Showing posts with label CG 70 Bday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CG 70 Bday. Show all posts

04 May 2016

Royal Fashion Awards: King Carl Gustaf's Birthday Banquet, Part 2

We're looping back to King Carl Gustaf's big 70th birthday tiara bash this weekend, to take a closer look at a few of the guests we didn't spend much time with on the day itself. Big tiaras and bright dresses deserve proper attention, after all. Our Royal Fashion Awards, continued:

Swirliest Purple Dream
Queen Mathilde
Photo: Sofia Svanholm, used with permission
I am not surprised that Mathilde has stuck to new Armani Privé outfits for big royal events, yet I am also surprised that this was the result. It's lacking in a bit of the structure we usually see from her Armani ensembles, and I kind of want a belt of some sort in there. It's a swirly purple princess dream of a dress anyway, and this is an excellent use of the Wolfers Necklace Tiara. If there was ever a tiara made for wearing with your hair down, this is it.
Armani Privé Spring 2016 runway (Vogue)
(I'm not sure the designer has officially been confirmed, but as ModeKoningin Mathilde also points out, the same fabric was used on the Armani Privé Spring 2016 runway. Mathilde's creation would have been bespoke.)

Best in Yacht Wear
Princess Benedikte
We saw this dress at Queen Margrethe's own birthday banquet last year, when I declared it Best in Beach Cover-Up Gravitas. Takes on a whole new meaning when one is descending from one's royal yacht on the way to the Royal Palace, doesn't it?
In 2015, for Queen Margrethe's birthday (DR)
For the Swedish birthday banquet, Benedikte wore Queen Sophia's Star and Pearl Tiara. I love this tiara, but it occurs to me that this is really a testament to Benedikte's tiara-wearing skillz. It's spiky and spaced out, and that's no easy combo to pull off. She's a pro.

Brightest Change of Pace
Princess Hisako of Takamado
Freed from the range of pastels often mandated for important tiara events at home, Hisako didn't just pick a color, she picked a COLOR. I don't know who else would pick acid green, and I don't know how else could pull it off quite so well. Bless her, she really committed to her bright palette for the whole day.
Photo: Sofia Svanholm, used with permission
Curious tiara though, right? It's like your standard wreath tiara in bandeau form, but then it has ears. Huh.

Best in Tiara Power, Part 1
Hereditary Princess Sophie
Photo: Sofia Svanholm, used with permission
I love Liechtenstein's Habsburg Fringe Tiara (it is indeed the fringiest fringe that ever fringed), and I love Sophie's commitment to wearing it (it's not the only tiara she's ever worn, but it is the one we've seen her wear to every recent big royal event). She also has a commitment to wearing this dress, apparently - she wore it to the dinner before King Willem-Alexander's inauguration, which I think was the last big international tiara event she attended.

Best in Tiara Power, Part 2
Princess Beatrix
Also BRINGING IT: Beatrix in the Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara! I'm ever so glad to know that her "retirement" doesn't mean that she's hung up the big guns for good. I wouldn't mind if she hung up this dress for good, but as long as I can convince myself that those are mini pizzas marching up the trim, it can stay.

Many thanks to Sofia for allowing use of her lovely photos! Check out her recap of the day here, and more photos here.
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30 April 2016

Royal Fashion Awards: King Carl Gustaf's Birthday Banquet


Unlike the fancy white tie, Braganza Tiara-deserving banquet held for his 60th birthday (flashed back to here and here), King Carl Gustaf's 70th just warranted black tie. But praise be to the tiara gods, they threw in some diadems anyway. I knew Queen Silvia wouldn't let us down.

They even gave us a group photo! Everybody's wearing their commemorative birthday medal.
Group Photo, Click to enlarge (Peter Knutson/Kungahuset.se)
Row 1: Queen Silvia, King Carl XVI Gustaf
Row 2: President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Dorrit Moussaieff, Queen Margrethe II
Row 3: President Sauli Niinistö, Queen Margarita, Jenni Haukio, Prince Albert II, Princess Beatrix, King Philippe, Queen Mathilde
Row 4: King Simeon II, Crown Prince Frederik, Crown Princess Mary, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Hereditary Prince Alois, Hereditary Princess Sophie
Row 5: Crown Princess Margareta, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine, Mr. Christopher O’Neill
Row 6: Prince Radu, Princess Christina, Crown Prince Alexander, Crown Princess Katherine, Princess Benedikte, Princess Hisako of Takamado, Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Row 7: Thomas de Toledo Sommerlath, Ralf de Toledo Sommerlath, Tord Magnuson, Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitta, Princess Désirée, Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld
Row 8: Ewa Westling, Olle Westling, Marie Hellqvist, Erik Hellqvist, Eva Maria O'Neill

For now, a partial edition of Royal Fashion Awards, hitting just the biggest talking points.

