WEDDING FLOWERS: Brooches
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Showing posts with label Brooches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brooches. Show all posts

Royal Fashion Awards: Queen Margrethe’s Birthday, Day Events

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A morning wake up call with song (and canons!) marked the start of Queen Margrethe’s actual birthday, and the busiest day of birthday festivities. Our visiting royals are now down to the fellow Nordic monarchs, with the addition of Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
Margrethe's morning wake up
Some quality balcony time with the whole family and their guests was followed by a carriage ride through Copenhagen for the Queen and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, who were standing in for Prince Henrik, still sick with the flu. With hats in place, they convened at Copenhagen’s Town Hall for a round of interpretive dance (because hey, why not) and a reception. Meanwhile, we convene for our next round of royal fashion awards…


Best of All, Birthday or Not
Queen Margrethe
Actual, audible awws from me when Daisy stepped out on the balcony, in this fresh color, flattering cut, and her whopper of a diamond daisy brooch, made from her grandmother’s stones for her mother and subsequently given to her. She’s the best dressed of them all, and that’s not just a birthday given.


Best in Accessory Additions
Crown Princess Mary
Mary reused a gorgeous navy Oscar de la Renta coat dress with an embellished neckline, and I loved that she went with gray accessories instead of trying to coat herself in navy from head to toe. I also loved her hat, which looked quite familiar and for good reason: Zara Phillips has worn the same one, and the Countess of Wessex has worn a similar model. It’s by Jane Taylor.


Biggest in Accessory Additions
Princess Marie
I speak not, obviously of her hat – which still did not manage to stay on the good side of the wind gods despite its wee stature – but of her brooch. Everyone wore commemorative birthday medals, but Marie added an enormous bird on the other side. I'm loving that choice with this outfit, actually, just wishing that pesky medal wasn't competing. (But I suppose politeness has to win every now and then, le sigh.)


Best in Sisters
Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie
Yeah, I’m running out of ways to say they’re typical as always, these two. They both had fab ruby earrings, and Benedikte wore her famous koosh ball hat, and that's all I got.


Most Dubious in Hats, Part 1
Crown Princess Mette-Marit
Is this a prop from The Tudors, or what? This has to be a prop of some sort. Yeah, from the same Gothic horror set that gives us those skull earrings, perhaps.
Otherwise, M-M in white, check and check.


Most Continued Sartorial Dedication
Queen Silvia
And how did Queen Sil accommodate her arm injury today? A purple cape. A PURPLE CAPE. Omigod. She's going to force me to declare her my favorite royal of EVER by the time this is done, isn't she.


Most Dubious in Hats, Part 2
Crown Princess Victoria
Points for a Georg Jensen daisy brooch, okay, but that hat. Hmm. I thought it was just a novelty, a little sentimental touch, when she imitated an old hat of her mother’s at Princess Leonore’s christening. But now there’s a second version in white. It's not terrible or anything, but...this is the hat you bulk buy, V? Really?
Also shown: Victoria's Chanel dress, runway version

And that's that!

But it's not really that, because there is one more birthday event left to come: a dinner at Fredensborg Palace. The open post is still up and running with all your live link info and a place to chat about that if you like.

But as far as this post is concerned...

Who was your best dressed at the day events?


Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, DR1 video, Lyst, Jane Taylor Millinery, Style.com

Royal Fashion Awards: Queen Margrethe's Birthday in Aarhus

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As you may know, I am just a TEENSY bit excited for Queen Margrethe's birthday festivities this month. Things got off to an official start today with celebrations in Aarhus, and naturally, I'm all over it. (I'm posting early and Tiara Thursday will be up on Friday, on account of my jumpy claps.)
Accompanied by Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim, and Princess Marie, the birthday girl arrived in town for a luncheon and a little bit of balcony waving. The ladies were all brooched up and hatted up in classic fashion, as though Daisy had sent out a memo decreeing that their very best prim n' proper royal-ness should be turned up to 11 for the occasion.

Best in QUEEN
Queen Margrethe
Queen Margrethe also wore this white number for a luncheon for her jubilee in 2012, and it is just the thing for a day when one is the center of attention. (I mean, she's the QUEEN, and so she's always the star of the show, but for special spotlight days.) I can just picture her at her closet, "Ooh, get the white one. Yes! I look excellent in the white one." She does indeed.

Best in Sapphire Buildup, Part 1
Crown Princess Mary
With her basic coat, dress, and pill box hat, Mary wore one of her best brooches, an heirloom piece with a large sapphire, diamonds, and pearls. It came from Margrethe's grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, and has been worn by Queen Ingrid and Queen Margrethe. It was given to Mary after Prince Christian was born, and it is stunning. (See it in detail here.) I'm actually pretty bored by the rest of this outfit, but anything to showcase that brooch is fine by me.

Best in Sapphire Buildup, Part 2
Princess Marie
Marie wore another heirloom brooch, one that belonged to Queen Alexandrine. It is also sapphire, diamond, and pearl, so her navy accents went right along with the show. The princesses were building up to the big show that night, apparently...

