Readers’ Favorite Outfits of 2018, Evening: Results, Part 2!

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... 

#5. Princess Eugenie at her Wedding Reception in Zac Posen

Alex Bramall/Royal Family

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.

#4. The Duchess of Cambridge at the Diplomatic Reception in Jenny Packham

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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.

#3. Crown Princess Mary at the New Year’s Gala Banquet in Soeren Le Schmidt

Kongehuset

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.

#2. Queen Mathilde at the French State Banquet in Armani Privé

Elysee

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.

#1. Queen Máxima at the British/Dutch State Banquet in Jan Taminiau

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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. Máxima is 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.)

Readers’ Favorite Outfits of 2018, Evening: Results, Part 1!

And now for the results of your vote for your favorite royal evening outfit of 2018. The countdown of your top 10 begins like so:

#10. Queen Mathilde in Portraits in Armani Privé

Royal Palace

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.

#9. The Duchess of Sussex at her Wedding Reception in Stella McCartney

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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.

#8. Crown Princess Mary at Crown Prince Frederik’s 50th Birthday in Lasse Spangenberg

Keld Navntoft/Kongehuset

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.

#7. Crown Princess Victoria at the King’s Dinner for Nobel Laureates

Sara Friberg, Kungl. Hovstaterna

Red dresses ruled the countdown of your 2017 favorites, a tradition Victoria is happy to carry on for 2018.

#6. Crown Princess Mary at a Gala Banquet in Jesper Høvring

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A post shared by Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (@hkhcrownprincessmary) on Dec 21, 2018 at 8:22pm PST

Had we done this voting game back when the "Bambi" dress (top and skirt, technically) debuted in 2014 - or perhaps even when it got slightly remixed for the New Year's Gala in 2016 - I suspect it would have swept the field. It's still got the magic to land at #6, even in repeat mode.

Stay tuned for the final part of the countdown...

Royal Outfits of the Day: Day Formal with Mary and Letizia

The year's first fancy events rolled on last week in Denmark and over the weekend in Spain. These all involve what I call a modern sort of court dress for the royal women: formal outfits with long skirts for day events. It's something that used to be more common in the royal world, but is now limited to a few events in a few countries.

In Denmark, Queen Margrethe and the crown princely couple hold two days of New Year's Court receptions. They greet specific groups at each event.

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A post shared by Crown Princess Mary Fan Page (@crownprincess_mary_of_denmark) on Jan 4, 2019 at 7:52pm PST

Crown Princess Mary is fond of repeats for these events and many of those repeats have been redone over the years. This year featured a pair of remixed repeats.

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First up was an old Heartmade outfit that's had many appearances at the New Year's Courts over the years. In 2017, she ditched the original jacket and had a new top put on the outfit. I'm still hoping we'll see that jacket again. (Queen Margrethe, by the way, is tremendously fond of repeats for these events; she wears this blue outfit for both days and has done so for many years.)

Kongehuset

On the second day, Mary wore the dress she wore to attend the evening New Year banquet back in 2006, which was her first time attending. The Henrik Hviid dress turned up again in 2012 with its long train chopped off to serve as an option for the day events. Not my favorite, but she did give us some of the Danish Ruby Parure we were missing at this year's gala, with the brooch at her neck and the stud earrings.

In Spain, the King and Queen attended Pascua Militar, a military ceremony and their first formal event of the new year.

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Even I - with my well-documented love of a winter velvet outfit - must admit that this Felipe Varela version is a bit of a snooze. Okay, it's a total snooze, unless you choose to look at it as nothing but a backdrop for some brooch action.

House of HM the King

That's a brooch, alright. This one is from the joyas de pasar, the Spanish royal jewels passed from queen to queen, and it is a debut for the Queen. (She wore a different pearl brooch with a pendant for National Day in 2017. Both are a common style found in multiple royal collections, including the Cambridge Pearl Pendant Brooch in Britain.)

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It's interesting that when she adds a brooch - a jewel some might consider old fashioned today - she goes with outfits that feel like classic royal standards. That National Day outfit I linked above gave me strong flashbacks to a young Queen Elizabeth II; now we've got a brooch on a bouclé jacket, which is about as classic as it comes. I'd be interested to see her to put more of a modern Letizia spin on it, if ya know what I mean?

Readers’ Favorite Outfits of 2018, Day/Cocktail: Results, Part 1!

You placed your votes for your favorite royal outfits for 2018 – Day/Cocktail and Evening Divisions – and now it’s time to count down the results!

