This is it, the last installment of the results from your favorite royal outfits of 2018 and the remainder of your top 10 favorites from the Evening Divison. Drumroll please...
Zac Posen's still dishing out little peeks at this dress on his Instagram, that's how much detail there is to absorb in this creation. Eugenie had a great year and I hope we see more royal looks from this designer in the future.
Kate's sparkly and floaty Jenny Packhams are all starting to run together for me, if I'm being honest. Not for many of you, though! Her last tiara offering for the year won her a spot in your top 5.
Mary got all three of her entries in this category into the top 10! I do believe that's a record. She captured #8, #6, and #3 - a reminder of the greatness she brings to the New Year's Gala.
It was a good year for royal Armani Privé, no? I couldn't agree with this pick more and landing both of her possible entries in the top 10 is a great result for Mathilde.
Máxima and her main man Jan didn't just take the top spot, they absolutely ran away with it. Maybe it was the dress, maybe it was THE JEWELS, maybe it was the fact that it all went down at one of the year's most anticipated royal events - whatever the combination, this one wasn't even close. Máximais by far your favorite evening look of 2018.
That's a wrap on the best of 2018! Thanks to everyone who played along. (And a reminder for those who will inevitably take the absence of their own favorites a bit too personally: this is just for fun. Lowest possible stakes here, friends.)
This is an old dress (first worn in 2011) given new life - or perhaps just new affection - in a series of stately portraits released by the Belgian royal family in 2018. Nothing says queen quite like a big ol' gown and a big ol' tiara.
Wedding gowns themselves got their own separate vote, but wedding reception dresses were fair game here and the simple chicness of a white halterneck earned Meghan a spot among your faves.
Frederik's big birthday bash was one of 2018's royal highlights, and the couture level of Mary's banquet dress lived up to the occasion and more. I'd love to see this one make a New Year's Gala appearance some day.
Máxima’s worn this dress in a few ways. This year’s cocktail-style appearance with a big ol’ brooch and some good hair thrown in landed the #5 spot on your list.
Chocolate velvet accents and a bit of couture made for one of the chicest winter hat outfits I’ve seen, and secured a princely spot on your countdown for Beatrice.
#2. The Duchess of Sussex in Australia in Oscar de la Renta
Whether you loved it for the swish or the fabric or the accessories or any other reason you please, the results are clear: Kate takes home the grand prize in your Day/Cocktail Division!
We did a little Readers' Favorite Outfits vote(s) last year and we're planning on doing it again this year! This week, I'm picking my personal best outfits of the royal year for some of our regulars, plus others. I take your faves into consideration when deciding what we'll vote on, too, so make sure you comment with your personal favorite outfits on the appropriate post!
My picks for the best outfits of the year begin with the Ladies in Velvet.
Queen Mathilde in Armani Privé at the French State Banquet
I called it when this event happened and I'm sticking to my guns: nothing else even comes close to topping my list of Mathilde's best outfits of 2018. That color! That shape! That fabric! *chef's kiss*
I honestly didn't know what I was going to pick for our newest regular in her first full royal year - until THIS happened. Wouldn't have objected to a dangly earring here, but otherwise: SOLD.
Time to clear the decks from Monday's big events, because there's another state visit happening and a holiday coming up. Let's do this snap judgement style. (Psst: Tomorrow is a US holiday but we will likely have a state visit post up, so do check in.)
Monaco's princely family celebrated National Day, starting with a Te Deum, review at the palace, and some window balcony appearances.
Tatiana Santo Domingo: She could nearly pass for a Windsor with her solid navy coat and Philip Treacy headpiece. It's the interesting shoes that give her away.
Princess Alexandra: Her mother's daughter in that suit, that's for sure.
The Babies: Grandma Caroline quite literally has her hands full these days. Two out of three 2018 family additions made their debuts: Francesco (son of Pierre and Beatrice) and Maximilian (son of Andrea and Tatiana).
Princess Charlene, in Akris: To be impressed by her commitment to lining up her Order of St. Charles sash with the color division in her gown, or to be confused that it now looks like a racing stripe...that is the question.
