Royal Outfit Grab Bag of the Day: November 11

A renovated hat, a splash of leather, and a fondly remembered repeat to round out our week:

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima finished their state visit to New Zealand this week.

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Pleasingly sherbert-y and bright, the only thing that doesn't quite feel right with this outfit is the hat. It's too tall and too rounded - and, it turns out, there's a reason for that: Royal Hats has identified it as just the top portion of a previously large-brimmed hat. I'm all for renovations, but whyyyyyyy would you ditch the most glorious part of the hat? I suppose it's not like Máx doesn't have fifteen other variations at the ready.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia attended the presentation of the Francisco Cerecedo Journalism Award yesterday.

House of HM the King

So it wasn't just the leather culottes, it was an entire leather shopping spree! Well, if anyone can pull off a leather top with studs, it's Letizia. And, bonus: she's all set for her next Game of Thrones cosplay party.

Top from Uterqüe

The Countess of Wessex accompanied the First Lady of Colombia during the Colombian state visit to Britain last week.

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Sophie's appearance in this Suzannah coat at last year's Christmas service was a last minute add to my list of 2015 favorite outfits, so any repeat will automatically earn my love. An elegant choice to escort an honored guest.

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: Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th Birthday Service

More than fifty members of the British royal family gathered today at St. Paul’s Cathedral for a National Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s 90th birthday. That is a massive amount of royals, and they brought with them everything that a massive amount of royals should: hats! Coat dresses! Jewels! Let’s dig in.

Best in Birthday

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

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Decked out in a detailed primrose yellow ensemble by Angela Kelly, the Queen was a birthday ray of sunshine today. Nothing shone brighter than her brooch, though: she adopted the go big or go home strategy and donned the Richmond Brooch from Queen Mary’s collection. A rare brooch for her, and certainly one fitting for a special occasion (more, as always, over at the Vault).

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We must also take a moment to recognize the dapper Duke of Edinburgh. It may have been a day designated for celebration of the Queen, but it was also Philip’s 95th birthday, and he celebrated by determinedly walking down the steps of St. Paul’s without using the temporary handrails set up for the Queen.

Best in Repeats

The Duchess of Cornwall

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This is the sort of special occasion for which I fully expect to see some new outfits – yes, even from those family members as predictable and pragmatic as Anne and Camilla – which is why it was a bit of a letdown to see these two stick to their predictable and pragmatic ways.

The Royal Family

I’ll give them this, though: these are two good outfits from their respective collections of repeats. Camilla’s Bruce Oldfield coat and Philip Treacy hat make up one of the best outfits she’s got going right now, so I’ll give her my prize. (And there's also more on Camilla's jewels over at the Vault.)

Best in Blue/Grays

The Countess of Wessex

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There was an almost determinedly understated color palette running through the top tier royal ladies, starting with Camilla’s pale blue and carrying through to Kate’s soft blue Catherine Walker coat and cream Jane Taylor hat and Sophie’s gray Suzannah coat dress and Jane Taylor hat. Lovely looks for both the Duchess and the Countess, but Sophie’s sleek dress caught my eye from the start and didn’t let go. So chic.

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(Bonus points, by the way, for Lady Louise Windsor, continuing her training as a future royal millinery model! Viscount Severn was present too, making his state event debut.)

Best in Contrast

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie

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If you needed a little more color and a little more contrast, you needed only to look towards the rest of the family. Eugenie led the way in her red Eponine London dress, with a skirt just waiting to be swished around (i.e., my favorite kind of skirt). Also? Several headband-loving royals could take note of her hat, which manages to be both headband-minimalist and big enough to seem legit.

BBC, Burberry, Eponine London

I feel like Princess Beatrice’s coat is getting a lot of side-eye, but – contrarian that I am – I’m ready and willing to defend it. (People keep referring to it as a Stormtrooper outfit. Please. It’s more of a skeleton costume.) It doesn’t have any place being paired with a hat with a bow, I'll give you that, but the boldly graphic Burberry coat was a welcome jolt to the royal party aesthetic.

