WEDDING FLOWERS: H and M
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Showing posts with label H and M. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H and M. Show all posts

Prince Carl Philip & Sofia’s Wedding: The Swedish Royal Family

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The Swedish royal family has a history of turning up the sartorial volume significantly when it comes to big events. Did they succeed at their prince’s wedding? Well…yes and no. Let’s give out some awards and discuss:

(Hint: Click the tiara names to go to their individual entries!)

Best in Predictable
Queen Silvia
I predicted she would wear the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara, most of us predicted she would wear the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara, she wore the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara. And HUZZAH for that, because it is and remains a sparkly wall of diamonds with gorgeous blue at the top, and you can’t go wrong with that.
She added it to a dress in light lilac silk satin with embroidery of lace, sequins, and stones, all of which was a little bit on the shiny side for me. (Silvia in anything embellished and shiny: also predictable.)
With Sofia's parents. Photo: Mattias Edwall/Kungahuset.se
The King wore the mess dress model 1878 uniform of the Admiral of the Fleet with insignia from the Order of the Seraphim, the Order of Vasa, and the Order of the Sword. His medals are Gustav V's Jubilee Medal II, Gustav VI Adolf's Commemorative Medal, the Order of the Polar Star, and the Order of Vasa.

Best in Surprises
Crown Princess Victoria
I asked for some tiara switcheroos, and BEHOLD: the Connaught Tiara, worn for the first time by Victoria. I wanted to see that one on the bride, but I’ll settle for it on anyone!
With Sofia's sisters. Photo: Mattias Edwall/Kungahuset.se
Victoria wore a custom dress from the H&M Conscious Collection – also a surprise because, well, H&M at a royal wedding?! Victoria’s a big supporter of the company but even at that, this one surprised me.
Was it a good surprise? It’s growing on me, I’ll say that. It has the grand scale we’ve come to expect, even if it does appear to be covered in tire tracks. Both Victoria and Prince Daniel were wearing the Order of the Seraphim, and Daniel also wore the Order of the Polar Star.

Best of the Family
Princess Madeleine
I could give this to Madeleine just for getting all dolled up when she’s about to pop, but this isn’t a sympathy best; this is a WOW under any circumstances. This soft apricot pink Elie Saab was smoothly adapted for her maternity needs and her diamonds had all the necessary sparkle. As expected, she stuck with her Modern Fringe Tiara, which I'm guessing is the one she finds most comfortable. She added the Vasa Earrings, huge diamond numbers that date all the way back to the Vasa dynasty, and which are probably anything but comfortable.
Madeleine wore the Order of the Seraphim and Chris O’Neill wore the Order of the Polar Star. They brought Princess Leonore with them, and she topped today’s heirloom baby clothing stakes by wearing a dress that goes all the way back to King Gustaf VI Adolf, her great-great-grandfather. (Leonore seemed fascinated by the tiaras during the ceremony. I think this kid and I would get along.)

Best in Honeybadgers
The Haga Princesses
Princess Christina (in the mulberry dress) and Princess Désirée (in hot pink)
Listen, I think I’m a bit in love with the Haga Princesses, a.k.a. the four sisters of the King. Princess Margaretha is the best dressed here, in her fabulous Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara, but the rest of them could clearly care less what we think, and I just can’t help but love ‘em a bit for that attitude. Honeybadgers don’t care, man! Princess Christina doesn’t care that I’m tired of her picking the Six Button Tiara over and over again. Princess Désirée doesn’t care that she’s sporting the Cut Steel Tiara with what is basically a hot pink caftan.
Princess Birgitta (in the trousers) and Princess Margaretha
And Princess Birgitta REALLY doesn’t care that she’s not, in fact, headed to a beach soirée around her Mallorca home. She’s gonna wear her palazzo pants with a fur tossed on top as the only concession to her northern location, and she doesn't care what you think! I mean, this is basically a jumpsuit with the Baden Fringe Tiara. Don’t you have to love it, just a little bit, at least?? Come on. The absurdity, it’s delicious.

Coming up later: the international guests. Until then…

Who was your best dressed Swedish royal family member?

