WEDDING FLOWERS: Tiaras 2014
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Showing posts with label Tiaras 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiaras 2014. Show all posts

Year in Review: 2014's Tiara Moments

I'm in it for the tiaras, I think my stance on that is pretty clear. So it wouldn't be a Year in Review without a look at the tiara appearances we covered here and at the Jewel Vault in 2014 (and minus the ones that I forgot, because you know that's inevitable). You can click the links below or scroll through the posts on this blog by clicking here.

It won't surprise you to learn that I am officially crowning Máxima the Tiara Queen of 2014, with not only a large number of tiara events but also a large variety of tiaras worn for those events. Elsewhere, we saw a couple new pieces debuted, and a couple debuts of old pieces on new people. But perhaps the most important thing we saw in 2014 was the return of full state banquets (and thus tiaras) in Spain and Belgium, both countries having taken a few years off in the midst of economy and government problems. Grand returns ended up being the theme of my favorite tiara moments for the year.

January
The year started as it always does with glittering New Year's Court events in Denmark and Japan, giving us our yearly appearance of Mary's rubies, always a highlight in my book.

February
Tatiana Santo Domingo wore a fringe tiara for her religious wedding, although we didn't get a great look.

March
The Swedish royal court put out a new official photo of Crown Princess Victoria and the King, in which she sported her recent favorite, the Cut Steel Tiara. Princess Marie wore her new tiara for the first time for an official dinner, a piece we've been waiting to see in use since 2011. Tiaras came out again in Denmark for a state visit from Turkey, and tiara intrigue came to Sweden when Princess Christina wore the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara to an official dinner, bringing up questions about its ownership. Elsewhere, a state visit from China to the Netherlands brought out the pearls.

April
Tiaras returned to Belgium and Queen Mathilde again wore the bandeau of the Nine Provinces Tiara when the Chinese moved their state visit game over a country. King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, and Máxima pulled together a pretty fab look with her favorite Dutch Diamond Bandeau.
Another of my favorite tiara moments came in April too, when the U.K. hosted an historic state visit from Ireland and the Queen used the occasion to bring the Cambridge emeralds back after a long absence.
And we must not forget, April also brought us what seemed like a genuine Tiara Miracle: Charlene finally wore her Ocean Tiara. For a magazine shoot, but we'll take what we can get.

May
May brought several tiara appearances: a look at the Diplomatic Corps reception in the Netherlands, new formal pictures marking Frederik and Mary's 10th wedding anniversary (again with the rubies), a state visit from Israel to Norway, and a state visit from Luxembourg to Poland.
 
June
Prince Albert visited the Netherlands, and there were tiaras even though Charlene stayed home. Plenty of state visits happened in June, including a trip to France for the British and the last state visit of King Juan Carlos' reign. The return of tiara banquets in Spain and Queen Sofia's use of the major Fleur de Lys Tiara as her farewell put this one on my list of best tiara moments for the year.

July

September
A state visit from Estonia to Norway brought us back to our tiara ways after the slow summer season.

October
Princess Noriko of Takamado kicked off the month donning her tiara for the last time as she bid farewell to the Imperial Family before her wedding. The Norwegians had two tiara events in a week, first with a state visit from India and second with their annual gala for parliament. (And in case you're counting, that adds up to a whole year of appearances of the Diamond Daisy Tiara for Mette-Marit, with no variety in sight.) A state visit from Singapore to Britain got thrown in the mix, and the month ended with dueling state visits: Felipe and Letizia hosting the first incoming state visit of Felipe's reign, and Willem-Alexander and Máxima traveling for a state visit to Japan. Máxima's debut outing of the Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara coupled with the return of Crown Princess Masako clock in jointly on my list of best tiara moments this year.

November
Amethysts and an excellent Elie Saab gown featured when Luxembourg hosted a state visit from Germany, but a dinner at the Swedish Royal Palace failed to wow me. Princess Margriet brought a tiara to America for the Stuyvesant Ball, wearing the star version of the Pearl Button Tiara for the first time, and a royal wedding in Morocco gave us a little sparkle variety.

