Royal Trip of the Day: Back to the Sussexes in Australia

Jumping right back into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's tour of Australia with some of the latest: 

The couple visited Bondi Beach and met with a local surfing community group raising awareness for mental health and wellbeing.

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So this is what variety looks like in the land of neutrals: stripes of neutrals in a Martin Grant maxi dress. Chop it from a maxi to a midi and you'd have my very favorite look of the trip thus far.

They next visited a high school in Sydney.

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But currently the stripes won't compete with this number for my reigning trip fave. (So much more trip to go, though.) Roksanda is an interesting designer for the Duchess; modern, clean lines - which Meghan seems to love - but much more playful use of strong design features and color. This particular dress is basically just dipping a single toe into the Roksanda pool. A promising dip.

Royal Flashback of the Day: Princess Madeleine's Christening Looks

Swedish royal christenings have been very good to Princess Madeleine, sartorially. Or, I should say, she's made them very good. A flashback of her looks during the recent run of Swedish christening fun - and in case you weren't keeping count, that's been a serious run; they've had seven of them in the last six years! - reveals two of my all-time favorite Madeleine outfits and only one I'd say was a disaster. That's not a bad record. Not bad at all. (Click the kids' names to return to the individual christening posts.)

2012: Princess Estelle

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The first one turns out to be the most forgettable, this lavender belted coat with veil headpiece. I remember it mostly because she made the delicious choice to use diamond drops from the Connaught Tiara as earrings.

2014: Princess Leonore

Anna-Lena Ahlström/Kungahuset.se

Two years later and it's Madeleine's turn to hold the baby. The first of her three was marked in a lace dress by Valentino which was very sweet and very short and very pink and very veiled. (I still think the veil with nothing much else to it looks silly.)

2015: Prince Nicolas

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Oh, but the second time was the charm, for this is one of those all-time faves. A Valentino so rich for the October season - and such a welcome break from all the pastels these christenings tend to produce - and so perfectly coordinated by bringing the color from the bottom of the skirt up to the fascinator. LOVE.

2016: Prince Oscar

Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se

She followed that all-time fave with the other all-time fave: the very best royal interpretation of the SLEEVES trend (sorry, Máxima), in a pink Roksanda Ilincic dress. Another fascinator is well deployed here. Best to leave all the volume to the SLEEVES.

2016: Prince Alexander

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Madeleine has a knack for picking the best from the Erdem pile. (Another example made your Best of 2017 list.) This one was practical, too; left all the froof at home and out of the way for the kid wrangling.

2017: Prince Gabriel

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One disaster, I said. Here it is. (She was pregnant with Princess Adrienne at the time.) The Valentino dress is kind of juvenile and it doesn't work with the coat, which she left on throughout the service. The whole thing feels more haphazard than we've come to expect from her.

2018: Princess Adrienne

Erika Gerdemark, Kungahuset.se

The latest addition to the christening outfit collection is, if nothing else, a return to a totally pulled together look. The Giambattista Valli dress, the flower crown, and the pieces of the Cameo parure make a pretty and carefully coordinated picture. My third favorite of the pack.

How do you rank Madeleine's christening looks?

The Duke & Duchess of Sussex’s Wedding: Royal Guest Fashion

Click here for the bride, groom, and bridal party!

The Windsors always manage to put on a show, don’t they? The hats, the clothes, the jewels, the whole thing. This time around, while there was no shortage of the family favorite shades of dark blue, there was also a garden of light and bright outfits for a happy Spring wedding. Let’s hand out some awards:

Best in Spring Leadership

The Queen

Royal Family Channel screencap

The Queen sets the tone, as always, in lemon and lime and purple from Stewart Parvin with a matching Angela Kelly hat. It’s no Neon Birthday Queen, but it still can’t be missed. She also sized up the bling with the Richmond Brooch.