Photos: via Getty Images and SVT video, Mattias Edwall/Kungahuset.se

Royal Outfit of the Day: September 10

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Question: If you saw this dress - just the dress on its own - to which royal wardrobe would you guess it belongs?
Tiered lace dress from the H&M Conscious Collection.
If you answered a) Crown Princess Mette-Marit or b) the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, I’m right there with you. But no! Crown Princess Victoria is the proud owner of this tiered lace dress, in the black version (I gather it might actually be a deep navy, but it’s dark enough not to bother splitting hairs). It is possible that she owns every item in the most recent H&M Conscious Collection, judging from this year’s appearances.
She paired it with a kicky costume piece in her hair. I wasn’t too sure about the pairing, but I do think a bit of fun is needed here. Runs a bit too close to a bride in mourning otherwise, no?
Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine (with Chris O’Neill) were also present – actually they were much more the main event, despite my interest in Victoria’s dress, since Silvia founded the organization and Madeleine now works for it. Princess Madeleine is wearing her second recent gown from Ida Sjöstedt. It’s worth a look at the linked video; Madeleine’s sheer overlay is much more pronounced in movement, and Victoria’s skirt moves like a froofy bell as she picks her way over the cobblestones. I'm not sure that I like this H&M dress, but I would like to twirl around in it for a bit. The twirl factor is quite high, to put it in scientific terms. I shall wait to see what Mette-Marit makes of it before I issue my yay or nay. (Because we will see it on Mette-Marit, right?! Ruffles and a t-shirt top, that’s practically screaming her name. I’m still shocked she didn’t get to it first.)


Photos: H&M, Expressen video

Royal Outfits of the Day: September 8

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Two royal ladies back in black for our Monday:
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited Málaga.
Another little black dress for Letizia - she's got to be our most LBD-prone royal, right? There must be a whole section of her closet devoted to 'em - and this one gives a new definition to the classic mullet dress: business in the front, party in the back. Click here for more pictures.
A similar retail model is available, but Letizia's Felipe Varela dress has been customized.


Video: Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary marked Flag Day in Denmark. Click here for pictures.
Mary's take mixes black with a full floral skirt for a more successful version of what we saw Victoria try last week, though this one is made much easier with a shorter skirt and less volume.
Mary's skirt is from the H&M Conscious Collection and her top is from Hugo Boss.
This is Mary doing her usual remix of repeated pieces, but what elevates this - and Letizia's simple LBD too - is some excellent chignon action. That will catch my eye on just about any old outfit, guaranteed, but you already knew that (#TeamUpdo, hey).

Photos: Daniel Perez/Getty Images, STV video, Felipe Varela, BilledBladet video, H&M, Hugo Boss

Royal Event of the Day: August 27

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The Swedish royal family attended the Polar Music Prize festivities last night.
We now interrupt our regularly scheduled wardrobe theft game for refreshing change of pace (in these summer days, at least): an actual event! Half of the royal ladies were only present for part of the event (Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine joined in later, Silvia was typical Silvia and Madeleine was...not her best in an Ida Sjöstedt dress), but still, the Swedish royal family is trying their best for us. We do appreciate the effort.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, above. Click here for a gallery of arrivals, including the King, Chris O'Neill, and a glimpse of Princess Christina and husband Tord Magnuson.
Is this the official Dress of 2014? Victoria's sure trying to make it so. This year has already brought us an outing for Victoria in the dark version and one previous outing in this light version, plus an appearance for Mette-Marit in the dark version. And that's just since June! It's a great dress, and a perfect choice for this event. But I think the question is: too much of a good thing, or never enough?
The dress is from the H&M Conscious Collection.
(By the way, Victoria will have her day in the closet theft sun later on.)

Photos: Anna Lu Lundholm via Getty Images, and H&M

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 23

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Crown Princess Victoria was up to some stuff last week. Some good-looking sartorial stuff, that is. A double shot to start off our week...

Crown Princess Victoria attended the installation of a new archbishop, wearing a white L.K. Bennett dress.
I loved this dress back when the Duchess of Cambridge wore it (in blue) and I love it in white too. I also love a big hat and a black and white combo, even though I'm not entirely sold on this hat with this dress. But I give it a thumbs up anyway.

Then, she and Daniel headed off for a trip to gorgeous Iceland, and we saw...wait for it...that H&M Conscious Collection dress! Yes, the one that both she and Mette-Marit own. Again. Different color this time, but I think I'm partial to the darker version. Still, I can't fault her for spotting a princess-worthy dress and scooping it up in as many versions as she can get. Once again, I come down on the thumbs up side of things.