December
The Duchess of Cornwall was resplendent in her family tiara for the Buckingham Palace Diplomatic Reception but obviously the main tiara event in December was and will always be the Nobel Prize Ceremony and the King's Dinner! Featuring the return of the Baden Fringe Tiara, another on my list of favorite tiara moments for the year.

Phew! Not a bad year, eh? (Remind me of that when we hit a tiara dead spot in 2015.) Now, over to you:

What were your favorite tiara moments in 2014?


Photos: Julian Parker/UK Press, Frank Van Beek/AFP, Pool all via Getty Images / RTE video / Hola / NewsJapan video / SVT video

Royal Fashion Awards: The Nobel Prizes, 2014 (UPDATED)

Phew. There’s a lot going on right now. We’ll check in with Monaco’s big news tomorrow, but for now, we have tiaras to deal with. The Nobel Prize ceremonies happened yesterday in Oslo and Stockholm and the Norwegian and Swedish royal families were out in force. Obviously these events are about the Nobel laureates and not the royals, but as usual, I'll stay in my wheelhouse. (With one exception: I will share this article about the gown worn by laureate May-Britt Moser and its special significance, which I think is pretty cool.) Now, to the awards – and this is a long one, so settle in…

Best in Standards: Non-Tiara Division
The Norwegian Royal Family
The Oslo ceremony is for the Nobel Peace Prize and understandably omits the fancy tiara-wearing dress code (it’s also held earlier in the day), and we usually get a pretty standard showing from King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Mette-Marit wore the same headpiece (we won’t call it a hat) with a white outfit just a couple years ago, but it’s one of her standards that suits her particularly well. She also stuck to her standards by wearing one of her floral prairie dresses for the evening dinner (click here to see), but somehow I don't mind this one as much as I usually mind her covered wagon business. Anyway, a passing grade to all.
A couple screencaps including a look at Mette-Marit's hairdo, and Sonja's velvet jacket from Emilio Pucci. Mette-Marit's coat is from Valentino.

Over in Sweden, the rest of the prizes are given out in one of the most formal events of the year and the Swedish royal family was up to the task, turning out in force.
So many family members were present (the King, Queen, all three children with their respective significant others, plus Princess Christina and her husband) that only four members were on stage and everyone else had to join Christina in her usual spot in the front row.

Best in Standards: Tiara Division
Queen Silvia and Princess Christina
Queen Silvia has worn a variety of tiaras for the Nobel ceremony, but her two most frequent choices are the Leuchtenberg Sapphires and the Nine Prong Tiara. She picked the sapphires this year for the main event and I am ever so thankful for that. Princess Christina also went with her usual, the Six Button Tiara. And as I always say, if someone has to wear ye olde buttons, let it be Christina, since she makes the most of them.
A very shiny and embellished dress for Silvia, also a standard (for better or for worse).

Best in Nobel Spirit
Crown Princess Victoria
Queen Silvia has toned down her Nobel looks as time goes on, and it’s nice to know that someone is picking up the slack. Hello, Victoria! This is a proper ball gown if there ever was one. You know I love it and all its OTT splendor, including the fact that she had trouble moving around in it. (Dedication to the splendor cause, man!) It was designed by Pär Engsheden, her wedding dress designer.
She also delivered on the jewel front, finally bringing back the Baden Fringe Tiara and continuing her recent streak of debuting something new to her for each Nobel season. This year, it was the large diamond cross from the family collection, worn by Victoria for the first time. She also sported a large diamond bracelet, ruby brooch on her front, small brooch on her back, diamond earrings, and diamond lozenge brooch in her hair.

Most Curious in Nobel Spirit
Princess Madeleine
I want to like this but I’m finding it so curious. She did go big for the occasion, opting for an embellished dress from Fadi El Khoury (a designer I’ve longed to see the royals wear more often). But the print is almost an animal print, but not quite; the dress is almost a full skirt ball gown, but not quite.
She used most of Queen Josephine’s Amethyst Parure (earrings, brooch, bracelet), but stuck to the Modern Fringe Tiara. Almost, but not quite.

