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

Royal Fashion Awards: King's Day, 2015

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Yesterday was Koningsdag, or King's Day, in the Netherlands - a national holiday and King Willem-Alexander's birthday. The party was already rolling from events in the previous days: a palace reception (video link), and the King Games for schoolchildren.

The King is putting his own spin on the celebration, just as his mother and grandmother did before him. So they visited one town (Dordrecht) instead of two as they did in the Beatrix days and the events were a little different. The King and Queen brought their three daughters along (Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane), and they were joined by Prince Constantijn (Willem-Alexander's brother) and his wife Princess Laurentien, as well as three of their cousins and their respective wives (Prince Maurits and Princess Marilène, Prince Bernhard and Princess Annette, and Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Princess Anita).

We had a big royal party, and thus we have a big round of royal fashion awards to give out. Settle in...

Most in Need of a Cape
King Willem-Alexander
Everybody gets a cape except the birthday boy (Princess Alexia had a little wrap for herself later on). Oh well. He seems content enough to just manage the Caped Crusaders for now.


Most Efficient Accessory
Queen Máxima
Máxima looks pretty, no? She's my best dressed for the day, slightly wrinkly dress and all. And as a special bonus, her hat served dual purposes: 1) hatpin weapon storage, as always, and 2) probably a fair bit of confetti storage too. You know, for the after party. She's always thinking, that Máx.


Most in the Spirit
Princess Laurentien
Somebody has to wear orange, right? I'm pretty sure it's in the rules. The rest of this look is entirely random, but that's par for the Laurentien course.


Most in the Season
Princesses Marilène and Anita
A pretty floral on a sunny April day is always right in my books, and I'm loving both of these (that's Marilène above and Anita below). Carry on, ladies.


Most Princess Proper
Princess Annette
Slap a hat on this and she could compete with Máx for the queenliest of them all. But the hat game is not one in which you want to tangle with the Caps Lock Queen, so it's probably smart of everyone else to leave her to it.


Oh yes, and while we're going Dutch...and speaking of caps lock hats...

Most Eccentric Accessories, Other Birthday Division
Queen Máxima
You ever notice how, the crazier the hat gets, the bigger the Queen's expressions get? She knows what she's done. On Saturday, the royal couple continued the celebrations of the kingdom's 200th birthday (not to be confused with the King's birthday, okay, he's only 48) and Máxima repeated a turban she's worn a few times. But it doesn't get any less eye-popping, no matter how many times she sports it.
Didn't your mother ever warn you not to take cake from strangers with teddy bear pelts on their heads??


Photos: RVD/Het Koninklijk Huis, and Getty Images as indicated

Royal Style Twins of the Day: April 24

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Today, we're flashing back...way back...to a week ago, in Copenhagen, where the reception for Queen Margrethe's birthday at City Hall featured some style twin moments worthy of a closer look.

First up: Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Princess Victoria and their twin appearances with, uh, themselves.
Above, in Copenhagen in 2010 for Margrethe's 70th birthday, and below, also in Copenhagen for Margrethe's birthday, five years on. Mette-Marit's even wearing the same gold headband, which (as the Royal Hats Blog points out) she's worn in several different ways.
"So, whaddya think...same thing this time, except different?" "AGREED."

For the same same thing, you need look no further than the Mexican state visit to the United Kingdom a month earlier.
Mexico's first lady, Angélica Rivera de Peña, sported Mette-Marit's Alexander McQueen coat first. It's an A-line crepe coat in ivory with a double lapel detail, and the only surprising thing about this is that one of the British royal McQueen fans didn't beat both ladies to it. (Perhaps they will join the party later on. I'd love to see this one belted, just to shake it up.) Unusually for one who loves the colorful accessories, I prefer the First Lady's black touches to the Crown Princess' gold/red/nude mix in this Who wore it best? battle.

Our other twin - nay, triplet! - moment from the City Hall event comes from Crown Princess Mary and the gray hat she paired with her Oscar de la Renta coat dress.
As soon as she emerged with this chapeau, I thought it looked familiar - Kate-esque, I said - and indeed it was. From favored royal milliner Jane Taylor, this is a hat we should know well by now.
Zara Phillips sported the same gray version to Cheltenham over a year ago. She paired it with a truly unfortunate outfit that I will pretend I did not see since baby Mia was just a few weeks old at the time. But the original royal example comes from the Countess of Wessex, who wore a version in a different color and material to Ascot in 2013, paired with an Emilia Wickstead outfit in gorgeous vibrant teal. (An outfit that would get a lookalike of its own when the Duchess of Cambridge wore a similar number in New Zealand last year. It's just a chain that never ends.)
Mary's got the lock on sophistication in accessory pairing, but Sophie's version is a welcome shot of color. I'll call this one a tie and I'll take both for myself, outfits and all, thanks very much.