Most Unlikely Twin Act

The Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge

Ministry of Defence/Crown Copyright 2018

It occurs to me that these two outfits are really a lot alike in certain ways. Both could be repeats; Camilla’s is a new outfit from Anna Valentine that sticks to her usual pastels and her usual shapes, and Kate’s McQueen coat is so much the same as what she wore for Princess Charlotte’s christening that I’m not actually sure if it is a repeat or not. I’m certain plenty of you are ready to line up in the comments and tell me that’s on purpose, to make sure she doesn’t upstage the bride.

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They both sported sculptural hats from Philip Treacy – just look at the structure involved on Camilla’s! That’s a feat of architecture. You can’t even see her face in lots of the photos, which is par for the course. And they both went big on the jewel front, Camilla with her Pink Topaz Choker (my faaaaave) and Kate with another new earrings from Kiki McDonough, plus a ring. An unlikely twin act, you see.

Safest Plays

The York Ladies

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We laughed so hard at Princess Beatrice’s last big royal wedding hat, she very nearly didn’t give us one this time around. This Stephen Jones hat is not much more than a headband. Of course, it was the right choice for her custom Roksanda dress, which has enough going on by itself.

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Princess Eugenie toned it down in retro fashion in a blue Gainsbourg dress that doesn’t really get interesting until you see the back. Her Fiona Graham pillbox hat was the perfect complement.

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Sarah, Duchess of York followed suit in an understated outfit by Emma Louise Design and Jess Collett hat. Reads a little dated to me, but a nice effort overall.

Most Predictable Play

The Countess of Wessex

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All Sophie’s faves came to the party: outfit from Suzannah, long length, bespoke Jane Taylor hat. I think this outfit needs the longer length to make it special enough for the occasion, and simultaneously I’d like her to shorten the skirt. I’m difficult like that. Lady Louise looked great while dressing out of her mother’s closet (as pointed out by the Countess of Wessex Blog) in an Alaïa outfit.

Best of the Blue Crew

Autumn Phillips and Lady Sarah Chatto

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Of all the blue ladies – and these are the Windsors, so there’s a lot – Autumn and Sarah Chatto really hit it out of the park for me. Autumn’s dress, by Ceri Brooks of Hen House worn with a Juliette Botterill hat, flowed so well on the walk to the church and teal is one of my weaknesses.

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Sarah’s Jasper Conran dress is more colorful than her usual palette, topped with a bigger Stephen Jones hat than she usually goes for, and it all works. She gets me every time, she does.

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Also joining the blue-ish crew (accents of blue...whatever, just go with it), we have the Princess Royal and Zara Tindall in a Claire Mischevani teal coat with embossed navy detailing, a navy silk dress, and a Rosie Olivia hat. Is it bad that my first thought was that Anne had a hat made to go with Hugh Hefner’s best robe? Zara looked so exquisitely uncomfortable, I’ll just note that her hair was fantastic and leave it at that.

Most Classic Styling

The Countess of Snowdon

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Is this classic or what? Shirt dress with a full skirt, strand of big pearls, wide brim hat. Serena, she always gets me too. (Her Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat is a repeat from another big royal event, the Thanksgiving Service for the Diamond Jubilee.) Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, in the white with black trim, followed suit with Lady Louise and borrowed something from mom's wardrobe. Serena wore this outfit to Ascot in 2017.

And Also…

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No disrespect to the rest of the royal ladies in attendance, but we only have the briefest of glimpses. Looks like business as usual for Princess Michael of Kent and the Duchess of Gloucester, with some lovely pink from Princess Alexandra and a bit of pattern to pep it up from the Duchess of Kent.

Who was your best dressed Windsor guest?

Royal Outfits of the Day: A Windsor/Soon-to-be Windsor Grab Bag

A whole slew of Windsors and one soon-to-be Windsor will be out next week for the Commonwealth Day service - which we'll obviously be covering - so let's first get caught up with what a few of them have been up to this week. (There were even some Windsor diamonds out and about yesterday, check out the Jewel Vault for those.)

