Royal Outfit of the Day: January 17

 

Last summer, Princess Marie-Chantal (left) wore an Oscar de la Renta Spring 2013 embellished dress (runway, center) for Princess Madeleine's pre-wedding dinner. At this year's Golden Globe Awards, Michelle Dockery of "Downton Abbey" fame (right) sported the same look.

You know, I very nearly included M-C's look in my honorable mentions for 2013, and when I saw it pop up this past weekend at the Globes, my appreciation for the royal styling grew even more. In the epic battle of "Who wore it best?", I have to give this one to M-C because the shoes and her overall bearing are making the look. This is one dress that benefits from the eh, I wear couture to grab the morning paper attitude, if you get what I'm saying. Et toi?

(Celebrity fashion isn't within our normal scope here, but I can't let a reference to the awards pass without saying LUPITA! and CAPES! That is all. If you missed the Globes gown parade, Buzzfeed's got the quickest fashion wrap up.)

Photos: Getty Images/Style.com

Royal Trend Watch: Metallics for Madeleine

The festivities have begun! The King and Queen hosted a pre-wedding dinner this evening for Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill, and I'm already a happy girl because I spy a trend among the ladies: metallics, and really all sorts of things that glitter and shine. You know it doesn't take much to make this magpie happy.

The royal family and the O'Neill family

The bride herself started the trend in a wonderfully metallic Elie Saab, and she's my favorite because I'm terribly predictable like that. Victoria also brought a bit of shine to the occasion with the top of her Jenny Packham gown (which nearly became a cocktail dress thanks to the wind outside, threatening to reveal more than we need to know about quite a few of the ladies present, poor loves). Even the top of Queen Silvia's gown is made to sparkle, though - dare I say it - I'm detecting a hint of eau de figure skater.

Madeleine's Elie Saab, Victoria's Jenny Packham

(Also rocking Elie Saab, though not of the embellished variety, was Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie.)

Plenty of guests got in on the shimmery action in one way or another.

L to R: Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Princess Tatiana of Greece, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Princess Charlene of Monaco

Two of our Greek princesses went sparkly, M-C in her Oscar de la Renta - I'm more interested in her shoes, to tell you the truth. WANT. - and Tatiana in her sparkle toned down with a top layer. (Perhaps they should have advised the third Greek princess to go shimmery instead of matte, since Princess Theodora...did not do so well. Sometimes going up a size can actually makes you look smaller, true story.) Märtha Louise gave us a shiny take on a basket weave craft project, and Charlene gave us a splash of Elvis in gold. (Does a gown need a vest? I'm just asking.) Char might be on an Elvis roll, actually, given her recent level of shine. Stand by for a big collar and a bejeweled belt tomorrow.

For loads more guests, click here, and here, and also here. (But don't bother searching for two of our regulars, Mary and Mette-Marit - they won't be in attendance until the wedding itself, due to their schedules.)

Are you loving the night's metallics, or something else?

Programming Note: We'll have an open post up before the wedding for those of you that want to chat here during the broadcast.

Oh, and P.S.: Yes, the court made it official today, Valentino has designed the wedding gown.

Photos: Kungahuset/B.Grenfeldt/Style.com/Elie Saab/Getty Images/Scanpix

Gold Star: Elena's Chic National Day

Everyone turns it up for National Day in Spain, as well they should. The gents never go wrong with their uniforms, and Queen Sofia doesn’t usually go wrong with her own version of the uniform, in one of her army of ladylike skirt suits. Princess Letizia brought her A game in tweed with a little lacy detail on the top. I hardly ever notice her jewelry because she uses it so sparingly, but the earrings (dangling, with pearls) are a fantastic complement here.

And look at Infanta Elena. Wait, let me rephrase that: LOOK AT ELENA.

