Royal Fashion Awards: New Year, New Sparkle

And so it is time, once again, to ring in a new year of royal splendor in the way we always do: with tiaras! The Danish royal family wastes no time busting out their finery, holding the first of a series of New Year's events with a banquet on January 1. It's time for tiaras, gowns, uniforms, and the extra fancy collars from the Order of the Elephant:

Video: The royal family arrives

Best Repeated Variety

Queen Margrethe

The Queen can be counted on to repeat a gown for the event, but she's the only one of the three ladies here that changes up her tiara choice from year to year, so there's that. This year she repeated a favorite apple green gown which is quite flattering and paired it with her traditional Yeti pelt fur wrap and the Danish Emerald Parure from the crown jewels. She also wore this combo in 2011 for the same event.

Most Stretched Repeat

Crown Princess Mary

The banquet has become Mary's yearly opportunity to display just how creative she can get with the many pieces of the Danish Ruby Parure - and normally, I love it. But...maybe sticking the brooch on a piece of velvet and calling it a choker is stretching it just a tad, hmm? The choker is a new incarnation of this burgundy velvet dress, which is making its third appearance at the event and has been revamped from its original maternity form.

Best in New

Princess Marie

Making sure we don't drown in repeated gowns, Marie's here to save the day in a new number with a printed peplum top and a solid skirt with a train. The way she's pinned on her collar is just lovely, but I'm missing the small portrait brooch of Queen Margrethe (as worn by Mary) - we've seen Marie wear the honor previously, but not tonight. A picky request, though, from a completely elegant appearance. She is wearing her regular diamond floral tiara.

And an Honorable Mention to...

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

I know basically two things about Denmark's prime minister: she likes a good selfie, and she knows exactly how to dress herself for gala events when she's thrown in with tiara-wearing ladies. All politics aside, she's my tiara-less best dressed for the evening. I mean, this is just gorgeous.

There are two additional receptions in Denmark to be held yet (neither with tiaras, but still fancy court dress).

UPDATE: And here's the sparkly event in Japan, in the video below!

For the second year in a row, Empress Michiko has chosen not to wear a tiara, I believe for medical reasons (extra weight on the head can be troublesome if you have a back issues and things like that). At the beginning, we see the Crown Princess arrive in the pearl-tipped diamond fringe tiara. She does not appear at the audience itself, so the arrival is all we get. The rest of the imperial ladies are sporting their individual tiaras.

Who wins your best dressed award?

Photos: DR1/BilledBladet/Scanpix

Year in Review: 2013's Bests From Our Regulars

We have a handful of leading ladies around here that we follow regularly, and now it's time to reminisce about the best they looked this whole year - one of my favorite things to do. So! Much! Pretty!

I always enjoy going back through the year as a refresher, but in truth, I'm looking for the outfits that made such an impression they require absolutely no refresher. We're talking about the best of the whole year, after all. And you guessed it, those often come from those extra special events. These are my personal favorites, one for each lady...

Queen Máxima

Look at that, I'm sneaking two in right away: I think the glory that was Queen Máxima on inauguration day deserves a second best, which is excellent because I've recently decided that I am just as enchanted by the lace gown she wore during the evening celebrations as I was by the caped wonder she sported for the inauguration ceremony. (Both by Jan Taminiau, of course.) We know now that she has dipped back to her old ways in the months since, but never mind. We'll always have April 30th.

Queen Mathilde

Mathilde took a much lower key approach to her outfit the day her husband became king, but the official portrait they released included all the regal fierceness you could want: a simple Natan gown done in a strong color which played beautifully off of the purple of her Order of Leopold, a mega diamond brooch, and a new-to-her tiara development in the form of the bandeau from the Nine Provinces Tiara. A queen indeed!

Crown Princess Victoria

This one is easy. Soooo easy. Victoria's stunning Fadi El Khoury gown at her sister's wedding has certainly earned a spot on my list of all-time royal faves, right up there with Máxima's double best. Plus, everyone knows that WEE ESTELLE and a purse- and pacifier-toting Prince Daniel are the ultimate accessories. We got some jewel news out of it, too: this was a first appearance for Victoria in Lilian's Laurel Wreath Tiara and in the necklace Lilian so loved to wear.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

Another number from Madeleine's wedding, Mette-Marit and her Emilio Pucci gown paired with her amethyst tiara. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: all this one has to do is bust out a train in pastel and there's a 95% chance I'll be sold.