Best Tiara Potential
Sofia Hellqvist
Let’s get this out of the way: the dress (by Ida Sjostedt), it’s not great. In these photos, I think it looks quite fine actually. But on television, under the lights, it suffered from a serious case of S.O.S. Yes, Sequin Overload Syndrome. And I say this as someone who would like nothing more than to see her show up looking classy as can be and blow all her haters out of the water.* But luckily, something else did catch my eye: that hair!
She hasn’t been issued anything from the family vault yet (that brooch, whatever it’s made of, is certainly not part of the historic pink topaz set, as some originally guessed) but she’s all ready to go, hair brooch and all. I’m looking forward to next year already!

For more Nobel fun:

The tiara fest in Sweden isn’t over just yet – this evening is the King’s Dinner for the laureates at the palace. Stay tuned. The Norwegians still have the Nobel concert to go. Until then…

Who was your best dressed for Nobel 2014?


*Since posts including Sofia tend to end up with comments that dip into personal feelings about her background, let me just issue a friendly preemptive note for my lovely commenters: Let’s not go there.


UPDATE: Night #2 of Nobel festivities!
In Sweden, the traditional King’s Dinner for the Nobel laureates was held at the palace. You can click here for a gallery.
Queen Silvia came down with a case of ADLD (Another Dang Lace Dress, it’s been going around. Like the flu, but prettier) and matched it with the Connaught Tiara. Sofia Hellqvist toned down her sequin dress for a grade of Most Improved and she wore another brooch in her hair – but like last night, the palace stated that she wore private jewels. (You can see her hair embellishment here.)
Both Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine repeated last night’s tiaras, as did Princess Christina (I FROWN IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION, LADIES) (THOUGH I AM ALSO GLAD TO SEE THESE AGAIN INSTEAD OF THE FOUR BUTTON OR THE CUT STEEL BANDEAU, SO MAYBE I’M NOT THAT UPSET). Madeleine gave us déjà vu to a dress recently worn by her sister, and Victoria stuck a bow on it.
How you wear that dress without feeling like the angel in the Christmas play, I don’t know (maybe that is what you feel like and maybe that’s the point), but I applaud her bringing back the corsage necklace used by Princess Lilian, even if it’s not the best with this neckline.

And over in Norway, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and their children attended the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. And Mette-Marit wore a dress adorned with frolicking magical creatures, because of course she did.
UNICORNS AND CHERUBS, people. And let me tell you something: I AM ALL FOR IT. (This busy royal week has driven me to caps lock mania. It’s not my fault.) This dress comes from British brand Mother of Pearl (via Minmote). Victoria went for a fairytale vibe with last night’s mega ball gown and now Mette-Marit’s going for a more literal interpretation. And I’m not kidding - I really am totally charmed by a dress covered in unicorns. The world needs more unicorn prints.


Photos: Getty Images as indicated, SVT video, Lyst, Kungahuset.se, Moda Operandi

Tiara Watch (Yay) and Tiara Watch (Nay): December 3

Sometimes those of us on permanent tiara watch don't get what we want. Case in point: The King and Queen of Sweden began a state visit to France yesterday, and hopes of proper state banquet splendor were (somewhat) high. After all, the British state visit to France this summer was black tie and the Queen was all tiara'd up. But alas, it was not to be; the dress code was plain suit and tie and a knee-length outfit for Silvia. The Queen, however, did not leave us hanging.
She sported as much of the Cameo Parure as she could, basically: necklace, earrings, bracelet, and brooch in her hair. She's also got Carl Gustaf's order/portrait miniature on too, and her version is bedecked with some pretty serious diamond sparkle. The Cameo set has Napoleonic roots, dating back to Empress Joséphine, so it was an appropriate choice. But I still like to think it was a bit of a protest from a jewel-loving queen. Atta girl, Sil.