The Duchess of Cambridge visited a school in Oxford and opened the new Place2Be headquarters this week.

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Kensington Palace

These are both repeats (a cream JoJo Maman Bebe coat from 2015 and a blue Séraphine dress from the recent Norway trip) and both a wee bit snooze-worthy, but she was due for a few repeats after a run of new stuff, so really everything's all in order here.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry visited Birmingham yesterday.

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Noted admirer of blue coats with white trim and of the cropped pant + high heel look that I am, I am totally into this. There are pieces here that fall into the category of Stuff I Might Actually Wear, which is - to tell you the truth - rather a rare category around these parts and basically judged on a totally different scale by moi.

The Countess of Wessex has been on a visit to Malta as part of her role as Global Ambassador for 100 Women in Finance.

UK in Malta

It's been a good while since we checked in with Sophie, and she's bringing us the color we so need with this lovely Roksanda dress. The leather jacket pairing is a trendy nod; I'm not sure it's 100% successful but when one is hunting for some non-blue color from the Windsors, maybe beggars can't be choosers.

Year in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge and Queen Máxima's Bests of 2017

I'm picking my best 2017 outfits from our most frequently featured royal ladies in a series of posts this week and next. I'll also have a post of favorites from other royal women. Make sure you hop down to the comments as we go along to share your own personal favorites - I'm paying attention, and maybe we'll do a thing...

These two ladies have two bests with one thing in common: NECKLACES, baby. The bigger the diamonds, the better.

The Duchess of Cambridge at the Diplomatic Reception

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I wouldn't normally consider something like this for my yearly best list. We can't even see the dress properly! (Though the lovely Heaven did receive confirmation that, as many suspected, it was a bespoke Jenny Packham gown.) But here's the thing: the best bit about Kate's sartorial output in 2017 was, for me, the new things she got to borrow from the Queen's jewel vault. And none gave me the jumpy claps more than her use of a basic diamond collet necklace - the height of opulence, while not overwhelming the design of any outfit. So I'll just stick my blue ribbon right on that car window and that'll be that.

Runners up:

• An Armani Collezioni suit made for one of her sleekest and most professional appearances of the year.
• Another blue sparkly Jenny Packham at the Royal Variety Performance was my favorite of her evening dresses this year - of those we could legit see, that is.

Queen Máxima at the State Banquet for the President and First Lady of Argentina

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Now this dress, on the other hand, is likely to make my best list every single time it appears. And Máxima topping her repeated Jan Taminiau princess dress with the ULTIMATE necklace from the family collection vaults it right into the top spot. Wearing the Stuart or House Diamond Necklace feels like one step towards a possible reappearance of that Stuart Tiara, though it's staggering all on its own. (Her jewel digging also unearthed the necklace of the Ruby Peacock Parure this year, for bonus points.)

Runners up:

• Her bold Taminiau caped dress on the second night of the state visit to Portugal actually beats out her tiara appearance on the first night for me, in hindsight.
• Wouldn't be a Máxima list without some serious sleeve-age, right? So obviously her turn at that popular Roksanda Ilincic dress nabs another spot.
• And...a jumpsuit?! Can it be? Honestly, black and white from Roland Mouret might have been her sleekest appearance of the year.

What were your favorite Catherine and Máxima outfits in 2017?

Royal Outfit of the Day: Queen Máxima and her Jumpsuit

Her confidence buoyed by a successful sail through Bell Sleeve Bay in the Sea of Roksanda, Queen Máxima next steered her ship straight into the infamous Jumpsuit Triangle. It is a treacherous place where many have lost their way.

Queen Máxima recently opened the 70th Holland Festival in Amsterdam.

A post shared by Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) on Jun 3, 2017 at 1:44pm PDT

And just like that, Jumpsuit Triangle claims another victim. This Roksanda Ilincic colorblock jumpsuit has a pink bib up front and a plunging back accented with a slash of baby blue. The problems here are twofold: 1) This is a stiffly constructed thing. Its wearer moves around like the most fashionably attired mechanic on the block.

