Royal Outfits of the Day: November 18

Queen Letizia and Queen Rania both have a tendency to go simple and businesslike with their work wear. Sometimes a little too simple for my tastes, but these two recent examples are hitting just the right level of simple chic in my eyes.

For her part, Letizia attended an awards ceremony yesterday.

#459115036 / gettyimages.com

I never thought the day would come, but she's picked a basic gray suit that I can actually get on board with! It's like seeing a unicorn in person. This is from Nina Ricci, not one of her usual designers, and the peplum and shoulder details are taking that basic gray and kicking it up several notches.

Nina Ricci suit, Malababa clutch

I could do without the bag, honestly, but I guess I'm just the sort that prefers to leave the geology out of my handbags.

Meanwhile, Queen Rania met with the Jordan River Foundation.

A photo posted by Queen Rania Al Abdullah (@queenrania) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:21am PST

So very chic. A soft color, but with some added texture panels to wake it up a bit (I think she's in an added panel mood lately).

The dress is from Roksanda Ilincic, and has been previously worn on the red carpet. That's not a silhouette that works on many people, but on Rania, it's perfect. Simple chic, times two.

Photos:Carlos Alvarez via Getty Images, Nina Ricci, Malababa, Instagram, Roksanda Ilincic

Royal Outfit of the Day: August 25

Being an avowed Shoe Person, it's about time I got around to the accessories in my fictional closet raiding. You know who has a good closet for accessory collecting? Princess Beatrice, that's who.

#147224798 / gettyimages.com

Princess Beatrice attended an event in 2012 in a Roksanda Ilincic dress with an Anya Hindmarch clutch and Nicholas Kirkwood shoes.

Her overall wardrobe game is on a steady upward climb, but her hats (love 'em or hate 'em) have always been showstoppers. And in the past few years, her shoes have been equally fab. This blue pair can be mine any time. Actually anything in this whole outfit is welcome in my closet, but the shoes get a special invite.

If you could have one thing from Beatrice's closet, what would it be?

Photos: Mike Marsland/Wire Image via Getty Images, and Polyvore/Net-a-porter

Royal Outfit(s) of the Day: April 23

Video: The Cambridges visited Elizabeth (the suburb, named for the Queen) as the Australian leg of their tour continued.

Time for another drive-by peek at the royal tour! Simply put: this is pretty. Soft pink separates, with a v-neck and a bit of fullness in the skirt to add some interest. And McQueen, so obviously impeccably fit. Lovely. Here's a look from the Daily Mail.

The day before, they visited Uluru, where Kate arrived in a Roksanda Ilincic dress hilariously similar - but different - from one she already owns. Later, she brought back a dress from Hobbs that I have always liked and wore a necklace given to her while there. Here's a piece from PopSugar.

Video: Their visit to Uluru.

The fashion news here belongs to William, though - he didn't wear blue! He wore khaki. Big day, kids.

Photos: Reuters

Royal Outfit of the Day: April 16

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince George, arrived in Australia for the next leg of their tour.

Yellow - for wattle, for sunshine, for half of the green and gold Australia color combo - was an easy guess for arrival in Australia, but the Duchess might have surprised you with her designer: Roksanda Ilincic, a London-based Serbian designer. She's worn Ilincic before, of course, but we'll have to wait for an Australian designer to take the stage (and it will certainly be only a matter of time). This label has done quite a bit with yellow lately, bright and cheery color blocking all over the place, so perhaps the surprise isn't that surprising after all. As for this dress, yellow with blocks of white at the bottom and on the sleeves - LOVE. Easily my pick for best outfit of the tour. So far.

The retail version available here from Roksanda Ilincic. The colors have been reversed and the bell sleeve reduced (an excellent change!), and the neckline opened up for the Duchess.

Timezones are making this tour hard to follow from my corner of the world and I'm writing this after just the first bit of the day (hence my speedy screencaps above). But for more, click here for rolling coverage from 7News Sydney, here for Hello, or here for pics from the Daily Mail.

Photos: 7News/Reuters/MatchesFashion

Royal Olympic Update: Day 3

While I had to sadly go back to my real world at work on Monday and abandon my manic daytime Olympics watching streak, the royals kept going, with an extra dose of British in the mix for Royal Olympian Zara Phillips.

A little leftover from day 2, just heat it up in the microwave and it’ll be fine: there was some Wills n’ Becks bromance happening at the football on Sunday night. Yum.

On Monday, the Brits multiplied their family support for Zara Phillips in her second day of Olympic competition, and their unified secret agent sunglasses vibes worked! Miss Z had a faultless cross-country run on High Kingdom.

Princess Anne and Mike Tindall were there as well, around the course I gather, and Anne caught a bit of badminton on day 3 too. (Bonus: it just so happened to be Zara and Mike’s first wedding anniversary. Awwww.) And it looked like Princess Benedikte was once again hanging at the equestrian venue for the show, no doubt sizing things up before Princess Nathalie rides.

Later, the Brothers Wales hit up the men’s gymnastics team final where they celebrated Team GB’s silver medal…and watched as it was downgraded to the bronze after a scoring inquiry from Japan. (Still can’t quite believe that one myself.)

