Week in Review: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 13-19 February

Here's what Mette-Marit wore from 13-19 February:

1. Visiting Levanger, 17 February. Are there little poof balls on her boots? I think there are. Hmm.
2. Attending the ISFiT conference in Trondheim, 18 February. Interesting repeated dress. The shape is almost too cutesy for her, I think the fabric's bringing up the maturity level.
3. Other engagements in Trondheim, 18 February. Love, love this coat!

Best and Worst of the Week

On coats alone, I have to go with #3 as my best. But I can't figure out a worst: nothing's terrible, but nothing's really standing out either. Your thoughts?

Photos: Scanpix

Week in Review: Princess Máxima, 6-12 February

Here's what Princess Máxima wore the week of 6-12 February:

1. Attending a Women in Financial Services meeting, 7 February. In the photos where this looks more red than brown, I like it (with the exception that the stockings, which are overkill on the monochrome theme).
2. Opening the Produs praktical education school, 8 February. This sleeveless dress is a repeat. Cute and flattering!
3. At the Goed Geld Gala (Good Money Gala) of the Nationale Postcode Loterij, 9 February. Oh, this might be the chicest daywear I've seen Máxima in since I started this blog.
4. Visiting the closure of the BizWorld project at the Christoffel school, 10 February, a) with her wrap and b) inside without. This is a NATAN top, Mathilde has the same one in different colors, and we just saw Máx's red version last month. With the wrap, it's a whole lot of beige, but I like it without.
5. Attending the signing of one of the agreements between Qredits and the European investment foundation EIF, 11 February. Oh, dear. More thoughts below.

Best and Worst of the Week

Let's start with the worst, shall we?

It's like she took every sartorial complaint I've ever had about her and mashed it into one train wreck outfit! We've got tights that are color-matched to the outfit (such a pet peeve of mine, especially when we're not talking about black-on-black). We've got shoes that don't go with the outfit and are totally wrong for the tights. We've got messy hair, and last but not least, we have curiously overgrown jewelry. And it's a shame, too: on its own, that dress is quite flattering. Thankfully, she also showed us the other end of the spectrum in the same week:

No overly opaque stockings, no messy hair, no excessive accessorizing. All together, an outfit worthy of jumpy claps. What say you, my sartorial-minded friends?

Photos: PPE/Dutch Photo Press

Week in Review: Charlene Wittstock, 6-12 February

Here's what Charlene Wittstock wore the week of 6-12 February:

1. Giving a newspaper interview at the start of her visit to South Africa, 10 February. (All pics this week from the South Africa visit!)
2. Race awards and fundraiser, 10 February. It's not black! Look, she's so excited, she's doing a little dance there.
3. Special Olympics charity fundraising breakfast, 11 February. I thought this was important to view from different perspectives, so you can see the bag (which makes a cute overall look) and the lace panels on the back, too.
4. At the opening of the Nelson Mandela Intimate Moments Exhibition, 11 February. In some pics, this looks like a jumpsuit, but here it's looking like a dress. Please, please, let it be a dress.
5. Swimming the Midmar Mile charity event, 12 February. For once, an outfit no one can say doesn't fit her swimmer's body! Ha!

Best and Worst of the Week

So much to talk about this week, right? Topic #1: the jeans. Full disclosure, I don't like skinny jeans ever (pretty much), and I didn't like them this week. Also, how are we feeling about jeans at these "official" events? Nice compromise, considering she's not the Princess of Monaco yet and so this was a more casual visit, or too informal?

Topic #2: color! Finally! That's why the red number gets the title of Best of the Week for me, skinny jeans and all.

Topic #3: as always, dressing a swimmer's body. We always seem to come back to this, no matter what she wears. I have to say, this is where the skinny jeans fall apart for me: the lower half needs to balance the top half. This is also where the evening outfit of the week falls apart for me, and why it gets my Worst of the Week title. Well, that plus the fact that I want to hike the dress up. And for the reasons you can see clearly in the close up shot: hair (okay, Victoria's ponytails get a pass compared to this) and the bodice. Yes, that's her skin peeking through there. No thank you.