And sometimes, on tiara watch we do get what we want! Over in Britain, the annual Diplomatic Reception was held last night. This is a tiara event, very formal indeed, but it's one that we don't often get a glimpse of. Some were anticipating the Duchess of Cambridge in a tiara and though she wasn't present, the Duchess of Cornwall shined in something besides her usual tiara and that's a delight on its own. Resplendent, I think, is just the word for this lovely look, kindly shared on Twitter:
This is the Cubitt-Shand Tiara, which comes from Camilla's own family. Camilla wore it for her first wedding and her daughter Laura wore it for her wedding (below). I don't usually go for asymmetry in my tiaras, but the slight variation in this design completely works with its intricate floral motif. I love it.
We know that the Duchess of Cornwall has worn this tiara to this diplomatic event in the past, but we don't always get to see, as I said. Any sighting is an A+ Tiara Watch to me!

Photos: Elysee.fr video, Marc Piasecki via Getty Images, @royalfocus1, Mark Cuthbert via Getty Images

Sunday Tidbits for November 23: A Spanish Farewell, a Tiara Watch, and More

Just a few tidbits to get things rolling for the week - tiaras included:

--As you probably know by now, the Duchess of Alba died this week. We covered her wedding dresses a few years ago, when she was marrying for the third time, and it's always been one of the most popular posts on the blog. Infanta Elena represented the royal family at the funeral. [New York Times, Semana]

--Tiara Watch! Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and her husband Pieter van Vollenhoven attended the annual Peter Stuyvesant Ball in New York this week, and she wore the Pearl Button Tiara in its star tiara form, a.k.a. Máxima's wedding tiara. Margriet rounded out her look with another piece customized by Máx, the large bow brooch that usually features a sapphire center but was swapped for a citrine earlier in the year by the Queen. [Telegraaf video]

--The article linked above mentioned the unfortunate misunderstanding this week regarding Queen Máxima's father, Jorge Zorreguieta. If you heard the reports that he had passed away, I also hope you heard that those reports were incorrect. He is being treated for leukemia, but has apparently been released from the hospital. [NOS, Hello]

--Interesting cardigan/jacket thing sported by Crown Princess Mary for a school visit this week (see video below). Looks like something whipped up from assorted yarn leftovers...except, you know, without the free price tag. [Billed-Bladet video]


--Of general interest to fellow magpies: Sotheby's has been auctioning the collection of the late Rachel "Bunny" Lambert Mellon. The jewels included a blue diamond that went for more than $32 million. [New York Times, Sotheby's]

--In non-sparkly auction news, a hat worn by Napoleon (part of a collection being auctioned by the Prince of Monaco) sold for $2.4 million. [BBC]

--And finally, Prince Harry went to Oman and swords were involved. [Telegraph]

Stay tuned for Monday, when we'll catch up with the happenings in Monaco.

Photos: Telegraaf video

Tiara Watch of the Day: November 19

Tiaras always cheer me up. And YET...I'm feeling quite bored by last night's white tie official dinner held by the Swedish royal family. Hmmph. Perhaps Queen Máx can spare me some delicious Dutch cheese to go with my fine whine.

Links for galleries: Aftonbladet, Svenskdam, Expressen.
Okay. So let's break it down, one royal lady at a time. 

First up: Sofia Hellqvist, who sported a lined red lace gown by Tadashi Shoji. Colored lace is dubious to start, and - through no fault of her own - she's falling at the end of a long run of royal lace gowns. So this is not getting much love from me. She did not wear a tiara, which was to be expected since she's still in fiancée territory, but I was sad to see she didn't even get to practice tiara hair. You know I'm always on Team Updo to start with, but here I think it would have helped make up for the fact that she's the only one in the royal party without a little bling.

Next: Crown Princess Victoria. She repeated the long Escada gown she wore to the Dutch inauguration. It's definitely better with tiara and without the hat, and it probably sparkles something fierce, but it's a little blergh to stand on its own. She paired it with the Cut Steel Tiara, which is great and all - but I'm starting to miss the rest of the Swedish tiaras. It's been a long time since we've seen Victoria in anything but a cut steel piece. Wherefore art thou, Baden Fringe? Eh?

And finally, Queen Silvia, who took my best dressed for the night. Past outings of this dress include the Nobel Prize ceremony in 2010, where she masterfully paired this great green with the Leuchtenberg sapphires. I miss those luscious blues, even though the downsized Connaught Tiara is a more appropriate choice for the event.

Well, I did warn you about all the complaining. But I'll end on a hopeful note: Nobel festivities, less than a month away. Keep the fabulous tiara dreams alive.

