Royal Outfit of the Day: January 9

Royal Outfit of the Day: January 9

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Crown Princess Mary attended the third day of the New Year's receptions. Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik, and Crown Prince Frederik were also in attendance.

Aha! A new-and-yet-still-old repeat! Now we've got old pieces combined to make a new court outfit: the striped skirt was worn previously for evening use, and the basic black peplum top from Hugo Boss has been used for day outfits (Mary owns it in white too). She's also dressed it up with a prim updo and a string of pearls around the neck. See, I like this approach. These outfits are tricky to repeat, but combining a little of this and a little of that really works. Clever Mary.

Updated to add: Lots of questions about why she only has one glove on. It's an etiquette thing - it's considered polite to remove the glove to shake hands. The other hand remains gloved and carries the second glove. Not everyone does this, but keep an eye out and you'll see it done this way more often than you think.

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Photo: Scanpix

Royal Outfit of the Day: January 7

Royal Outfit of the Day: January 7

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Psst...: Yes, this is a new feature! See today's other post for details.

Queen Margrethe, accompanied by Prince Henrik and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, attended the second day of the New Year's Court festivities, a reception for the Diplomatic Corps. The video above shows the event from 2012.

Yes, the video is showing you this event from a couple years ago - but guess what? It doesn't even matter, because the ladies wore the same stuff this year! Repeats ahoy, and that's why our outfit of the day is really from Margrethe. Some of you gave Mary a hard time for repeating her gown for the gala event, but here's her example: Margrethe wears this fur-trimmed blue outfit (from longtime couturier Jørgen Bender, if I'm not mistaken) for two days in a row for these daytime courts and has done so with the same dress for quite a few years. It's how she rolls, and it makes me appreciate any amount of variety from Mary all the more, no matter how small.

Margrethe, Mary, and Mary's brooch (as shown in the documentary De Kongelige Juveler)

Mary's gown is another altered repeat, but she wore the lovely sapphire brooch Queen Margrethe gave her when Christian was born. It's a family heirloom from Queen Ingrid's mother, and it's always a treat to see in use!

Photos: Polfoto/Scanpix/De Kongelige Juveler

Royal Fashion Awards: New Year, New Sparkle

Royal Fashion Awards: New Year, New Sparkle

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And so it is time, once again, to ring in a new year of royal splendor in the way we always do: with tiaras! The Danish royal family wastes no time busting out their finery, holding the first of a series of New Year's events with a banquet on January 1. It's time for tiaras, gowns, uniforms, and the extra fancy collars from the Order of the Elephant:

Video: The royal family arrives

Best Repeated Variety

Queen Margrethe

The Queen can be counted on to repeat a gown for the event, but she's the only one of the three ladies here that changes up her tiara choice from year to year, so there's that. This year she repeated a favorite apple green gown which is quite flattering and paired it with her traditional Yeti pelt fur wrap and the Danish Emerald Parure from the crown jewels. She also wore this combo in 2011 for the same event.

Most Stretched Repeat

Crown Princess Mary

The banquet has become Mary's yearly opportunity to display just how creative she can get with the many pieces of the Danish Ruby Parure - and normally, I love it. But...maybe sticking the brooch on a piece of velvet and calling it a choker is stretching it just a tad, hmm? The choker is a new incarnation of this burgundy velvet dress, which is making its third appearance at the event and has been revamped from its original maternity form.

Best in New

Princess Marie

Making sure we don't drown in repeated gowns, Marie's here to save the day in a new number with a printed peplum top and a solid skirt with a train. The way she's pinned on her collar is just lovely, but I'm missing the small portrait brooch of Queen Margrethe (as worn by Mary) - we've seen Marie wear the honor previously, but not tonight. A picky request, though, from a completely elegant appearance. She is wearing her regular diamond floral tiara.

And an Honorable Mention to...

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

I know basically two things about Denmark's prime minister: she likes a good selfie, and she knows exactly how to dress herself for gala events when she's thrown in with tiara-wearing ladies. All politics aside, she's my tiara-less best dressed for the evening. I mean, this is just gorgeous.

There are two additional receptions in Denmark to be held yet (neither with tiaras, but still fancy court dress).

UPDATE: And here's the sparkly event in Japan, in the video below!

For the second year in a row, Empress Michiko has chosen not to wear a tiara, I believe for medical reasons (extra weight on the head can be troublesome if you have a back issues and things like that). At the beginning, we see the Crown Princess arrive in the pearl-tipped diamond fringe tiara. She does not appear at the audience itself, so the arrival is all we get. The rest of the imperial ladies are sporting their individual tiaras.

Who wins your best dressed award?

Photos: DR1/BilledBladet/Scanpix