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

Royal State Visit and Tiara Watch of the Week: June 2

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I like to imagine the Swedish royal family limbering up their bobby pins and stretching in their high heels with one last tiara event before the big wedding, courtesy of the incoming state visit from the President of India. It's important to warm up for your athletic events.

But first: The President arrived in Sweden on Sunday and was greeted by the King and Queen, Crown Princess and Prince Daniel, and Prince Carl Philip with Sofia Hellqvist (making her state visit debut).
Big hat alert! Victoria looks so great with a big brim, and I'm so glad to be free of forehead-bolters for the day, I'm gonna forget everything else.
Kungahuset.se
If you were in the mood for a smaller hat, Queen Silvia's got you covered with one of her standard monochromatic ensembles. And if you were in the mood for a Mette-Marit-style state visit ensemble (you know, a plain outfit plus a not-a-hat ornament), well, Sofia's your girl. Her little pouf of a head decoration can't even be seen from the front.

~*Hit Pause On Your State Visit Musings*~
Day 2 for Victoria started out not in state visit mode but in crown princely BFF mode, welcoming next door neighbors Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit for the EAT Stockholm Food Forum. Happy summery prints abound!
Mette-Marit's dress from Isolda (with a stylized chili print!), Victoria's from Oscar de la Renta
The only thing about this that bums me out is the sad little angular blazer Mette-Marit threw on top of this floaty feminine dress. Awkward dress to pick if you want to cover it up, and an awkward clash of styles.
~*And Now Let The State Visit Musings Continue*~

Kungahuset.se
Joining up with the state visit group, Victoria threw a structured white jacket into the mix, and I think I like it even more than the cardigan. This Oscar de la Renta dress on Victoria and that white outfit from Sunday's post are giving me a renewed verve for her day style, and I hope it starts a streak.

At the end of day 2 came the tiaras.
Sofia floated in to her first state banquet on a cloud of black embellishment and ruffles (talk about taking a cue from Mette-Marit) and though she showed she's ready for more with her big emerald and diamond earrings from Ebba Brahe Jewellery, there were to be no gems from the family vault for the soon-to-be princess. Not just yet.

The tiara squad featured Silvia in her predictable Pronger and Victoria repeating her green sequined Elie Saab from the Nobel ceremony in 2012, with the Cut Steel Tiara. The golden tones of the Cut Steel plus the glittering green Vegas Kermit gown is not a combination of which I am fond, friends.
Kungahuset.se
UNLESS...unless we're not warming up for the wedding but are rather getting a few things out of our system before the big day, making way for something more interesting come June 13th. If that's the case, then carry on, Swedes, carry on.

Royal State Visit and Tiara Watch of the Day: May 28

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The King and Queen of the Netherlands have begun their state visit to Canada, and...well, friends, the unthinkable has happened. The Queen of Muchness has out-much-ed herself.
Most people overdo it with the loud stuff, the brights and the sparkle. Not Queen Máxima. She managed to overdo it with a sedate material in a sedate color: navy lace, and way too much of it. Why bother with the "coat" in the first place, I ask you?
In theory, I like the idea of a splash of hot pink with navy lace. In practice, the superfluous lace coat messes and muddies the whole thing up. In theory, this hat is great and just the sort of huge thing Máx can pull off (and she has indeed pulled this same hat off in the past, wonderfully). In practice, the pointless peignoir has already added so much fuss and bulk to the outfit, the hat just drags it down even more.
Hat pin weapon level: ARMED AND READY. Click here for a video.
Ah, well. At least we have the tiaras. The tiara. Singular. The Ruby Peacock Tiara, a nice choice for a black tie state banquet where we're just happy to see any tiara whatsoever.
See? Look how excited everyone is to see the tiara. Tiaras spread joy. It's also possible she just did a shimmy off camera for everyone, because how could you not in this dress?