Photos: Saks Fifth Avenue, Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images, Getty Images

Sunday Tidbits for November 16: Royal Weddings, Royal Auction Results, Royal Etc.

Nothing like a Sunday of weddings and sparklies to get your week started on the right foot, right? Right.

--Royal Wedding Alert: Morocco has been celebrating the nuptials of Prince Moulay Rachid, brother of King Mohammed VI, and Oum Keltoum Boufares. The bride wore a rich green dress and veil for one ceremony followed by a white ensemble with tiara for another event. Sheikha Mozah was among the dignitaries in attendance. Some links for you: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Article and gallery. [YouTube and Hello]

--British Prince Update #1: Friday was Charles' birthday! This commemorative gallery features both penguins and awkward dancing pictures and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. [Express]

--British Prince Update #2: Harry, dressed in uniform, rescued a lady's hat which had blown off in the wind, because of course he did. [Express]

--British Prince Update #3: William stepped in for the Queen at an investiture on Friday and got to knight Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis. [British Monarchy Twitter]

--For your future viewing pleasure: Netflix is ordering a series based on Queen Elizabeth II called The Crown, debuting in 2016, and a biopic called Frederik's Young Years focusing on Crown Prince Frederik (spoiler alert: it's about his young years) is in the works in Denmark. [Deadline Hollywood, Hello]

--Breaking News: Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore a bright color. She and Haakon were hosting a dinner at their home. [VG]

--Two jewel auctions we've mentioned here in the past went down this week. Christie's sold Empress Eugénie's Feuilles de Groseillier Brooch for a cool $2,365,700. (Although that was far from the highest price brought at the auction - that honor went to a necklace containing a 392.52 carat sapphire which brought in more than $17.5 million.) Sotheby's sold Queen Josephine's pearl necklace for $3,426,669, and the aquamarine tiara previously worn by the Duchess of Kent went for $204,500. So if any of you get an extra special surprise in your stocking this Christmas, let me know. [Christie's, Sotheby's]

--The Princess Royal headed up to Canada after her stop in the U.S. and I think I might really like the dress she wore to a dinner during her trip. [Canadian Heritage Flickr]

--Bit of sad news: The funeral for Princess Kristine Bernadotte was held at the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace and attended by members of the Swedish and Norwegian royal families. Princess Kristine was the widow of Prince Carl Bernadotte, son of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, and uncle of the present King of Norway as well as Belgian Kings Albert II and Baudouin. The late Bernadotte couple were particularly close to their Norwegian relatives. [Aftonbladet]

--Are you in or around Denver? You have a chance to see some serious jewels in action. Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century is at the Denver Art Museum today through March 15, 2015. [Denver Art Museum]

Photos: YouTube screencaps

Tiara Watch of the Day: November 4

There will come a day when Tiara Season is over. Thanks be to the Tiara Gods, today is not that day! Legit jumpy claps when I saw this pop up on the twitters:
Luxembourg busted out their tiaras to host a state visit from Germany! Excellent. But believe it or not, the dresses are winning most of my affection here. (Actually, it's totally believable, isn't it. Those tiaras - the Topaz/Citrine and Pearl Tiara for the Grand Duchess and an amethyst bandeau for the Hereditary Grand Duchess - are present but aren't exactly scene stealers.)
For Stéphanie, a purple lace Diane von Furstenberg gown (per Luxarazzi, which also offers more info on this state visit) with accompanying bonus points for anything purple. For Maria Teresa, a mix-and-match bespoke look from Elie Saab Fall 2012 Couture. The gowns that spawned the one MT wears are among my favorites from his recent couture collections, and I'm feeling very exclamation pointy about seeing the look come to life. Exclamation point!

Photos: MyTheresa, Style.com

Tiara Watches of the Day: October 30

Big stuff happening in Tiara World. BIG stuff. So, in lieu of our regularly scheduled Thursday posts, we're going to have one big, fat round up of state visity goodness - featuring tiaras from the Netherlands, Japan, and Spain! Read on for sparkle...

