Royal Fashion Awards: The Duke of Parma's Wedding

I'm not very familiar with a lot of the royals on parade for the Duke of Parma's wedding this weekend, but that's not going to stop me from snarking on their wedding attire, oh no. Especially when so many of them didn't even bother to do it up right...

Most Occasion Confusion

Left to Right: Princess Margriet, Princess Anita, Princess Christina and daughter Juliana

Now I know that the bride and groom were civilly married way back in the summertime, and the wedding's been postponed due to the death of the groom's father, but come on. It's still a wedding, ladies - spruce it up a bit! Margriet and Anita may as well be going to any old day function (alright, Anita's is a little bit sparkly, but still), and Christina and Juliana...I don't even know what to make of that.

Best of the "At Least They Tried" Category

L to R: Princess Mabel, Princess Máxima, Princess Aimee, Queen Beatrix, Princess Irene

Yes, you get credit just for making an effort on this occasion. Mabel gets credit for veering away from a total trainwreck, even though the outfit really doesn't make any sense. Máxima manages to look put together, even though it's not her best showing. (And somehow I feel like the trousers are alright here. Am I losing it?) I like Aimee's coat, but the shoes and the length are off - plus, her dress underneath is lace, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Beatrix...well, that's a lot of look when you add the wrap in. Per usual, really. Irene, she looks good, but I don't get the silver with that purple color. Shame, too, because the suit itself has potential.

Best of Those That Made the Effort

L to R: Princess Marilene, Princess Margarita, Princess Annette, Princess Carolina, Princess Laurentien

Marilene has turned up in a perfectly lovely wedding outfit, I like the combo of brighter spring colors and winter fabrics. Pregnant Margarita is one of my favorites: the different textures among the reds make her monochromatic look work. It wouldn't have killed Annette to put a hat on for the day, but her coat is well cut and the shoes are fab. Carolina is the only one out of the entire bunch that really made a lasting impression, with her gorge purple dress, so structural, and a fascinator to match. And now we've come to Laurentien, and I know what you're thinking: first I don't have a problem with trousers at a wedding, now I've included Laurentien among my favorites. I know. And you can't even see properly in this picture that her skirt is kind of sequin-y. But like I said, at this wedding you get points for bothering to put an outfit together in the first place, and I think Laurentien actually looks pretty good here.

Best of the Day

No competition. Princess Annemarie looks positively lovely. The dress, by Jacques Devos and Pamela Hoffman, is extremely flattering, and I love the mermaid cut and train length. There were a few photos that weren't as flattering, so I suspect this is a dress not meant to move around quite so much, but that's alright. The tiara, from the Dutch royal family, isn't one of my favorites - it always manages to look off because of that v-shape at the base - but this is the best I've seen it look. She's certainly bested Laurentien here, on whom this tiara always manages to look like it's about to fall off. Well played, Duchess.
What do you think? Who's your best dressed for the day?

Photos:PPE/Nieboer/ANP/AP IMAGES ROYAL MARCEL ANTONIS/Belga