Weekly Royal Fashion Awards: January 6-12

Things were still pretty slow last week in royal land. Nevertheless…

Best in Distractions

The Duchess of Cambridge

Hey! We finally figured out what it takes to shift the general conversation away from clothes and babies - if only for a mere second - and all it took was one questionable portrait. The more you know.

Best in…

Princess Letizia

At audiences.

Uh...hair? Sure, let’s go with hair.

Best in Questionable

Princess Mathilde

Attending a New Year reception

You know, the more I look at this one, the less I like the little jacket. She's trying to take the dress down a notch, and I don't think it's working so well.

And an Honorable Mention to...

Princess Charlene

This is both lovely on her and informative, because she wore white. Privilège du blanc – the privilege for a lady to wear white when in an audience with the Pope – hasn't been associated with Monaco in the past (Princess Grace wore black, as most ladies are expected to do). The Vatican confirmed this was the appropriate dress, so this is no faux pas. Innnnteresting.

Who caught your eye last week?

Photos: Getty Images/PPE

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 10-18 June

1. Visiting Nottingham alongside the Queen and Prince William, 13 June, in an array of repeats.
2. Watching The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with students from The Art Room, 15 June.
3. Trooping the Colour, 16 June.
4. A whole day of cuteness, 17 June, first visiting a camping excursion for kids and then watching polo with a few of the most adorable members of the royal family (I’m referring of course to Lupo and Savannah). (And Harry.)
5. Garter Day, 18 June, repeating her 2011 Trooping the Colour coat.

Photos: Getty Images/Daylife/Reuters/FameFlynet/Daily Mail

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 27 May-5 June

1. Attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace, 29 May, repeating her Emilia Wickstead dress from the sovereigns' jubilee lunch and adding a Jane Corbett hat.
2. a) At the Thames River Pageant, 3 June, in b) Alexander McQueen with a Lock & Co. hat.
3. a) Attending the Diamond Jubilee Concert, 4 June, in b) a Whistles dress with a McQueen jacket.
4. The Jubilee Thanksgiving Service, 5 June, in McQueen again with a Jane Taylor hat. Much as I loved how she rocked the red at the Thames pageant, this final elegant turn is my favorite jubilee appearance from Kate. Which one did you like best?

Photos: PA/Getty Images/Daylife/Reuters

Royal Fashion Awards: The Diamond Jubilee Concert

Tonight, the Diamond Jubilee concert outside of Buckingham Palace took place. Sadly the Duke of Edinburgh was hospitalized earlier and missed out, but – cliché as it may be – the show must go on. And it was a wonderful show indeed, culminating in a touching speech by the Prince of Wales and some cheering for the absent Philip. And then there were the fashions, so long as you don’t mind judging from a seated position…

Best Dressed

Queen Elizabeth

Leave it to Her Majesty to show up despite whatever else is happening looking like a boss in her Admiral’s Boat Cloak (immortalized in portraits by Cecil Beaton and Annie Leibovitz). She tossed it off when it was time to hit the stage to reveal the sparkling gold lamé party dress underneath. Elton John still out-sequined her but, you know, some competitions aren't worth entering. For the cloak alone she wins the fashion stakes.

Best Dressed Guest

Princess Beatrice

Apart from the queen, the royal that caught my eye the most was Beatrice, believe it or not, in her bright Erdem print. Just enough interest and fun for a (royal) rock concert.

Best Use of Union Jacks

Princess Eugenie

Still sporting the Union Jack manicure we saw at the Derby, Eugenie accessorized with a flag ring and a red dress – subtle, but still fun. Well played.

Worst in Repeats

The Countess of Wessex

I love me some Sophie and she has some stunning numbers in her closet. So I’m particularly baffled as to why we saw her Paris dress repeated yesterday and now this shapeless white number repeated from the sovereigns' luncheon (just in case you didn’t catch that it was palazzo pants before…now you know). Please, please, let us be in for something shiny and new at the service tomorrow.

Best in Meh

The Duchess of Cambridge

Left to right: the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cornwall

Well enough done, ladies, I guess. I’m not finding much memorable here (saving some sartorial magic for tomorrow, perhaps?), so…eeny, meeny, miny, mo, I’ll give it to Kate for her flag-waving prowess.

Best in Funk

The Princess Royal

For those of you that couldn’t watch the concert, I feel it is my duty to inform you that Anne here was rocking out to Stevie Wonder (while possibly wearing something left over from her maternity years, but never mind that), and it was basically the best thing ever. That is all.

Best Spot in the Crowd

Zara Phillips

There's plenty of other Where's Waldo? royal spotting to be had as loads of members of the extended family can be glimpsed in the royal box, but my personal favorite was Zara. I just love a little touch of Zara in any capacity, really.

Who drew your eye in the concert crowd?

Photos: Reuters/Getty Images/National Pictures/Daily Mail/Telegraph/Daylife

2011 in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge

Best of the Year

Boom! The late entry wins the game at the buzzer! Yeah, I lurve it. The dress is just divine, I think this is the most flattering thing she wore the whole year. Like so many of you noted, I have some reservations about the necklace (I'd take the ruby flower deals off, that's too wee and twee for my tastes), but: she wore it. And what did I say about that? Step 1: put the diamonds on. Step 2: do other things. Here's hoping for a blingy new year!

Runners Up

I love a killer shoe and I love purple - these are not secrets well kept. Therefore, the very first Kate appearance of the year must make my list of runners up. Nods also go to what I found to be two of her most young, fresh, and feminine takes on the old school jacket and dress/skirt combo, the blue and black and the crochet look (which I know some of you will very much disagree with me on). At the time of the big tour, I favored her lilac Roksanda Ilicnic dress, but fickle me has now switched my affections to the twirly purple McQueen. The pink Jenny Packham was actually going to be my #1 until the black velvet slinked in at the buzzer because, well, I love a sparkly "Look at me!" number. I just do. Sue me.