Photos: Life/Zimbio/Getty/Looklocal

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 6-12 February

Here's what Princess Letizia wore the week of 6-12 February:

1.  Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Prince Felipe taking his oath as Prince of Asturias, 8 February, a) outside with coat and b) inside without. I really think outfits #2 and #1 should have been swapped for formality's sake.
2. Visiting the Cadena Cope radio station in Madrid, 9 February, a) outside and b) inside. Again? I seriously had to triple check and make sure this was a different event. If she wears this one again next week, I'm naming it worst no matter what else she sports, even though I like it.
3. Greeting the German president and first lady, 10 February.

Best and Worst of the Week

I'm a sucker for purple. I like to think she knew she'd be featured in endless "style face-off" articles next to Bettina Wulff there, and she stepped up her regular gray just for the occasion. She didn't abandon it, no, that would have been too much to ask, but a dash of color does go a long way. The first outfit of the week, on the other hand just needed a dash of...something. A belt on the cardigan? A blazer instead? Just something to make her look less like a school teacher and more like a princess. Right?

Photos: Zimbio/Getty/Purepeople/Abaca

Week in Review: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 30 January - 5 February

Here's what Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore the week of 30 January - 5 February:

1. Visiting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 31 January.
2. Attending a dinner at the Hotel D'Angleterre,31 January, a) with coat and b) without.
3. Visiting the UNAIDS building in Geneva, 1 February. 

Best and Worst of the Week

Number 2's the best, no question. The cardigan's kind of ruining the thing, but the coat makes up for it with that little touch of fur to class it up. Now, on the worst side, I'm torn. Neither 1 nor 3 are terrible. The texture on the skirt of 3 and the detailing on the jacket of 1 both add interest to what could be plain and boring outfits. Yet: the pink scarf is just too much extra and too unnecessary on 3. That's not as bad as this, though, from Outfit 1:

Seriously? Brown shoes? That suit, though it looks black, is in fact navy. But that still doesn't make this okay.  Also, peep toe shoes + tights = bad news, so I have my worst. What's yours?


Photos: Daylife/Reuters/Belga/DANAPRESS

Week in Review: Crown Princess Mary, 30 January - 5 February

Here's what Crown Princess Mary wore the week of 30 January - 5 February:

1.  Appearing via video for World Cancer Day, 4 February. And this is how you handle appearances before you're ready for a full body shot again - another Princess lesson from Mary (who really didn't look that dour in the video, screenshots are tricky business).

Photo: tv2fyn.dk

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 16-22 January

Here's what Princess Letizia wore the week of 16-22 January:

1. At the annual Foreign Ambassadors Reception, 18 January.
2. a) Attending the commemoration of the Santillana publishing house, 18 January, and b) the dress as worn previously. Not fair to evaluate the dress with the coat on, really.

Last week was light neutrals, this week is dark neutrals! See, she really does switch it up sometimes. (Ha.) What we have this week are two examples of things Letizia's tiny frame can pull off: a tightly cinched waist (#1) and a bubble dress (#2). And one example of something no one's frame can pull off: sticking a motorcycle jacket over a dainty bubble dress. Color me shocked she just didn't throw a scarf over it instead. Maybe she really is shaking things up.

Photos: Terra

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 1-8 January

Here's what Princess Letizia wore the week of 1-8 January:

1. Attending the Pascua Military Ceremony, 6 January, a) inside and b) outside.
2. Out with the family, 7 January.

Ah, this blue outfit. Let's chat: I have very specific likes and dislikes here. I really like the skirt, but I do not like the jacket. Something softer would be preferable, I think. If we have to have this jacket, I'd prefer it worn like last year (at the ambassador's reception):

When you close it up, suddenly the shirt underneath becomes just a random black t-shirt that doesn't make any sense. I'd also prefer last year's hair, because the wind-blown hair deal from this year looks, I don't know...anticlimactic atop this get-up. Also, dyed-to-match shoes are only acceptable in a bridesmaid sort of situation in my world. What do you think?

Photos: Eduardo Parra/Getty Images Europe/Zimbio/Vanitatas.com

Royal Fashion Awards: The Nobel Prizes, 2010

I meant to post over the weekend, my lovelies, but I ended up snowed in miles away from my laptop, a blizzard keeping me from my snark. Good thing reader Deidre emailed today to remind me of the overwhelming need for a post. I've never met Deidre, but I sense she's got that Claudia Schiffer look to her, topped off with an Einstein brain. Anyways: we shall continue forward in the spirit of "better late than never", for it is the most wonderful time of the year - that's right, time to award some Nobel prizes!