Princess Caroline, in Stella McCartney: Queen Letizia's sublime appearance in a version of this dress is a hard act to follow. Not really advisable to try, honestly.
Beatrice Borromeo, in Armani Privé: Once again taking the prize.
Elsewhere, on Monday the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Royal Variety Performance.
Duchess of Sussex, in Safiyaa: Nope. To all of it. Sorry. Blame it on that added halter strap (which is tacked on there like it was a hasty decision, which it probably wasn't, which makes it worse).
Lots of royal events yesterday. I'm going to start with a woman that I think really hit it out of the park all day: Queen Mathilde.
The Belgians welcomed France for a state visit, and as you might expect when an important neighbor comes to visit, it warranted something a little special. Queen Mathilde went full couture and turned to custom designs from the two labels that dress her best: Dior and Armani.
For the day, Mathilde wore Christian Dior. She started wearing couture pieces from the legendary maison when Belgian designer Raf Simons was at the helm. I think this is her first Dior since he left, and it maintains the same high level. Beautifully cut and crafted. This is one of her best outfits of the year.
VTM screencap
I might have called her day outfit the best of the year - but then the state banquet happened. And just look...
Armani, man. Recalling the magnificent off the shoulder black velvet gown from a few years back, this burgundy velvet is classic glam at its very best. The only problem here is not Mathilde's problem, really; had she been wearing a thinner sash, she could have gotten away with this placement. The wider version that belongs to France's Legion of Honor, however, doesn't make the turn at the shoulder as well. (Not all orders offer a thinner sash for women.) It's the only mark against what is otherwise perfection.
Don't miss the sparkle on the sleeves. Oh, and the tiara: the bandeau portion of the Nine Provinces Tiara. Fits right in with how Mathilde has been using the tiaras at her disposal since becoming queen: an important tiara for an important state visit, but not the full thing as a big European monarchy-to-monarchy visit might warrant.
Squint through this slightly awkward double row group pose, and you'll find Prince Lorenz, Princess Astrid, Prince Laurent, and Princess Claire. Princess Astrid wore the Savoy-Aosta Tiara; Princess Claire wore her Pearl and Diamond Tiara. We do always appreciate a couple bonus diadems.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde welcomed Australia's Governor-General and his wife for a state visit to Belgium yesterday, thus keeping us in tiara watching fun for a second time this week. (Thanks, Mathilde.)
Belgian Monarchy
Only the very grandest of settings will do for a state banquet! (This is at the Castle of Laeken.) Mathilde did not bring the grandest of tiaras - not a surprise, she tends to adjust her bling based on the guest - but longtime readers will already spot what I love here.
PURPLE! Purple on top of purple, even. The dress almost looks blue here, it's very much on the cool violet/periwinkle end of things while the sash of the Order of Leopold is much warmer. I shall not let that get in the way of a good purplefest.
Going backwards in time, the Queen's new Natan for the welcome ceremony has the delicate floral embroidery I love, and she's pulling her accessory color from those details, another thing I love. So it took me a while to figure out what wasn't clicking here for me: I think it's the forehead placement of the hat. I'd love to see her repeat this dress and pull a different accessory color out of the florals.
Speaking of florals, we'll continue to go back in time to last week, when Mathilde was also in a flower power mood:
Queen Mathilde attended the graduation gala at the Royal Ballet School Belgian Monarchy
Also BIRDS! More animals in the florals, why not? It's got leaves and it's got ruffles, and if you think you smell an Erdem...
Erdem Florence Dress Agar Bird
...you are absolutely correct. She debuted this during the couple's state visit to Canada earlier this year; the designer is Canadian. I like this one on her, I really do.
This is straight from the textbook for Royal Dressing 101: The Basic Coat + Hat Combo. (Also from the textbook for Royal Dressing 000: The Men Wore Suits.) Sometimes there really is nothing better than a simple coat or suit with strong lines, paired with an out-of-the-way hat. Princess Marie's repeated ensemble looks downright fussy next to the sleek run of mint-turquoise-aqua-blue-whateva on the other three ladies. Queen Mathilde's Natan outfit feels like 100 others she has in her closet, but when it works so well for her, can I argue? Nah.