Koningin Máxima is vanavond bij de opening van het 70e Holland Festival in Amsterdam! #BlauwBloed pic.twitter.com/A118y9Eclp

— Blauw Bloed (@BlauwBloedtv) June 3, 2017

2) This is a sculptural thing. It doesn't really fit with aquamarine and diamond brooches (as much as it pains me to say it) or flowing hair. The queen that never met an outfit she couldn't pair with serious royal jewelry may finally have met her match.

Roksanda Ilincic colorblock jumpsuit (h/t to Heaven)
Blauw Bloed screencaps

Pick another direction, Máx. Sail away...

Royal Outfit of the Day: Máxima's Double Duty Dress

What was it I said when Princess Madeleine wore a blush pink Roksanda Ilincic with massive sleeves to Prince Oscar's christening last year? Ahem: "I imagine Madeleine has already been fielding inquiries from Queen Máxima about this dress – no way does a sleeve this dramatic slip past our Dutch queen."

Queen Máxima and Qatar's Sheikha Mozah attended a seminar on Protection and Education In Conflict Zones in The Hague last week.

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Forgive me, but: CALLED IT. Queen Máxima chose a more vivid color for her version of the dress, an iris hue, and it's really quite fabulous on her - a better choice than the rest of the bell sleeves in her closet. (You know she has a whole section.) In a full length it would have been fabulous on Sheikha Mozah too, whose sleek style is uncharacteristically buried under all those pleats.

Máxima's dress by Roksanda

What's interesting about Máxima and this dress is how she made it pull double duty. The same day, she joined the King for a state event. An added hat was a must, of course; this being Máx, she also threw in a jewelry switch up.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima formally welcomed the President and First Lady of Mozambique to the Netherlands.

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While Sheikha Mozah warranted tanzanite drop earrings and a pair of modern diamond bow brooches, the official welcome called for diamond earrings and a large brooch probably from the depths of the royal vault. I'm having visions of a vault wall filled with a complicated flow chart dictating appropriate jewelry levels for appropriate events...though any chance for double the jewelry is a chance our Máx will take, truly.

Year in Review: 2016's Honorable Mentions

Having taken a look at some of the sartorial achievements of our regular leading ladies this year, let's chat about other outfits that were 2016 standouts. Shall we?

Princess Madeleine at Prince Oscar's Christening

Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se

Once again, Madeleine ends up with a slew of outfits for the year that I adored. As much as I loved her princess-y Fadi El Khoury from the Nobel Prize ceremony, the one that will end up on my permanent favorites list is her take on the big sleeve trend at Prince Oscar's christening: a soft pink Roksanda Ilincic dress a gorgeous soft hairdo and floral ornament.

Viscountess Linley at Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Service

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Just thought I'd report that my soft spot for this retro look - a Dior coat, with the perfect Rachel Trevor Morgan hat - has only grown softer. Love.

Queen Silvia in Germany

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How could I not include Silvia Baden-ing it up in Germany? Come on, she managed to pull a mega brooch out of the vaults that we somehow haven't seen in a loooooong time. Doesn't hurt that she did it in my favorite color, obviously.

Beatrice Borromeo at the Rose Ball

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Because WHY NOT, that's why.

Honorable mentions for my honorable mentions list: Princess Charlene in her evening coat (because I need her to lead the charge to bring those back), Princess Eugenie in the perfect summer dress (because chevrons), and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa in Elie Saab (because Elie Saab).

 What outfits make your 2016 honorable mentions list?

Royal Outfits of the Day: July 8

Right, so: Cambridge, Duchess of.

The Duchess of Cambridge announced the winner of the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2016 on Wednesday.

