Weekly Royal Fashion Awards: November 5-11

Best of the Week

The Benelux Queens

 

Our newest pair of sovereign couples take the cake this week, as the Belgians paid a quick (super quick) introductory visit to the Dutch. Nice and neat queens, the both of them. I half expect Máx's shoulder bow to fly off and end up as some sort of epic butt bow on an outfit to come, but still.

Most Intriguing Trip

Crown Princess Victoria

Video: Victoria and Daniel made a short visit to Britain

Here's one that improves on video, I think. Because after seeing it in action and learning that it was Stella McCartney (a little nod to diplomatic dressing there, picking a British designer), I have upgraded Victoria from "Beetlejuice in SHOOTIES" to "Intriguing". It was a surprisingly fashion-forward trip for Victoria, as she also debuted a piece from the Isabel Marant H&M collection.

Left to Right: Stella McCartney and Isabel Marant pour H&M as worn by Victoria; Máxima in Russia; Mary in Mexico

Royal trips are starting to pick up again on the whole and in addition to the Belgians, the Dutch went to Russia, and the Danes have just started a visit to Mexico (we'll have the rest of the trip next week, so hang on for that). Máxima's last two outfits in Russia were pretty great, but overshadowed by the oddness of the whole visit - it closed a year which was focused on Dutch/Russian relations but which was also filled with problems and diplomatic messes. I mean, someone tried to pelt them with rotten tomatoes while they were there! They missed, but the whole visit just seems like one best put in the past.

Best of the Rest

Princess Letizia

Letizia at a ceremony and an awards presentation; Máxima at an anniversary event, presenting a prize, and at a performance; Mathilde making another city visit; Kate promoting Poppy Day

The rest of the week was a mixed bag, and this is a far from complete round up. (Mary, for example, had a couple other appearances including a concert where her own outfit was nothing compared to her father-in-law's sartorial flair - video link.) (And there was Estelle, but she's the automatic highlight.) I'll honor Letizia's bit of sparkle, while diplomatically ignoring the jumpsuit.

Who was your best dressed last week?

P.S.: If you're interested in the Remembrance Day events in the U.K. or the Tiara Watch they had there last week, head over to the Jewel Vault!

Photos: RVD/HKH/TT/Kungahuset/Getty Images/AP/RTL/Mexico Presidency/Getty Images/DutchPhotoPress/ANP/Lesoir/WPAPool

Weekly Royal Fashion Awards: September 9-15

Time to catch up on our non-touring ladies from last week. Turns out...tours are way more interesting. Nevertheless...

Best in Mimicry

Princess Letizia

Attending an employment workshop; presenting the V de Vida Awards; taking the infantas to their first day of school

See, I thought she’d just been waylaid on her way to a tennis match with outfit #2 there, but clearly she was just showing some sweaters-n'-skirts school solidarity with the girls.

By the way, Letizia just turned 40, and some lovely new portraits were released for the occasion.

Best in White

Crown Princess Mary

Visiting Malta for the WHO Regional Committee meeting; a meeting with her Mary Foundation

White and white, done and done. Nice touch with the necklace at the Mary Foundation meeting – it’s the foundation’s logo. Mary and Frederik have now set off for a visit to Brazil, and we’ll be following that with trip reports as it goes on.

Worst in Shoes

Princess Máxima

Opening a visitor’s center for the Dunea company

See, Kate’s not the only one that gets a wedge-shaped frowny face from me from time to time. 

Best in Specs

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

Opening the Dangerous Waste conference; christening a ship in Bergen and opening the Oslo Book Festival

In which no one is surprised to learn that she loves an oversized face accessory.

Who wins last week for you?

Photos: Getty Images/Kongehuset/DutchPhotoPress

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 15-21 July

1. a) Visiting an Olympic exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, 19 July, in b) Stella McCartney with c) a Cartier necklace. Loving the Stella, obviously (what’s not to love about a simple dress in a vibrant color – plus, she designed the kit for Team GB, so there you go). But sadly, I’m not digging the necklace. I know, serious jewelry, I ought to be in lurve…but instead of an Olympic ring tie-in, I think it looks like she brought her own medal. Eh. (The cost doesn't bother me, though. It’s not what I’d spend my £49,000 on, but I don’t care what you do with your £49,000. And if you think that’s “too much” to wear during the day, then you must turn a seriously blind eye to what the Queen wears each and every day, because the cost on any of those brooches would blow this necklace out of the water.)

Photos: AP/Stella McCartney/Cartier

Week in Review: Princess Marie-Chantal, 10-16 July

Here's what Marie-Chantal wore from 10-16 July:

1. a - c) Opening a new branch of her children's clothing boutiques in Hawaii in d) Stella McCartney and Gucci shoes. I know we have some Stella haters in the house, but I think that lace dress would look grand on some of our British royal ladies...

Photos: FL Morris/Star-Advertiser/Honolulu Pulse/Malie Moran/Hawaii Red Magazine/Stella McCartney

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 12-18 June

Here's what Catherine wore from 12-18 June:

1. Attending Prince Philip's birthday service, 12 June, a) on Kate with Jane Corbett fascinator and LK Bennett shoes, b) the Zara dress underneath, c) the first appearance of the Jane Troughton coat, and d) her earrings.

Some of you said this was a bit of a blue overdose, with the blue brocade coat over the blue dress and topped with a blue fascinator. And while I won't disagree with you on that, I'm not docking her for it. My reasons are threefold: 1) she wore a color, and I'll take it, 2) she's not wearing the coat in exactly the same way she did when she first wore it, and you know how annoyed I get when people repeat the exact same outfit - mixing it up is good for the soul, and 3) she resisted the bridesmaid urge to stick blue shoes with the thing, so we know that she did in fact exercise some Smurf restraint. I threw the earrings in there too; lots of people are suspecting she's wearing a pair that used to belong to Diana - pretty generic earring form to have a definite identification on that, but it's a definite possibility.

2. Prince Philip's birthday dinner, 12 June, a) the best view, b) the full view, behind Zara, c) the dress from Stella McCartney, and d) the dress as worn by Madonna.

THIS IS SO SAD. I mean, she wears something with color and it's shiny and it's Stella Freaking McCartney and it's...this. With all due apologies to Kate's army of admirers, somebody has to call it: we've got her first official Hot Mess on our hands. I'd say we need to give it another outing with better lighting and better photography, but sadly that outing can obviously not be anything involving such strenuous activities as, uh, sitting without this thing getting creased to bugger and back. (Also: I strongly object to the choice of black pumps - court shoes, if you please - with this. Give me a little metallic strappy number and we'll talk.)

3. Garter Day, 13 June, a) on Kate with a Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat, and b) from Katherine Hooker.

I love that she's not just sticking with Philip Treacy as her main hat boyfriend, by the way. Clearly that strategy isn't working out so well for Beatrice and Eugenie, so a little variety is just what the milliner ordered.  With regards to the rest of it, I stand by my original assessment of this outfit: aging? Yes. Timeless/princessish/eminently appropriate? Also yes. Of this week, I'd have to declare this one my favorite.

Do you have a favorite this week?

Photos: Daylife/Getty/Robin Bell/Daily Mail/Katherine Hooker/Zara