Crown Princess Mary

Mary's Birgit Hallstein gown for the pre-inauguration dinner in the Netherlands took my breath away when she wore it, and it still does. Just so darn elegant. Add this to the list of all-time faves.

Princess Letizia

I'm surprising myself here, but the heart wants what it wants. This is the lone best of the year that came from a regular event (an audience) and not a big fancy special occasion. And yet there's something about her Felipe Varela combo that just sticks - it's classic, but the animal print makes sure it still has that Letizia stamp on it.

The Duchess of Cambridge

As much as I would like to put her second-ever tiara appearance here, we don't know much about what that dress looked like! I'm going with wee George's christening instead, in custom cream Alexander McQueen.

Yes, we will have a look at some bests from other ladies (and also some worsts...), so stay tuned for those. Until then:

Which outfits make your list of personal bests for our leading ladies this year?

Photos: Getty Images/Jan Taminiau/Belgian Monarchy/Fadi El Khoury/Felipe Varela/PA

Runway to Royal: The Dutch Inauguration

I said we were done with coverage of King Willem-Alexander's inauguration, but...uh...I lied. Because while we talked about the outfits, and the jewels, and a few of the designers (Jan Taminiau and Jan Taminiau!), we didn't talk about the rest of the designers. Today, a round up of some of the identified designers we haven't already covered in depth - and feel free to add additional designers in the comments!

Apart from Taminiau, Natan was the designer that got the most mentions during our previous coverage. A custom version of a previous look was provided for Queen Máxima for the abdication, and bespoke outfits (and capes) for the little princesses were made - the modifications to the basic design were picked out by the princesses themselves. Natan also provided couture looks for Princess Laurentien and Princess Mathilde for the inauguration, and both paired them with Fabienne Delvigne hats.

But Natan wasn't the sole dresser for these ladies: for the abdication, the princesses wore matching off-the-rack dresses from Pili Carrera. Princess Laurentien also wore dresses from Hardies in The Hague, and Olvi's brand.

Another Dutch designer who fared very well at the festivities was Addy van den Krommenaker, who did quite a few dresses for Queen Beatrix's sisters and their families. Modekoningin Máxima had great coverage of the festivities from a Dutch fashion perspective, including the eagle eyes for all these and Laurentien's designers.

Unsurprisingly, Princess Mabel stuck with her wedding gown designers, Viktor & Rolf. Her red gown is actually a repeat. Though it was reported that the bow on her inauguration dress came from the wedding gown, it looks like that's not true - though the inspiration for the selection seems clear.

Also unsurprisingly, Valentino made several appearances. Máxima repeated an older gown, while Mette-Marit (always a Valentino fan) and Sheikha Mozah had new couture to show off. The Qatari royal family actually bought the Italian fashion house a while ago, so I suppose you could say she was representing the home team.

The Duchess of Cornwall was dressed in bespoke Bruce Oldfield, and wore a repeated Philip Treacy fascinator to the inauguration. Princess Letizia was dressed by Felipe Varela, including a repeated navy gown. This is yet another un-shocker...I picture her closet as row after row of Varela garment bags with, like, some Mango bags stuffed in the back. Her hat - now that was something different, you can count on one hand the number of times we've seen her in a fancy hat - was from Maria Nieto.

Crown Princess Mary represented Denmark well, in bespoke Birgit Hallstein (thanks to the commenter that linked to Hallstein's Facebook page featuring shots of the gown in progress), Charlotte Lynggaard, and a repeated Jesper Høvring gown. Crown Princess Mette-Marit found her fix of long printed gowns at Giambattista Valli for the pre-inauguration dinner.

Elie Saab was represented by Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie and Crown Princess Victoria, who repeated an older gown. Victoria also threw in some Escada for the ceremony, paired with a Philip Treacy hat, and bejeweled Jenny Packham with a By Malina coat to wrap it up.

Who had the best designer-to-royal match?

Photos: ANP/Natan/Getty Images/NOS/Pili Carrera/DutchPhotoPress/PPE/Viktor&Rolf/Style.com/Jesper Høvring/Elie Saab

Flashback Friday: Extreme Dress Makeovers

Way back in January, Crown Princess Mary turned up at the annual New Year's Courts in two old dresses recut, restyled, and repurposed.