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Sometimes I wonder if I am seeing the same thing as everyone else, for I find this neither as "daring" nor as much a departure as others seem to think. But I too am glad to see this paired with a sandal rather than a pump. The photo above holds the primary appeal for me. (Because everything looks better in motion, while walking down stairs. It is known.)

Barbara Casasola dress, a new designer for HRH

Maybe part of the reason that I don't see the dress as a huge departure for her is because the fabric panel effect has the sportiness I could easily imagine Kate wearing at Wimbledon (minus the uncovered shoulder and such). She did not go for tennis whites this year, though. 

The Duchess of Cambridge and The Countess of Wessex attended Wimbledon yesterday.

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Once again playing along with my tour repeat game, the Duchess brought back the yellow and white Roksanda Ilincic dress she wore on arrival in Australia during the 2014 Tour de Cambridge. This dress, I like it - but we're at Wimbledon, so I will always like #TeamShades even more. (Note as well that she's done all of us that care about this sort of thing a solid by repeating the new earrings she debuted under a cloak of hair the previous evening. They're from Soru Jewellery, with baroque pearls and Swarovski crystals.)

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Just to make it even better, Sophie turned up! I am just now realizing that I never really looked at these Suzannah separates when she wore them to Ascot. Topping things with lizard wing hats can be a touch distracting.

Royal Fashion Awards: Royal Ascot 2016, Part 2

Previously, on Ascot: The Blog... We left off with the fashions of Day 1 and most of Day 2; over yonder at the Jewel Vault, we've covered the Queen, Cams, and a bit of Anne in her Eliza Doolitte best (plus, a brand new brooch from Her Maj!).

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"Hey, twinsies!"

We pick up with a leftover from Day 2 and the fruits of Day 3, which was Ladies' Day. The Queen set the tone for the day by hilariously matching outfits with the Gold Cup-winning jockey, and the interesting color combos and fancy hats continued from there:

Best in Ascot Spirit, Again

Princess Eugenie, Day 3
and Nearest Miss at Ascot Millinery Magic
Princess Beatrice, Day 3

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Princess Haya's feather explosion from Day 1 still holds this year's top Ascot Spirit prize, but Princess Eugenie's deserves an honor of its own. This Jess Collett hat isn't over the top, but it is a serious hat upgrade for Eugenie's personal style, and that's what I want to see at Ascot.

Eugenie's dress from Roksanda; Beatrice's dress from ADEAM

Eugenie's hat was a nice curvy contrast to Princess Beatrice's overly flat hat. She tried valiantly to match the tremendous success of her orange and blue topper from last year, but alas, I suspect nothing will ever top that. I suppose we can give some points here for building the most oddly specific subset of hats around (how many orange and blue hats does a person need?), and for a second day of royal granddaughters echoing their royal granny's color scheme.

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Before we move on, did you spot the bonus royal in the first pic? It's a purple-clad Princess Sarvath El Hassan of Jordan! Princess Sarvath and her husband, Prince Hassan Bin Talal, have been at Ascot several times; he was Jordan's crown prince for years, and the couple still pop up at various Euro royal events. She's an interesting Ascot attendee because a small flower or a fascinator is about as into the hat thing as she gets. I suppose no one argues with the Queen's guests about the Ascot rules.

Also Best in Ascot Spirit

Countess of Wessex, Day 3

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Doing her part for the Ladies' Day cause in Suzannah and Jane Taylor: the Mother of Coral Dragon Wings.

Closest Call in Retro Style

Princess Haya, Day 2

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Speaking of Princess Haya, she reined it in (see what I did there) for Day 2 with a sleek but giant pillbox hat. It's a retro look that allllllmost works for me, but the open jacket moving around just added unnecessary bulk to the outfit. So close.

Chanel Couture Fall 2015

She was back to her big hat ways for Day 3, in tip-to-toe red.

Also present on Day 3 but not pictured here: Princess Michael the Caped Crusader, Princess Alexandra, and a pretzel-brooched Princess Royal.

Ascot continues on Friday and Saturday. Will the royals bring us anything else fun to discuss, or are they all tapped out? We shall see.

