由女帽設(shè)計(jì)師菲利普•崔西設(shè)計(jì),起拍價(jià)為五千英鎊,在過(guò)去六天已有32名競(jìng)拍者進(jìn)行了60輪競(jìng)拍。
易趣網(wǎng)將這次競(jìng)拍關(guān)聯(lián)至Facebook網(wǎng)站,網(wǎng)站上有很多公眾夸贊了帽子的設(shè)計(jì)。
崔西表示,“比特萊斯公主殿下拍賣帽子捐贈(zèng)善款的決定讓我很高興、很榮幸、也很感動(dòng)。”
拍賣將持續(xù)至5月22日。