Potential Royal Couture of the Day: July 11

The Fall 2014 Couture shows happened this week in Paris. Let's do what we do and gaze at some prettiness while making our wish lists for what we hope to see on our favorite royal ladies, shall we? (Click the designer names to see the whole collection.)

Wouldn't be a couture week without Elie Saab doing what he does best. Ornamentation galore combined with lots of ombré effect gowns (as though Elie Saab alone isn't enough of a weakness for me, I have a peculiar fondness for anything ombré, so I'm all over this). As always, the Luxembourg ladies are our best bet to see this in action, and if we cross our fingers maybe a Swedish princess will dip into the pool too.

Valentino put out a very romantic, Pre-Raphaelite-inspired collection. Keep an eye out for Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Madeleine, Princess Marie-Chantal, Queen Máxima, Sheikha Mozah, and more.

Chanel delivered a typically artistic collection with inspiration from Karl Lagerfeld as intriguing as ever ("brutalist and baroque"). I include the video above for one purpose only: the very last look. I wouldn't be mad at all one of the ladies of Monaco wanted to don that fabulous train, wouldn't be mad at all. Pick any occasion, opening a yacht club, I don't even care. That is amazing.

Giambattista Valli's been rather popular with Crown Princess Mette-Marit of late, and Charlotte Casiraghi's been a fan in the past. I wouldn't mind this collection spreading to some other royal ladies too, with its bright florals and affection for full skirts and capes. You can look no further than the styling to see that it's practically screaming for some attention from Sheikha Mozah (head wraps and sunglasses, hello!).

This is just a selection from some of the designers already in the royal mix. Others to consider:

• Christian Dior has dressed Queen Mathilde a couple times this year (for her French introductory visit and for the D-Day commemoration - both events in France, a perfect marriage since the French label is currently designed by a Belgian, Raf Simons). What we've seen on Mathilde so far has been totally bespoke and not from the runway, but others like Sheikha Mozah and Princess Haya are runway fans.
• Armani Privé has been a go-to in the past for some of our royal ladies (Queen Mathilde and Queen Paola for special occasions, for example), though again, it's often totally custom work.
• I'm still waiting for Ralph & Russo (a British label from two Australians) to make an appearance on our British royals, but Sheikha Mozah's already a fan.

What's on your royal wish list?

Photos: Style.com

Royal Outfit(s) of the Day: March 25

Video: The Countess of Wessex visited a hospital last week, wearing a black and white print Giambattista Valli dress under a fitted black blazer.

That busy royal bee Sophie turned in this lovely appearance last week, in the classic combo of black and white, and I generally appreciate the contrast of a solid on top and a print on bottom to liven it up. That's all fine and dandy. But also last week, Princess Letizia did the same (same-ish) thing...

18-03-2014 FOTO 3 Los Príncipes de Asturias y Girona con los Premios Fundación PdGi Artes y Letras 2013 @ForumIMPULSA pic.twitter.com/krL4wlnB5t
— Casa Real Española (@Casa_Real_) March 19, 2014

...and NOPE. Is it because that print kinda looks like diamonds and clubs, like she meant to hit the casino first? It is because these trousers have a drawstring? It's just a pants-y turn on La Wessex's outfit, really, so why isn't it working for me? These are life's great mysteries.*

Sophie's Giambattista Valli dress (per the Countess of Wessex blog), Letizia's Hugo Boss Orange trousers (click here for a gallery from the visit)

*These are not life's great mysteries.

Photos: Lyst/Hugo Boss

Weekly Royal Fashion Awards: November 20-December 3

Most Improved

Queen Máxima

Visiting Colombia and Venezuela; returning home for more engagements including celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (4th, 5th, 6th from left). At far right, her mixed print look on the Spijkers en Spijkers runway.

Some of the things worn during Máx's tour of the Caribbean (her tour, yup - I think she may have brought a date) were a bit dubious - which was why I was happy to see her move on to a couple quick country visits and then home once again. I can't even get mad at her ridiculous, ridiculous sleeve action because I thought her makeup was so on point. Of course, she had to throw us a loop at the end, nabbing a look straight from the runway, unfortunate neck scarf and all.

Best in Fine

These Ladies

Letizia in Valencia and at an awards ceremony; Kate at a gala; Mathilde at a palace event and on an official visit to Luxembourg; Victoria at a seminar; Mary at a school

Well, this is obviously not comprehensive (none of it is, ever), but there was a lot of just fine work going on while I was on hiatus. I mean, fine. Nod. Approve. Forget. I did have a few favorites, including any sort of simple dress (Letizia, Mathilde), and Mary's turn there struck me with a spot of extra elegance. I also can't help but love Grand Duchess Maria Teresa for turning up the volume to welcome the Belgians - the hair! Now that's a thing of beauty. (See a video on the visit here.)

Tiara Watch!

Sweden warmed up for their sparkling Nobel festivities with an official dinner featuring Queen Silvia in the Connaught Tiara and some amethysts (YUM) and Crown Princess Victoria in the Cut Steel Tiara - with that repeated metallic Jenny Packham dress, she must have been one sparkly sight to see.

And that's all that happened in tiara news, I think. Right, guys? (Ha.) Anyway, discussion on the Duchess of Cambridge's front page-making tiara jaunt and which pieces she wore is happening over at the Jewel Vault.

And an Honorable Mention to...

Prince Harry

Video: Harry talks about breaking his toe in advance of his South Pole trek

Last but not least, here's a bearded Harry being cute in Antarctica, because I care.

Who's your best dressed?