Starting with the Day/Cocktail Division, your top 10 favorites are:

#10. The Duchess of Sussex at the Sentebale Polo Cup in Carolina Herrera

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I think I forgot about this one entirely myself, but I’m glad many of you mentioned it. Set off by perfectly selected accessories, this denim dress is a little dose of Carolina Herrera magic.

#9. Princess Madeleine at Princess Adrienne’s Christening in Giambattista Valli

Erika Gerdemark, Kungahuset.se

The Swedish christenings have been such a reliable source of some of the best outfits in recent years. Princess Madeleine continues that tradition this year, with her floral dress and headdress accented by her debut of pieces from the Cameo Parure.

#8. Queen Mathilde at the French State Visit in Natan

Belgian Monarchy

A little bit of cape action and a dash of contrasting accessories are just the things to elevate a plain gray outfit to something worthy of a spot on your 2018 favorites list.

#7. Crown Princess Mary in Seattle in Preen

Preen/Danish Ambassador

Sometimes a little bit of black and white is all you need. It’s certainly all Mary needed to display the midi-length trend at its best and land herself a spot on your top 10.

#6. Lady Sarah Chatto at Princess Eugenie and Jack’s Wedding in Jasper Conran

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Lady Sarah expanded her trademark streamlined aesthetic in a pastel direction for the second British royal wedding of the year, and the effect is a top 10-worthy personal best.

Stay tuned for the top 5 in Part 2!

Royal Fashion Awards: New Year Receptions, 2019

Happy New Year to you! The Danish and Japanese families are ready to welcome us into 2019 with tiaras blazing, courtesy of their annual January 1st receptions/banquets for dignitaries.

Best in...Black Tie, Maybe

Crown Princess Mary

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For the first time, Crown Princess Mary chose not to wear the Danish Ruby Parure for this event, opting to wear her Diamond, Ruby, and Spinel Necklace Tiara and its matching earrings. The tiara is a good match for this new Jesper Høvring dress. But is the whole thing a good match for this specific occasion? That's my question.

DR1/Jesper Høvring

This gala banquet is one of the most formal events of the Danish royal year; it's one of the only events involving the use of the gold collar of the Order of the Elephant instead of the light blue sash. Had this been Mary's choice for a black tie and tiara event, I think I'd be head over heels; here, though, I'm just not sure it lives up to the level of grandeur we've come to expect.

Best in White Tie

Queen Margrethe

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A post shared by DET DANSKE KONGEHUS (@detdanskekongehus) on Jan 1, 2019 at 11:35am PST

Instead, we can turn to the one who sets that level of grandeur: the Queen herself, reliably swooping about in her major skirts. Proving once again that she can't get enough of her new frocks, she tossed her beloved Yeti pelt over the dress she wore to Crown Prince Frederik's 50th birthday banquet. I like it much more with the Pearl Poire Tiara and other pearls.

Best in Golden Coordination

Princess Marie

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Princess Marie rounded out the trio of Danish royal ladies in a new outfit from Rikke Gudnitz with her Diamond Floral Tiara. This is the sort of gown that's perfectly picked to work with the Order of the Elephant's gold collar, from the high neck to the golden color.

DR1

I'm not entirely sold on the skirt and I'm surprised how different it looked in motion than it does in still photos, but I'll still give it a pretty well played.

Best in Returns

Crown Princess Masako

ANN

Meanwhile in Japan, a most welcome sight: Crown Princess Masako returned to the imperial family's New Year receptions for the first time in 16 years! We usually only see her arriving by car, she skips the public portions inside the palace. She wore the Japanese Pearl Sunburst Tiara, her favorite for years.

ANN

Masako led the line up of imperial princesses (left to right above): Princess Kiko (in the Akishino Tiara), Princess Mako (in her own tiara), Princess Kako (in her own tiara), Princess Nobuko, Princess Akiko, Princess Yōko, Princess Hisako (in what looks to be the Takamado Diamond and Pearl Tiara), and Princess Tsuguko.

ANN

With Emperor Akihito's abdication coming, the imperial couple led the ceremony for what I suppose will be the last time. Empress Michiko wore a big diamond rivière, diamond earrings, and a diamond brooch - not at all lacking in sparkle even though she stopped wearing tiaras some years ago. Serene elegance, as always.

Who gets your first Best Dressed awards for 2019?

Year in Review: Queen Máxima and Crown Princess Mary's 2018 Bests

Next up in our review of 2018's individual bests: two who brought their A-game for two of 2018's biggest royal events.

Queen Máxima in Jan Taminiau at the British State Banquet

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This outfit is one of the only tmes I have quibbled with a cape, and yet the memory of this appearance with the Stuart Tiara at full blast is so strong I didn't even come up with any runners up from the evening category.

