WEDDING FLOWERS: Tiaras 2015
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Showing posts with label Tiaras 2015. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiaras 2015. Show all posts

Prince Carl Philip & Sofia's Wedding: Royal Guests, Part 1

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Hello again! As we reconvene after a day of royal wedding watching to continue our coverage of the Swedish wedding, don't forget to scroll down for the bride, groom, Swedish royal family, and how to see it again. Check back as official photos have since been added. (And if you're looking for the Windsors and Trooping the Colour, click here.)

Mattias Edwall / Kungahuset.se

We've got royal guests to tackle today. This is Part 1 of the Royal Fashion Awards: Guest Division, and we're hanging out with the other Nordic royals in attendance, from Norway and Denmark, plus a couple friends from Germany.

Biggest Tiara Double Take
Princess Ursula of Bavaria
Princess Ursula has a baby Spencer Tiara! It's always interesting to see what jewels the Bavarians turn up in, because they've sold some of their major pieces in recent years. This one gave me Diana déjà vu, big time.

Biggest in Hair
Princess Anna of Bavaria
I feel like none of the photos convey how big this updo was, but it certainly caught my eye on the broadcast. It almost disappeared her petite diamond fringe variation tiara, which comes from Anna's own family (the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburgs).

Most Predictable Repeat
Queen Margrethe of Denmark
Hello again, birthday dress, your skirt is looking particularly dashing in this shot. Daisy also gets a Most Predictable Tiara award, because she does love the Baden Palmette Tiara for weddings. Hearts and all, you know.

Worst in Repeats
Queen Sonja of Norway
Oh look, it's the Big Bird gown, back for the trillionth time in its millionth year. It bums me out, wearing such a workhorse dress for such a special occasion. No amount of diamonds and pearls can save it, not even Queen Maud's Pearl and Diamond Tiara.

Most in Need of a Different Tiara
Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway
Well, I've been spoiled. The Norwegian princesses gave us some tiara shake ups at the last two Swedish royal weddings, and now they've gone and worn their regular small tiaras (the Diamond Daisy and King Olav's Gift Tiara), and...pffft.
Mette-Marit's skirt was from Temperley London, and her top from Nina Skarra
We do have some interesting additional gems - you just knew Mette-Marit would be the one with a heart pin on the back of her sash, didn't you? - and I do like the idea of a ball gown skirt with different tops. But the men are leading the pack here.

Nearest Miss
Princess Marie of Denmark
I was on board with this right away. Great color! Her great diamond floral tiara! And then I saw that her stomach had gills.
Dress by Alberta Ferretti

Most Undecided
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
On the one hand, this is my favorite of the three outfits she's worn to Swedish royal weddings. On the other hand, that's not saying much, as I don't think they've been among her top appearances. This I just find curious.
I love the big skirt and the way the colors of the sash and the pearls (her wedding tiara with added pearls, and her wedding earrings) go with it, but the fact that it is heavily embellished down the front with embellishment that you can't really see is kinda weird. Perhaps a remix is in the future. (Bonus points for extra sparkle in the updo, though.)

Later today, we'll take a look at the remaining royal guests. Until then...

Who's your best dressed of this lot?

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

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

Prince Carl Philip & Sofia’s Wedding: The Bride, Groom, and Bridesmaids

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There are a lot of things you could say about the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist (now H.R.H. Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland), but you couldn’t say that they didn’t stay true to themselves or – take cover, horrible cliché coming your way – that they weren’t absolutely over the moon on their wedding day.

From pop music to a new tiara, this was their wedding, done their way, and I can’t hate on that. Besides, I now know that the couple are ardent fans of the classic film, Sister Act 2 (I will accept no other possible explanation for the arrangement of “The Hymn of Joy/Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” that followed them out of the chapel), so I am obliged to LOVE THEM.


Let’s start with the groom. Prince Carl Philip wore the mess dress model 1878 uniform of the Swedish Amphibious Corps, where he holds the rank of major. He also wore the sash and star of the Order of the Seraphim, with the cross of the Order of the Polar Star around his neck.

Mattias Edwall / Kungahuset.se

His medals include King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Jubilee Commemorative Medals I and II, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel’s commemorative wedding medal, the gold Fredsbaskrarnas Service Medal, and the Swedish Defence University commemorative medal.


Led by Princess Estelle, the bridesmaids were Tiara Larsson, Anaïs Sommerlath, and Chloé Sommerlath. They wore dresses by Ida Sjöstedt in pure silk and Italian silk organza. (And don’t forget the hair bows. Never, ever, forget the bows.)

Mattias Edwall / Kungahuset.se

Like the bride, the bridesmaids carried bouquets of cream and coral garden roses. Sofia’s bouquet and hairdo also included sprigs of myrtle from the bush brought to Sweden by Princess Margaret of Connaught, who married the future Gustaf VI Adolf in 1905. Sprigs of myrtle from that plant have been used by Swedish royal brides since 1935, and a cutting from the same bush was taken to Denmark by Princess Ingrid of Sweden.


The myrtle turned out to be the part of Sofia’s wedding ensemble that was the most closely tied to family tradition, as she wore neither a family tiara nor the family veil. As was speculated and tentatively confirmed several times over, Princess Sofia chose Swedish designer Ida Sjöstedt to make her wedding gown. Created in shades of white, the gown has a strapless base of silk crepe with a flowing train and a long-sleeved Italian silk organza overlay with applied lace made by José María Ruiz.


The lace created flattering lines down the front of the dress and train and was concentrated on the sleeves and the wide neckline. Hand-embroidered cotton lace also adorned her sheer tulle veil.


I’m sure this one will draw comparisons to any number of other royal wedding gowns, and any number of non-royal wedding gowns also. It’s basically a running list of classical bridal traditions put to work, with really only the train length marking it as the dress of a royal bride (well, and the tiara, but we’ll get to that in a minute).


Sofia’s made some very safe sartorial choices of late, and I suppose you could say this is the safest of them all. I wouldn’t call it memorable, as royal wedding gowns go, but despite that, it was lovely on her and she looked comfortable in it. And it allowed the most intriguing part of her ensemble to take center stage…


Sofia got a NEW TIARA! A present to her from the King and Queen, according to the Royal Court, it has a diamond base of palmette or honeysuckle motifs and is topped by emeralds or other green stones. I was hoping to see her in a tiara from the family collection, but this is also a lovely gesture. Most of the Swedish princesses have a tiara to call their own in addition to the family tiaras available to them, and it only seems right that the newest Swedish princess should have that luxury too. It’s not too big, it’s not too small, it is very sparkly, and it’s a beautiful way to welcome a new family member. (Obviously, we’ll be giving it the full Tiara Thursday treatment later on.)


Coming up in a bit, we’ll talk about other members of the Swedish royal family and all of their guests. For now:

What did you think of Princess Sofia’s wedding gown?

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

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.

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