Photos: LK Bennett/Aftonbladet TV/SVT video/@crownprincely

Royal Outfit of the Day (with a Bonus Tiara Watch!): June 12

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Crown Princess Mette-Marit attended the AmfAR Inspiration Gala in New York this week.
Well, it made the celeb red carpet rounds, and now this dress is making the royal rounds - first on Crown Princess Victoria, now here on her Scandinavian neighbor Mette-Marit. I'm a little disappointed, though...I thought surely if I could count on anyone to deliver a fierce shoe with this dress, it would be my dear M-M, but instead she's delivered Just Another Nude Shoe. Le sigh.
So, who's next? Mary? She's a fan of the H&M Conscious Collection, maybe she'll go for it.

After royally repeating in New York, she popped back home to participate in a state visit from Germany. And you know what that means: Tiaras Ahoy! Last night, the gala dinner was held. (Click here for a video, or here's an article with a full length Mette-Marit picture.) Queen Sonja wore Queen Maud's Pearl and Diamond Tiara, Mette-Marit was in her usual barely-there Diamond Daisy Tiara, and Princess Astrid wore her delightfully wacky Gold Bandeau.
What we learn here is that Mette-Marit is a big fan of the Pia Tjelta by Ti Mo collection. We've already seen her in two floral dresses from the line. Now, this gala dress is a customized version of the white dress seen at right above (in a tiered full length, with a shorter sleeve) - and she already has the off the rack version of the white dress too. She's got to have an entire closet devoted to white dresses at this point, right? Not that I'm complaining. This Nordic princess wears the pristine color like no other.

Photos: Kevin Tachman/Getty Images and H&M and MSN Video and by TiMo

Royal Outfits of the Day: June 5

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Crown Princess Victoria presented the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award earlier this week in a dress from Preen, shoes from By Malene Birger, and an enamel cuff from Sophie by Sophie.
I started in with the mini jumpy claps the second I saw this little number - I have adored it in celeb appearances (Katherine Jenkins and Melonie Diaz, for example) and am so happy to see it on the royal runway! It's from Preen and it's colorful and geometric and delightful. And, bonus, Victoria let the playfulness of the dress infiltrate her accessory choices, with blue shoes plus an orange bracelet and clutch. These are the things that make me happy.

If you prefer something a little more classic, Victoria had a really lovely appearance at the Bernadotte Art Awards (here's a gallery with a full length view, plus an amusing look at Carl Gustaf considering just what he's supposed to do about his wife's runaway dress). She was wearing this dress from the H&M Conscious Collection:
And while this one has also had its fair share of red carpet appearances (Emmy Rossum, Leticia Dolera), it's also pretty princess perfect. A good little run of outfits from Victoria, no?

Photos: ALMA Video/ALMA Twitter/Lyst/By Malene Birger/Sophie by Sophie/H&M

Royal Fabric Explosion of the Day: May 20

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The Swedish royal family hosted a dinner at the palace. Crown Princess Victoria wore a pink dress by Lanvin for H&M.
Oh dear, it appears Overgrown Shoulder Disease has hit Sweden. Trendy though it may once have been (the collection came out in 2010), it's always just looked to me like they had a little too much fabric and didn't feel like finding the scissors so they just bunched it all in there. Alas.

For more from the dinner, click here.

Here's a palette cleanser for you: Princess Estelle, who is Duchess of Östergötland, made her first visit to her province and had her first little engagement...

Video, above
...which she handled like a boss, as if there was any doubt.

 Photos: Sören Andersson/TT via Kungahuset and H&M

Year in Review: 2013's Honorable Mentions (...and Some Worsts)

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We tackled the bests from the roster of royal women usually featured here, but they weren't the only ones accomplishing feats of sartorial splendor in 2013. Today's honorable mentions are for the stand outs among the rest of the royal crew! Excellent looks, plain and simple, left to right:
  • Princess Charlene is trying, bless her heart, and she seems to know that purple and jewels are the quickest way to my heart. She simply killed it with this appearance.
  • Speaking of killing it, the Countess of Wessex had an amazing year. Take your pick - this red number was just one of several bests.
  • Princess Marie's sleek take on a Little Red Dress also needs to join my best list.
  • I can't always pinpoint what I love about an appearance, and Princess Caroline's simple black dress is one such situation. Maybe it's the slightly longer necklace? Whatever it is, I thought she looked absolutely tremendous here.
  • It wouldn't be a favorites list for me if it didn't include some Elie Saab, so Princess Madeleine's pre-wedding sparkles will cover me quite nicely there.
  • Likewise, I require a dose of the couture mastery of Sheikha Mozah, so we'll go with this Valentino in the Netherlands.
  • Plus, the Duchess of Cornwall got to make her big foreign royal event debut. I really enjoyed seeing her out and about this year, more and more regal and ready to step up when the time comes.
And just a few sentimental favorites, because it isn't all about the fashion...even here.
  • Queen-to-Princess Beatrix was full of win this year, particularly the strong front she formed with Princess Mabel as they said goodbye to Prince Friso. On a more superficial note, the fact that she added an extra row of pearls to her big pearl tiara for the first time in a long time on her final night as queen wins all the things.
  • The return of Crown Princess Masako to the international royal stage was completely lovely, and I hope we'll see more of her to come.
  • WEE ESTELLE is my spirit animal. That is all.

