Visor Alert: Queen Princess Beatrix helms her own ship (De Groene Draeck, the Green Dragon) and her bouffant bends for no occasion.
Queen Rania hosted women for iftar at Raghadan Palace, June 21
Oh, this Roksanda Ilincic frock is such a perfect dress-to-wearer match. I appreciate an Ilincic done simply even more after that recent Ascot episode.
Crown Princess Mary (with her plus one, Fred) attended the Reumert Awards honoring the Danish performing arts, June 21. Click here for a gallery.
I saw some clips of this show. I got the impression it wouldn't have made much more sense even if I did speak Danish, which I don't. But that makes it a great occasion for this outfit, which is a long dress with a long kimono on top (from Rabens Saloner).
Last night, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attended the Reumert Awards at the Royal Danish PlayHouse pic.twitter.com/xIrqX3i33H
It's the perfect outfit for swanning about one's lanai all day, before heading out for an evening of baffling theater. I'd take the whole ensemble home, no problem. And I'm not just saying that because I need those Portuguese gold filigree earrings in my life rightthissecond.
Photos: via Getty Images, Queen Rania Instagram, Liberty, DR screencap, Rabens Saloner, Alma e Coração
Last week, Jordan's King Abdullah and Queen Rania paid a visit to their Moroccan friends, King Mohammed and Princess Lalla Salma. Their productive working trip is our superficial check in on the sartorial stylings of two stunning consorts.
Princess Lalla Salma greeted her friend in a stark white Ralph Lauren ensemble with a close fit jacket and trousers which is futuristic and retro at the same time (you say Star Trek, I say 1950s dentist). I like it, actually, but only because it's allowing her face and piles of glorious red hair to run the show. Queen Rania arrived in a Nina Ricci coat that should look familiar to you, since the Countess of Wessex sported the same one for her birthday feature in Harper's Bazaar earlier this year. Sophie wore it over a printed dress and many of you wished for the coat alone, so the sartorial genie has seen fit to grant your request. I like both coat interpretations, but Rania is winning the shoe game by a landslide.
Day 2 dawned with a very standard set up on the fashion front. Basic white dress: check. Basic suit in a great color: check. Moving on.
An official dinner was held, and thank heavens we got an opportunity to see one of Lalla Salma's amazing caftans. Another traditional fabric nod goes to Princess Sarvath El Hassan (above, left), who was one of the other royals in attendance (a group photo, along with other shots from the trip, can be seen here). As for Rania, she wore the most unusual outfit of her trip, a bedazzled bishop sleeve blouse from Andrew Gn with a full-length skirt.
Left to Right: Queen Rania's Nina Ricci coat, Princess Lalla Salma's Ralph Lauren Spring 2014 RTW ensemble, Queen Rania's top and styling from Andrew Gn Pre-Fall 2014
Much like Lalla Salma's white welcome outfit, if Rania's dinner outfit works, it's because it's on Rania in particular. These outfits play to each lady's unique style, at the very least. I do appreciate individuality if nothing else.
--PBS aired ITV's The Queen's Garden, a documentary about (you'll never guess) the Buckingham Palace gardens, last night. The episode is streaming on the PBS website if you missed it. You can also still stream it on ITV's player. (Links may not be viewable everywhere.) [PBS, ITV]
--The Japanese imperial family got all done up court dress-style to listen to the New Year's lectures, an annual event which leaves me in awe of the family's ability to stay awake and focused at all times. [Imperial Family of Japan Blog]
--And finally, Zara Phillips has been in Australia, wearing a boatload of jewelry and a hat like a carnival game come to life, just aim your bean bag through the top and you could win 50 points and a pink stuffed panda bear. I think headgear that encourages people to toss things at you should probably be discouraged, right? [Hello]
Queen Elizabeth II's annual Christmas broadcast is pretty well known around the world, but many of her sovereign colleagues have a similar speech to offer this time of the year. I've thrown several of them together in today's tidbits, because they're quite interesting in comparison. Just a snippet tells you something about that monarch, I think, from their levels of expression down to their choices of teleprompters and editing vs. none of that fancy business. Also included below are other greetings for the new year and random news bits, so read on...
--King Philippe does a version of his message for the season in each of Belgium's three official languages, and this year he started off with a tribute to the late Queen Fabiola. Here's an article with some highlights in English and a video. [Deredactie]
Deredactie video
The Belgian royal family also published some new family photos for the holiday:
--Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas message was covered at the Jewel Vault along with the jewels she wore to deliver it. Also covered over there in the past week was my annual round up of her year in jewels, where we recall what was new (a ton!) and count up what was worn most often (did you know that QEII wore close to 70 brooches this year? True story). [Jewel Vault]
--Grand Duke Henri was one of many to make note of this year of commemoration in his Christmas speech. Here's video and English text. [Wort]
Wort video
--Prince Albert II highlighted the birth of the new twins in his New Year message, video below and English translation here. [YouTube, Royal Correspondent]
--King Harald V gets points from me for a New Year's Eve speech delivered in a tux, though reading note cards while standing does give me some unpleasant flashbacks to high school speech class. You can view the speech here, or read excerpts in English here. [Kongehuset YouTube, The Norway Post]
Kongehuset video
--King Carl XVI Gustaf is bit of a hand talker, compared to his colleagues, isn't he? Formulate your own deep thoughts on the matter by viewing his Christmas message or reading it (in Swedish) here. [Kungahuset]
--King Felipe VI's first Christmas message as king was a bit more political than most, dealing with some of the big issues on his plate right now (corruption, Catalonian separation). Made for an interesting contrast, the informal family photos displayed beside him and a serious message, I thought. You can see it here or read an article in English here. [CasarealTV YouTube, BBC]
Queen Letizia and Queen Rania both have a tendency to go simple and businesslike with their work wear. Sometimes a little too simple for my tastes, but these two recent examples are hitting just the right level of simple chic in my eyes.