Royal Fashion Awards: Prince Oscar's Christening (Updated)

Programming Note: It's a holiday weekend in my corner of the world and a holiday weekend for the blog too! We will return on Wednesday.

Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Skåne has been christened, and the Swedes have had another chance to break out the baby sash of the Order of the Seraphim. We’re all winners today. (Watch the ceremony here, and see our open post here.)

Nobody can outdo a baby in an elaborate royal christening gown – the one worn by Prince Oscar was first used in 1906 – but Oscar’s attentive entourage still brought their best for us to review. We've got some awards to hand out, yes we do.

Update: And we have some beautiful official photographs as well! Check them out throughout the entry, and click to enlarge.

Best in Family Coordination

Crown Princess Victoria & Co.

Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se

Victoria was summery in a white By Malina dress and Philip Treacy hat, and maybe just a touch sporty too, given the almost mesh-like effect of this dress and the mesh on the hat. A good look? Absolutely. Made even better by the addition of a Mini Me? You better believe it.

Read more about the brooches - portraits of the King - worn by the Swedish royal ladies here.

Princess Estelle matched her mother in white, with a wee fascinator occupying her usual hair bow spot like millinery training wheels for a future hat star. I think it’s the strand of pearls that really did me in.

Best in Other Family Coordination

Queen Silvia

Henrik Garlöv, Kungahuset.se

Another christening, another soft color, another shift dress for Queen Silvia. I can’t blame her for sticking to any of those, nor can I blame her for opting for an outfit that allows her to wear this pearl necklace. The outfit's standard, the hat's deceptively nonstandard - all business at the front, with a little sculptural party at the back.

You  know what I really loved about this choice? She coordinated perfectly with Daniel’s mother, Ewa Westling, who also looked quite elegant. How can you not love a united grandma front?

Most Dramatic Godmother Style

Princess Madeleine

Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se

I imagine Madeleine has already been fielding inquiries from Queen Máxima about this dress – no way does a sleeve this dramatic slip past our Dutch queen. Perhaps Madeleine needed some literal room up her sleeves for tricks with which to wrangle a squirmy Princess Leonore. Prince Nicolas, on the other hand, sat with Chris O'Neill and contentedly and hilariously played with what appeared to be a light-up toothbrush.

Madeleine's dress from Roksanda Ilincic

Madeleine exercised restraint in every other aspect of this outfit and balanced the interest of the sleeves with the texture of the floral headpiece, making this perhaps the most successful royal implementation yet of that mad Lumière sleeve.

Most Sparkling Godmother Style

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

Well, of course Mette-Marit didn’t wear a proper hat. (If you were expecting her to, you were just setting yourself up for disappointment, be honest.) I’ll accept it on grounds of pure sparkliness, from the headband to the pearl and diamond earrings to the diamond and aquamarine brooch interestingly deployed at her neckline.

Henrik Garlöv, Kungahuset.se

Even the dress seemed to have a bit of flash under the lights, which came as a welcome surprise. She's another that can work this schoolgirl neckline, even with the headband addition - but again, this one's taken up several notches by the jewels.

Best in Superhero Style

Princess Sofia

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Is Sofia actively campaigning for a spot on my list of favorite royals? Because wearing a cape to a christening is one heckuva campaign strategy, I'll tell you that much.

This cape-back dress from Antonio Berardi (a designer I’d like to see more royals wear, by the way) is beyond fabulous. She’s got me excited for Prince Alexander’s christening already.

Most…Interesting in the Millinery Show

Princess Christina

Is it a giant goth flower? Is it the aftermath of a helicopter crash? Princess Christina’s millinery selection is a story prompt waiting to happen. Princess Margaretha, the only other one of King Carl Gustaf’s sisters to attend, was a more calming vision in purples.

