WEDDING FLOWERS: Gray
News Update
Loading...
Showing posts with label Gray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gray. Show all posts

Prince Carl Philip & Sofia's Wedding: Royal Guests, Part 2

This is Part 2: Return of the Royal Fashion Awards, covering the royal guests at the Swedish royal wedding. (Here's Part 1.)

Spoiler Alert: This one includes my favorites. So much goodness, I needed TWO bests of the best. 

Miss Congeniality
Princess Hisako of Takamado
Things we learn while watching the wedding broadcast: Our Japanese representative is apparently an utter delight. So chatty, so smiley! I think she and Sophie Wessex are royal BFFs now.
Princess Hisako is wearing a different tiara than the one she wore to Princess Madeleine's wedding, the jeweled bird on her shoulder is a work of art, and her skirt comes with its own cape. Can she come to everything, please?!

Best in Gifts
The Countess of Wessex
Sophie's very flattering dress is by Taťána Kovaříková, and it was an official gift to her during a recent trip to Prague (per the Countess of Wessex Blog). Which, uh, is MUCH better than all the engraved toilet seats and ceremonial croquet mallets and whatnot they usually collect on those jaunts. Other cities need to get on Prague's level.
Sophie gave us another look at the aquamarine and diamond tiara she wears from Collins & Sons jewelers, which I appreciate - we haven't covered this one in depth, and we need to. Understated and elegant all around, this appearance.

Best in Elegant
Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Speaking of understated and elegant, I think Mathilde owns some version of this silhouette in all her favorite colors, and I can see why. This edition is lightly beaded and boosted by some serious diamond power, including the bandeau of the Nine Provinces Tiara and Queen Fabiola's diamond fringe brooch.
Look at that updo. Someone get me a cinnamon roll, I'm having a craving. 

Best of the Best #1
Princess Tatiana of Greece
I'm pleased to report that Tatiana's streak of fabulousness at Scandinavian royal weddings remains unbroken. She's been wearing Greek designer Celia Kritharioti lately, and this couture dream is just another reason she should make that a permanent relationship. I'm swooning over here!
 
Plus, Tatiana gave us another NEW TIARA ALERT! This one's a mystery; we don't know if she borrowed it for the event, or if she owns it. And though it be but little, its sparkle is fierce.

Best of the Best #2
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
Hey hey! Not a culotte in sight! *praise hands emoji* This Jan Taminiau gown, worn the evening of Wax's inauguration, gives me chills. CHILLS, I say. And I can't object to a smattering of rubies, here in the form of the Mellerio Ruby Parure.
Now that we know that she intends to reuse the inauguration gowns, is it possible to require that they be used at least once a month? Asking for a friend.

And with those two mic drops, the Royal Fashion Awards for the guests are complete. See you tomorrow for some Tidbits fun (with some wedding moments we haven't yet discussed, because this is the last tiarafest wedding for a long time, probably, so it is imperative that we soak it up, people).

Who do you crown the Best Dressed Wedding Guest?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, SVT video, Jan Taminiau

Prince Carl Philip & Sofia’s Wedding: The Pre-Wedding Dinner

The party is starting! Ready your jumpy claps!

This evening, wedding guests gathered for a short boat ride on the way to the venue for the pre-wedding dinner. Only a couple of the international royal guests were present, but the headline family members certainly did give us some things to discuss...

Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist
I wondered if Sofia would continue the trend of wearing Elie Saab for her pre-wedding event, as her soon-to-be-sisters-in-law both did. And I was close: she wore Zuhair Murad, a.k.a. almost Elie Saab! (Also the groom was present. He wore a tux.)
Many of us have been hoping we’d see more of Zuhair Murad on the royal red carpet, and I think this couture dress certainly delivers. Just enough sparkle, and with a train (which looked like it was detachable) added to the back to give it a little extra royal oomph.
And the blue is divine on her, no? I love it. What a great start to the event!

The King and Queen
{SCREECH} Well, that escalated quickly. Let’s just say that something had to come in third place on the list of Silvia's best mother of the bride and/or groom pre-wedding outfits (it's a very specific list)...call it the sacrificial lamb?

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel
Okay, this is better! Victoria’s sparkly, slinky number is perfect for this and also for her next Great Gatsby-themed party (I figure there’s no point to living in a palace if you’re not going to throw the occasional Gatsby party, right?).
Crown Princess Victoria wore Jenny Packham, the original model from a bridal collection (the Packham bridal collections always have dresses that are great more uses than bridal, though). She also had a brooch in back in her updo, and you know I luv her for that.