Norway kicked things off, awarding the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday with a concert on Saturday, and the rest of the prizes were of course awarded on Friday in Sweden with the traditional King's Dinner following on Saturday. To the clothes!

Most Typical

Queen Sonja at the Peace Prize ceremony, Princess Christina at the Nobel Banquet, and Queen Silvia at the King's Dinner

Nothing much to see here, friends. Queen Sonja held down the sartorial fort in Oslo with Mette-Marit out and about on her world travels, and she didn't venture a foot outside her comfort zone. I mean, sure, the hat's kinda oddball, but that IS her comfort zone. Princess Christina turned in a perfectly respectable appearance at the Nobel ceremonies in Sweden on Friday, and Queen Silvia did the same on Saturday (though I do not like that tiara and I can not be convinced otherwise).

Best Black Tie

Crown Princess Victoria at the King's Dinner

I can't hate on Crown Princess Victoria in a jewel-toned Elie Saab gown. That would be sacrilegious. But I can admit that this just wasn't the right occasion. There's too much going on at the neckline here for a necklace and a sash. Plus, that's some black tie hair right there. (What is up with that 'do? Part of the reason why the Nobel functions are so fabulous is because the Swedish ladies turn the tiara hair volume up to 11. This does not go to eleven.)

Best Repeat

Princess Christina at the King's Dinner

Yes, we've seen this one before, at Victoria's wedding. But it's fab, and thus she shall be excused from repeating a gown during the Nobel festivities. Yet again I fall prey to the allure of a luscious jewel tone.

Best Overall

Crown Princess Victoria at the Nobel Banquet

 

Oh, yummy. Elie Saab again, and this time absolutely perfect for the white tie event. The draping, the back - I mean, jumpy claps! It's even managing to make that steel cut tiara look alright (Napoleonic dress, Napoleonic tiara - nice), though this is yet another piece I can not get down with. It's just so...plume-tastic. And there's no diamonds on it! Come on now.

Best Use of Color

Queen Silvia at the Nobel Banquet

Combining colored jewels with colored gowns is dicey business. (Think back to Mary's combo of rubies and that mint-ish green dress at Victoria's wedding, or Sonja's coral and emerald pairing at the same event. Risky business.) But this - now, this was a good call. The sapphires and the green dress just play so nicely together. Well done, and the hair gets an A+ as well for having just enough volume to balance out the weight of that tiara.

Worst Use of Color

Queen Sonja at the Nobel Concert

Well, this is amusing. Army green and fuchsia? Really? With a black cummerbund? Someone please tell me this is a recycle from an era gone past. I think what I like best is that she took such an overwhelming color combo, busied it up by contrasting the fabrics, paired it with an overwhelming pattern on the top, and then topped the whole thing off with MORE pattern - brooches and a choker that might as well be part of the dress, that neckline's so high. The magpie in me can't help but admire the spirit.

Who made your best dressed list for the Nobel Awards this year? Speak! Type!

Photos: Svenskdam/Daylife/Getty

Month in Review: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, September

Here's what Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie wore in September:

Princess Beatrice

1.  Running the Windsor Half Marathon, 26 September.  Action princess!  Good for her for getting in shape, I say.

Princess Eugenie

1. Leaving Whiskey Mist night club, 7 September.  It's a dress that's not short!  I didn't know she owned any of these.

Photos: Belga/Enigma/Daily Mail

Flashback Friday: Queen Margrethe's Birthday Celebrations, Part 2

And now it's time to glance back to the next event of Margrethe's 70th birthday celebrations back in April.  The morning after the gala, the royals attended a luncheon.  We'll get to that in a second, but first - because we need some bling to sustain us - a gala held prior to the big shebang.

Left to Right: Princess Benedikte, Princess Marie, Crown Princess Mary, Queen Margrethe

I must say, this is a pretty good showing all around for the ladies of the Danish house, but Benedikte and Mary here are absolutely schooling Marie and Margrethe in Gown Sleeves 101.  It's all about fit, fit, fit, and Margrethe looks unnecessarily large and Marie looks a little like she's playing dress up, no?  Total toss up between naming Benedikte and Mary the best of this evening, but Mary wins because I just love that red dress.  Looovvvee.


