Runway Monday: Carolina Herrera Daywear

A couple weeks ago we looked at some of the best gowns from Carolina Herrera's Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear, Pre-Fall 2010, Fall 2010 Ready-to Wear and Resort 2011 collections.  Now it's time to look at the day stuff, which is equally elegant:

 I'd love it if one of these summery looks could make an appearance before the warm weather runs out.

 All the orange we've seen lately on Mathilde and Máxima has me longing for another strong color instead.  How about some red touches to change things up a bit?

If we must continue with the orange something more like one of these looks would be preferable, no?  The first look on the left bears striking resemblance to the black and white print/orange combination Máxima's been wearing from NATAN, but I love how much more sophisticated it looks in the hands of a more talented designer.  Mathilde could take a note from the center model; orange shoes are a great accent on their own, just not so much with an entirely orange ensemble.  And if we must go full-on citrus, mixing up the textures as in the last outfit is a much more refined way to go.

Photos: Style.com

Runway Monday: Elie Saab Fall 2010 Couture

Elie Saab's collection was the one I was most looking forward to from the fall couture collections in Paris.  I love me some Elie Saab, and some of the looks were divine per usual:

But, unusually, there was an equal number of dresses I'm just crossing my fingers we won't see modeled on the royal runway:

Some of these shapes just aren't going to be flattering to any one with non-model proportions.  In particular, I found myself noting placing a mental caution note on several looks for Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.  She's one of the biggest Elie Saab fans around, but she's prone to gowns that cover her up and often lack the shape she requires.  And some of these runway creations fit just that bill:

Anything but these, please, MT.

See the whole collection here.  Which ones are you hoping we will and won't see on the royal ladies?

Photos:  Marcio Madeira/FirstView.com/Style.com

Runway Monday: Armani Privé Fall 2010 Couture

Having dressed no fewer than 5 royals for Crown Princess Victoria's wedding, Armani Privé is obviously at the top of the list of royal couturiers.  Presented last week, the Fall couture collection is absolutely ripe for royal picking. 

There was a whole forties vibe in the daywear that I am dying to see more of from our royal ladies:

And the evening gowns were absolutely luscious, the epitome of elegance:

Also, I can't help but notice that every one of his models was either blonde or sported a blonde wig.  Now, we know that Charlene Wittstock is already a devoted Armani fan...I like to think of it as a veiled pitch to be the royal wedding designer.  I'm thinking the skirt and train on the bottom center evening gown up there would be an excellent start, no?

View the rest of the collection here.

PS: If you haven't been back to the Fashion Awards post for Victoria's wedding I linked to above in a while, I've been updating periodically with dress designers as I find them.

Runway Monday: Carolina Herrera, Spring 2010 Ready-To-Wear

Princess Máxima recently wore Carolina Herrera to great effect at the birthday celebrations for Denmark's Queen Margrethe:

I'm hoping she's only just grazed the surface of her Herrera patronage.  This designer has a way with bright, bold colors and graphic prints while still keeping everything elegant as can be, which makes her a fine alternative for the NATAN crew of royal ladies (Máx, Mathilde, Maria Teresa, and Claire).  Queen Silvia, Crown Princesses Mary and Mette-Marit and more have already dug into Carolina Herrera; here, from the Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear, Pre-Fall 2010, Fall 2010 Ready-toWear and Resort 2011 collections, is a selection of her most elegant evening gowns, perfect for royal wear.  (We'll talk daywear some other Monday.)

Which dress would you most like to see on the royal red carpet?