Best in Personal Bests

Zara Tindall

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Is this floral dress a Zara personal best? I think we’re nearing that bar, if not even crossing over it. The hat’s spot on, too. Sometimes a little Erdem is all you need.

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Autumn Phillips’ green dress by Suzannah was nothing to sneeze at either, but the zootopia pouf on her hat certainly seemed sneeze-inducing.

Best in Hats

Lady Gabriella Windsor

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Lady Gabriella Windsor, Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor

Trust the Kents to bring it in the hat department, from the Countess of St. Andrews' bold turban sculpture to Princess Alexandra’s summery straw to Princess Michael’s feathery flair. A royal gathering this big brings royal weddings to the mind and a royal hat as big as Lady Gabriella’s follows through on that promise. Its statement size is nicely neutralized by its basic color.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent, the Duke of Kent, the Earl and Countess of St. Andrews
The Royal Family, BBC

Best in Sneaky Jewels

The Duchess of Gloucester

The Royal Family

This isn’t one of her immediately recognizable repeats (I’m not sure if it is a repeat or not, but it's not one we’ve seen at a ton of recent big family events), and she’s doing as she usually does and sneaking in as many day jewels as she can. Those clips! Those pearls!

Best in Retro

Viscountess Linley

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Chatting with Sophie Wessex before the service began, you couldn’t miss Viscountess Linley's contribution to the day's millinery statements. Definitely a retro throwback, and honestly pretty fabulous.

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No retro category is complete without Serena’s sister-in-law, though! You will be shocked to see that Lady Sarah Chatto is not in gray, or white, or black this time around. Navy – what a shocker – and even a bit of interest on the skirt. (Longtime readers know I kid, because I fall for her style no matter what predictable format it takes.)

Who was your best dressed at the birthday service?

I haven’t hit all of the royal family members present, so feel free to add more in the comments! (But I mean, the men, they wore suits.)

P.S.: Tomorrow we have Trooping the Colour, and you can tune into the Jewel Vault for complete coverage.

Royal Christmas of the Day: December 27

I hope you all had a holiday weekend (or non-holiday weekend) as cozy and chic as the one the Windsors had.

Yes, I said chic! This might be the first time in the short history of this blog where I can honestly apply the word to pretty much all of the British royal family at once, at their annual march to Christmas service at Sandringham.

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The Queen got things rolling in her jolly red coat and hat with snuggly fur trim. Change the fur to white and add a black belt with a gold buckle, and we'd really be in business. That fur trim did mean she went without a brooch, but other family members were ready and willing to pick up the slack in that department. You can read all about her brooch pick for her traditional Christmas speech over at the Jewel Vault, of course.

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Here's one brooch stepping in, a diamond moth from the Duchess of Cornwall. She pinned it on this chic charcoal and black outfit - one of my favorites from Camilla's current wardrobe. She looks great in these coats with clean lines and selectively placed trim, and should buy them in bulk.

Lady Sarah Chatto also helped out in the brooch department, in a diamond and pearl star brooch that belonged to her mother, Princess Margaret. It's a lookalike to the Queen's Jardine Star Brooch, but that style is really quite common (the Princess Royal has one too).

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She and Princess Beatrice represented the black coat team, a look which is not particularly interesting but is also hard to get wrong. It did make me glad for Princess Eugenie's shot of teal, though.

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Princess Anne - who I like to imagine was having a stern conversation with her umbrella here, just daring it to defy her and attempt a windy getaway - sported a feather in her cap and a chicly cut light green coat.

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And it was green for the Duchess of Cambridge as well, as her parade of new coats rolls on. I love the empire waist variation (when one has one's own coat museum, one can afford to switch it up), and of course I appreciate that she made a rare brooch appearance. The acorn motif brooch has been seen once before, in 2012, and is thought to be in her personal collection.

All that said, there was one family member that really swept the chic competition. I may need to make a quick addendum to my Best of 2015 honorable mentions...

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Hello, Sophie! The added faux fur collar elevates the Countess of Wessex's Suzannah coat by about a million points for pure Christmas perfection.