Your turn: Which versions of these twin appearances are your faves?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, Net-a-Porter, ITN video

Royal Color Scheme of the Day: April 22

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The King and Queen of the Belgians visited Strasbourg, France yesterday, and Mathilde wore something a little bit familiar...
...but not really, because it's new. Apparently the pleated red dress, jacket, and hat worn when the couple made their introductory visit to Germany in 2014 weren't enough to fill the "folded effects/red division" portion of the royal wardrobe, because now we have a slightly darker and slightly simpler red dress with similar details hat. The dress detailing is confined to just one side of the skirrt, which is both an interesting detail and possibly not an interesting enough detail for a fairly basic outfit.
Dior shoes (worn by Mathilde in a different color)
The primary point of interest can't be seen on the above photo, I'm afraid (click here for a gallery, though, or here for a video). Floral shoes! They are (per ModeKoninginMathilde) from Dior, but instead of the green version above, they are pink/red. And they are possibly the best pair of shoes Mathilde's ever worn. WANT. Oh, and P.S.: Look, Ma! Heels and no crutches! Queen Robocop has left the building.

Since we're on Red Queens from Benelux Countries - Mathilde has her specific wardrobe sections, we have our specific coverage sections - Queen Máxima headed from Denmark to Washington, D.C. last week as part of her work in financial inclusion. She repeated a red Natan frock that I thought was a hit originally, and I think is a hit on the second go too.
Who knew talking about finance was such a kick, huh?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, RTL video, Dior

Royal Fashion Awards: Queen Margrethe’s Birthday, Day Events

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A morning wake up call with song (and canons!) marked the start of Queen Margrethe’s actual birthday, and the busiest day of birthday festivities. Our visiting royals are now down to the fellow Nordic monarchs, with the addition of Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
Margrethe's morning wake up
Some quality balcony time with the whole family and their guests was followed by a carriage ride through Copenhagen for the Queen and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, who were standing in for Prince Henrik, still sick with the flu. With hats in place, they convened at Copenhagen’s Town Hall for a round of interpretive dance (because hey, why not) and a reception. Meanwhile, we convene for our next round of royal fashion awards…


Best of All, Birthday or Not
Queen Margrethe
Actual, audible awws from me when Daisy stepped out on the balcony, in this fresh color, flattering cut, and her whopper of a diamond daisy brooch, made from her grandmother’s stones for her mother and subsequently given to her. She’s the best dressed of them all, and that’s not just a birthday given.


Best in Accessory Additions
Crown Princess Mary
Mary reused a gorgeous navy Oscar de la Renta coat dress with an embellished neckline, and I loved that she went with gray accessories instead of trying to coat herself in navy from head to toe. I also loved her hat, which looked quite familiar and for good reason: Zara Phillips has worn the same one, and the Countess of Wessex has worn a similar model. It’s by Jane Taylor.


Biggest in Accessory Additions
Princess Marie
I speak not, obviously of her hat – which still did not manage to stay on the good side of the wind gods despite its wee stature – but of her brooch. Everyone wore commemorative birthday medals, but Marie added an enormous bird on the other side. I'm loving that choice with this outfit, actually, just wishing that pesky medal wasn't competing. (But I suppose politeness has to win every now and then, le sigh.)


Best in Sisters
Princess Benedikte and Queen Anne-Marie
Yeah, I’m running out of ways to say they’re typical as always, these two. They both had fab ruby earrings, and Benedikte wore her famous koosh ball hat, and that's all I got.


Most Dubious in Hats, Part 1
Crown Princess Mette-Marit
Is this a prop from The Tudors, or what? This has to be a prop of some sort. Yeah, from the same Gothic horror set that gives us those skull earrings, perhaps.
Otherwise, M-M in white, check and check.


Most Continued Sartorial Dedication
Queen Silvia
And how did Queen Sil accommodate her arm injury today? A purple cape. A PURPLE CAPE. Omigod. She's going to force me to declare her my favorite royal of EVER by the time this is done, isn't she.