Best in Contrast
Queen Silvia and Queen Margrethe
Which did you see first in that group photo: all the tiaras, or one serious orange dress? Even thoroughly tiara-focused me has to admit it was the latter. Queen Silvia combined all her favorite things - shine, sparkle, and diamonds including the Connaught Tiara - in one bright dress made even brighter by the addition of a pink shawl in her hand. (Yes, Virginia, there was a butt bow. Actually, it was more like a...tail feather. Ripe for the shaking.) Queen Margrethe made for a bit of a tonic in her soft blue dress, her second repeat of the day from her own most recent big birthday celebrations. She wore the Baden Palmette Tiara.


Best in Designer Sharing
Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine

A new Elie Saab for Victoria, AND a repeated one for Madeleine. Is it my birthday too? You'll remember Madeleine's; she wore it for her pre-wedding dinner, Victoria wore it for Margrethe's birthday dinner, and now it's back in the rotation.

The dresses weren't the only thing up for sharing. The Swedes did what they do best and swapped their usual jewels all around. Princess Madeleine returned to her favorite Modern Fringe Tiara, but wore the diamond epaulette earrings first worn by Victoria to her pre-wedding event. Madeleine's 18th birthday tiara, the Aquamarine Bandeau Tiara, showed up on aunt Princess Christina; while Victoria wore Princess Lilian's Laurel Wreath Tiara again, her own favorite Baden Fringe was taken for a spin by aunt Princess Birgitta. And the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik that has been favored recently by Madeleine and Christina was once again back with its owner, Princess Margaretha. Follow all that?


Most Surprising Meh
Crown Princess Mary
Oh, this one hurts. Mary threw away a tiara opportunity in favor of a Charlotte Lynggaard for Ole Lynggaard Leaf Hair Jewel (which I tried to make myself believe was part of the Naasut Tiara for as long as possible, but it isn't). The earrings are also new, and specially designed. I'd applaud this if it were sneaking in a hair ornament at a non-tiara occasion, and perhaps I will one day in the future.
It's not just the lack of tiara that leaves me all kinds of meh about this appearance, though. (Honestly, it isn't.) This YDE by Ole Yde dress is so much like a few floral dresses in her closet for day appearances (some of which are also Yde), it feels like a day appearance from the knees up. It's not a badly put together look at all, it's just...meh.


And the rest...
Video: Royals start arriving around 1:40
If I can update this post with more detail later, I will. Until then, let's hit the roster of royals and all their tiara identifications. Here are the royal tiara wearers you can see in that video, with links to the tiaras if we've covered them:
There were more as well, but I'll leave you with just one of my favorites: the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Turquoise Tiara, on Hereditary Princess Kelly!



Sunday Tidbits will be up on Monday for you. 


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Royal Fashion Awards: King Carl Gustaf’s Birthday, Concert and Day Events

The celebrations for King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 70th birthday have been going on all week, building up to today’s festivities. As for our Royal Fashion Awards, well, they’re just beginning…

Best in Concert Sparkle
Photo: Kungahuset.se
A dress code of suits for the men at Friday night’s Nordic Museum concert didn’t stop Queen Silvia from bringing the full-length sparkle with a diamond necklace and few bits and bobs from the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure thrown in for good measure, bless.
She gives her public what they want.

Most Mixed Concert Bag
Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine
Her daughters were more of a mixed bag, Princess Madeleine on the shorter side in Erdem and Crown Princess Victoria in a promisingly different silhouette brought down by a bit of over-accessorizing. Enthusiasm appreciated, anyway.


Today, things got started with a morning Te Deum followed by some outdoor tributes – including Prince Oscar’s first balcony appearance! – and a lunch at Stockholm’s City Hall.


Best in Pink and Statement Hats
Queen Silvia
Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine had the same idea for their day outfits, with pink coats and serious hat style from Philip Treacy. I love that Silvia went big without going nuts, and I love her choice of burgundy accessories. Win.
I should be focusing on Madeleine’s hat here, but instead I can’t stop thinking it looks like she has her headphones around her neck when the coat is on. Makes a touch more sense when you see there's a whole garden of a Giambattista Valli dress underneath that pink Alexander McQueen coat.

Best in Fresh
Crown Princess Victoria
Victoria’s Dolce & Gabbana striped dress surprised me at first. This turned out to be a good thing, because paired with her big white hat, it was a much-needed anecdote to the run of pastels on display courtesy of most of the rest of the guests. LOVE.
{As always, a required moment of silence for Estelle's wee throne.}

Honorable Attendance Mention
Princess Sofia
Princess Sofia pulled back her attendance at the birthday events, to no one’s surprise as she just gave birth not even two weeks ago. But she did make a point to attend the Te Deum and balcony appearance, and she looked fabulous in a light Hugo Boss dress with a By Malene Birger coat added outside.