On that chic note, the holiday hiatus is back in effect! We'll return with our annual coverage of the first tiara events of the year, the New Year's receptions in Denmark and Japan.

Photos: via Getty Images

Royal Fashion Awards: Garter Day, 2015

Are you sick of tiaras? (Are you ill?) Not to worry, we're moving right along to the fancy hat portion of the month.

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Garter Day is our plumed topic for today. The annual service for the Order of the Garter, Britain's oldest order of chivalry, includes all the royal Knights and Ladies of the Garter strutting around in their Hogwarts best. (By "strutting", I mean "slowly processing down a hill", obviously.)

If you're interested in the details and significance of what they wear (a bonnet, mantle, collar, and more) as well as the details on the jewels worn by the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall, you can check out my post on the event at the Jewel Vault, and all the links there.

Just a few awards to hand out today:

Most Unstoppable

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh

Photos: Courtesy of gabeyslave on Twitter; 
Corporal Max Bryan (Army Photographer)/MOD/Crown Copyright

Here's your regular reminder that, at 89 and 94 years old, these two could run you into the ground: Saturday was the celebration of the Queen's official birthday (and they also fit in a private birthday celebration with their eldest grandkids at a wine bar), Her Maj was at the polo on Sunday, Monday was this thing with the feathers, and now Royal Ascot will roll on for five days. And then a state visit to Germany, and then a week of engagements in Scotland, and then Princess Charlotte's christening. These two kids, I tell ya.

Best in Plumes

The Ladies of the Order of the Garter

The Princess Royal, with carriage companions Sir Tim Laurence and the Gloucesters.
Photo: Courtesy of gabeyslave

Oh, sure, there were men there too. (And they were wearing suits. Morning suits, covered by the mantle.) But Princess Alexandra and Princess Anne are my annual Garter faves. They're a rare breed, royal ladies that have been given the Garter honor, so I can't help it. No one makes the plumage as imperious as Anne does and no one makes it as elegant as Alexandra does.

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Princess Alexandra of Kent with carriage companion the Duke of Kent

Best in Spouse

The Countess of Wessex

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Left to right: The Duchess of Cornwall, Countess of Wessex, Duchess of Gloucester

The Duchess of Cornwall knows she can handle a big hat, and this Philip Treacy chapeau is the very definition of major. Paired with an Anna Valentine coat, it's an outfit she's repeating from the Jubilee Thames River Pageant, with the Queen Mum's pearls thrown in for good measure. The Duchess of Gloucester continues to bring out the best of her jewel box, and I'd take those two diamond clips off her lapels real quick like.

Photos: Corporal Max Bryan (Army Photographer)/MOD/Crown Copyright; Suzannah

But I feel like we've had a sad run of blergh ensembles from the royal Garter spouses in the past couple years, and the Countess of Wessex's repeated green Suzannah dress is the refreshment I didn't even know I needed. It's the rare outfit that can actually hold its own against all those feathers and all that velvet, and doesn't need to be ridiculous to make it happen (I'm looking at you, Sophie, thank you for rethinking last year's strategy). A+ work.

Who's your Garter best dressed?

P.S.: Keep your eyes peeled both here and at the Vault for all the Ascot fun!

Royal Birthday of the Week: July 24

Prince George of Cambridge turned 1 this week, and new pictures were released.

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No, I didn't forget that Prince George had a birthday. I just like to save up my doses of cuteness for when I really need them, like on a Thursday, when I need one last push to get me to the end of the week. I'm strategic like that.

Just to throw some fashion into the mix: the proud mum wore this cute green Suzannah dress, which we've previously seen her wear under her green Erdem coat.

Photo: John Stillwell/WPA Pool via Getty Images and Suzannah

Royal Fashion Awards: The Thanksgiving Jubilee Service

The final event of the official jubilee weekend was a service at St. Paul's Cathedral followed by receptions and a balcony appearance. Though Prince Philip's absence was strongly felt, it was a wonderful event - and there were plenty of wonderful fashions (and diamonds). Let's get to it:

Best in Jumpy Claps

Queen Elizabeth

She did it!! She wore the Cullinan III and IV brooch, rocking 158 carats of diamonds (as you do). That’s my jumpy claps for the year, then. I don’t even care about the rest of the outfit, but for those of you that do, she sported a mint green concoction by Angela Kelly of tulle embroidered with star shaped flowers and silver thread with a chiffon drape studded with Swarovski crystals. It rather reminded me of a super hero’s cape, which I thought was quite fitting.