In Oscar de la Renta, a designer she's worn previously and her mother wears often

I died from the chic. This blog is coming to you from the afterlife. Now, I know she has a closet full of high-end designers and couture cultivated during her years of marriage to a man with an eye for fashion, but she also enjoys shopping at the Crazy Town Mall. You just never know with her. But this is…divine. The retro silhouette with a touch of fur for luxury, the delicate slingbacks, the hair. (The hair!) Stop it, my hands hurt from the jumpy claps. A gold star is the perfect accessory here, don’t you think?

Photos: Getty Images/PPE/Abaca/Style.com

Week in Review: Princess Máxima, 6-12 May

1. - 4. Máxima visited Brazil as part of her work in microfinance, 7-10 May, in her usual Máxima wardrobe, I guess.

Photos: Muhler/Reuters/Daylife/Terra/G1

Week in Review: Princess Máxima, 22-28 January

1. A jubilee gala at the American Chamber of Commerce, 23 January. So refreshing when she gets all dressed up, isn't it?
2. a) Attending a special meeting of the council of state, 25 January, in b) Oscar de la Renta. Well, it's more Oscar - per my request - so that's good, though I expect the man that got all huffy at Michelle Obama for wearing a cardi to Buckingham Palace would not approve. And as for the hat, well, that looks like something Princess Elizabeth or Princess Margaret would have worn in the 1940s.
3. At the Green Fashion competition, 27 January with (a) and without (b) the coat. What a difference a comb and a part switch can make, no?

Photos: Purepeople/Abaca/PPE/Nieboer

Week in Review: Princess Máxima, 15-21 January

1. Visiting a music project and attending a New Year's reception, 17 January, in an old Oscar de la Renta coat. Let me tell you what we need more of in the royal sartorial sphere: Oscar de la Renta. Apart from devotee Queen Sofia...barely a scrap!
2. New Year's reception, 18 January.
3. a and b) Two different events, 19 January.
4. At Jumping Amsterdam with the family, 21 January. It's a caped family affair! Máxima has her Zara cape on, and a lovely little Sound of Music affair on Alexia there.

Photos: ANP/Belga/Lehtikuva

Month in Review: Princess Madeleine, August

Here's what Princess Madeleine wore in August:

1.  At Villa Solliden, 1 August.  I can't tell if that's a sweater or a jacket.  But I kinda like it.
2. Evening out with friends, 19 August.  This is a lovely dress, but something I'd expect to see out on a royal engagement, not out for a night on the town.
3. Bernadotte 200th anniversary, 21 August.  A sea of pastel purple.
4. Evening celebration of the Bernadotte anniversary, 21 August.  Simple and lovely, but I wish she hadn't worn black shoes with it.
5. Arriving in Greece, 24 August.
6. Pre-wedding party for Nikolaos and Tatiana, 24 August, a) on the Oscar de la Renta runway and b) in action.
7. Boating in Greece, 25 August.  Here's a princess that never misses a chance to sport a bikini.  And hey, if I looked like that, I'd be the same way.
8. Out and about in Greece, 25 August.
9. Greek wedding, 25 August.  Still looks like produce threw up on her.
10. Changing planes in Copenhagen on the way back from Greece, 26 August.  
11. Attending the 10th anniversary of the "My Big Day" Foundation, 29 August.  I love this!  Every bit the modern girl, but still a princess.  And a great choice for a youth-oriented engagement.
    

Best and Worst of the Week

At first glance, I liked outfit #3.  But looking further...the jacket's adding fictional pounds to her body, the headband looks like something you could buy at the discount store for little girls to play dress up with, and the lavender shoes are taking the color theme a bit too far (and this is coming from a girl that LOVES a purple shoe!).  No competition for the repeated Oscar de la Renta worn to the party the night before the wedding.  Perfection.