Photos: ANP/PPE/Pool/DutchPhotoPress/Getty Images/Spijkers en Spijkers/Casa Real/PA/RTL/IBL/Abaca/Scanpix/Kungahuset

Runway to Royal: The Dutch Inauguration

I said we were done with coverage of King Willem-Alexander's inauguration, but...uh...I lied. Because while we talked about the outfits, and the jewels, and a few of the designers (Jan Taminiau and Jan Taminiau!), we didn't talk about the rest of the designers. Today, a round up of some of the identified designers we haven't already covered in depth - and feel free to add additional designers in the comments!

Apart from Taminiau, Natan was the designer that got the most mentions during our previous coverage. A custom version of a previous look was provided for Queen Máxima for the abdication, and bespoke outfits (and capes) for the little princesses were made - the modifications to the basic design were picked out by the princesses themselves. Natan also provided couture looks for Princess Laurentien and Princess Mathilde for the inauguration, and both paired them with Fabienne Delvigne hats.

But Natan wasn't the sole dresser for these ladies: for the abdication, the princesses wore matching off-the-rack dresses from Pili Carrera. Princess Laurentien also wore dresses from Hardies in The Hague, and Olvi's brand.

Another Dutch designer who fared very well at the festivities was Addy van den Krommenaker, who did quite a few dresses for Queen Beatrix's sisters and their families. Modekoningin Máxima had great coverage of the festivities from a Dutch fashion perspective, including the eagle eyes for all these and Laurentien's designers.

Unsurprisingly, Princess Mabel stuck with her wedding gown designers, Viktor & Rolf. Her red gown is actually a repeat. Though it was reported that the bow on her inauguration dress came from the wedding gown, it looks like that's not true - though the inspiration for the selection seems clear.

Also unsurprisingly, Valentino made several appearances. Máxima repeated an older gown, while Mette-Marit (always a Valentino fan) and Sheikha Mozah had new couture to show off. The Qatari royal family actually bought the Italian fashion house a while ago, so I suppose you could say she was representing the home team.

The Duchess of Cornwall was dressed in bespoke Bruce Oldfield, and wore a repeated Philip Treacy fascinator to the inauguration. Princess Letizia was dressed by Felipe Varela, including a repeated navy gown. This is yet another un-shocker...I picture her closet as row after row of Varela garment bags with, like, some Mango bags stuffed in the back. Her hat - now that was something different, you can count on one hand the number of times we've seen her in a fancy hat - was from Maria Nieto.

Crown Princess Mary represented Denmark well, in bespoke Birgit Hallstein (thanks to the commenter that linked to Hallstein's Facebook page featuring shots of the gown in progress), Charlotte Lynggaard, and a repeated Jesper Høvring gown. Crown Princess Mette-Marit found her fix of long printed gowns at Giambattista Valli for the pre-inauguration dinner.

Elie Saab was represented by Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie and Crown Princess Victoria, who repeated an older gown. Victoria also threw in some Escada for the ceremony, paired with a Philip Treacy hat, and bejeweled Jenny Packham with a By Malina coat to wrap it up.

Who had the best designer-to-royal match?

Photos: ANP/Natan/Getty Images/NOS/Pili Carrera/DutchPhotoPress/PPE/Viktor&Rolf/Style.com/Jesper Høvring/Elie Saab

Royal Fashion Awards: Monaco's AMADE Gala

While Charlene and Albert were on duty in Ireland (more on that Monday!), the Casiraghi contingent were on charity patrol back home. The AMADE Gala was held on Thursday night and it ran me through the full gamut of my sartorial emotions, from laughter to smiles to fear. Here, I'll show you:

Best Laugh

Andrea Casiraghi

I have to tell you, this has been one loooong, rough week in OoS land. Seriously, get out your tiniest violins and play for me. Anyways, I needed a laugh. And a laugh I got:

The disarmingly charming Alpa emailed me about this event, and this is pretty much all I wrote back: "WTF ZEBRA SHOES OMG LOL." (My eloquence is stunning, isn't it?) But...you guys...WTF ZEBRA SHOES OMG LOL. They're like slippers, almost. And a three piece suit? What, is he shopping in Hugh Hefner's closet now?

(Disclaimer: yours truly owns a pair of zebra shoes. Yours truly loves zebra shoes. But yours truly is not a dude in a three piece tuxedo.)

Best Smile

Charlotte Casiraghi

No, not Charlotte's smile. (These Casiraghis aren't big on smiling for the cameras.) I'm talking about her Giambattista Valli dress. Refreshing like a sip of lemonade on a hot summer day, isn't it? I was even able to keep my smile going as I glanced down to those clodhoppers on her feet, which are surely a cute choice for a summer picnic but seem a sketchy choice for an April gala.

Most Terrifying

Tatiana Santo Domingo

She's the Ghost of Fashion Collections past; like a once-glamorous model that met a tragic end in 1928 and now haunts the gala balls she used to dazzle at, cloaked in the tattered remnants of the shapeless silhouettes to which she is forever confined. I'm scared.

None of them really smiled for the cameras, but she just seems downright angry. Look at her there, giving Charlotte the side-eye. This is just her posing face, right? Not her personality, surely? (Reminds me of this girl I used to work with  - she was a total sweetheart - but her face just naturally rested in this "I've smelled a skunk" position.) Somebody needs to link me up to a picture of her with a genuine smile on her face, because I'm really starting to develop a TSD phobia.

And The Other One

Princess Caroline

Well, she's elegant, but that's old news. A frock like this is really just a backdrop for her young ones and their shenanigans. Fortunately, it's just the refreshing palette cleanser I need after viewing Zombie Santo Domingo up there.

Photos: Hola