Most Dubious in Hats, Part 2
Crown Princess Victoria
Points for a Georg Jensen daisy brooch, okay, but that hat. Hmm. I thought it was just a novelty, a little sentimental touch, when she imitated an old hat of her mother’s at Princess Leonore’s christening. But now there’s a second version in white. It's not terrible or anything, but...this is the hat you bulk buy, V? Really?
Also shown: Victoria's Chanel dress, runway version

And that's that!

But it's not really that, because there is one more birthday event left to come: a dinner at Fredensborg Palace. The open post is still up and running with all your live link info and a place to chat about that if you like.

But as far as this post is concerned...

Who was your best dressed at the day events?


Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, DR1 video, Lyst, Jane Taylor Millinery, Style.com

Royal Fashion Awards: Queen Margrethe's Birthday in Aarhus

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As you may know, I am just a TEENSY bit excited for Queen Margrethe's birthday festivities this month. Things got off to an official start today with celebrations in Aarhus, and naturally, I'm all over it. (I'm posting early and Tiara Thursday will be up on Friday, on account of my jumpy claps.)
Accompanied by Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim, and Princess Marie, the birthday girl arrived in town for a luncheon and a little bit of balcony waving. The ladies were all brooched up and hatted up in classic fashion, as though Daisy had sent out a memo decreeing that their very best prim n' proper royal-ness should be turned up to 11 for the occasion.

Best in QUEEN
Queen Margrethe
Queen Margrethe also wore this white number for a luncheon for her jubilee in 2012, and it is just the thing for a day when one is the center of attention. (I mean, she's the QUEEN, and so she's always the star of the show, but for special spotlight days.) I can just picture her at her closet, "Ooh, get the white one. Yes! I look excellent in the white one." She does indeed.

Best in Sapphire Buildup, Part 1
Crown Princess Mary
With her basic coat, dress, and pill box hat, Mary wore one of her best brooches, an heirloom piece with a large sapphire, diamonds, and pearls. It came from Margrethe's grandmother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, and has been worn by Queen Ingrid and Queen Margrethe. It was given to Mary after Prince Christian was born, and it is stunning. (See it in detail here.) I'm actually pretty bored by the rest of this outfit, but anything to showcase that brooch is fine by me.

Best in Sapphire Buildup, Part 2
Princess Marie
Marie wore another heirloom brooch, one that belonged to Queen Alexandrine. It is also sapphire, diamond, and pearl, so her navy accents went right along with the show. The princesses were building up to the big show that night, apparently...

Best in Sapphire Show
Queen Margrethe
Because at the evening's gala performance, Queen Margrethe wore the biggest sapphires in her collection. This is a flexible demi-parure that comes from Queen Alexandrine, and is said to have had a Russian past before that. Her navy dress was super simple with a bit of lace at the top, really just a background for those gobstopper stones (as it should be).
She was also sporting a new birthday gift from Aarhus on her dress, given to her earlier in the day. The gold brooch is designed in the form of the railings that surround trees in the town, and it is studded with stones to represent her eight grandchildren. Just the thing for a modern jewelry-lovin' monarch. (Read more and see a picture here, or see a video here - all in Danish, of course.)

Best in Intrigue
Crown Princess Mary
Continuing the jewel festival: MARY! She and Frederik were joined by Prince Christian and Princess Isabella, and Mary wore a repeated midnight velvet Prada gown which has been altered since the last time we saw it. (Actually, it's been altered more than once, and we'll be looking at its evolution in the near future.) The newly square neckline is 1) so flattering, 2) the first thing I've really loved about this gown, and 3) the perfect thing to display a new necklace!
I'm told the commentators on Danish television said this was a tiara worn as a necklace, but I don't know if that is fact or an educated guess - it is quite similar to her wedding tiara, which can be worn as a necklace. It's new to Mary (and the earrings look like they might be new too), and all the question marks are up as to whether it is borrowed for the evening or a permanent addition to her collection, and whether it can indeed be worn as a tiara. But for now, JUMPY CLAPS!

Best in...Something Else
Princess Marie
Oh, poor Princess Marie. I always seem to use up my jumpy claps before I get to her. {Shrug.} But she's lovely anyway! Her hair was fantastic and this was a good show for her. And she gets points for her dapper dates, Princes Joachim, Nikolai, and Felix.