Photos: Profimedia/Marcio Madeira/First Look/Maria Valentino/Carolina Herrera

Runway Monday: Oscar de la Renta Spring Ready-to-Wear and Pre-Fall 2010

Oscar de la Renta has always been a favorite of the royal ladies and for good reason: his clothes have that natural lady-like feel a regal royal needs.  Queen Sofia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, Crown Princess Mary, Princess Máxima and more have all been spotted in his designs.  The Spring and Pre-Fall collections are ripe for the royal picking; most recently, Rosario Nadal modeled a black and white creation from the Spring Ready-to-Wear collection at Crown Princess Victoria's pre-wedding dinner and concert.  Many have also guessed that Tatiana Blatnik's gown for the wedding was de la Renta, though I'm not convinced.  My wish list for the royals to sport from the rest of these two collections:

These could work on some of the older generation of royal ladies....

 

...and I'd love to see some of these on our younger batch of Crown Princesses.

These metallic numbers would be great for Mary, wouldn't they?

Here you see the resemblance to Tatiana's dress.  Personally, I don't see enough of the same detailing to convince me that her dress is from Oscar; on her dress, the ornamentation is a much more organic pattern, whereas the de la Renta numbers feature random and clustered designs.  Also, the top and tone of the tulle is different.  Of course, Tatiana's could have been a totally bespoke creation, but it's still a question mark for me.  Anyways, the 2 on the left would be great on Mary, the pink would be a different take on the fairy princess angle Mette-Marit has been working lately in her eveningwear, and Máxima could work the orange number spectacularly.

What do you think?

See the Spring collection here and the Pre-Fall collection here.

Photos: Maria Valentino/Marcio Madeira

Runway Mondays: Elie Saab Spring 2010 Couture Collection

 Behold the power of Elie Saab! 

So much from the designer's Spring 2010 Couture collection was on display at this past weekend's wedding festivities, and I'm positively giddy about it. 

Maria Teresa brought us 2 looks back in April at Queen Margrethe's 70th birthday celebrations, too:

I love, love, love this collection; it's ethereal in every way, and just as intricate and detailed as true couture should be.  Victoria and Maria Teresa have already demonstrated their love, and Queen Rania is a long-time fan of the designer.  Only good things can come from more Elie Saab, so let's make our wish list for future appearances:

Ahhh.  Meet my current sartorial obsession.  Since I saw this frock floating down the Oscars red carpet on Rachel McAdams, I have been straight up in love.  The fabric is like a cloud-filled dream painted in pastel watercolors.  Multiple colors here to pick up with jewels......picture any one of these sets,and any one of the royals from these countries:

Amethysts from Norway, pink topaz from Sweden, sapphire and diamonds from Luxembourg, aquamarines from the Netherlands.

These empire-waisted numbers would be great as more options for Maria Teresa, and I'd love to see one on Mathilde or Maxima.

And how about one of these on our favorite newlywed, or on Mary?  Most especially that one in the top left.  I'd like to see Mette-Marit use one of these as an alternative to the ruffled creations she's been sporting lately too.

This is the Spring 2010 collection - and if I'm not mistaken, his couture show for Fall will be coming up on July 7, so we'll have even more to drool over soon!  Rest assured, there will be a Runway Mondays post devoted to that one too.  What can I say - I'm a card-carrying member of the Elie Saab fan club.

Join in the fun:  view the entire collection here, and make your dress-to-princess wish list in the comments!

Photos: Getty Images/Belga/Marcio Madeira/Daylife

Runway Mondays: Bridal Fashion

Bridal fashion shows are the best, aren't they?  You don't even have to be the marrying kind to immerse yourself in the pure romance and escapism of designs created for the one day in the lives of most women when anything goes.  And picking out designs for royal brides?  Brides that actually  have the venues, the tiaras, and the resources to go all out?  Total guilty pleasure heaven.  You should try it sometime.

Or, hey, try it right now!  Click on these collages to enlarge.

The part of a dress that makes my heart beat the fastest is the transition from the bodice to the skirt below.  When done right, it is the single greatest element in the dress, adding elegance and insanely good fit by the truckload. 