Whilst all caught up in her British pride, Kate later stopped by the reception for the GREAT Campaign, where she brought home a gold medal for Team Updo in the tricky Tiara Hair (Non-Tiara) event. This feat was accomplished while wearing her repeated Roksanda Ilincic dress from last year’s grand tour.

Back to the sporting events, Crown Prince Haakon showed up for a rifle event clearly indicating that the Windsors aren't the only ones that can werk a pair of shades.

The Oranges took in some field hockey, still soaked to the max in their citrus hue. (Don’t miss Willem-Alexander’s

New royal alert! The Swedes have joined in the fun. Crown Princess Victoria cancelled her planned trip to stay in Sweden with Estelle, but Princes Daniel and Carl Philip turned up in time for some handball. Naturally, they were clad in Swedish blue and yellow.

The Luxembourg royals added to their clan too, with Prince Sébastian and future princess Stéphanie attending a reception alongside the rest of the family. They also enjoyed a spot of tennis, as did their Belgian cousins.

And I tell you, the Belgians must have realized they were lagging behind their fellow royals in the shenanigans category, because they turned up the enthusiasm a notch: Mathilde’s not going to let her pals Máxima and Mette-Marit sneak away with the title of Most Enthusiastic Royal, oh no! And even Philippe got in on the action, giving Grand Duke Henri a run for his money when it comes to cuteness with your kids. Bless.

By the way, my friends, there are so many royals (and so much adorableness), there's no way I can be comprehensive in these updates. So feel free to add your own favorite sightings in the comments!

Photos: Getty Images/Wort/Belga/AP/Reuters

Gold Star: Beatrice and Her Accessories

The York girls are such a sartorial roller coaster, I love it. When they (or, I suppose, the stylists they're said to have) get it right, they're so deliciously on point. And Beatrice pulled a win last week which is so fab I'll retroactively forgive her for that Ascot butt ruffle incident.

Attending the Britain Creates 2012: Fashion & Art Collusion VIP Gala, in Roksanda Ilincic (right)

She's appropriately flying the flag fully with her Roksanda Ilincic dress, Anya Hindmarch clutch, and Nicholas Kirkwood heels, but it's the particular combination of all three that puts some jump in my claps. She hasn't gone bridesmaid-matchy or overly safe (look Ma, no nude shoes!) but the blue on the spectacular shoes pulls out the blue cuffs, and the pink on the bag brings out the slight blush tone of the rest of the dress.

Gold star: awarded for a refreshing break from the royal accessory stalemate.

Photos: Getty Images/Roksanda Ilincic

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 3 July - 9 July, Part 4

We last left off with William and Kate departing Canada for Los Angeles, and now we return for some royal Hollywood fun:

1. Arriving in Los Angeles, 8 July, a) on Kate, and b) from Roksanda Ilincic, worn with peach-ish shoes and her LK Bennett clutch.

2. Attending a reception, 8 July, a) and b) on Kate, and c) the front, d) the back of the dress from Diane von Furstenberg, carrying a leopard print clutch by DVF and in nude shoes.

The lavender...please. You know I love it. Shape, interest, perfection. (Everybody's calling it blue or blue/gray? Looks lavender as originally reported to me!) The green...that's a different story. I should love it, given how I always stand by the sidelines with my rainbow pom-poms in hand, rooting for some color. But I really really don't. DVF dresses are supposed to be magical curve-creating machines, but this one looks like an oversized sweatshirt re-cut into a dress.

3. Polo for their charitable foundation at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club, 9 July, a) on Kate, b) from Jenny Packham, c) a close up on the hand-painted dress design, d) new shoes from LK Bennett, the Sliver shoe.

Wasn't sure how I felt about the general sleeve area, but I'm going with: LOVE IT. And not just because of the dress, but because of the way they blew through the red carpet (so awesomely un-Hollywood) and because of Polo Wills, which is right up there with Cowboy Wills in my affections. And hey: the LK Bennett Sledge shoes have been given a much-needed rest! New nude heels, and - sit down for this one - no pantyhose. (As we all breathe a collective sigh of relief that she's not an open-toe stockings-wearer.) I also love it because, when asked what she was wearing, Kate said: "I'm sure you know by now." See, I told you I like my Kate a little bit sassy.

4. a) At the BAFTA Brits to Watch event, 9 July, with b) earrings borrowed from the Queen, c) Jimmy Choo shoes and d) a diamond bracelet and Jimmy Choo clutch.

It really is a very pretty dress. It's lilac, and it's McQueen, and it's twirly. The shoes are positively Vegas-worthy, pure sparkle. There's borrowed bling and bling that's all her own. And it keeps fully in line with the right strategy: nothing special for Hollywood, one is not a starlet. And yet I really wanted an honest-to-gawd hairdo for a change. Go ahead, fine, stick me in the pillory if you must! I wanted something show-stopping. I tweeted that I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up, and I was right. But I'm always cheering for the greatest amount of fabulous humanly possible (especially when the Queen's earrings are involved!), that's just me. Et toi?

Photos: Just Jared/Net-a-porter/XclusivePix/Daily Mail/Polyvore/Matches/Lionel Hahn/PA