In red in 2007 and 2012; in blue in 2006 and 2012

Mary's craftiness naturally started me thinking about other royals that have sent their clothes in for some sartorial surgery - it doesn't take a royal fashion encyclopedia to guess that Mary's far from the first to try it. In fact, this isn't even the first time Mary's tried this thrifty strategy for a new look.

In blue lace in 2004 and 2009; draped in 2010 and 2011

Fancy (and pricey) blue lace from an early gown was recut into a new shape for a trip to Vietnam in 2009, and just last year in Australia she debuted a remake of the Jesper Høvring gown she wore to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's wedding. Like many, I wondered at the time of the wedding if the original lace of the gown wasn't just a temporary solution to cover her shoulders for the church - after all, it did seem a bit of an odd match. But the extra over the shoulder touch in the finished product was a wonderful surprise outcome.

If Mary has the redesign flair, it's easy to trace it back to a possible source: none other than her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe. Not at all surprising from such a creative mind, right?

In pink at Frederik and Mary's wedding in 2004 and the New Year's Court 2012; in the original blue and the end dress on display

Queen Margrethe's wonderful ensemble for Mary and Frederik's wedding lives on, though not in exactly the same amount of wonderfulness as the fuchsia coat has been recut into a regular frock. And one of the dresses included in the jubilee exhibit of her gala gowns has been redone several times: first made by Eric Mortensen for Balmain in 1990, Margrethe later had her trusty couturier Jørgen Bender alter the neckline and sleeves twice before adding on the dramatic lace overlay.

In 2004, 2005, and 2009

Another example we've seen before comes from Spain and the always budget conscious Princess Letizia. Her pre-wedding dinner dress came from Spanish royal favorite Lorenzo Caprile, and Caprile was called upon to change it up for a state visit the year after the wedding. But at some point, Letizia went totally off of Caprile and switched to Felipe Varela for reasons unknown. The third alteration of the dress, in 2009, was not Caprile's work...a fact which I think is quite evident. Important note about dress redos: quit while you're ahead.

In 2006 and 2011

Stepping out of the gown realm for a quick second, Kate Middleton made a thrifty pre-wedding splash by chopping some serious inches off of an old Katherine Hooker coat. It would not surprise me at all if she ends up with quite a string of clever reworks to her name as her royal years add up.

In 1989 and 1992

Perhaps she'll one day take a page out of Diana's book and cut any whiff of outdated flair right out of a look. The full skirt on this Catherine Walker gown gave way to a much sleeker sheath dress, all while keeping the intricate top.

In 1984 and 2001

Last but not least, look at this: even the Queen of Thrifty Royals, Princess Anne, isn't opposed to hacking up a 1980s monstrosity. Which leaves me with but one question...why doesn't she do it more often?!

These are by no means the only examples out there of royal dress makeovers, so let me ask you this:

What's your favorite dress redo?

And for bonus points:

Which current royal dress would you like to see go under the scissors?

Photos: Daylife/Mirror/Scanpix/PPE/Colourpress

Week in Review: Crown Princess Mary, 1-7 January

1. a) Nytårskur and Nytårstaffel, the New Year's Court and Banquet, 1 January, with b) a look at her jewels: the Danish Ruby Parure Tiara, hairpieces from the leftover pieces of her tiara makeover, the parure earrings with a dark pearl drop, and the brooch from the parure with another pearl substituted for the diamond and ruby pendant at her waist. All worn with the collar and star of the Order of the Elephant, plus her brooch portrait of Queen Margrethe on her shoulder.
2. Shopping, 2 January.
3. a) Nytårskur, New Year's Court reception for the Diplomatic Corps, 3 January. I realized later in videos that Mary had a brooch in her hair, which you can just barely see (b).
4. Nytårskur, New Year's Court reception for representatives of various organizations, 4 January, in a repeated court dress from Heartmade designer Julie Fagerholt. This is one of my personal favorite Mary outfits.

Though all the gowns from this year were repeats from past New Year's Courts, two of them appeared with significant alterations. The big changes in dress #1 had some questioning whether it was actually a repeat or a brand new gown. The tailor that made the alterations, Birgit Hallstein, spoke to Billed Bladet and explained that extra fabric was purchased when the initial gown was made for future alterations, thus allowing her to craft an entirely new top and sleeves and make alterations to the hips and skirt area. (Precisely what some of you were guessing at, you smart cookies.)

Do you think the alterations were for the better? I like the red dress either way, but I can't say I'm in love with the changes to the blue dress.

Photos: BT/SN/Seoghoer/MSN/Billed Bladet