Best Guest List Addition
Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg
Bless the Danes for keeping it classy and still welcoming Prince Joachim's first wife into the fold. Alexandra, with her husband in tow, was lovely as ever in a gray lavender gown, and a welcome addition to the guest list.

We're off and running to a great start, don't you think? My excitement for next week is officially off the charts.

Who makes your best dressed list for the beginning of the birthday celebrations?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated, TV2 video

Royal Wedding Flashback of the Week, Part 2: April 8

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In honor of the 10th wedding anniversary of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, we've got part 2 of our celebration on tap for today. As I mentioned yesterday, we've touched on Camilla's wedding outfits in the past, but since I've added her jewels to my coverage at the Jewel Vault blog, you can find a feature on the jewelry she wore for the big day over there.

Video: The blessing service
Over here, we have more guests! Part two of our hat-filled extravaganza features the main members of the Windsor family, starting with the boss lady herself:

The Queen
She's dosed in butter and cream, and this is a gorgeous ensemble for Her Maj. Throw in one of her larger day brooches (the Australian Wattle Brooch), and you're set to go. (You can just see Prince Philip on the side there, who was of course with her. He wore a morning suit.)

A whole bunch of people
(Okay: Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie with Prince William and Prince Harry and Peter Phillips in the front, and the Duke of Gloucester, Duke of York, Prince Michael of Kent, Duke of Kent, the Princess Royal and more behind)
Here are the other men! They also wore morning suits. Also, we've got a pair of York sisters in...not their best coat-to-dress match ups.
Princess Eugenie
But call me crazy, I have always had a soft spot for this hat. Am I crazy?? It's okay, you can tell me.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex
Speaking of crazy hats. Remember when Sophie was in the throes of her love affair with super tall, scarcely brimmed hats? I'm glad that's (mostly) passed, but the rest of this outfit is still a winner.

The Princess Royal and Tim Laurence
On the other hand, Anne and her veiled pill boxes are a love affair that will never die. She's cute here, though, having a proper adventure on the bus like the common people do. Note her Grima earrings and her classic brooch, please.
Zara Phillips
And note her daughter, gallantly stepping up to ensure that no British royal wedding goes without a true head scratcher of an outfit for the scrapbooks. She's a hero for the ages, this one. 

Who are you crowning Best Dressed Guest at this wedding?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated
Royal Wedding Flashback of the Week, Part 1: April 7

Royal Wedding Flashback of the Week, Part 1: April 7

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The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this week, not that I need an excuse for a celebration. We've discussed Camilla's ensemble in depth in the past (see here or here). The guests, on the other hand, are still in need of our attention. And we've got enough of them to split this into two posts, so that's what I'm gonna do.

Our first hat-filled priority: selected foreign royalty and the beginnings of the extended Windsor clan.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway
What better way to get us started than a hat that comes complete with its own tiny limb sticking right out the side, ready to punch when needed? (Watch out, Haakon.) If there's a time for a hat with froof to spare, that time is a British royal wedding, and Mette-Marit knows what's up.

Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands
I want to call Laurentien's black and white a fun take on a Chanel-esque classic, but I can never decide if it's too flippy or just flippy enough.

King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Greece's ex-royals, friends and relatives both, can always be counted on for an appearance. This is a seriously lovely suit for Anne-Marie, no? The lace trim is perfection.

Princess Alexandra of Kent and Princess Michael of Kent
Now we're on to the extended branches of the British royal family, and we have a supremely Edwardian Princess Alexandra (in my favorite color, bless) and an exuberant Princess Michael. I probably would have gone with one flower embellishment or the other on that jacket, but she's clearly digging her choice of accessories.

Viscount and Viscountess Linley, Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto
We've got one with a floral arrangement for the skull in another shade of my favorite color and another whose style I am a sucker for in any color, so this group gets a happy pass from me.

The Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester (and others)
Here in this group, which also includes the Countess of Wessex (more on her in Part 2) and a full-length view of Queen Anne-Marie, we've got a double duchess treat: the Duchess of Kent, in a lovely spring floral, and the Duchess of Gloucester, in a light blue outfit that I believe is still in use today. Which is sort of the perfect summary of her style, really, classics and basics built to stand the test of time. And why not, really?

Coming up in Part 2: Windsors, the completed set! To be continued...

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated
Royal Fashion Awards: Easter 2015

Royal Fashion Awards: Easter 2015

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Easter has delivered many goodies for us: 1) chocolate, if you're doing it right, and 2) some fashion awards fun for our Monday. The royal families of Britain and Spain were out and about for Easter services, and we have sartorial matters to discuss...