Best in Sapphire Show
Queen Margrethe
Because at the evening's gala performance, Queen Margrethe wore the biggest sapphires in her collection. This is a flexible demi-parure that comes from Queen Alexandrine, and is said to have had a Russian past before that. Her navy dress was super simple with a bit of lace at the top, really just a background for those gobstopper stones (as it should be).
She was also sporting a new birthday gift from Aarhus on her dress, given to her earlier in the day. The gold brooch is designed in the form of the railings that surround trees in the town, and it is studded with stones to represent her eight grandchildren. Just the thing for a modern jewelry-lovin' monarch. (Read more and see a picture here, or see a video here - all in Danish, of course.)

Best in Intrigue
Crown Princess Mary
Continuing the jewel festival: MARY! She and Frederik were joined by Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, and Mary wore a repeated midnight velvet Prada gown which has been altered since the last time we saw it. (Actually, it's been altered more than once, and we'll be looking at its evolution in the near future.) The newly square neckline is 1) so flattering, 2) the first thing I've really loved about this gown, and 3) the perfect thing to display a new necklace!
I'm told the commentators on Danish television said this was a tiara worn as a necklace, but I don't know if that is fact or an educated guess - it is quite similar to her wedding tiara, which can be worn as a necklace. It's new to Mary (and the earrings look like they might be new too), and all the question marks are up as to whether it is borrowed for the evening or a permanent addition to her collection, and whether it can indeed be worn as a tiara. But for now, JUMPY CLAPS!

Best in...Something Else
Princess Marie
Oh, poor Princess Marie. I always seem to use up my jumpy claps before I get to her. {Shrug.} But she's lovely anyway! Her hair was fantastic and this was a good show for her. And she gets points for her dapper dates, Princes Joachim, Nikolai, and Felix.

Best Guest List Addition
Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg
Bless the Danes for keeping it classy and still welcoming Prince Joachim's first wife into the fold. Alexandra, with her husband in tow, was lovely as ever in a gray lavender gown, and a welcome addition to the guest list.

We're off and running to a great start, don't you think? My excitement for next week is officially off the charts.

Who makes your best dressed list for the beginning of the birthday celebrations?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, TV2 video
Royal Visit of the Day: March 23

Royal Visit of the Day: March 23

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I think Willem-Alexander has found his signature THE KING HAS ARRIVED pose.
Following their cheery Danish state visit last week, the Dutch King and Queen made a two day stop in Germany for an official visit before heading home. With arrival on her own home turf so close she could smell it, Máxima returned to her main man Natan for a couple more outfits.
The first one was possibly a contest to see how many different colors and fabrics could fit in one ensemble. I hope the prize was a good one.
Day two was all about the accessories, a sea of red as far as the eye can see with only a pair of snazzy glasses for viewing the eclipse to break it up. And also a bug on her shoulder, can't forget that.
The accessories and their overdose of red were distracting me from what was really kind of a lovely dress underneath. You can't go wrong with a basic red dress, and this one has an extra wave of fabric to add some interest.

Basic with distractions continued to be the theme as the Dutch couple arrived home and headed off to a concert engagement. No rest for the wicked, or something like that, eh?
I suppose it's possible that Máx felt at risk for falling in a canal or something and needed to bring her floaties along just in case. I mean, it was an exhausting few days. Safety first.
But once again, matters were drastically improved when the basics underneath were allowed to stand on their own.

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated
Royal Event of the Day: March 10

Royal Event of the Day: March 10

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Yesterday was Commonwealth Day, and three Windsor couples came out to mark the day at the annual observance service at Westminster Abbey.
Leading the pack in beige tweed, the Queen repeated a Karl Ludwig coat and Angela Kelly hat. Her brooch coordination was excellent here, with the Gold Filigree Brooch (a relatively new bauble that first appeared in 2012) picking up the flecks of gold in the fabric. You can read about the brooch and the rest of Her Maj's jewels for the day (she also attended an evening reception) over at the Vault. She was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. He wore a suit.
My best dressed for the event, believe it or not, was the Duchess of Cornwall. This blue Bruce Oldfield ensemble is quite flattering for Cams, with just a touch of richness from the velvet trim. And I'd say that even without the threat of an attack from her pet snake, wrapped in velvet and curled up around her Philip Treacy hat.
She accessorized with her favorite pair of pearl earrings and one of her famous pearl and diamond chokers (the larger of the two with all diamond clasps that she regularly wears). She was accompanied by the Prince of Wales. He wore a suit.
And finally, the Duchess of Cambridge, who arrived awash in pale pink. Her Jane Taylor hat was new (honestly, though, she has such a collection of these percher hats in beige and pinky beige and light pink that they all started blending together quite some time ago) and her bespoke McQueen coat was a repeat from her last pregnancy. The highlight of the appearance for me? A new pair of earrings from Kiki McDonough, morganite drops on small diamond hoops. More pink jewels always, please and thank you.
Oh, and she was accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge. He wore a suit.

Your turn: Your best dressed for the day?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated.

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