And...The Worsts
Wouldn't be a proper year end wrap up without one last glimpse back at what made us cringe this year, would it? And then we never have to think about them again. Until one of these women decides to haunt us with a reappearance, that is.
  • Princess Märtha Louise set the standard for the worst list early in the year in this number.
  • Queen Máxima did a particularly bad thing with an ill-fitting dress and some black stockings recently, but for me, this Valentino (which she is the third royal to wear) is the year's true crime. It's the one time a tiara actually made things worse.
  • Crown Princess Mary also wore the H&M mullet dress sported by Crown Princess Mette-Marit, but the addition of heavy black tights, SHOOTIES, and a jacket is such a peculiar look. She's managed to be both blergh and baffling, all at once.
  • Princess Charlene at Princess Madeleine's wedding looks less a mess than the rest of those in this row, that is true - but. But. This one makes me sad. It's not just that she didn't wear a tiara to a tiara event, it's that this dress really could have used a tiara. Something, anything, to liven up this drab color which felt like a thud on the red carpet of a summer royal wedding.
Who makes your list of honorable mentions and worsts this year?

Photos: Getty Images/PA/Scanpix/Kungahuset/ANP

Weekly Royal Fashion Awards: November 5-11

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Best of the Week
The Benelux Queens
 
Our newest pair of sovereign couples take the cake this week, as the Belgians paid a quick (super quick) introductory visit to the Dutch. Nice and neat queens, the both of them. I half expect Máx's shoulder bow to fly off and end up as some sort of epic butt bow on an outfit to come, but still.

Most Intriguing Trip
Crown Princess Victoria

Video: Victoria and Daniel made a short visit to Britain
Here's one that improves on video, I think. Because after seeing it in action and learning that it was Stella McCartney (a little nod to diplomatic dressing there, picking a British designer), I have upgraded Victoria from "Beetlejuice in SHOOTIES" to "Intriguing". It was a surprisingly fashion-forward trip for Victoria, as she also debuted a piece from the Isabel Marant H&M collection.
Left to Right: Stella McCartney and Isabel Marant pour H&M as worn by Victoria; Máxima in Russia; Mary in Mexico
Royal trips are starting to pick up again on the whole and in addition to the Belgians, the Dutch went to Russia, and the Danes have just started a visit to Mexico (we'll have the rest of the trip next week, so hang on for that). Máxima's last two outfits in Russia were pretty great, but overshadowed by the oddness of the whole visit - it closed a year which was focused on Dutch/Russian relations but which was also filled with problems and diplomatic messes. I mean, someone tried to pelt them with rotten tomatoes while they were there! They missed, but the whole visit just seems like one best put in the past.

Best of the Rest
Princess Letizia
Letizia at a ceremony and an awards presentation; Máxima at an anniversary event, presenting a prize, and at a performance; Mathilde making another city visit; Kate promoting Poppy Day
The rest of the week was a mixed bag, and this is a far from complete round up. (Mary, for example, had a couple other appearances including a concert where her own outfit was nothing compared to her father-in-law's sartorial flair - video link.) (And there was Estelle, but she's the automatic highlight.) I'll honor Letizia's bit of sparkle, while diplomatically ignoring the jumpsuit.

Who was your best dressed last week?

P.S.: If you're interested in the Remembrance Day events in the U.K. or the Tiara Watch they had there last week, head over to the Jewel Vault!

Photos: RVD/HKH/TT/Kungahuset/Getty Images/AP/RTL/Mexico Presidency/Getty Images/DutchPhotoPress/ANP/Lesoir/WPAPool

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