Saturday 11 March 2017

The Royal Wardrobe: shoots of green


Ten royal outfits this week but which best sums up the idea of regal dressing in 2017?

Spring is here, or at least poking its flower filled, sunshine and showers head round the corner and the Royal Wardrobe has been feeling the effects with shoots of green popping up all over the place in the week. We've had green trousers, green pussy bows and floral embroidery and that's before we get to the spots and sparkle that missed the green vibe. There's lot to see in this week's installment and the poll at the side of the page let's you pick the outfit that best sums up royal dressing for you right now. Welcome to this week's Royal Wardrobe.





You can never have too much green or at least that's what Queen Maxima is hoping as she does head to toe with a bit more thrown in for good measure. And just about gets away with it. But then, let's face it, there are plenty of outfits that the rest of us wouldn't even dare to try on but which Maxima pulls off with aplomb. This is firmly in that category but while the tailoring is very royal, is the endless green tipping into overdoing it?





It was back to business for Crown Princess Victoria as she carried out her first engagement since before Christmas when she spoke at the Baltic Sea Future Conference in Stockholm on March 6th. And she showed she meant business by turning up dressed, well, for business. We've got a pin stripe suit here that wouldn't look out of place in the manual for office dressing. It's smart and chic but does it look right in a royal wardrobe for you?







Queen Mathilde was still in autumn mode as she wore deep orange and bronze for an event for International Women's Day on March 8th. This is very Mathilde with her trademark swept collar and straight skirt. There's an air of regality about it but it's verging on the matronly in some respects. There's no doubting Mathilde is looking very royal but does modern regal dressing need to be fresher?



Bang on trend and totally in the 2017 zone is Princess Marie of Denmark who wore green to open an art exhibition in Charlottelund on March 9th. This outfit might have stepped straight out of a style file marked Spring 2017 with colours, shapes and accessories all ticking the right now box. But while we don't expect royals doing the whole royal thing to be in hats and gloves now, do we expect more than a smart casual top and skirt?





Now we get to the most talked about royal outfits of the week. One thing royals have to do is pay their respects. A big part of the role now is leading commemorations and remembrances, often for those lost in tragic circumstances. Queen Letizia accompanied her husband to a concert in memory of victims of terrorism on March 8th and walked straight into a social media storm with her choice of outfit. This is a pretty major event in the Spanish royal calendar so there was some surprise that Letizia chose a sheer blouse that offered just a hint of strap beneath. This is where modern royal dressing gets really tricky - we want on trend and style breaking but we want appropriate too. Did Letizia miss this time round?




The Countess of Wessex faced the same style versus occasion dilemma as she joined members of the Royal Family at a service to mark the unveiling of the Iraq and Afghanistan monument on March 9th in London. This was a formal and sombre occasion but also a thanksgiving for the service of those who took part in the conflicts. Sophie looks very elegant indeed but it's the hat that's raising questions here. It's mighty fine but is it too elaborate for the event in question?


The Duchess of Cambridge faced exactly the same style dilemma and got round it by wearing a blue and white coat that she's worn before in Australia at a service remembering those who fought and died for their country. The look is rather understated although the hat is anything but - it does the whole colour co-ordination thing but rather dominates proceedings. Does this part of royal dressing mean leaving any style concerns at the door and keeping it simple?



Back to green, here comes Crown Princess Mette-Marit who kept things very appropriate as she opened a clothes recycling shop in Oslo. Recycling, green, seen this one before so a royal rewear - there's a lot of boxes being ticked with one green skirt suit. It's very Mette-Marit but, if we're honest, no one would be surprised if Queen Sonja wore this one too. Does keeping it right for royals now mean leaving the style challenging behind?





Crown Princess Mary had a few shoots of green on the jacket she wore to an event marking International Women's Day in Copenhagen on March 8th. She also had leather trousers and knee high boots so took a complete swerve on any possibility of clothes sharing with the older generation. This outfit seemed to fit the vibe of the event down to the ground even if leather pants don't fit in with the received idea of royal dressing. Leather trousers and boots - are they ever an option for royals, however modern?

Spot the royal, everyone. Princess Sofia headed to a hospital on March 9th channelling the same businesslike vibe of her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Victoria. Sofia went for black trousers and a spotty blouse and like Mary, looked dressed pretty much spot on for the environment. But it brings us back to the question of whether royal dressing now is about more than a chic version of something that might work in the office. You decide - the poll at the top of the page is open until Tuesday with results here on Wednesday. What is royal dressing now?

Photo credits for montage: kungahuset.se, Wiki Commons, Elysee Palace Twitter grab, Royal Family Twitter grab, MonarchieBe Twitter, koninklijkhuis.nl, kongehuset.no

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