Photos: Abaca/PurePeople/PPE/Nieboer/Marcio Madeira/Style.com/Svenskdam/Sevenpixnews/ANP/Diario Feminino

Runway Monday: Oscar de la Renta Spring Ready-to-Wear and Pre-Fall 2010

Oscar de la Renta has always been a favorite of the royal ladies and for good reason: his clothes have that natural lady-like feel a regal royal needs.  Queen Sofia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, Crown Princess Mary, Princess Máxima and more have all been spotted in his designs.  The Spring and Pre-Fall collections are ripe for the royal picking; most recently, Rosario Nadal modeled a black and white creation from the Spring Ready-to-Wear collection at Crown Princess Victoria's pre-wedding dinner and concert.  Many have also guessed that Tatiana Blatnik's gown for the wedding was de la Renta, though I'm not convinced.  My wish list for the royals to sport from the rest of these two collections:

These could work on some of the older generation of royal ladies....

 

...and I'd love to see some of these on our younger batch of Crown Princesses.

These metallic numbers would be great for Mary, wouldn't they?

Here you see the resemblance to Tatiana's dress.  Personally, I don't see enough of the same detailing to convince me that her dress is from Oscar; on her dress, the ornamentation is a much more organic pattern, whereas the de la Renta numbers feature random and clustered designs.  Also, the top and tone of the tulle is different.  Of course, Tatiana's could have been a totally bespoke creation, but it's still a question mark for me.  Anyways, the 2 on the left would be great on Mary, the pink would be a different take on the fairy princess angle Mette-Marit has been working lately in her eveningwear, and Máxima could work the orange number spectacularly.

What do you think?

See the Spring collection here and the Pre-Fall collection here.

Photos: Maria Valentino/Marcio Madeira

Runway Mondays: Bridal Fashion

Bridal fashion shows are the best, aren't they?  You don't even have to be the marrying kind to immerse yourself in the pure romance and escapism of designs created for the one day in the lives of most women when anything goes.  And picking out designs for royal brides?  Brides that actually  have the venues, the tiaras, and the resources to go all out?  Total guilty pleasure heaven.  You should try it sometime.

Or, hey, try it right now!  Click on these collages to enlarge.

The part of a dress that makes my heart beat the fastest is the transition from the bodice to the skirt below.  When done right, it is the single greatest element in the dress, adding elegance and insanely good fit by the truckload. 

The dresses:

1. Upper Left:  Elie Saab, Spring 2003 Couture.  The veil is a little over the top, but underneath lies one of the best wedding dresses I've ever seen.   The sleeves add the modesty necessary to take this gown direct from the runway to the royal aisle.
2. Upper Right: Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2009.  The twist on the bodice is amazing.  It's pulling you in right where most women are the smallest, so it's going to be flattering as hell.  And the way the veil is floating down over the frock is simply ethereal.  Add some sleeves - detachable ones, just for the church service - and we're good to go.
3. Middle Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Spring 2010.  Same principle with the bodice here as in Dress #2 - this is really something Monique Lhuillier excels at.  Love how this one keeps it even simpler; even if you added sleeves, you'd still have a tremendously sleek, clean design.  Perfect fodder for adding a statement veil or a really ginormous, sparkly tiara.
4. Middle Right:  Camila Elbaz, 2010.  This one has amazing detail, but relieves the heaviness of overall embellishment with panels right up at the top, which would be a great way to break things up before adding a tiara.  And the flow of the dress from shoulders to toes is simply divine.
5. Bottom:  Monique Lhuillier (again!).  Told you she does this extremely well.  When the dress flows right from the waist to the skirt and around to the back into a train, I descend into jumpy claps.  You could add sleeves and increase this train to make a delectable royal creation.

Sometimes playing around with the fabric on the dress can get you great results.  A fabric with a great sheen to it must be played with carefully, but when done right, it draws all the emphasis to the bride (where it belongs!).

The dresses - these are all Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2010.  What can I say?  She's my fave:

1. Upper Left:  I love the contrast between the top and the skirt, the width of the skirt (you don't always have to have a huge skirt!), and the sleeves.  Add something to the top (it looks a wee bit see through right now - which certainly won't do for a royal wedding), add a detachable train, and you're done.
2. Upper Right:  I'm nuts for the petticoat sticking out the bottom, and I don't know why - perhaps because it would coordinate great with a full veil? 
3. Bottom:  The more I look at this one, the more I like it.  It's a coat/dress combo, which, as I've said before, I love for a royal bride.