Victoria, Daniel, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit
With many royal guests arriving tomorrow, it was a lovely surprise to see Victoria and Daniel bring part of the Norwegian contingent: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Märtha Louise, and Ari Behn. Crown Prince Haakon joined the party by car a bit later. Mette-Marit repeated the Giambattista Valli dress she wore to Queen Margrethe’s birthday dinner earlier this year.

Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn
Apparently seeing that his wife was intent on a tasteful beige dress, Ari Behn decided someone had to shake things up and tossed a sash around his waist. Sure, man, why not?

Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill
Also skipping the boat ride in favor of arriving by car, Princess Madeleine breezed by in a basic but sort of ethereal maternity dress.

Lastly, a couple aunts and an extra international royal couple, just for good measure:

Princess Birgitta, doing her Birgitta thing.

Princess Margaretha, doing her Margaretha thing. (What more can you say?)

Prince Leopold and Princess Ursula of Bavaria...doing their thing. A very sequin-y floral thing, which is a curious combo.

All in all, not a bad start to a wedding weekend. This entry may be updated later on, and feel free to add more in the comments!

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, Expressen video
Royal Events of the Day: June 9

Royal Events of the Day: June 9

After their mixed bag evening concert appearance marking the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Constitution and women's suffrage, the Danish royal family united themselves in millinery and tried again on Friday. A more universally successful outing this time, I think:

Queen Margrethe turned up in her birthday suit, and I mean that literally, as this is the suit she wore for her big birthday celebrations this year. It's been put in her regular wardrobe rounds, which is great because a) she looks fab and b) I get to keep calling it her birthday suit.

Crown Princess Mary showed off the versatility of her wardrobe, as she is prone to do, by taking reused pieces and remixing them into a new ensemble. I find myself wishing that the white coat was a color other than bright white, but that's a piddly complaint for a great look.

And though she plonked her hat on her head at a most unfortunate angle, Princess Marie was also standard but nicely put together on the whole. Rounding out the royal crew was Princess Benedikte, elegant in pink, and her look can be seen in this gallery. Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim were there as well. They wore suits.

While we're in Denmark, one other big event happened this weekend: Princess Isabella baptized a ferry which was renamed in her honor on the island of Samsø. It's the first time she's taken the lead on her own official engagement. Naturally, she brought along a lady-in-waiting for some support:
Very handy when your lady-in-waiting doubles as your mum, I would think. And like her mum, she's clearly already received her membership to Team Updo. Fancy bow and all!
Isabella even received a gift of jewelry for her troubles, a mother of pearl bracelet and necklace with multiple pendants. It's no Festoon Tiara, but it's a nice gift for a young princess.

The mother/daughter team was dressed a little more casually for the event than we usually see when royals christen ships (hats, that sort of thing).
But then again, most royal ship christenings are not directly followed by fishing, strawberry picking, and hanging out with a variety of wild animals. When in Rome, etc.

Photos: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images

Royal Style Twins of the Day: April 24

Today, we're flashing back...way back...to a week ago, in Copenhagen, where the reception for Queen Margrethe's birthday at City Hall featured some style twin moments worthy of a closer look.

First up: Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Princess Victoria and their twin appearances with, uh, themselves.
Above, in Copenhagen in 2010 for Margrethe's 70th birthday, and below, also in Copenhagen for Margrethe's birthday, five years on. Mette-Marit's even wearing the same gold headband, which (as the Royal Hats Blog points out) she's worn in several different ways.
"So, whaddya think...same thing this time, except different?" "AGREED."

For the same same thing, you need look no further than the Mexican state visit to the United Kingdom a month earlier.
Mexico's first lady, Angélica Rivera de Peña, sported Mette-Marit's Alexander McQueen coat first. It's an A-line crepe coat in ivory with a double lapel detail, and the only surprising thing about this is that one of the British royal McQueen fans didn't beat both ladies to it. (Perhaps they will join the party later on. I'd love to see this one belted, just to shake it up.) Unusually for one who loves the colorful accessories, I prefer the First Lady's black touches to the Crown Princess' gold/red/nude mix in this Who wore it best? battle.

Our other twin - nay, triplet! - moment from the City Hall event comes from Crown Princess Mary and the gray hat she paired with her Oscar de la Renta coat dress.
As soon as she emerged with this chapeau, I thought it looked familiar - Kate-esque, I said - and indeed it was. From favored royal milliner Jane Taylor, this is a hat we should know well by now.
Zara Phillips sported the same gray version to Cheltenham over a year ago. She paired it with a truly unfortunate outfit that I will pretend I did not see since baby Mia was just a few weeks old at the time. But the original royal example comes from the Countess of Wessex, who wore a version in a different color and material to Ascot in 2013, paired with an Emilia Wickstead outfit in gorgeous vibrant teal. (An outfit that would get a lookalike of its own when the Duchess of Cambridge wore a similar number in New Zealand last year. It's just a chain that never ends.)
Mary's got the lock on sophistication in accessory pairing, but Sophie's version is a welcome shot of color. I'll call this one a tie and I'll take both for myself, outfits and all, thanks very much.