Belgian Monarchy
Here's a shocker: my top marks for the day's class go to Crown Princess Mary. (Try and contain your surprise.) First, she used a new-to-her designer, the Dutch Danish designer Claes Iversen who we know mostly around here for his work for Queen Máxima; second, this is just a great coat. Throwing off the curve for everyone else as usual.
The evening's state banquet provided a glimpse into the textbook for Royal Dressing 102: Sash Coordination Strategies.
Obviously we need another Sash Check first: Philippe and Mathilde wore Denmark's highest order, the Order of the Elephant. Belgium's highest, the Order of Leopold, was worn in turn by Margrethe and Frederik. A lower Belgian order went to Mary and Joachim, the Order of the Crown, and another notch down went to Marie, the Order of Leopold II. (Now's a good time to drop a couple links to posts I wrote ages ago on the "rules" of wearing orders, useful for those with questions: the basics on the whats and whys, and what happens when countries get together.)
DR1 screencap
Queen Margrethe set off her purple sash by keeping the day's aqua theme going, and accented things with her Pearl Poire Tiara and the assembled parure that goes with it. I thought she looked spectacular - one of her best evening dresses of late.
Queen Mathilde took advantage of the fact that Denmark's Order of the Elephant blue sash goes with just about anything and sported a light orange Armani Privé gown. A complementary color strategy in the school of sash coordination is an advanced tactic. It's also, in this case, a real hard sell.
TV2 screencaps
She's almost got me sold on the full version of the diamond Nine Provinces Tiara, which I never would have believed possible in the days before she became queen consort, so the impossible is clearly within her reach.
Golden gowns will go with about anything too, a strategy taken by Mary and Marie (who wore her Diamond Floral Tiara). Crown Princess Mary took it a step further by opting to get a little sash coordination in there by matching her jewels to her burgundy sash - and it was the best surprise of the night.
DR1
This is the first time Mary has used the Danish Ruby Parure for a state visit, so she really made it count. Wearing the Ruby Parure Tiara, the studs from the Ruby Parure Earrings, and the full Ruby Parure Necklace added a necessary bit of color to her golden Jesper Høvring gown (which we just saw at this year's New Year Court). March 28th being Queen Ingrid's birthday was an added bonus. Valedictorian of the class, this one.
TV2
One more tiara for the road! Princess Elisabeth of Denmark was a lovely surprise to see at the state banquet, wearing her usual pick, Princess Thyra's Sapphire Tiara.
And finally, do yourself a favor and enjoy just a bit of the sparkle in action.
The tail end of this week's Belgian/Dutch state visit brought much to admire: Designer switcheroos! Jaunty hats! Sneaky tiaras!
Day 2: The sovereign couples with the Dutch Prime Minister Belgian Royal Palace
Queen Mathilde's hat feels like it's not asymmetrical enough to be purposefully asymmetrical, if you know what I mean. Sort of just looks lopsided as is. Still, the Armani Privé coat is aces and an easy scene-stealer. (Queen Máxima wore her own fire engine red outfit with a big red hat yesterday, and I'm wondering how they missed that opportunity to twin it up.)
Usually the state banquet takes the top prize as my favorite event in any given state visit, but I don't know...the ladies might have saved their bests for night two. Máxima's tutti frutti-style necklace and bracelet should be worn All.The.Time. and they look sooooo good with this repeated Valentino green dress. Mathilde both snuck in an extra tiara appearance (that's her Laurel Wreath Tiara, worn as a necklace) annnnnnnd snuck in new designer: Jan Taminiau! This is an excellent move. It's both a nice nod to her hosts (Taminiau is Dutch, and a favorite of Máxima's), and just a great dress overall. Worth alllllll those extra letters.
Máxima finished the visit with a feather in her cap, as she is prone to do. And Mathilde finished the visit in an Esmeralda Ammoun outfit I feel like I've seen a million times, because we've seen so many interpretations of this basic type of lace placement (see also: Kate, Letizia). I guess that qualifies it as a classic, and this might be my favorite version. This has been an A+ trip from Mathilde, hasn't it?