Runners up:

• Matter of fact, the only two runners up I did come up with both hail from the same visit: her Claes Iversen soft pink arrival outfit and her Oscar de la Renta hot pink departure outfit.

Crown Princess Mary in Lasse Spangenberg at Crown Prince Frederik's 50th Birthday

Keld Navntoft/Kongehuset

Detailed but delicate, Mary's tiered and lacy dress would definitely make my top 5 dresses of 2018 list. Near to the top. Princess perfect, as per usual.

Runners up:

• Mary usually starts the year with a strong contender in her gown for the New Year gala, including this year's red Soeren Le Schmidt dress.
• I gotta give some love to her tartan McQueen skirt from earlier this month, while we're at it.

What were your favorite 2018 outfits from Mary and Máxima?

 

Monday Tidbits for December 17: Holiday Cheer and Poll Results

More 2018 wrap up fun awaits us, but first, the results from last week's two polls and some of the usual holiday cheer:

--In the vote for your favorite 2018 tiara surprise, who rose to the top but the one and only Queen Máxima and her use of the Stuart Tiara! Máxima took home 47% of your votes, easily holding off your runner up with 34%, Princess Eugenie and the debut of the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara. Another big British tiara moment, the Duchess of Sussex in Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau Tiara, took third place with 10% of your votes.

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--Princess Eugenie missed her chance to take the tiara prize, but the love for her wedding look carried her to victory as your favorite 2018 royal wedding gown! Eugenie and her Peter Pilotto gown grabbed 49% of your votes. Meghan followed her with 31% of the tally, while Alessandra took 14% and Ayako nabbed the remaining 6%.

Alex Bramall/Princess Eugenie Instagram

--The usual parade of royal Christmas cards is in full swing! The Windsors contributed with the release of cards from Chaz and Cams, the Cambridge fam, and the Sussex pair.

Taken by Hugo Burnand in the gardens at Clarence House over the summer.

Taken by Matt Porteous at Amner Hall.

Taken by Chris Allerton during their Frogmore House wedding reception.

--Over in Denmark, Queen Margrethe and the crown princely family held a Christmas event at Christiansborg Palace. The Queen's little elves are still finding family treasures around the palace on the family's Instagram, including a pair of Prince Henrik's monogrammed shoes. [Instagram]

Keld Navntoft, Kongehuset

--And in Sweden, the royal court shared a picture taken by Crown Princess Victoria of Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar celebrating St. Lucia Day last week.

HRH The Crown Princess/Royal Court, Sweden

--And finally, over at the Jewel Vault: a little holiday party fun for Her Maj, plus a vibrant pink outfit.

Coming up this week: We continue finishing up 2018 with plenty of outfit favorites. Get your memories rolling and your suggestions ready.

Tidbits is your spot for royal topics we haven't covered separately on the blog, all week long. Please mind the comment policy, and enjoy!

Year in Review: 2018’s Tiara Happenings

Yes, it’s time to begin wrapping up 2018. We’ll start with a round up of this year’s tiara happenings. It’s been an eventful year in diadems! There were quite a few developments beyond the royal tiaras we saw worn this year; tiaras were sold (Queen Alexandrine's Russian Sapphire Tiara, the whole Bourbon-Parma auction, and more), tiaras went on display (the trio of Fife tiaras at Kensington Palace!), and unfortunately, certain things also disappeared (shame on you, thieves of Swedish royal regalia and the Portland Tiara).

This year also gave us plenty of opportunities to see tiaras in action, from a big tiara’d up royal gathering (that marvelous festival of fringes at Frederik’s 50th birthday party) to wedding tiara surprises and more. You can scroll back through alllllll the tiara appearances we covered in 2018 here.

And those events produced some notable tiara happenings…

The Reappearances

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Any 2018 tiara round up has to start with the reappearance of the Stuart Tiara, right?! Some of us have been waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for Queen Máxima to resurrect the biggest of all the Dutch big guns, unseen since Queen Juliana’s reign. She delivered twice: debuting a smaller version in Luxembourg and the whole monster in the United Kingdom.

BBC/ITV

Weddings brought even more reappearances – and, in the case of the British royal family, confirmation that two mysterious tiaras do indeed still exist in the vault: the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara (worn by Princess Eugenie) and Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara (worn by the Duchess of Sussex). Slightly outside of the royal realm, another wedding also gave us an opportunity to see the Spencer Tiara in action once again.