Your turn: Which versions of these twin appearances are your faves?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, Net-a-Porter, ITN video

Royal Visit of the Day: March 16

Last week, Jordan's King Abdullah and Queen Rania paid a visit to their Moroccan friends, King Mohammed and Princess Lalla Salma. Their productive working trip is our superficial check in on the sartorial stylings of two stunning consorts.
Princess Lalla Salma greeted her friend in a stark white Ralph Lauren ensemble with a close fit jacket and trousers which is futuristic and retro at the same time (you say Star Trek, I say 1950s dentist). I like it, actually, but only because it's allowing her face and piles of glorious red hair to run the show. Queen Rania arrived in a Nina Ricci coat that should look familiar to you, since the Countess of Wessex sported the same one for her birthday feature in Harper's Bazaar earlier this year. Sophie wore it over a printed dress and many of you wished for the coat alone, so the sartorial genie has seen fit to grant your request. I like both coat interpretations, but Rania is winning the shoe game by a landslide.
 
Day 2 dawned with a very standard set up on the fashion front. Basic white dress: check. Basic suit in a great color: check. Moving on.
An official dinner was held, and thank heavens we got an opportunity to see one of Lalla Salma's amazing caftans. Another traditional fabric nod goes to Princess Sarvath El Hassan (above, left), who was one of the other royals in attendance (a group photo, along with other shots from the trip, can be seen here). As for Rania, she wore the most unusual outfit of her trip, a bedazzled bishop sleeve blouse from Andrew Gn with a full-length skirt.
Left to Right: Queen Rania's Nina Ricci coat, Princess Lalla Salma's Ralph Lauren Spring 2014 RTW ensemble, Queen Rania's top and styling from Andrew Gn Pre-Fall 2014
Much like Lalla Salma's white welcome outfit, if Rania's dinner outfit works, it's because it's on Rania in particular. These outfits play to each lady's unique style, at the very least. I do appreciate individuality if nothing else.

Photos: Royal Hashemite Court/Queen Rania Instagram, Moda Operandi, Style.com

Royal Suits of the Day: February 2

I see the love affair between Letizia and her trouser suits is going strong, for better or for worse.

For better:
The King and Queen of Spain attended an audience followed by an evening event, 
hence the fanciness.
Saucy lady tux, bit of color on the shoes, fancy hair, killer earrings, sign me up. This is hot.
Separates from Hugo Boss

And for worse:
The day before, they attended a tourism fair.
No. She's worn this before, but back to back with the look above, it's hard to believe this is the same lady in a suit from the same label. Serious case of hotness whiplash right here.

Photos: Juan Naharro Giminez, Carlos Alvarez and Europa Press via Getty Images / Hugo Boss

Royal Coats of the Week: January 29

First, we had Crown Princess Mary's lovely gray coat, mentioned in Sunday Tidbits.

And now we have Princess Charlene's lovely gray coat, spotted out this week for the Sainte-Devote procession in Monaco.
I think it's Gray Coat Week. Then again, it might just be January. (Mathilde's wrap thing showcased earlier this week was also kind of gray, though we've certainly said enough about that outfit for a week.)

Crown Princess Victoria has a submission too. It's technically light blue I suppose but I have a theme going here so just go with it already okay.
Click here for video.
She opened the European Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, and I was glad to see she had a little sparkle going on with her earrings. I mean, if you're not going to wear some sparkle to open a figure skating competition of all things, when can you?

Anyway, back to da coats: I'll take Mary's version for myself, please and thank you, though I can't deny that Happy Char is doing a pretty good job of selling her whole look here. Simple, but effective.

Photos: @Royal_talk, Didier Baverel/WireImage and Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images, TV4 video

Royal Outfits of the Day: November 18

Queen Letizia and Queen Rania both have a tendency to go simple and businesslike with their work wear. Sometimes a little too simple for my tastes, but these two recent examples are hitting just the right level of simple chic in my eyes.

