Monday 22 June 2015

The Royal Wardrobe

All the fashion attention might have been on Royal Ascot (there are links at the bottom for pieces on the best royal outfits worn there throughout the week) but there were plenty of other stylish designs on display in the Royal Wardrobe this week. It all begins with Queen Mathilde of the Belgians who chose a delicate and rather pretty yellow two piece suit for the commemorations marking 200 years since the Battle of Waterloo and gave us the best royal look of the week.



It went perfectly with the accessories and perfectly with the weather - on a grey day, the queen stood out against the clouds and looked rather delicate doing it.


 


This was a masterclass in beautiful tailoring as every part of the outfit was finished to perfection. The wide brimmed pale straw hat was very Mathilde and very fitting.


 
 

 
The Queen of the Belgians had a good week fashion wise - the evening before, for a gathering of descendants of the four main military commanders at Waterloo in the Palace at Laeken, she chose a fitted white dress that was pure elegance.

 
 


Her other main appearance this week was at a conference on bullying which was held at the Royal Palace. She chose a blue and white print dress that was smart but subtle.


 


Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was also scoring fashion win after win in the week. Her best outfit was a stunning dark ruby red and white dress and massive hat worn to open a design exhibition in the week.

 


There was also a bit of colour clash accessorising going on with an orange necklace, gloves, bag and shoes which stopped this outfit being a total winners.


 
 


But however hard it was to take in the overdose of orange, the hat was a showstopper of epic proportions. Unbeatable.

 
 


She had been far more subdued in her choice of outfit for her visit to Belgium for the Waterloo anniversary. Queen Maxima looked lovely in a cream dress with pale dove grey lace overlay and tiny little matching hat.


 
 


There were also plenty of pearls which gave the whole ensemble a real regal touch. Another great day out for Maxima's wardrobe.


 
 


Maxima also went for yellow in the week but her egg yolk dress was less of a success than Mathilde's ensemble.


 
 


She managed the colour well enough - is there a bright shade of something that Maxima can't manage - but the frock was almost too simple and was starting to crease. And the hip belt may have shown off her recent weight loss and her quirky style but it just looked a bit, well, odd and out of place.


 


Queen Letizia cracked out her plastic shoes again in the week which was a mistake as they looked as awful as they did first time round.


 
 


OK, she matched her toe varnish to her bright peach jacket and floral skirt but neither of those pieces were stunning enough to detract from the shoes. Let's hope they've passed their use by date now.


 
 


Her first look of the week had been more business like. A dark trouser suit with purple top was the perfect match to the event at the Student Residence Association.


 
 


For her big event of the week on the first anniversary of her husband's accession she recycled a cream ballerina style dress first worn in Paris last year.


 

 
Letizia chose it for a ceremony where 38 people were presented with the Order of Civil Merit which took place in the Royal Palace. But again it was the shoes that were the sticking point - strappy sandals which didn't seem to go even if the colour match was perfect.


 
 


Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore a very royal blue to attend the cabinet meeting where her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, announced the name given to her sister's new son. It didn't matter what she was wearing - her smile was so broad, no one noticed. Easily the happiest auntie of the week.


 
 

Meanwhile, proud granny Queen Silvia went for green for the Te Deum celebrating her first grandson's arrival. It was a slim fitting dress with pillbox and constrasted rather nicely with Victoria's pale blush jacket at the service.

 


The King and Queen of Norway spent three days touring Finnsmark in some rather chilly weather which meant that Sonja showed us quite a lot of coats, scarves and hats this week. There was a rather pretty mint green and white mix.




Then there was a stand out red cape which looked bright and very warm. Note the gloves.



And when it got really bitter, the queen reached for black with a white scarf. Except when you're a queen you have to have a bit of bling and she added some embellishments to her rather quirky beret for good measure.


Crown Princess Mary of Denmark chose a beautiful black skirt with cream shirt for her big engagement at a school in the week. OK, it was monochrome but when it looks this good that really doesn't matter.



And you can see the royal outfits from Ascot Day One, Day Two, Ladies Day and the final two days by clicking the links.

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