The Dutch King and Queen are on a state visit to Japan, and you know this is when Máxima brings it.
And it has been brought, my friends, starting with a fun full skirt dress in a pumpkin shade, totally brought to life by a gold belt and gold shoes. The dress is from designer Mattijs van Bergen, worn with another donut hat from Fabienne Delvigne.
This visit heralded the return of Crown Princess Masako to the state visit stage, and she was ready to go, even sporting an orange outfit to welcome her Orange guests (and matching her friend, Queen Máx). Awww.

In the evening, the Emperor and Empress held a state banquet, and Máxima continued to BRING IT.
Why yes, this is the first time she's worn the Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara, one of the family big guns that was one of Beatrix's favorites when she was queen. A perfect choice, stepping it up for her first state visit to another monarchy. She's also wearing a downsized version of the bow brooch from the Stuart parure. I'm not in love with the gown - a Jan Taminiau from Prinsjesdag 2013 - paired with this particular riband (the Order of the Precious Crown, awarded to her by the Emperor) but give me a mega tiara and I magically forget all of that.
The Empress did not wear a tiara, which was predictable; she's opted out of tiara-wearing in the past couple years, apparently for health reasons, the weight of a tiara being pretty substantial. The rest of the Japanese ladies were out in full force (even those that we don't see here), including Princess Kiko wearing the Akishino Tiara (bottom left, above).
Video, the banquet
Masako, who looked happy to be at her first state banquet in more than a decade, gave us the best look yet at the Japanese Pearl Sunburst Tiara (and its accompanying parure). There's a lot more detail there, an intricate center section and some variation  in the style of the fringes underneath the pearls, and a whole lot of sparkle. Fantastic.


Next! Over to Spain, where yesterday the King and Queen welcomed the President of Chile. This is the first formal state visit of Felipe's reign.
I think the suit Letizia chose for the official welcome belongs on Queen Sofia, to be honest. But! Once again we have redemption at the state banquet, with tiara in place.
Letizia wore the Spanish Floral Tiara, no surprise there - predictably, she didn't bust out anything reserved for the queen right away. On this occasion, it was the perfect match to her delicate gown. (Easy for me to say, it is my favorite Spanish tiara.)
She donned another Carolina Herrera dress, and this one is the best yet! Yes, we're back to the lace trend, but this is the kind that's right up my alley. I like delicate patterns and I like black and I like this, 100% like it. The trumpet flare at the bottom would be a disastrous silhouette on so many people, but for Letizia, it's fantastic.
I'm putting this under serious consideration for Letizia's best of the year. You've been warned.
And one hair shot, just for good measure.


Ahhhhhh. Talk amongst yourselves, I'll be over here, collapsed in a tiara-filled daze......

Photos: Getty Images as indicated, News Japan and ANN News video, Neiman Marcus

Tiara Watch of the Day: October 17

Oooh, I love it when we get to end the week on a tiara note. And the Norwegians provided last night, getting their tiaras out for the second time in a week to host their annual gala banquet for parliament. Crown Princess Mette-Marit turned up in a familiar look:
It's the return of the dress worn for last year's Dutch inauguration! This time, with her Norwegian order and her tiara in place (the Diamond Daisy, of course). It's an unusual dress, isn't it? Many of you commended her last year for wearing a dress that was reminiscent of Delftware to an important Dutch event, but the pattern fits right in with this ornately painted Scandinavian room too. There's a lot of pattern here, though. This might be the rare patterned dress that actually works better with the sash from an order in place, as it breaks up that solid wall of print.
That solid wall of print is probably why the dress was shown in a short version on the runway. It is, of course, bespoke Valentino.
So, which do you prefer? Version 2013 or Version 2014? Me, I would like to see Version 2013 with a tiara in place, because I always vote for tiaras and yet I love the color of that Dutch sash on this background. It just pops.

Also included: Princess Astrid, wearing her turquoise tiara from Queen Alexandra and the same dress she wore to the state banquet earlier this week, which also happens to be the same dress/tiara combination she wore to this event last year. Astrid's not bothered.

Worth a look for sparkle from Queen Maud's Pearl and Diamond Tiara, worn by Queen Sonja, and from the wee Diamond Daisy Tiara. It may disappear on photographs, but it does its duty in action.