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene attended the annual Red Cross Ball
in Monaco on Saturday.
Purplish floaty glam is probably the best sort of glam, scientifically speaking. Just a bit gravity defying at the top and simple enough everywhere else to let that shine. Also, HELLO, take a pause for those earrings. Adding a couple of diamond waterfalls to your outfit can never be a bad thing.
I feel, though, that the diamonds aren't the story here. (I KNOW.) It's the dress - or, more specifically, the dress designer, because Armani Privé is back! This is a bespoke design based on the Spring 2016 couture collection; you may remember the general idea from Queen Mathilde's debut of another such dress back at King Carl Gustaf's birthday bash.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene also attended the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation 3rd Annual Saint-Tropez Gala last week.
And this is another recent Armani Privé look, a bespoke number from the Fall 2016 Couture collection, something a little more along the clean lines I usually expect to see Charlene wear.
Armani was Charlene's constant go-to for special events in the run up to her 2011 wedding and for that stupendous wedding gown. But then she took a sharp turn, swapping in Akris as the favorite, while Armani was nowhere to be found. This has always intrigued me. Were there just several collections in a row that she didn't care for, or did something else go down? It's a mystery. As long as Armani's back in play, I don't really care. It's just a good fit.
Let's ease our way into the week with some pretty, courtesy of the Fall 2016 Couture shows. As always, we're previewing just a few designers that happen to be royal faves. Click the names to go to the full collection:
Valentino flashed back a cool four centuries or so with a collection filled with ruffs and puffed sleeves and everything else that would have been at home in the time of Shakespeare. Will Crown Princess Mette-Marit's love of high collars and ruffles see her turn into a player at the Globe Theatre? We shall see.
Elie Saab's New York-inspired collection included some of his signature embellished gowns, along with some lush fall colors and rich fabrics. There were even a few matching gowns for the littlest fashionistas, because scoring points in adorableness never hurts. I would love to see some of these velvets interpreted on the Nobel stage by our Swedish ladies, or gracing the steps of the Luxembourg palace.
Armani's collection is the one most easily transferred to the royal runway, with lots of jacket and trouser combinations. I fully expect to see Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Queen Mathilde scoop up some of these looks, and I think they'll suit MT particularly well.
Chanel was maybe more for Princess Caroline and less for her kids this season.
Ralph & Russo's show made me pine for their line to be better represented on the royal stage (same thing I wish most seasons, really). Until then, Sheikha Mozah can rock their capes by herself.
May 2: Attending the Queen Elisabeth Competition for piano Royal Palace
This is quite fun. Although if you told me this was the emblem of her favorite tropical resort where she's decided to take up a summer job at the front desk, I might believe you.
May 9: Again at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, this time with Princess Eleonore along
Having handed the pink print baton over to her youngest, Mathilde opted for a scenic view of her beloved tropical paradise. I see the logic in ending the print before ending the dress, but viewing from the top down is a bit like turning the last page in a book and finding it blank.
April 28: Christening a new ship for the Jan De Nul Group Royal Palace
Prints and some texture, just for variety. (This was actually before leaving for Sweden.) This is precisely what I meant when I said her dress is Sweden was lacking a bit of the structure we usually see in her Armani Privé outfits, by the way. This one could double as a Star Trek uniform - in the sleekest and coolest possible way. Chic.
Will we see any of the ensembles from the recent Paris Spring/Summer 2016 Couture shows appear on the royal rounds? No harm in playing a luxurious game of style speculation while we wait for that answer. Click the designer name to take you to the whole collections...
Valentino's looking to move Crown Princess Mette-Marit away from the prairie and into a more bohemian mode, which seems like something she'll eat up. Given Queen Maxima's recent jumpsuit print excursion, she might be on board too, and with the richness of these materials, I'd love to see some custom designs.
I found several things to love on the Chanel runway, and I'm bringing you the video because these gossamer capes deserve to be seen in action. Capes for all the Monacos!