Best of the Millinery Show

Crown Princess Mary

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This christening was a sea of little fascinators and other hat-ish sorts of things. Thank the hat gods for Mary and her giant statement chapeau! This is a loud hat done in a quiet sort of way, though, not in an oops-I-got-lost-on-the-way-to-Ascot sort of way. (Although she could wear this to Ascot, and she should, so let's brainstorm a way to get her there tout de suite.)

Dress by Max Mara (per StyleofMary), hat by Susanne Juul

She sweeps the Best in Guest stakes with zero competition in sight. Very well played indeed.

Who makes your christening best dressed list?

A few more official photos for the road (all by Anna-Lena Ahlström, Kungahuset.se):

BIG thank you as always to Sarah from The Royals & I/Swedish Royal Clothing IDs for speedy dress identifications!

Photos: Kingahuset as indicated, SVT screencaps, Getty Images as indicated, Avenue32, Net-a-porter, Max Mara

Royal Outfits of the Day: May 5

(Note: Tiara Thursday will be up tomorrow.)

Oh look, someone's decided to play along with my Will we ever see it again? tour game. Not with items from the most recent India tour, but items from Royal Tours of Yore appeared yesterday as the Duchess of Cambridge did three engagements.

Kensington Palace

The first stop, at Hampton Court Palace for the opening of the Magic Garden children's play area, brought back a Michael Kors coat from the 2014 Australia tour. I find myself much better able to appreciate its kicky little flare without the hat it was originally worn with.

Kensington Palace

Underneath the coat and unveiled for the day's second engagement, a reception for the Anna Freud Centre, was the Roksanda Ilincic dress from way back on the 2011 tour. Lovely then, lovely now, lovely always, this dress.

Michael Kors coat, Roksanda Ilincic dress, Mappin & Webb earrings and pendant

One more repeat for the road! This pink Alexander McQueen from the Australia tour returned for a visit to the National Portrait Gallery to view the Vogue portrait exhibit, where two of those new photographs of Kate have been installed.

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She also chose to repeat a necklace and earrings from Monica Vinader. Curious and possibly intentional timing here: in a new article at the Daily Mail site, the designer said of the first time Kate wore these pieces in 2014, "I knew nothing about it as my press team had lent them to her people and they’d told them to tell no one else in the company." Lent being the word everyone has picked up on - is the Duchess borrowing jewelry?! (Gasp! The horror!) (Nah, wouldn't be so unusual if she did.) Borrowing things to review while selections for an event are in the works is probably standard, with purchase to follow after the decision is made. A good reminder not to read too much into things, at least.

Alexander McQueen peplum dress, Monica Vinader Riva Diamond Cluster Drop Earrings and Diamond Cluster Bib Necklace, 18ct rose gold plated vermeil on sterling silver with pavé-set diamonds

But here we are, going on about the clothes and the jewels, and missing the day's real headline news: Kate REVEALED that the Cambridge family has a new member! A hamster. A hamster called Marvin. Don't tell Estelle.

Royal Outfit Grab Bag of the Day: June 26

In which we explore some totally unrelated Things About Which I Have Thoughts for the week:

View image | gettyimages.com

Queen Máxima attended a conference, June 22

See, when you overdo it with the accent color, you lose the delight of an accent color in the first place.

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Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece (with the Marquess of Douro) at the Ralph Lauren & Vogue Wimbledon Party, June 22

M-C's got it down. The unexpected pink of the purse is the whole point.

View image | gettyimages.com

Princess Beatrix at a sailing event, June 20

Visor Alert: Queen Princess Beatrix helms her own ship (De Groene Draeck, the Green Dragon) and her bouffant bends for no occasion. 

Queen Rania hosted women for iftar at Raghadan Palace, June 21

Oh, this Roksanda Ilincic frock is such a perfect dress-to-wearer match. I appreciate an Ilincic done simply even more after that recent Ascot episode.

Crown Princess Mary (with her plus one, Fred) attended the Reumert Awards honoring the Danish performing arts, June 21. Click here for a gallery.