For her part, Letizia attended an awards ceremony yesterday.
I never thought the day would come, but she's picked a basic gray suit that I can actually get on board with! It's like seeing a unicorn in person. This is from Nina Ricci, not one of her usual designers, and the peplum and shoulder details are taking that basic gray and kicking it up several notches.
Nina Ricci suit, Malababa clutch
I could do without the bag, honestly, but I guess I'm just the sort that prefers to leave the geology out of my handbags.

Meanwhile, Queen Rania met with the Jordan River Foundation.
So very chic. A soft color, but with some added texture panels to wake it up a bit (I think she's in an added panel mood lately).
The dress is from Roksanda Ilincic, and has been previously worn on the red carpet. That's not a silhouette that works on many people, but on Rania, it's perfect. Simple chic, times two.

Photos:Carlos Alvarez via Getty Images, Nina Ricci, Malababa, Instagram, Roksanda Ilincic

Royal Outfit of the Day: October 29

The Canadian Governor-General and his wife have been on a European visit, including a stop in Belgium that included dinner with the King and Queen. They also called on the King and Queen over in the Netherlands, but we won't speak of Máxima's outfit. We will, however, speak of Mathilde's outfit. We will speak LOUDLY of it, because Mathilde looked gooooooood.
Right?! Maybe all this lace of late has just put me in the mood for something sleek and chic, but I'm all.about.this.dress. She's repeating the look worn for this rather *gLaMoRoUs* portrait, which I didn't realize was a gown:
And she capped the accessories at a simple pair of emerald earrings, which was just the way to go for maximum sleekness, while still adding some interesting color.
Love. That's all.

Oh! And:
The commemorations of World War I continued yesterday in Nieuwpoort, Belgium.
We'll add in one royal gathering (with the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands), just for good measure. Somber yet elegant, just as it should be.

Photo: Belgian Monarchy/FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Michel Gronemberger
Royal Outfit of the Day: August 12

Royal Outfit of the Day: August 12

Princess Irene wasn't the only one with a birthday last week. Many of you mentioned Princess Beatrice, who celebrated her birthday on Friday, but someone else shares that August 8th day...
In the U.K. in 2010, Sheikha Mozah of Qatar was accompanied by the Prince of Wales for an exhibition opening at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
...Mozah! And here is our elegant celebration, with a bonus lesson on how to do monochrome right. Gray is a color that can be perilously boring, but texture and shape give this outfit all the interest it needs. The design is a couture look in embroidered gray flannel created specially for this 2010 event by Stéphane Rolland, who later commented that it made her look like a 1950s movie star. I couldn't agree more.

Photo: WPA Pool/Getty Images

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 3


Video: Crown Princess Mary has been visiting Estonia, where they use the "Free from Bullying" program put out by her foundation. She wore this gray suit with tall black Prada boots for some of the events.
Here's what I appreciate about Mary: even when the outfit is pretty basic, she  manages to get at least some point of interest in there. This gray outfit? Well, it's gray. Gray and black. Sort of boring by nature. But then you see the swing of the skirt, that slight fullness, and it makes sense. (Also, she looks toasty warm, and I'm sort of envying her coziness.)
Click here for a gallery with this and more events and outfits.

Photos: BilledBladet/ETV

Royal Outfit of the Day: March 17

Sheikha Mozah wore Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture during a 2009 state visit to France while her husband was still the reigning Emir of Qatar.
Sending forth hopes for an elegant week, I'm pulling from the archives of the supremely elegant Sheikha Mozah today. True to her high-end style, this dress from one of her favorites, Stéphane Rolland, is couture to the core. Rolland later shared that they had just five days to pull this bespoke white silk crepe number with a black sash and sparkling waist ornament together and were in such a hurry that hair dryers had to be taken to the hand-painted ombré effect at the waist on the very last day. That effect was well worth it, though, and Sheikha Mozah carried it forward, even echoing the color gradation in her choice of white pearl earrings, a gray pearl ring, and a black clutch. One of my very favorite Mozah appearances, without a doubt.

Photos: Abaca

Royal Outfit of the Day: February 20

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde continued their introductory country visits, spending the day in Italy. Mathilde wore a custom layered Armani dress and jacket with a matching hat. The fabric was seen in different form on the runway at the latest Armani Privé couture show (shown upper right corner).
She wore Armani - of course she wore Armani, she and Queen Paola both have a tradition of using Armani for special events, and this fits the special event definition. Mathilde's really been going all out with these last few introductory visits, and using an Italian designer in Italy fits in perfectly. I would rank this as the most sophisticated look we've seen yet.

Photos: RTL/VTM/Getty/Style.com

wedding

[australian native wedding][recentbylabel2]

Featured

[Featured][recentbylabel2]
Notification
Wondering what style of flower bouquets you'll choose for your big day?
Done