And then there's the wedding gown. The wedding gown is in here simply because I recognize that it would be ludicrous not to include it, though I still agree with my first impressions. Thus, I include my favorite view: the train, which is and was perfection.

Worst of the Year

Nobody has a perfect year, alas. I thought about the Salmon Stella, which is probably the only thing I'd call an actual hot mess for the Duchess' whole year, and I thought about a couple of the entirely oatmeal ones - seriously, contrast is your friend - but I'm giving my title to the Alexander McQueen outfit worn to visit the aftermath of the riots. And that actually has nothing to do with how the thing looks (though I do stand by my initial assessment, which was: work it or go home).

No, this is about public relations. Katemania dictates that everything she wears will be analyzed to death and just a hair beyond that, and there's nothing she can do to stop it. It's a monster, and it's coming for all of us. But the newest Duchess on the block is a careful player in the sartorial game. She's done her best to restrain the debate over her outfits...except for this one. Debuting a pricey ensemble on this particular occasion was a misstep. I don't care if it personally offended you or not (it didn't bother me), but it was a rare PR mistake, and for that, I hereby dub it the Worst of the Year.

Which outfits make your best and worst lists for Catherine in 2011?

Photos: Daylife/Getty Images/Hello/AP

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 10 July - 16 July, Part 1

And so the odyssey comes to an end. We pick back up on the last day of the Cambridge's trip to North America:

1. Last day of engagements in Los Angeles and departing for home, 10 July, wearing a white pleated skirt and navy crochet top from Whistles with navy heels, her nude clutch, a cross necklace and those diamond and sapphire earrings.

Is it wrong that when I first saw this, I felt a strong Heidi flair, and that's what made me love it? Well, no matter. Kate went out the way she came in: in navy. But despite that color that's become my archnemesis over the course of this trip, I really do love this. It's so girly! I love the detail and the little bow at the waist. And I love that she returned to her inexpensive high street roots for a visit to disadvantaged kids in Skid Row. You all know I love couture more than anything else, but sometimes that's just not right. A well played case of fashion diplomacy, once again.

If we see Kate again this week, we'll do part 2 for the week.

Click here for final thoughts and the trip wrap up!


Photos: AP/Daily Mail/Just Jared

Week in Review: Catherine Middleton, 17-23 April

Here's what Catherine wore from 17-23 April:

1. Visiting the hairdresser, 19 April, in the same outfit from 9 February and the jacket again from 13 March. Do you like it better with a ponytail and a bare leg? I think I might, though I'm still not a fan of that jacket in combo with that dress.
2. Out shopping on the King's Road, 20 April, a) on Kate, and b) from Issa. I'm no Issa fan, but this is a cute and simple LBD. Mostly I just love that she's already enacted the "never leave the house without princess-ing it up" strategy. A dress and a blowout for a quick shopping trip? Oh, yeah.

Sigh. This is the last ever "Catherine Middleton" week in review post, soon we'll have to call her something else. Pre-wedding nostalgia!

More of Kate's week, after the jump...


Thanks to nosy shop attendants and a high street chain WAY too eager to flaunt the royal patronage (seriously: Warehouse now has a "What Kate Bought" section on their website - methinks this is not how you keep the royal patronage), we have a peek into some of Kate's purchases on her high street shopping sprees this week:

These are from the aforementioned overly eager Warehouse, of course. What do we think? The two floral dresses interest me not, but I'd love to have the white top in my closet. Although, it's probably more suited to people that take frequent holidays to the Greek Isles than to me. Le sigh.

Photos: Daily Mail/Warehouse/Startracks Photo/Nick Obank/Barcroft Media

Week in Review: Catherine Middleton, 13-19 March

 Here's what Kate wore from 13-19 March:

1. Lunch with William and Pippa, 13 March. I must just not be a fan of this jacket on the whole, because I don't like this appearance either. I feel like there's a cute dress under there, just screaming to be let out. On the other hand, I'm very much enjoying this "my hair's interfering with my hard wedding planning work" on-the-fly bun situation.
2. Out shopping, 18 March. Hair up! TWICE IN ONE WEEK! This is a caps-lock worthy occasion indeed. Last week, I was with you all on the theory that she might be leaving it down until the Big Day for maximum shock value, but now I don't know. Maybe she's starting to think we might not recognize her without her locks all a-flow, hmm? (Or she's just out and about and going the easy route. Yes, it's entirely possible she doesn't think about this crap as much as I do.) Anyways: a cute outfit for shopping, parking ticket avoidance, and the like. 

Update: Here she is again, checking out a rehearsal of the wedding music. I much prefer the brown boots to the black above with this jacket!

Photos: Daily Mail/Brennan/Simpson/Diedda-Bushell/XculsivePix.com

Week in Review: Catherine Middleton, 6-12 February

Here's what Catherine Middleton wore the week of 6-12 February:

1. Lunching with Camilla, 9 February, a) on Kate and b) from Diane von Furstenberg.

I've heard a lot of different opinions on this, ranging from "stylish" to "OMGGTGASASAP!" (Translation: OMG get this girl a stylist ASAP! I speak fluent acronym.) Me? I'm just...bored. Criminally boring, that's my verdict: same old makeup, hair worn down again, yet another dress, yet another jacket thrown on top, same old boots. At this point, I just want to see something different. Anything different will do, even if it's total fug. Et toi, my lovelies?

Photos: Daily Mail/Ikon Pictures