I saw some clips of this show. I got the impression it wouldn't have made much more sense even if I did speak Danish, which I don't. But that makes it a great occasion for this outfit, which is a long dress with a long kimono on top (from Rabens Saloner).

Last night, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary attended the Reumert Awards at the Royal Danish PlayHouse pic.twitter.com/xIrqX3i33H

— Royaltyspeaking (@Royal_talk) June 22, 2015

It's the perfect outfit for swanning about one's lanai all day, before heading out for an evening of baffling theater. I'd take the whole ensemble home, no problem. And I'm not just saying that because I need those Portuguese gold filigree earrings in my life rightthissecond.

Photos: via Getty Images, Queen Rania Instagram, Liberty, DR screencap, Rabens Saloner, Alma e Coração

Royal Fashion Awards: Royal Ascot 2015, Day 1

Ascot's first day was a day of statement pieces - the occasional successful one, and then some other statement items which...were also present. Let's discuss:

Best in Surprises

The Queen

View image | gettyimages.com

I was going to tell you all about how much I love Lilibet in this vibrant cerise from Peter Enrione with an Angela Kelly hat, but every time I look at her I get lost in that brooch and can't find my way out again. This is a VERY EXCITING brooch selection, and you can obvs read all about it at the Vault (Ascot post here, full brooch post here).

Worst in FrankenHats

The Duchess of Cornwall and The Princess Royal

View image | gettyimages.com

I'm pretty sure Camilla's hat is a perfectly plain brimmed number that just sat right down on top of another, more interesting hat, which is now trying desperately to free itself from below. (Maybe this is why the Duchess of Gloucester's hats always grow those weird stems: safety precaution! No hat's gonna risk sitting on that.) Its saving grace - on top of a busy top half to the outfit underneath - is the single color, but I still can't condone this type of hat-on-hat violence. Which is precisely why Princess Anne's hat gets the real worst in show here.

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How many hats had to die in a millinery cage match to make this single mishmash of a chapeau? Somebody needs to put down the glue gun and walk away. Kudos to Anne for still fitting into an outfit from 1980 and all, but please try again in the headgear department.

Most Adequate in Black and White

Lady Sarah Chatto, Autumn Phillips, Princess Michael of Kent

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Okay, Sarah Chatto's is brown too, but whatever. It matters not. These are all okay. Mostly, I'd just like to know why Princess Michael didn't go all in with a half black/half white eyepatch.

Most in Need of De-Fussing

Princess Beatrice

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This is a bold skirt for her, and I love it! I just wish she'd cut back some of the extra fuss on the shoes and the hat so the skirt could shine, instead of being the third piece in the outfit fighting for your attention.

Roksanda Ilincic skirt

Best Runway Omission

Princess Haya

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I wouldn't have thought to turn a couture gown into an outfit for the races, but at least she left off the boots, which were thigh high and vinyl and all over the latest Dior couture runway. Princess Haya (daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, and wife of Sheikh Mohammed, ruler of Dubai) usually stops my heart at least once with her Ascot couture parade each year, but we're not quite there yet on Day 1.

Christian Dior Spring 2015 Couture

Best in Statement Pieces

The Countess of Wessex

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Yessssss. This is how you do it! Sophie's white Emilia Wickstead dress is simple enough to let the hat take center stage, but isn't boring on its own. Second place to only Her Maj in my eyes.

Best in Gents

Prince Harry and Mike Tindall

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On the one hand, the long reign of terror of Prince Harry's infamous yellow waistcoat, worn to all things for all time, is over - or, at least, temporarily interrupted by a dashing new blue number. (It won Zara Phillips' approval, saying hello in cheery yellow from Paul Castelloe.)

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On the other hand, Mike Tindall's curtsey game is strong. So I'll call it a tie.

Who takes home your Ascot Best Dressed Crown for Day 1?

Photos: Via Getty Images as indicated, Moda Operandi, Style.com