Best in Queens, Part 1
Queen Sofia
Here are the Spains, doing their thing, business as usual. So I always end up giving the recognition to Queen Sofia, who reliably wears her Easter egg necklace for the occasion. And so it shall be yet again!
It's kitschy and also possibly something of great value (Fabergé does make pendants like these, I don't know if that's the precise make of her pendants - and good grief, she has an awful lot of them), which is sort of the best possible combination.

Best in Queens, Part 2
Queen Elizabeth II
And here's QEII, also doing her thing, also business as usual. She departed from her usual favorite brooches, though, so she gets her own best category for that. (It's the Sapphire Chrysanthemum Brooch, one of the early members of her collection, and you can read about that the Jewel Vault.)

Best of the Best
The Princess Royal
Is Anne truly the best dressed of the day, or is this just a knee jerk reaction caused by seeing her in something that appears to have been made in the current century? Discuss.

Best of the Rest
The Countess of Wessex, Autumn Phillips, Princess Beatrice
I'm also loving: Autumn's cape thing and floral skirt, Beatrice's whole silhouette, and Sophie's swing coat. All the things minus the dead animal on Sophie's head.

Best in Suits
The Gentlemen
The men were there. They wore suits. (Also: Heeeyyy Lady Sarah Chatto, lurking back there in gray and black.)

Who made your Easter best dressed list?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated
Royal Outfit of the Day: April 1

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 1

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Last week was the last expected public engagement for the Duchess of Cambridge before the baby arrives:
It's not like the Duchess of Coats was going to go out on anything but a coat note, so this repeated pink Mulberry number did the trick in standard fashion.

The end(-ish) of this particular maternity wear parade made me look back and search for my favorite thing she's worn this time around. As one does, you know. I think it might be this:
But I would also give honorable mentions to the St. Patrick's Day outfit, and the reappearance of one of my favorite Jenny Packham gowns. What's your nomination for best outfit from this second pregnancy?

Photos: via Getty Images as indicated

Royal Outfit Grab Bag of the Day: March 25

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In today's grab bag: a visit that rolls on, a visit that does not, and also Robocop.

Felipe and Letizia had already headed out for the start of their first outgoing state visit to their neighbors in France when news of the tragic Germanwings plane crash broke.
After landing, they jointly decided with President Hollande to cancel the state visit, and will reschedule in the future. They did spend the day in Paris and visited the crisis center for the crash.
Élysée Palace
It was definitely the right thing to do, and since we won't be focusing on the French state visit as I had planned to do today, we'll proceed with other goings on.

Elsewhere around the globe, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel embarked on day 2 of their visit to South Korea. She obviously had her outfits planned prior to the trip, but I did laugh when I saw that there wasn't any black and any possibility for see-through anywhere among them. Fool me once...etc.
Engagements for the day included paying respects at the Seoul National Cemetery (above) and meeting the President (below). This is the Fadi El Khoury coat she wore to the royal wedding in Luxembourg in 2012, and I guess I'm still waiting for it to be styled in just the right way. Still a bit meh for me, though I can't deny she's looking pretty boss at the head of the dark suit crew there.
She was also sporting a floral headpiece, flower earrings from Kreuger Jewellery, a blouse with a bow and a necklace with stars slung on top, and a repeated By Malene Birger skirt with lace panels. It's a lot going on, despite the similar color palette.
She simplified things a bit for a meeting with the Prime Minister (above), and now we're talking. This is the Dolce & Gabbana dress she wore to Princess Leonore's christening (and which was worn by Princess Marie-Chantal as well), and it gets an A+ from me.
Dolce & Gabbana dress, By Malene Birger skirt (worn under the coat), and Kreuger Jewellery earrings

And finally, we check in with Queen Robocop, who is still hobbling around doing her Mathilde thing (in this case, visiting RTBF studio last week with King Philippe).
This coat is sporting a pastel, patterned, abstract take on houndstooth, and I thought it was pretty cute overall. It even kinda sorta matches her crutches, for heaven's sake. (And the only one who would take more care to match her outfit to her crutches would be our friend Máxima, you know.)
And with an updo, I bid you adieu.

Photos: via Getty Images and Élysée as indicated; Net-a-porter, By Malene Birger, Kreuger Jewellery

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