Anyways, now onto the day event of our flashback.  We're back to the day after the gala event we've already discussed, and by this time a few more royals had been able to figure out their transport situations and join the party.  Bit strange, I thought, to don hats for an indoor lunch event, so let's see how the royals handled it:

Best of the Large Hats

L to R: Carina Axelsson, Princess Benedikte, Crown Princess Mary

Oh, not a fan of any of this.  Nope.  Carina's dress looks like someting from The Golden Girls.  Mary's trying to contrast the froufy lines of her skirt and her hat with that strong coat and she is not succeeding.  Benedikte looks like something out of the conservative early 1990s, but who knows - she's probably had this outfit since then, so I'll allow it.

Best of the Small Hats

L to R: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Alexia, Crown Princess Victoria, Queen Silvia, Queen Margrethe

Much more conducive to eating, these hats.  Except Mette-Marit, who's got some sort of ribbon trailing down from some headband she bought at the dollar store.  Also taking a cue from the school of fascinators for little girls: Alexia.  Silvia and Victoria went feathery, while Margrethe went with some kind of curly thing - but flattering colors and cuts on the clothes for all of them.  Victoria wins because come on, how good does she look in her white dress and sky-high heels?

Best of Retro

L to R: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Queen Anne-Marie, Princess Máxima, Princess Nathalie, Princess Marie

Lots of cues from eras past on show here; thank you, ladies, you know I eat this kind of thing right up.  Maria Teresa channeled a 1940s vibe, fur wrap and all.  Anne-Marie went all Jackie Kennedy with her simple coat and pillbox.  Also from the 1960s: Máxima and Nathalie.  Call me the victim of a Mad Men overdose, but I love Máx's look here.  Crazy flattering coat, and she's just nuts enough to pull off the matching turban.  Nathalie's got a more universally flattering thing going on, though, and she gets bonus points for being stylish while pregnant, so she wins.  And as for Marie...this is late 80s, early 90s at best and the hat is just an upturned cloth bucket. No.

Photos: Profimedia/IBL/bt.dk

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 12-18 September

Here's what Princess Letizia wore the week of 12-18 September:

1. Taking Leonor to the ballet, 13 September.  If princesses wore uniforms, this would be Letizia's.
2. Inaugurating the Historic Archive of Official Economic Chamber of Seville and attending the Second Edition of "Economic Sevillian Night" (sounds like a party, doesn't it?), 14 September.  Do you like her hair like this?
3. First day of school, 15 September.  
4. At Madrid Fashion Week, 17 September.  I love this top, though I could do without the cardigan thing.  (From some photos, it appeared that the back of it was made from some sort of shiny material...interesting?)

Best and Worst of the Week

As we know, Letizia loves her some scarves, but the one she wore taking the girls to school I think actually does fantastic things for this outfit.  The pattern and difference in colors add something much needed to the neutral outfit.  And I really like that leather jacket - this is a great mom-on-the-go outfit!  Now, I feel like I should be a huge fan of outfit #2, but...something's not working.  I'm glad she did something different with her hair, but I'm not sure this was the best execution.  And those shoes need to be put to rest.  They are absolutely the reason I had to name this my worst of the week. 

Photos: Terra/Hola/Darinavarra

Week in Review: Crown Princess Victoria, 12-18 September

Here's what Crown Princess Victoria wore the week of 12-18 September:

1. Launch of a new concert season at Stockholm Concert Hall, 16 September.  This dress is from Moschino, and while it is a stunning color, no amount of under garment trickery can help a girl out with this kind of fabric.  Most unfortunate.

Photos: Svenskdam

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 5-11 September

Here's what Princess Letizia wore the week of 5-11 September:

1. Attending the ballet, 5 September. This outfit again, but different shoes. I like this shirt/trouser combo, but we still need to work on the shoes.
2. Inauguration of a research center, 7 September. Wow.
3. Attending a concert, 8 September.
4. Visiting Onda Cera Radio, 9 September. I like this suit. The shirt sort of looks like a bib when you can't see the sleeves, though.