Photos: Dagbladet video, Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, Style.com
Royal State Visit of the Day: October 14

Royal State Visit of the Day: October 14

As promised, state visit season has kicked off, and the Norwegian royal family welcomed the President of India yesterday.
Alongside the gentlemen in uniform and Princess Astrid doing her best to bring back the drop waist, Queen Sonja and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were in a hat-off - Sonja displaying the standard positioning for a pillbox, and Mette-Marit doing as she does and disappearing hers at the back of her head.
It's a standard Mette-Marit move for a standard Mette-Marit outfit, including a repeated textured coat in a mauve/lavender color and dark hosiery, with some serious earrings. She seems to have saved her surprises for the evening's state banquet, at which she wore a sort of a cape. A CAPE!
It was actually a redo of another caped look, the dress she wore to Princess Madeleine's wedding last summer, but with a different cape and a belt added. The dress is bespoke Pucci.
Well, you know me. Any hint of a CAPE and I'm all in, no matter how much it looks like a simple shawl in peril of falling right off. I declare it an excellent start to our tiara-filled season!


Photos: MSN Video, Ragnar Singsaas via Getty Images

Sunday Tidbits for October 5: New Feature! Princely Twins, Auctions Galore, and an Imperial Wedding

Lovely readers, I've decided to try out a new feature for the blog! It's a little something I'm calling Sunday Tidbits, a quick round of links to selected extras: more royal events, plus other articles and whatnots that might be of interest to you. Some news-ish, some not. Stroll through them on your lazy Sunday! Use them to cure a case of the Mondays! Do none of the above! (Hey, I don't know your life.)

Ready? Here we go:

--This has been rumored since they announced the pregnancy, but it appears that Prince Albert and Princess Charlene have confirmed to Hello! magazine that they are expecting twins. Charlene gave an interview to the publication during her recent visit to New York. Congrats to the couple! [@HelloCanada Twitter]

    --Princess Noriko of Takamado, the daughter of Princess Takamado and the late Prince Takamado, who was the Emperor of Japan's cousin, is getting married. She participated in a few ceremonies leading up to the wedding, including one in traditional garb to say farewell to the ancestor gods of the family, and one in the more modern traditional court dress with jewels to bid farewell to the Emperor and Empress. Like all females born to the imperial family, she received a parure when she came of age, this one including pearls and diamonds in a scrolling wave pattern. She won't formally be a part of the imperial family after her marriage, so her tiara days are coming to a close. Here's a video, and here's a blog covering the event. [Imperial Family of Japan Blog]
        And here is video from the wedding, held today:

        The fabrics are just gorgeous and her hair, the architecture of her hair, really, is fascinating. They look happy - as happy as they are allowed to look given the tremendous amounts of protocol every public appearance is subjected to, that is.

        --I thought Romania's Crown Princess Margarita looked very elegant in her purple recently. [Royal Hats Blog]

        --Crown Princess Victoria wore purrrrple too, for a cabinet meeting, so I'll sit on my typing fingers about the plain black accessory business. [Svensk Damtidning]

        --Returning to the Grimaldis for a moment, they have a collection of relics from Napoleon and his era, and they're selling off about a thousand pieces. Well sure, because now they have to buy two cribs, you see. (Okay, technically the article says the items, which have been on exhibit, are being sold to "to make room for a museum celebrating its own ruling dynasty".) Anyway, the French state might get involved, and it could be a whole thing. [The Independent]

        --The Swedish version of the Antiques Roadshow unearthed a tiara with a connection to Queen Sophia of Sweden and Norway (1836-1913). According to reader Anna, who sent this in, the floral diadem was one Queen Sophia gave as a gift. I do like to see garnets used in tiaras. [SVT video]
          --In other Swedish jewel news, Sotheby's is auctioning Queen Josephine's pearl necklace, a double strand of large natural pearls with pearl and diamond pendants. The necklace was probably given by Empress Joséphine to her daughter-in-law Augusta, Duchess of Leuchtenberg, and then to Augusta's daughter, Queen Josephine. It eventually passed out of the main royal line and was sold. It will now be sold again. Get that wallet out, King CG. [Sotheby's]
          On the left, Josephine wears the necklace in question

          And there you have it! Just a few extra tidbits for the week. Stay tuned Monday as we catch up on happenings in Spain and beyond.