And for everybody else…
An interesting brooch headlined Princess Christina's blue look as she attended with the rest of the King's sisters, Princess Désirée, Princess Birgitta, and Princess Margaretha.

Princess Hisako of Takamado was a second row standout, brighter than the sun and with more hat personality than we usually see from the Japanese imperial ladies. Prince Albert of Monaco, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, and some of the German royals can also be spotted above.

By the time the party moved outside, a full Where's Waldo? royal spotting game was in play. A minty fresh Queen Margrethe and a cozily wrapped Princess Beatrix quickly became one of the day's best dynamic duos.

Princess Märtha Louise and husband Ari Behn are the sole reps from Norway now (following yesterday's tragic helicopter crash in the country). She always brings the intrigue, in a metallic number that also would have been at home at the previous evening's concert. Crown Princess Mary repeated her Oscar de la Renta coat paired with purple accessories, which obviously that makes me happy. Also present and elegant: Princess Benedikte and the royal couples from Serbia and Romania. (As well as other international royal guests not named here!)

One last thing:
Just so you  know, the Estelle fan club begins with her godmother.


We’ll be back later for the evening's black tie banquet (with tiaras!), so stay tuned.

Thanks to Heaven and Sarah at The Royals and I/Swedish Clothing IDs for being on top of the designer identifications! Check their post here for more on the Swedish royal family's choices.

Photos: SVT screencaps unless otherwise noted
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22 April 2016

Royal Flashback of the Day: April 22

Birthday week - month! - continues with the second part of our flashback to the glorious royal-filled white tie banquet celebrating the King of Sweden's 60th birthday in 2006. We tackled the monarch generation; now we tackle the heir generation. The then-heir generation, actually, because a lot has changed in ten years.

The heir couples of the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and the Crown Princess of Denmark with Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Photo: The Royal Court
For the Swedish family, this was a perfect time capsule of this era in their royal style (right down to Queen Silvia's green shoulder scrunchie). 
Especially Victoria, who loved those dresses with this type of fitted top, spaghetti or skinny strap, and a train. The styles have changed, but the tiaras haven't: Princess Madeleine's favorite is still the Modern Fringe Tiara, and Crown Princess Victoria's signature is still the Baden Fringe Tiara.

Earlier this year, we flashed back to King Harald's birthday celebrations in 2007, where Princess Mathilde took over a similar group shot with her confetti skirt. One year earlier, it was her twin Máxima doing just the same, arising from a pouf of red tulle by Benito Fernandez to showcase the Mellerio Ruby Tiara.
Crown Princess Mary, attending without her Fred, borrowed Máxima's date. She also should have borrowed a bit of her pizzazz, because this dress is the blerghiest of blerghs, a non-color that doesn't do her own coloring any favors. Her Wedding Tiara is practically invisible, but her aquamarine jewels remain a highlight.

Outside of the group photo, I do adore Princess Marie-Chantal and her diamond fringe tiara, which is one of the best fringes around in the classic style. I also have a soft spot for her style overall...
...although I do think there should be limits on the amount of bodice clutter allowed when a sash is in play.

There are more guests to be spotted in the brief video below, including Princess Lilian, the King's sisters, and representatives from Jordan.

And with that bit of royal spotting, we wrap up our King CG 60th flashbacks! We're ready to go for this year's events in a week. The Norwegian and Danish courts have confirmed that most of their members will attend (Harald, Sonja, Haakon, Mette-Marit, Märtha Louise, Ari, Margrethe, Frederik, Mary, Benedikte), Mathilde and Philippe will reportedly attend again, a Spanish rep, the Romanians, and maybe more. Attendance is still being confirmed.
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20 April 2016

Royal Flashback (and News Update!) of the Day: April 20

First of all, your news update: Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip welcomed a baby boy yesterday!

 
The baby's name and title will be announced Thursday by the King at a cabinet meeting, and the family's traditional Te Deum service will be held on Friday.

Now let's turn to another Swedish birthday, in the form of our ongoing flashback to the celebrations for King Carl Gustaf's 60th birthday in 2006. We've covered the black tie private party, the hat-filled day events, and now the big show: the white tie banquet at the Royal Palace. A similar event will be held for this year's 70th birthday celebrations, but - alas! - it looks like it might be black tie. I'm prepared to cling to the tiara memories if necessary.

Quite a turn out in the heads of state and consorts department a decade ago, no?
Left to right: President and First Lady of Iceland, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, King and Queen of Norway, King and Queen of Sweden, Prince Henrik of Denmark and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, President of Finland and her husband, Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, King and Queen of the Belgians
Photo: The Royal Court
You no doubt recognize Queen Sonja's getup from Norway's latest batch of formal portraits; she paired it with the family emerald parure here back in 2006 too. Queen Beatrix turned up in glorious fashion, like a sparkly mermaid with a sarong, wearing Queen Emma's Diamond Tiara. Queen Paola wore Queen Elisabeth's Diamond Bandeau and a wrap big enough to cover most of her dress.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa turned up in what is, in my considered opinion, the most awkward piece of royal Art Deco jewelry out there. It's a sapphire and diamond necklace, and it can also be worn as a tiara, if you must. She chose a more elegant tiara, the Chaumet Pearl and Diamond Choker Tiara. As the name suggests, that one can also do necklace duty.

