Royal Event of the Week: November 24

Royal Event of the Week: November 24

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National Day in Monaco was last week, so let's catch up with the Monaco Bunch (they're a lot like the Brady Bunch, but with more Chanel).

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The day includes a cathedral service, a ceremony in the palace courtyard, a bit of waving from the balcony, and an evening gala. I genuinely loved Princess Caroline's outfit for the day events - an elegant Chanel blazer and dress, a bit of a hat, some fab hair. Princess Stephanie also looked pretty sleek in her simple coat, though her choice of a scrunchie instead of a hat (she never wears hats, but still) removes any and all coat bonus points.

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Tatiana went for the nutty professor look in her Dolce & Gabbana coat and mortarboard-looking hat, but I kind of like it. Not that anyone was looking much in that direction given the debut National Day appearance of little Sacha and his little knees, clinging to dad Andrea and grandma Caroline.

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Also present at the cathedral were Monaco residents the Duke and Duchess of Castro. She's prone to dramatic outfits and this one certainly does have some flair, but you know the purple is right up my alley.

Princess Charlene skipped out on most of the day's events and I can't blame her, those twins are due next month and if she wants to shuffle around the palace in her bunny slippers all the time right about now, more power to her. But she did make a beaming balcony appearance in an Akris double faced cape with a jaunty beret. (That's the smile of a woman who's still wearing her bunny slippers, fancy outfit and all, right?)

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Also on the balcony, Caroline's daughter Princess Alexandra showed off her dress which is adorned with CROWNS and that is the BEST.

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"Stephanie, look. Look at allllll those people who remembered to leave their scrunchies at home." I think Sacha's on my side here.

At the evening gala, we weren't at risk for scrunchie infection, but we did catch a serious case of ADLD. Another Dang Lace Dress. No fault of Tatiana's that we've seen so.very.many. of these in a row, so I'll just decide she wanted to confirm those reports of her second pregnancy and leave it at that.

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Caroline can be trusted to be different, at least, and her repeated coat is the rare piece that works both as an evening coat and also with your favorite pair of bunny slippers. I'm all for it. I hope she shares with Charlene.

Caroline's Chanel coat, Tatiana's Dolce & Gabbana coat, Charlene's Akris cape (runway version)

Photos: Pascal Le Segretain via Getty Images, Style.com, My Theresa

Potential Royal Couture of the Day: July 11

Potential Royal Couture of the Day: July 11

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The Fall 2014 Couture shows happened this week in Paris. Let's do what we do and gaze at some prettiness while making our wish lists for what we hope to see on our favorite royal ladies, shall we? (Click the designer names to see the whole collection.)

Wouldn't be a couture week without Elie Saab doing what he does best. Ornamentation galore combined with lots of ombré effect gowns (as though Elie Saab alone isn't enough of a weakness for me, I have a peculiar fondness for anything ombré, so I'm all over this). As always, the Luxembourg ladies are our best bet to see this in action, and if we cross our fingers maybe a Swedish princess will dip into the pool too.

Valentino put out a very romantic, Pre-Raphaelite-inspired collection. Keep an eye out for Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Madeleine, Princess Marie-Chantal, Queen Máxima, Sheikha Mozah, and more.

Chanel delivered a typically artistic collection with inspiration from Karl Lagerfeld as intriguing as ever ("brutalist and baroque"). I include the video above for one purpose only: the very last look. I wouldn't be mad at all one of the ladies of Monaco wanted to don that fabulous train, wouldn't be mad at all. Pick any occasion, opening a yacht club, I don't even care. That is amazing.

Giambattista Valli's been rather popular with Crown Princess Mette-Marit of late, and Charlotte Casiraghi's been a fan in the past. I wouldn't mind this collection spreading to some other royal ladies too, with its bright florals and affection for full skirts and capes. You can look no further than the styling to see that it's practically screaming for some attention from Sheikha Mozah (head wraps and sunglasses, hello!).

This is just a selection from some of the designers already in the royal mix. Others to consider:

• Christian Dior has dressed Queen Mathilde a couple times this year (for her French introductory visit and for the D-Day commemoration - both events in France, a perfect marriage since the French label is currently designed by a Belgian, Raf Simons). What we've seen on Mathilde so far has been totally bespoke and not from the runway, but others like Sheikha Mozah and Princess Haya are runway fans.
• Armani Privé has been a go-to in the past for some of our royal ladies (Queen Mathilde and Queen Paola for special occasions, for example), though again, it's often totally custom work.
• I'm still waiting for Ralph & Russo (a British label from two Australians) to make an appearance on our British royals, but Sheikha Mozah's already a fan.

What's on your royal wish list?

Photos: Style.com

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 30

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 30

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King Philippe and Queen Mathilde continued their introductory visits, traveling to Sweden to meet with King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and the Swedish royal family. For video from the meeting, click here.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by Mathilde's parade of hats and special outfits for these introductory visits, but this one seems...exceptionally normal. I'm feeling rather meh about the whole situation. Well, apart from the fact that I think her dress, which I assume is Natan, is trying to hypnotize me. It's a little Magic Eye-esque, no? Victoria's in repeated Chanel (runway, far right above), which just seems a little stiff to me. (She is back in heels though, so that's a good sign!)

Take #2 comes right away, as Norway is next up on the Belgian agenda.

Photos: Kungahuset.se/SVT

Royal Outfit of the Day: March 31

Royal Outfit of the Day: March 31

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Princess Charlene attended the Rose Ball with the princely family. She wore a blue Akris gown and diamond and sapphire earrings made to match her Ocean Necklace/Tiara. Also in attendance was Princess Caroline, wearing Chanel, right down to the sneakers.

I was all about Charlene's dress - she looks fabulous, really - until I saw what's happening at the bottom. (Can we kill this sheer trend? Can we kill it with fire?) I have thus decided to pretend this look only exists from the waist up.

The rest of the crew was there, including a princess-y Beatrice Borromeo and Chanel-clad Princess Caroline and Charlotte Casiraghi. Click here for a gallery. And yes, your eyes do not deceive you - Caroline was sporting the same sneakers Karl Lagerfeld (designer of the ball) sent down the runway not so long ago, and my prediction that she'd be the royal to try these out came true. I guess she was injured, since she was using a cane, but let's be honest: she didn't need a reason for these.

Photos: Reuters/Getty/Palais Princier/Style.com