A New Tiara

DR1

Princess Marie’s tiara access finally increased in 2018, with the addition of the Nuits Claires Tiara courtesy of an arrangement with Mauboussin. It’s a rare treat to see a newly made tiara in action.

The Debuts

House of HM the King

Queen Letizia headlined last year’s tiara happenings by wearing the Fleur de Lys Tiara for the first time. She followed that up in short order by debuting the two other largest tiaras in the Spanish collection: the Cartier Diamond and Pearl Tiara and Queen Maria Christina’s Cartier Loop Tiara. Elsewhere, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie continued her run through the Luxembourg vaults by debuting the Chaumet Diamond and Pearl Choker Tiara.

What was your favorite tiara surprise of 2018?

Vote in the poll below! (If you can't see the poll, try using a different browser.) 

Tuesday Tidbits for December 11: Trips and Trees and Tiaras Galore

First things first, if you missed out on any of the Nobel fun yesterday, click thyself back and enjoy! More tiara fun awaits us this week, after these quick tidbits:

--Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary made an official visit to Latvia to celebrate the country's 100th anniversary of independence. The trip involved baby blue shoes in a snowy wonderland and this princess-proper arrival outfit, which I would enjoy twice as much without all the bobbly thingys (technical term). [Paris Match]

Kongehuset

--Meanwhile, Queen Margrethe ran into the Duchess of Gloucester at a gala dinner for the Danish-UK Association in London. The Duchess is Danish herself, born in Odense. [Instagram]

--The Duchess of Cornwall completed one of her very best annual engagements last week, inviting children with life-limiting conditions to help decorate the Clarence House Christmas tree. This year, a fun addition: reindeer! [Town & Country]

Clarence House

--Over at the Jewel Vault: Flame Lily Alert!

--I expect we'll be talking about this one next week because the time approaches to round up our 2018 bests, but for those that can't wait: The Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance to present Clare Waight Keller with the British Designer of the Year Womenswear award last night. [Vogue]

--And finally, a seasonal requirement: Christmas trees at Buckingham Palace, set to (what else) the Nutcracker.

Coming up this week: First we will have MORE TIARAS, from the Netherlands and also night 2 of Nobel glitter. Then it's time to start wrapping up the year with our traditional Best Of reviews!

Tidbits is your spot for royal topics we haven't covered separately on the blog, all week long. Please mind the comment policy, and enjoy!

Royal Outfits of the Day: Festive Skirts with Mary and Kate

'Tis the season for tartans and tweeds.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hosted a party for families of military personnel deployed in Cyprus this week.

Kensington Palace

'Tis especially the season for red skirt versions and 'tis the trend to make them midi length.

Emilia Wickstead skirt, worn with a Brora cardigan

Pair them with a cashmere cardi and some boots for a little casual Christmas party fun...

Crown Princess Mary marked the UN's International Day Of Persons With Disabilities this week.

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A post shared by HRH Crown Princess Mary (@hrhprincessmaryofdenmark) on Dec 5, 2018 at 2:26pm PST

Or dress them up with a belted blazer and pumps...

Alexander McQueen Frayed Tweed Midi Skirt

Any way you want to do it, it's festive perfection. Well played to them both.

Monday Tidbits for December 3: Journeys for Princesses and Elves

Here we go:

--Tiara sale update: Queen Alexandrine's Russian Sapphire Tiara sold at the top of its estimate: 2,000,000 DKK, or just over $300,000. The sale was held on November 30. [Bruun Rasmussen]

Queen Alexandrine's Russian Sapphire Tiara
Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers

--The Danish royal family is doing another advent calendar-style series on their Instagram page this December! They introduced the series with a video of Queen Margrethe hiding some rice pudding in the palace attic for the palace elves (nisse, crafted by the Queen herself) to find. The palace treasures these little creatures find as they hunt for the porridge are items chock full of family history, and they're being posted on the royal Instagram each day. [Instagram, Wikipedia]

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A post shared by DET DANSKE KONGEHUS (@detdanskekongehus) on Nov 30, 2018 at 2:59am PST

--Meanwhile, Crown Princess Mary embarked on a real journey to Kenya. Some of her own photos and stories from the trip can also be found on the Danish royal family's Instagram. [ParisMatch, Instagram]

--The Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and Anne's sharp suit went on an official visit to Chile. [Instagram]

Royal Family

--And finally, over at the Jewel Vault, a new portrait for the Queen.

Coming up this week: We may have some tiaras in cars because the Buckingham Palace Diplomatic Reception is this week. Maybe also a Spain check in, and other stuff too...

Tidbits is your spot for royal topics we haven't covered separately on the blog, all week long. Please mind the comment policy, and enjoy!