Best and Worst of the Week

Well, I guess the concert one wins.  Probably because I can't see the shoes.  Normally I hate those shoes on the shorts suit, but on this occasion they might be the best thing.  What we have here is the neutral uniform of a zookeeper or a safari guide.  Yes, and the feet are obviously being protected from the brush by the shoes in question.  As you can see, the hair has been affected by the conditions of the great wild outdoors, while the colors and floral prints are clearly donned to disguise our guide in the wild.  She has cleverly brought a scarf along in case one of the animals needs distracting.  Yes, that must be what's going on here.  Alternately, you could also just call is a hot mess and be done with it.

Photos: Zimbio/Getty Images Europe/Carlos Alvarez/Terra

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 29 August - 4 September

Here's what Princess Letizia wore the week of 29 August - 4 September:

1. Dinner in Mallorca, 30 August. Looks like she's trying a little Mette-Marit move with the shoes there.
2. Audiences, 31 August. OH NO. She brought back the Hammer pants. Just to spite me, I'm sure of it.
3. Audiences, 2 September. Uh oh, somebody caught the stripe infection from her sister-in-law. Is it just me or is this dress just out of character for her? I mean, I'm surprised she chose it. Doesn't feel like her style.
4. Audiences, 3 September. This one again.

Best and Worst of the Week

I don't mind the striped dress, but the jacket adds a little Miami Vice flair to it that I can't get with. So the best has to be the blue one, school-girlish as it is, because the silver get up just doesn't make my skirt fly up. Nothing, though, is worse than the Hammer pants.

Photos: Terra/Zimbio/Abaca/Purepeople

Week in Review: Princess Máxima, 5-11 September

Here's what Princess Máxima wore the week of 5-11 September:

1. Attending a conference at the University of Greenwich, 6 September.  Are those sparkles?  One can only hope.
2. Launching the Shoe Buddies program, 9 September. 
3. Attending the 50th annual Fruit Parade, 11 September. Like the print, but not sure about the draping and so on at the waist.  Blue shoe is overkill - perhaps a silver or a neutral to avoid the matchy-matchy situation.

I can't decide on a best and worst here.  I go back and forth on #2 - I do like the tone of the trousers with the colors of the sweater.  But that's a lot of zig-zags, so...you tell me.  What are your picks?

Photos: PPE/Nieboer

Month in Review: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, August

Here's what Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie wore in August:

Beatrice

1.  At the Castle of Mey, 2 August.  Do you think that she and Eugenie dressed like school girls because they felt like it, or because that's appropriate for the atmosphere of a holiday with the rest of the royals?
2. At the V Festival, 21 August.
3. Watching Richard Branson kite surf, 24 August.
4. Alice Ferguson's wedding, 28 August.  Repeating from Trooping the Colour.

Eugenie

1.  At the Castle of Mey, 2 August.  I kind of like this dress, though I shall complain about the length as I always do.  Cue the broken record.
2. On vacation in Spain, Unknown date.
3. Alice Ferguson's wedding, 28 August.  Peeking out in the middle in the pink, repeating an outfit from Ascot with what looks to be a different fascinator this time.

Best and Worst of the Month

Beatrice gets the best and the worst of the month here - the blue repeated outfit is appropriate and suits her.  The festival outfit, well...what's with the black shoes?

Photos: Daily Mail/Getty Images/Zimbio/Bauer Griffin

Month in Review: Charlene Wittstock, August

Here's what Charlene Wittstock wore in August:

1.  Visiting Graceland, 5 August.  Why in heaven's name did these two visit Graceland?  Seriously, anybody have an answer for that?  I imagine compared to the usual tourist attire seen there, this is quite a dashing sartorial selection.
2. Midsummer Garden Fete for the Princess Grace Foundation, 7 August. 
3. Charity gala dinner at the German International Club of Monaco, 28 August.

Best and Worst of the Month

This blue Roberto Cavalli is lovely; the print isn't eating her alive as prints can sometimes do, and it fits like a glove.  On the other hand, just a fraction of that fit would have done wonders for this blue sack worn at the end of the month.  Is she also trying to stir up maternity speculation?


Photos: ET Online/Huffington Post/Profimedia