Royal Trip of the Day: December 10

Royal Trip of the Day: December 10

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been on a trip to New York City this week, culminating in the St. Andrews 600th Anniversary Dinner last night.

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A trip full of new outfits (coats, mostly coats) and wouldn't you know - it's the repeat that catches my eye.

I liked this Jenny Packham the first two times we saw it, and now with added jewels and an updo, what's not to love?

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The Duchess debuted new emerald and diamond earrings with a matching emerald and diamond bracelet. The pieces were private gifts. Based on new pieces given to other family members by Middle Eastern monarchies, I wouldn't be shocked to hear these have the same origin, but that's just guessing. They look pretty modern to me, and those are pretty big emeralds with a lovely bright color.

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And there's that updo - aw, it's like she knew we'd demand a proper look at those earrings - with a bonus Princess Eugenie sighting! The NYC resident was kind enough to come and say hello to her cousins. A better look at her color blocked gown:

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I really can't decide if all those angles help or hurt the situation, but I'm leaning towards a thumbs up. Et toi?

Photos: Pool and Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images; Jenny Packham

Royal Gowns of the Week: November 14

Royal Gowns of the Week: November 14

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Let's close the week on an elegant note, shall we? TWO elegant notes, in fact. Thursday was a good day for evening gowns.

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took on the task of attending the annual Royal Variety Performance, something that rotates between family members. Has anybody else noticed that William made the switch to loafers (in velvet or suede, looks like) with his tuxes now? I feel like we should talk about that. Subtle slipper style. Me likes. I shall await his debut of the McQueen beaded skull style.

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I suspect you did not come here to talk about men's shoes, though. Fair enough. To Kate! She wore a new dress from Diane von Furstenberg in black lace. This is the second DVF lace gown we've seen this month, actually, the first being the plum number sported by Princess Stéphanie during Germany's state visit to Luxembourg. Put Stéphanie's color with Kate's neckline and sleeve length, and I'd be in heaven. I'm in heaven anyway because of a Kate Updo Sighting, mind you, but I'm quite greedy.

She also wore her Kiki McDonough blue topaz and diamond hoop earrings

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark also had a night out, traveling to Germany where Mary was presented with a BAMBI Award for her charitable endeavors, particularly her work against domestic violence. Frederik tagged along, probably because he saw Mary's dress and jumped at the perfect opportunity to wear that navy tux he likes so much. (Or maybe just because he was proud of his wife, I'm not a mind reader.)

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It's getting to that time when I start pondering the best looks of the year, and people, we have a serious contender for Mary's best. This is a Moment right here, capital M. That sparkly dress under all those lights, fabulous!

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Mary's navy blue gown is from Jesper Høvring, worn with her aquamarine girandole earrings, a massive ring, and an Ole Lynggaard Flower bracelet. She's worn the matching Lynggaard Flower earrings in the past, and though I usually reserve my drooling for the older jewels, I neeeeed this set in the worst way. Sadly, no Santa that's ever visited my house has pockets quite that deep. Le sigh.

 Anyway, this has been your dose of Friday pretty. Carry on.


Photos: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images, Net-a-Porter, Kiki McDonough, Matthias Nareyek and Luca Teuchmann via Getty Images, Jesper Høvring, Ole Lynggaard

Royal State Visit of the Day: June 25

Royal State Visit of the Day: June 25

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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are on a state visit to Poland, arriving yesterday.

State visits are a time for diplomacy...and a time for maximum sparkle wattage. A win-win situation. Queen Magpie wasted no time getting to the point on this Polish state visit, sporting a pair of diamond and ruby earrings in their longest possible form, her Tutti Frutti-style bracelet, and a ruby and diamond brooch on the shoulder of her fantastic pink dress for her arrival.

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It's a lot of big jewelry for the daytime, I'll give you that, but I see how she got there. The length of the earrings balances the width of the hat, the brooch is the perfect scale to emphasize the shoulder detail, and the thick bracelet is a nice balance for the hand that stays ungloved for most of the time. (She removes one of her gloves so that she can shake hands, not because she thinks she's Michael Jackson, by the way.)

And now comes a rare statement from me: I think the day outfit was a bigger highlight than the tiara appearance in the evening. I KNOW. I have come to the conclusion that, purple though it is, this repeated Benito Fernandez dress and all its varied design details is not my favorite. I suspect it breaks the #1 commandment for gala gowns: Thou Shalt Not Detract From The Jewels.

Video: The banquet

Thankfully there's always solace in sparkle, and the Ruby Peacock Tiara will sparkle no matter what you pair it with.

For more: Gallery from Zimbio of day events, gallery from RTL the banquet.

Photo: Adam Nurkiewicz via Getty Images

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 5

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 5

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Crown Princess Victoria presented the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award earlier this week in a dress from Preen, shoes from By Malene Birger, and an enamel cuff from Sophie by Sophie.

I started in with the mini jumpy claps the second I saw this little number - I have adored it in celeb appearances (Katherine Jenkins and Melonie Diaz, for example) and am so happy to see it on the royal runway! It's from Preen and it's colorful and geometric and delightful. And, bonus, Victoria let the playfulness of the dress infiltrate her accessory choices, with blue shoes plus an orange bracelet and clutch. These are the things that make me happy.

If you prefer something a little more classic, Victoria had a really lovely appearance at the Bernadotte Art Awards (here's a gallery with a full length view, plus an amusing look at Carl Gustaf considering just what he's supposed to do about his wife's runaway dress). She was wearing this dress from the H&M Conscious Collection:

And while this one has also had its fair share of red carpet appearances (Emmy Rossum, Leticia Dolera), it's also pretty princess perfect. A good little run of outfits from Victoria, no?

Photos: ALMA Video/ALMA Twitter/Lyst/By Malene Birger/Sophie by Sophie/H&M