Best of the Best

The Duchess of Cambridge

Left to Right: the Countess of Wessex, Princess Eugenie, the Duchess of Cambridge, Lady Sarah Chatto, Lady Frederick Windsor

I asked and I wished for something fabulous and new from Sophie and once again my dreams have come true; I’m particularly loving her jaunty Robin Hood chapeau. Eugenie’s in purple, so obviously she makes the list (we all have our weaknesses); Lady Sarah’s her normal sophisticated self which I die for every time (and I do believe the lady was rocking some diamonds herself); and Lady Frederik (Sophie #2, if you like) had some great detailing under that coat. But Kate came out on top in her lace McQueen. I thought she was – if I may be blunt – chic as hell.

Best in Kids

A Tie

L to R: Lady Louise Windsor, Margarita Armstrong-Jones

 Lady Louise and Margarita, a double dose of precious. No point in choosing a winner here!

Fanciest Hat

Lady Helen Taylor

L to R: the Princess Royal, Autumn Phillips, Lady Helen Taylor, Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent

 Camilla (as we will see) did her best to run away with the major hat glory, but she failed thanks to these ladies. A turquoise bird met an untimely end on Anne’s head, while her daughter-in-law Autumn seems to have let gravity get the best of her with the tipped angle of the side flower on her hat. The Kent ladies, Princess Michael and Princess Alexandra, went the large but elegant route, but it was another Kent lady that ran away with the prize: Lady Helen. I don’t even know what is happening up there, but she can go right on with her fur-wearing, crazy hat bearing self.

Best of the Rest

The Duchess of Gloucester

L to R: Viscountess Linley, Lady Nicholas Windsor, the Duchess of Gloucester and the Countess of Ulster, Lady Rose Gilman, (above) the Countess of St. Andrews, (below) Julia Ogilvy

 A spot of elegance from a selection of lesser-known Windsors. I’m loving the Duchess the most, if only because she hasn’t pulled another repeat from the last big royal event.

Worst Dressed

Zara Phillips

L to R: the Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Beatrice, Zara Phillips, the Duchess of Kent

Camilla’s outfit looks fine in pictures, but in movement at the service it looked so heavy and stiff, I can’t give it any love. Beatrice had the opposite problem in my eyes: I liked the glimpses I saw in action, but now I can see we have a droopy situation on our hands (she did sport some fierce shoes, to be fair). The Duchess of Kent made a rare appearance and though I’m happy to see her…that is just not the outfit for her. The worst, however, goes to Zara, who seems to be a genie just a little too squished into her bottle. This is not the fierce Zara that I adore so.

UPDATE: By overwhelming popular demand, I present to you the royal men and their morning dress. (This is not all the men, but it is most of them.)

Best in Men

The Prince of Wales

L to R: the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex

I have much love for all the men, but nobody puts it together quite like Charles: the trim, the accessories…the man has style. And yes, he and his sons also have top hats for the carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace.

And for that reason, William and Harry take the next top two spots.

L to R: Tim Laurence, Peter Phillips, Mike Tindall, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent

L to R: Lord Nicholas Windsor, Tim Taylor, Prince Michael of Kent, Lord Frederick Windsor, Viscount Linley, Charles Armstrong-Jones

I will give the fourth spot to Prince Michael, for being the only other royal to display a bit of that same style Prince Charles rocks so well. Panache, I say. Well played.

Who makes your best and worst dressed lists?

P.S.: Should you find yourself lost in the midst of the extended Windsor family, I'll point you in the direction of an illustrated guide to the Windsors I posted in advance of William and Kate's wedding.

Photos:  Getty Images/Reuters/Daylife/Zimbio/WPA Pool/Newspix/Belga/Profimedia/Daily Mail