For her part, Letizia attended an awards ceremony yesterday.
I never thought the day would come, but she's picked a basic gray suit that I can actually get on board with! It's like seeing a unicorn in person. This is from Nina Ricci, not one of her usual designers, and the peplum and shoulder details are taking that basic gray and kicking it up several notches.
Nina Ricci suit, Malababa clutch
I could do without the bag, honestly, but I guess I'm just the sort that prefers to leave the geology out of my handbags.
Meanwhile, Queen Rania met with the Jordan River Foundation.
So very chic. A soft color, but with some added texture panels to wake it up a bit (I think she's in an added panel mood lately).
The dress is from Roksanda Ilincic, and has been previously worn on the red carpet. That's not a silhouette that works on many people, but on Rania, it's perfect. Simple chic, times two.
Sad news from the fashion world last night: Oscar de la Renta has died at the age of 82. The legendary designer always produced elegant collections that were just beautiful, plain and simple, and his loss is terribly sad.
So today, we remember him in the best possible way - by celebrating his creations.
His pieces live on in several royal collections around the world. Queen Sofia, a personal friend of the designer, was his biggest royal fan. She wore many of his designs, including the flattering embroidered blue number below (shown with Mr. de la Renta himself, of course).
Her daughter Infanta Elena shares the love. Her Oscar pieces including stunning and vibrant gowns, but my absolute favorite is this too-chic-to-handle day suit.
A photo posted by Queen Rania Al Abdullah (@queenrania) on
Mary's contribution is princess perfect...
Yesterday, Crown Princess Mary attended the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s concert in Copenhagen pic.twitter.com/BMPDDu34zW — Royaltyspeaking (@Royal_talk) August 26, 2014
And Princess Madeleine's has a fresh edge, one that nearly made my pick in her closet raid.
To meet President Hollande, an aubergine dress from Bottega Veneta. You might think her jacket has just come partly off on the one shoulder, but no, it's a whole structural thingy (technical term).
Hmm. I've been pondering this outfit, and that's what I've come up with: HMMMMM. At the least, it's one of the more interesting dresses we've seen around here in a while, no? I'll always have some credit to dole out for that.
She was on a monochrome roll, so she kept it going for the next part of the visit, reusing her purse and the shoes from above. A slightly sleeker take this time, from Elie Saab, who heavily featured aubergine in his Fall 2014 Ready-to-Wear collection. Obviously you're not going to get an objection from me for a purple Elie Saab.
It's like a perfect Pinterest packing tip: How to Avoid Boring Color Shoes While Streamlining Your Packing! As long as we keep it purple-ish, I'm all on board.
Queen Rania and Jordan's royal family welcomed Pope Francis for a visit last week.
I knew I liked Queen Rania's outfit, and it didn't take long to figure out why: it's from Elie Saab, my weakness. Her skirt has a print seen in several runway looks, and she's paired it with a white top with an interesting sleeve detail and a belt (oh, she does love to belt an outfit). Elie Saab or not, it's fresh and light and feminine, and I love it.
The print in one of the runway looks from the Elie Saab Spring 2014 Ready-to-Wear collection, right
At a wedding filled with female guests wearing their proper royal skirt-n-hat best, Queen Rania's interesting interpretation of the dress code (or non-interpretation, perhaps) made her an instant standout. She swept in wearing a floor length Givenchy skirt in lace and lilac, paired with a simple ivory button down shirt, and she went without a hat. (Princess Muna, her mother-in-law, arrived with her and was also among the guests choosing not to wear a hat.) It seems a surprising choice, but it's really not - at least not when you consider it alongside Rania's other wardrobe choices throughout the years. She puts her own modern spin on what it means to be queen, even when it comes to her outfit choices at a royal wedding.
The runway version appeared in the Givenchy Spring/Summer 2004 Couture show.
Last week, Queen Rania celebrated the 25th anniversary of art organization Darat al Funun.
I found this little gem while browsing Queen Rania's Instagram account. I'm not the closest follower of her fashion (she's not unlike Princess Letizia, going rather utilitarian for the day-to-day stuff and saving the best for special occasions), but this one jumped right out at me. It's an unusual look - the sleeves are doing a thing (exactly what that thing is, I don't really know), the color of the accessories isn't quite right, the zipper detail (I think it's a zipper detail) at the shoulder looks like she forgot to remove the microphone from her last interview - but yet this color is everything. Hard to wear, but she's pulling it off.
It's the perfect outfit for swanning about one's lanai all day, before heading out for an evening of baffling theater. I'd take the whole ensemble home, no problem. And I'm not just saying that because I need those Portuguese gold filigree earrings in my life rightthissecond.