Queen Margrethe was unable to attend, so Queen Silvia picked up the slack in the voluminous sleeve department. Well, less of a sleeve and more of a massive scrunchie wrapped around the top of the dress, I suppose. Then she balanced that out with alllllll the diamonds, including the biggest of the big guns, the Braganza Tiara.

The Greek royal couple weren't in the posed photo (not being reigning sovereigns, you know), but I must throw some praise Queen Anne-Marie's way. I love this dress! Metallic and mauve are not two things I'd put together, but it's really lovely, and an excellent platform for the Greek Ruby Parure. There's no mistaking it, this is a dress for a queen.

As always, this was just a selection of guests. But stay tuned: part 2 of the tiara fest - featuring the younger generation - is yet to come!

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08 April 2016

Royal Flashback of the Day: April 8

It's time to return to Sweden for part two of our look at the celebrations for King Carl Gustaf's 60th birthday in 2006. Previously in our time travel machine, we checked out the private party that kicked things off for some of the international guests attending the birthday festivities. We rejoin the fun the next day, where a lunch was held at Stockholm's City Hall. Once again, this is only a small selection of the guests and their hatted finery.

The Swedish royal family: Princess Madeleine, Prince Carl Philip, Crown Princess Victoria, Queen Silvia, King Carl Gustaf
The Birthday King! He wore a suit. Big brims all around for the ladies and Queen Silvia is very tangerine but also perfectly on point. (Apparently this was a big year for shoes with ankle straps, which I seem to have blocked from my memory - perhaps willfully, as they are so often an unflattering choice.)
The princesses were 123.6% improved without their bulky coats. I love this jacket on Victoria, but I think Madeleine learned some hard lessons in static cling here.

The Belgian contingent: Princess Mathilde, Prince Philippe, Queen Paola, King Albert
That might be an actual model of the galaxy on Mathilde's head, but never has a science fair project looked lovelier. Queen Paola's periwinkle gets a purple pass from me.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit
I really don't know what inspired Mette-Marit to throw a dash of ketchup and mustard on her plain black outfit, but it did need the extra interest. I wonder if she knocked into any door frames along the way.

And finally, representing the outfits that could have used a little less interest...
The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima
Look at Willem-Alexander, always the smitten kitten. Doesn't even seem to realize his wife is being attacked by a swarm of knots and bows from her neck to her toes. Bless.

Photos: via Getty Images
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01 April 2016

Royal Flashback of the Day: April 1

King Carl Gustaf is planning a big bash for his 70th birthday on April 30. He did the same thing when he turned 60, and the guest list included monarchs, heirs, and ex-royals from around the world. While we wait for more details and guests to be revealed for this year's party, I have a series of flashbacks for you from that 2006 party.

We'll start with the black tie private party held for the King at Drottningholm Palace. The King's own family mainly escaped the cameras for the event, but we do have guests to check out. (This is not everybody, mind you. Just a small selection.)

The Norwegians: the Crown Princess, the Crown Prince, Princess Astrid, the King, the Queen (with two additional guests on the left)
Crown Princess Mette-Marit turned up in a dark green gown that has, like, three or four design features too many. This dress needs to settle down. Queen Sonja, on the other hand, seriously elevated the elegance of her dress by adding a pale lavender shawl. And can we have a moment for Astrid's little green shoes peeking out from under the world's most cheerful skirt? She makes me smile.

The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima
On design elements alone, Máxima's outfit should need to settle down: lacy fabric stuff happening, bedazzled neckline detailing, statement turquoise jewels. But...somehow it's not even enough. It's suffering from a lack of Máx-ness. I think the brown is bringing her down.

Crown Princess Mary and Prince Henrik
The Danish consorts teamed up without their respective spouses for the birthday events. Mary's Kenth Fredin dress was one of her first royal gowns (literally, she wore it to her engagement dinner), we've seen it several times, and I don't think I'll ever tire of it. This is an especially lovely hairdo, too.


Princess Marie-Chantal and Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece
And finally, behold, my favorite dress from the event! I love this outfit. I don't really know why, except to say that I adore the way she played up the surprise white reveal at the bottom of the skirt with a white bolero. I also love her earrings, and we need to talk about those in depth sometime. An M-C highlight for me. That's all.

Stay tuned for more 60th birthday flashbacks as we approach this year's celebrations!

Photos: via Getty Images
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