          By the way, this series of posts has another purpose too: as open posts for commenters. For those of you that like to hang out and chat, please use these posts as a place for your off topic musings throughout the week, in the interests of keeping daily posts just a bit more manageable. Enjoy!

          Photos: FNN video, SVT video, Wikimedia Commons, Sotheby's

          Royal Reuse of the Day: September 3

          The theme for Crown Princess Mette-Marit's wardrobe yesterday was "reuse", you see, which is also the theme of my wardrobe every single day, only she does it fancier. Watch and see...
          The President of Estonia arrived in Norway for a state visit yesterday.
          In addition to her Valentino lace coat (reused indeed, and which she also has in red...though I'm not sure that detail fits with today's message), Mette-Marit wore a navy pillbox hat for the official welcome. She perched it on the back of her head, as she is prone to do, but it's a little taller than the usual types she anchors back there. Turns out, there's a good reason for that: it was made to be part of a different hat entirely. She shared the story on her new Instagram account.
          An old hat with a navy crown and wide cream brim was remade into four wee pieces that are more in line with the headgear she prefers today. An interesting choice and an innovative one too, I think. And even though I'm sorry to see her moving further away from the general millinery category of Things With Brims, she does get an A+ for breaking in that Instagram with behind the scenes sartorial details.

          She also shared that her gown for the evening's state banquet had undergone a similar transformation. It used to be this gem:
          And now designer Nina Skarra has transformed it into something new:
          And that something new looks just like something old in her closet (the dress she wore to Crown Princess Victoria's wedding), I can't help but notice. I miss the pink waistband. It was such a fresh touch, that color combination.

          This is all in connection with a reuse day she's supporting. She'll be making a couple visits this week for the same cause, and she's donated some clothing items to be auctioned. She's putting her closet where her mouth is, so to speak, and that's all good stuff. I just wouldn't have minded seeing that hat or this dress reused in, you know, the regular way before they went on the chopping block. Oh well. There's always the next incarnation... (It also strikes me as hilarious that the other two royal ladies present at the banquet might be better examples of reuse principles - how many times have we seen these two dresses?! - but I digress.)

          Anyway, your Tiara Watch before I go: Queen Sonja is wearing the big version of Queen Maud's Pearl and Diamond Tiara, our fair Crown Princess is wearing her usual Diamond Daisy Tiara, and Princess Astrid is letting her antenna aigrette fly, I think in the flower version, because she is the best.


          Photos: Heiko Junge/AFP via Getty Images, Instagram, Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images, and MSN Video

          Royal Outfit of the Day: August 15

          Here's a dress worn (reworn, actually) by Crown Princess Mary earlier this year, but we didn't really have a chance to discuss it in depth at the time. It's an interesting one - interesting in a good way, I think, but you be the judge.
          The dress was first worn to the Dutch inauguration in 2013 (shown above), and then repeated at a government dinner in 2014.
          Covered in scattered leaves and petals, the Japanese-inspired dress was designed by Charlotte Lynggaard as part of a collection presented to celebrate the 50th anniversary of jewelry company Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen in 2013. Mary wears a lot of Ole Lynggaard pieces, so it's no surprise she was first on the list for their foray into clothing.
          Interesting, right? Particularly as a choice for a royal event entailing a sash (which cuts right through the waist detail) and some sort of head accessory (a wee hat, above, and a tiara for the second appearance, below). The dress is the sort of thing that suffers when too much is added in the accessory department, and I have serious qualms about the sash issue, but I'm sort of in love with the way it moves:
          Video of this year's appearance. (Mary appears at 2:14, wearing her wedding tiara.)
          So how would you style this number? Me, I'm hoping to see it again at a black tie tiara event (let's just dispense with the sash) and with the Midnight Tiara in place. (The Midnight collection was also designed by Charlotte Lynggaard, making it a good match on multiple levels.)

          Photos: Pool/Getty Images and Luxury Insider

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