 Sure, you don't have to go with the full skirt, but if that's your thing, where better to showcase it than in a royal cathedral?

The dresses:

1. Upper Left:  Reem Acra, Fall 2010.  This is simple, but there's something heavenly about it.  Simple's not always a bad thing - makes room for a bigger tiara, right?
2. Upper Right:  Monique Lhuillier.  The folds of fabric on the skirt add some detail to an otherwise flat canvas.  And this whole thing has a real Grace Kelly feel to it, which always gets you brownie points.
3. Bottom Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Spring 2010.  This dress could make a body look insane.  Well corseted at the top, deliciously full at the bottom.  I'm envisioning it with the spaghetti straps widened into little cap sleeves in the same material for cathedral modesty.
4. Bottom Right:  Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2010.  Another study in creating a teeny-tiny waist.  What really draws me in here is that the skirt seems to have a nice flow to it, rather than the stiffness you typically get with a huge skirt.  And how a dress moves is key to a successful royal wedding dress - after all, millions of people will be watching your every motion on television!

 Another thing you might as well go all out on if you're having a royal wedding is the intricate details.  Chances are, you're getting married in one of your country's architectural wonders, and you might even be getting married among a sea of evening dresses and tiaras.  It's your day, be the most bejewelled you can be.

The dresses:

1. Upper Left:  Elie Saab, Fall 2004 Couture.  Same bodice-to-skirt flow fabulousness, but with more sparkle. Unless you're going for the Ice Princess look, lose the fur.
2. Upper Right:  Elie Saab, Spring 2007 Couture.  When I first laid eyes on this baby, I gasped.  Audibly.  This is couture as couture should be - over the top, detailed to the nines, completely showstopping.  A royal bride at an evening wedding wearing this would easily jump to the top of the list of most memorable royal wedding dresses .
3. Middle Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Spring 2010.  Multiple kinds of detail going on here: the folds of the skirt, the ruching of the bodice, the beading/embroidery at the neckline.  It all works together to bring your eye up to the bride's face.  And how divine would it be to have the embroidery detailed to match the motifs in the bride's tiara?
4. Middle Right:  Oscar de la Renta, Spring 2010.  A classic shape done in a most unconventional fabric.  You may not like this at first, but look at it longer.  It's kind of hypnotic.
5. Bottom Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2010.  I love the idea of including the greatest amount of detail on the skirt.  It can be overkill, but this wave-like application of fabric hits all the right notes.  It's got to look amazing in motion, too.
6. Bottom Right:  Derek Lam, Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear.  Never underestimate the power of good draping.  It can create a wonderfully detailed dress without any embellishment whatsoever - a great way to bring detail to a daytime wedding.

Color!  It's unexpected, and always memorable.  If you think it's not bridal enough, do some searching through the wedding photos of some of Asia's royal brides.  Why stick with just white?

The dresses:

1. Left:  Elie Saab, Spring 2003 Couture.  An ivory or beige dress is a way to ease into color.  If this isn't a dress fit for a royal, I don't know what is.  Another, bolder way would be a delicate shade of pink - divine!
2. Right:  Monique Lhuillier.  This Princess Grace-esque dress dips its toe into the world of bridal color with a beige sash.  But think what other colors you could use....how about a national color, or the color of your royal house?  I've read that Crown Princess Victoria will wear blue and yellow shoes on her wedding day to honor Sweden's colors, but what about adding some into the dress?  She won't wear her sash for the Order of Seraphim, which is a pale blue, but she could incorporate it into the dress in other ways.

Let's finish off this marathon post with something from WAY out in left field, shall we?

 Alexander McQueen, Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear

So help me God, I like this.  It's kind of reminiscent of a national costume, no?  I said anything goes, didn't I?

What's your vision for the perfect royal wedding dress?

Photos: Christopher Moore/Alexander McQueen/Camila Elbaz/Marcio Madeira/firstview.com/Monique Lhuillier/Oscar de la Renta/Reem Acra