The dresses:

1. Upper Left:  Elie Saab, Spring 2003 Couture.  The veil is a little over the top, but underneath lies one of the best wedding dresses I've ever seen.   The sleeves add the modesty necessary to take this gown direct from the runway to the royal aisle.
2. Upper Right: Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2009.  The twist on the bodice is amazing.  It's pulling you in right where most women are the smallest, so it's going to be flattering as hell.  And the way the veil is floating down over the frock is simply ethereal.  Add some sleeves - detachable ones, just for the church service - and we're good to go.
3. Middle Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Spring 2010.  Same principle with the bodice here as in Dress #2 - this is really something Monique Lhuillier excels at.  Love how this one keeps it even simpler; even if you added sleeves, you'd still have a tremendously sleek, clean design.  Perfect fodder for adding a statement veil or a really ginormous, sparkly tiara.
4. Middle Right:  Camila Elbaz, 2010.  This one has amazing detail, but relieves the heaviness of overall embellishment with panels right up at the top, which would be a great way to break things up before adding a tiara.  And the flow of the dress from shoulders to toes is simply divine.
5. Bottom:  Monique Lhuillier (again!).  Told you she does this extremely well.  When the dress flows right from the waist to the skirt and around to the back into a train, I descend into jumpy claps.  You could add sleeves and increase this train to make a delectable royal creation.

Sometimes playing around with the fabric on the dress can get you great results.  A fabric with a great sheen to it must be played with carefully, but when done right, it draws all the emphasis to the bride (where it belongs!).

The dresses - these are all Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2010.  What can I say?  She's my fave:

1. Upper Left:  I love the contrast between the top and the skirt, the width of the skirt (you don't always have to have a huge skirt!), and the sleeves.  Add something to the top (it looks a wee bit see through right now - which certainly won't do for a royal wedding), add a detachable train, and you're done.
2. Upper Right:  I'm nuts for the petticoat sticking out the bottom, and I don't know why - perhaps because it would coordinate great with a full veil? 
3. Bottom:  The more I look at this one, the more I like it.  It's a coat/dress combo, which, as I've said before, I love for a royal bride.

 Sure, you don't have to go with the full skirt, but if that's your thing, where better to showcase it than in a royal cathedral?

The dresses:

1. Upper Left:  Reem Acra, Fall 2010.  This is simple, but there's something heavenly about it.  Simple's not always a bad thing - makes room for a bigger tiara, right?
2. Upper Right:  Monique Lhuillier.  The folds of fabric on the skirt add some detail to an otherwise flat canvas.  And this whole thing has a real Grace Kelly feel to it, which always gets you brownie points.
3. Bottom Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Spring 2010.  This dress could make a body look insane.  Well corseted at the top, deliciously full at the bottom.  I'm envisioning it with the spaghetti straps widened into little cap sleeves in the same material for cathedral modesty.
4. Bottom Right:  Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2010.  Another study in creating a teeny-tiny waist.  What really draws me in here is that the skirt seems to have a nice flow to it, rather than the stiffness you typically get with a huge skirt.  And how a dress moves is key to a successful royal wedding dress - after all, millions of people will be watching your every motion on television!

 Another thing you might as well go all out on if you're having a royal wedding is the intricate details.  Chances are, you're getting married in one of your country's architectural wonders, and you might even be getting married among a sea of evening dresses and tiaras.  It's your day, be the most bejewelled you can be.

The dresses:

1. Upper Left:  Elie Saab, Fall 2004 Couture.  Same bodice-to-skirt flow fabulousness, but with more sparkle. Unless you're going for the Ice Princess look, lose the fur.
2. Upper Right:  Elie Saab, Spring 2007 Couture.  When I first laid eyes on this baby, I gasped.  Audibly.  This is couture as couture should be - over the top, detailed to the nines, completely showstopping.  A royal bride at an evening wedding wearing this would easily jump to the top of the list of most memorable royal wedding dresses .
3. Middle Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Spring 2010.  Multiple kinds of detail going on here: the folds of the skirt, the ruching of the bodice, the beading/embroidery at the neckline.  It all works together to bring your eye up to the bride's face.  And how divine would it be to have the embroidery detailed to match the motifs in the bride's tiara?
4. Middle Right:  Oscar de la Renta, Spring 2010.  A classic shape done in a most unconventional fabric.  You may not like this at first, but look at it longer.  It's kind of hypnotic.
5. Bottom Left:  Monique Lhuillier, Fall 2010.  I love the idea of including the greatest amount of detail on the skirt.  It can be overkill, but this wave-like application of fabric hits all the right notes.  It's got to look amazing in motion, too.
6. Bottom Right:  Derek Lam, Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear.  Never underestimate the power of good draping.  It can create a wonderfully detailed dress without any embellishment whatsoever - a great way to bring detail to a daytime wedding.

Color!  It's unexpected, and always memorable.  If you think it's not bridal enough, do some searching through the wedding photos of some of Asia's royal brides.  Why stick with just white?

The dresses:

1. Left:  Elie Saab, Spring 2003 Couture.  An ivory or beige dress is a way to ease into color.  If this isn't a dress fit for a royal, I don't know what is.  Another, bolder way would be a delicate shade of pink - divine!
2. Right:  Monique Lhuillier.  This Princess Grace-esque dress dips its toe into the world of bridal color with a beige sash.  But think what other colors you could use....how about a national color, or the color of your royal house?  I've read that Crown Princess Victoria will wear blue and yellow shoes on her wedding day to honor Sweden's colors, but what about adding some into the dress?  She won't wear her sash for the Order of Seraphim, which is a pale blue, but she could incorporate it into the dress in other ways.

Let's finish off this marathon post with something from WAY out in left field, shall we?

 Alexander McQueen, Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear

So help me God, I like this.  It's kind of reminiscent of a national costume, no?  I said anything goes, didn't I?

What's your vision for the perfect royal wedding dress?

Photos: Christopher Moore/Alexander McQueen/Camila Elbaz/Marcio Madeira/firstview.com/Monique Lhuillier/Oscar de la Renta/Reem Acra

Programming Note: Regular Blog Features and Royal Wedding Fever

In the coming week, I'll be introducing 3 new kinds of entries to the blog that I'd like to become recurring features here.

Runway Mondays: Each Monday, I'll take a look at fashions straight from the runway that would look fab on our favorite royals. I may showcase a certain designer, type of fashion, or suggestions for a particular royal.

Flashback Fridays: Every Friday, we'll take a stroll through the ghosts of royal fashion past. Sometimes these posts will feature the fashion evolution of a particular royal, a past royal event, or even just one significant royal outfit.

Top 10s: From time to time, I'll pick the top 10 examples of whatever's on my royal fashion-centered mind and showcase them in a countdown list. Usually, this will come in one entry, but I'm starting off with a list so monumental, each pick will require its own entry. Read on to find out our topic!

Your suggestions are always welcome! If you're yearning for some flashback attention for your favorite royal, have an idea for a list, or if you see anything struting down the runway that's ripe for royal picking, send your suggestions to orderofsplendor@hotmail.com!


Now, here's what's in store for the next week:
Next Saturday, June 19th, Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria will marry her love, Daniel Westling, in what is sure to be one of the grandest royal occasions for quite some time to come. Be sure to pop in and offer your opinions on the fashion awards of the weekend!

Royal wedding fever will officially take over the blog starting this weekend, when I will kick off our first Top 10 list by featuring the Top 10 Royal Wedding Dresses. My intent is that future installments of the lists will come as single entries, but since I'm starting off with such a doozy of a topic, I'm spreading it out into 10 entries.

Moving along, our very first installment of Runway Mondays will focus on Designer Wedding Dresses that are worthy of a runway-to-royal appearance.

And finally, just before her big day, Flashback Friday will honor Crown Princess Victoria's Style through the years.

I hope you'll stick around for the ride, and share your own commentary in the comments!