Elie Saab's Indian inspiration in this collection produced several gowns that would be lovely on the royal stage, on the Luxembourg or Swedish ladies.
A few more, and by no means the whole field:
Giambattista Vallihas a few things to cover Mette-Marit's floral needs, if Valentino doesn't get the job done for her this season.
A piece here and a piece there atArmani Privécould be possibilities for Beatrice Borromeo, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, or Queen Mathilde.
Zuhair Murad, a designer who doesn't have a big following among the royal ladies we feature here, turned out another collection that will remind you of Elie Saab, and those cage silhouettes are tricky business.
Yeah...this was not a banner Christian Diorcollection. But royally speaking, we see more bespoke stuff than runway repeats, and I wonder if at least Queen Mathilde's royal patronage has come to an end with the departure of Raf Simons. (Interesting speculation that Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen could be named Dior's new creative director. Then again, she was also on the rumor list last time around, and nothing came of that.)
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde headed out for a state visit to Poland yesterday. I wasn't sure if we'd see any tiaras, but Mathilde proved she was prepared to BRING IT while visiting her mother's home country.
I see where they were trying to go here - volume at the back and a cinched waist at the front, a silhouette she's experimented with in the past - but going there with this heavy of a print accidentally spreads that volume all over the place. (View it from multiple angles in this gallery, plus more looks at the evening event.) Also, these topless hats drive me nuts.
I'm ready and willing to forget all that, because then it was time for TIARAS! And yes, that is tiaras plural, despite the fact that Queen Mathilde was the only one tiara'd up. She wore two tiaras, one of which was new to her. Attagirl!
Wearing her pink Armani dress from Crown Princess Victoria's 2010 wedding, Mathilde donned her Laurel Wreath Tiara as a necklace and added the Wolfers Necklace Tiara on top as a tiara. This is the first time we've seen her in the diamond Wolfers piece. (We've covered these in depth in the past, so click their names for more.) The tiara belonged to Queen Fabiola, who received it as a wedding gift from Belgian industry, and I can't help but smile when I see the volume of Mathilde's hair magically increase to accommodate a piece once perched on Fabiola's famous bouffant.
Fabiola left her estate to charity when she passed away last year, but Mathilde has been slowly reintroducing jewels that belonged to the late queen, including the pearl and diamond earrings she wore at this banquet. Apparently advance gifts or some other planning must have occurred with at least part of Fabiola's jewel collection, which is lovely to see since Mathilde and Fabiola were close. The wait continues to see if other pieces, such as the Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara, are also in Mathilde's possession.
It's also exciting to see Mathilde wear another tiara, period. She's never had much of a selection at her disposal, and she's been sticking with the Nine Provinces Tiara since Philippe took the throne. And seeing her inner magpie come out to play? Priceless. Keep it up, Your Maj.
The wedding of Pierre Casiraghi and Beatrice Borromeo, part two (a.k.a. the religious wedding, following last weekend's Valentino-clad civil wedding in Monaco), took place on Saturday. The festivities were held at the islands owned by Beatrice's family on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, and this time, I got precisely the stunning look I've been waiting for.
This is lavish stuff, yes. That's their prerogative. Lucky us, we just get to sit back and enjoy the parade of dresses the bride is bringing. And oh, she's bringing it. Beatrice's impressive display of Italian fashion picked up once more as the bridal couple welcomed their guests the night before the wedding:
This is 110% about the hair + dress combo and she looks like a goddess. Somebody should paint her. Still, this is not the one I was waiting for.
Alberta Ferretti Spring 2015
On Saturday, it was finally time for the religious wedding.
Armani Privé handled the wedding day attire for Beatrice, starting with a lace-covered gown with three-quarter sleeves. A veil was attached in a sort of unusual fashion at the back of her hairdo with some small ornaments along the side. This is traditional (well, from what we can see of it), this is lovely, this is...not the outfit that I will remember from these festivities.
Newbury Races
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*The Queen attended the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Weekend at Newbury
Racecourse.*
Embed from Getty Images
You might think this outfit would provide a n...
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