QUESTION: Approximately what percentage of the clothes in Máxima's closet are tailor-made for shaking it, would you say?
After the darkness of the day outfit, I'm thrilled to see her back in brights - and it is not going unnoticed here that she's got a full day color scheme going, with the pink accents in the day (with ruby and diamond earrings) and the full out pink and ruby scheme at night. This is more like the Máx I love to love. More of this as the visit continues on, please.

Programming note: No Tiara Thursday today. Instead, we have this tiara in action and some tiara fun coming up tomorrow!

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, NOS screencaps
Royal Flashback of the Day: May 25

Royal Flashback of the Day: May 25

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Take a tiara break on your holiday Monday (or your regular Monday - tiara breaks are always advisable) and stroll with me through a flashback from some Scandinavian weddings past as we get ready for the next one. It's Grand Duchess Maria Teresa's turn, and we have three of the crown princely (and princessly) weddings to which she's brought her Luxembourg charm:

Wedding of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, 2001
Three cheers for long evening coats! Enough cheering to drown out the bedazzled buttons and wide belt on the dress underneath! I like pink paired with the red Order of St. Olav, and are you seeing the size of the stones she's wearing? The necklace and the earrings are heavenly. (She's also sporting a tiara we have not covered here, a Chaumet diamond number which is also convertible to a choker and is topped here by pearls.)
Pre-Wedding Gala for Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson, 2004
Floaty and flowery and froofy, oh my! (Same Chaumet tiara here, by the way.)

Wedding of Frederik and Mary
We're in the early days of Maria Teresa's love affair with Elie Saab, and this one looks like she's tattooed herself in sparkling pastels. (Which, if you're going for the full body tattoo, is definitely the way to go.)

Wedding of Frederik and Mary
But it does make a perfect pairing with the light blue of the Order of the Elephant and the Luxembourg Aquamarine Bandeau Tiara and earrings. And you can never go wrong with one of the family's gorgeous diamond rose brooches.

Pre-Wedding Dinner for Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling, 2010
Did she get tired of carrying her shawl, or did she give up on finding a dress and just toss a bolt of chiffon over her shoulder? Unclear. The only saving grace here are those aquamarines, back in action for another royal wedding.

Wedding of Victoria and Daniel
Hang on, there's one more saving grace: THIS WHOLE THING RIGHT HERE. She saved up allllll her good stuff for the wedding itself. The draping on this Elie Saab is perfection, and I love the way the Order of the Seraphim sash is tucked into it all. And props must, must, be given for breaking out her biggest big gun in the form of the massive Luxembourg Empire Tiara. Even if you don't care for the selection (say what??), give her the nod for volunteering to wear this beast for one very long day. That's dedication to the sparkly cause.

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated

Royal Closet Raid of the Day: April 20

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I was disappointed we didn't get to see any of Queen Margrethe's nieces and nephews at her birthday bash last week, so I'm making up for it closet raid style, that thing we do where we pick the look we love so much we'd like it for our very own. Today's honoree (sure, we'll call it that): Princess Marie-Chantal!
With Crown Prince Pavlos at Princess Madeleine of Sweden's wedding, 2013
You know I love me some OTT Big Time Princessing, but I have love for those that can do it on a more casual scale, too. This whole look is perfectly put together without trying too hard. The white of the dress and the diamonds with the navy and blue sash of the Order of Saints Olga and Sophia feels crisp and fresh, and the jewels (one of my favorite fringe tiaras, with small diamond earrings and a long, thin necklace) are just the right amount of added interest.
The dress is a surprisingly simple number from Valentino Couture, the Fall 2011 collection. Marie-Chantal had it made in white, and Qatar's Sheikha Mozah had it made in navy:
I'll stick with Marie-Chantal's version, though, accessories included. My runners up include that Dolce & Gabbana number also owned by Crown Princess Victoria, and the Oscar de la Renta worn the night before this appearance. I'll be dreaming of an M-C-sized shopping spree tonight...sigh.

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, Style.com

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