WEDDING DRESSES PLUS | ROOTD -->

ads

HomePosts filed under ROOTD
Showing posts with label ROOTD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ROOTD. Show all posts

Tiara Watch of the Day: Queen Mathilde in Portugal

It's a multi-tiara event week, buckle your seat belts. (Speaking of which, don't forget that you can find our quickest coverage of the British/Dutch state visit over at the Jewel Vault, before it is covered here.)

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde began a state visit to Portugal yesterday.
Embed from Getty Images
First up in this week's state visits are the Belgians in Portugal. Queen Mathilde arrived in a repeated Armani outfit with a delicate lace coat and satiny dress, topped by a Philip Treacy hat. This outfit was debuted last year during events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

With the President of the Portuguese Republic
Belgian Royal Palace
Mathilde originally wore this for the Last Post ceremony, an event that went into evening. I think maybe that suited it better - although it's certainly easy to see why she categorized it as an outfit special enough for a state visit. That lace is like gossamer. (Also, she should wear more Philip Treacy hats.)

Belgian Royal Palace
The Queen rolled that gossamer feel right into the state banquet, wearing a new gown in a soft shade of sparkle blergh. The sash situation here is tricky. Making both the Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator and a sash look neat and tidy is a feat that's eluded two queens in a row now.

presidencia.pt
Anyway, this state banquet managed to provide multiple tiaras for us. Firstly, the Queen wore her Laurel Wreath Tiara. It was a wedding gift and her primary tiara for years and years; it's now one she's used for other visits like this one, to a republic.

presidencia.pt
The Duke and Duchess of Braganza are also regulars at these banquets. (The Duke is a claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne.) The pink-clad Duchess still has a few tiara options at her disposal; this one is a lovely necklace piece.

Also present (and kindly sharing on her Instagram) was Princess Diana d'Orléans, Duchess of Cadaval, with her husband Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans. The Portuguese noblewoman wore the Cadaval Tiara, a tiara of diamonds and pearls she wore on her wedding day.

Qualifies as an A+ tiara turnout, I'd say! That's a good start to the week.
October 23, 2018

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia at the Princess of Asturias Awards

For Queen Letizia's dress at year's Princess of Asturias Awards, Felipe Varela took last year's theme of intricate embroidery and turned it up to 11.

King Felipe, Queen Letizia, and Queen Sofia attended the Princess of Asturias Awards on Friday.
House of HM the King
Letizia wore a brocade patchwork midi length dress featuring hand embroidery completed in thread with crystal and metal, using shades of dark blue, cerulean, slate, and nude.

House of HM the King
It almost has the look of embellished boiled leather, a dress of armor to give the fanciest costumes from Game of Thrones a run for their money. (It is not, however, a terribly stiff thing. You can see it in movement here; the skirt sways nicely.)

Embed from Getty Images
There's not a single simple thing about this. Not even the hair, which is deceptively more complicated than a plain tucked behind the ears look; not even the earrings, nicely loaded with history as part of the joyas de pasar. One thing's undeniable, though: this is ART. Hundreds of hours of hand embroidery! She's wearing a museum piece.

Letizia also usually wears Varela to the concert that's held before the awards. She broke with that tradition this year, opting for an Emporio Armani dress.
House of HM the King
 It is black; it has a ruffle; it will not be remembered. (By me.) No matter, though.

Embed from Getty Images
Because when you're rocking not only the big earrings from the joyas de pasar but the twin diamond bracelets, I'm not going to focus on much else anyway.
October 22, 2018

Royal Trip of the Day: Back to the Sussexes in Australia

Jumping right back into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's tour of Australia with some of the latest: 

The couple visited Bondi Beach and met with a local surfing community group raising awareness for mental health and wellbeing.
Embed from Getty Images
So this is what variety looks like in the land of neutrals: stripes of neutrals in a Martin Grant maxi dress. Chop it from a maxi to a midi and you'd have my very favorite look of the trip thus far.

They next visited a high school in Sydney.
Embed from Getty Images
But currently the stripes won't compete with this number for my reigning trip fave. (So much more trip to go, though.) Roksanda is an interesting designer for the Duchess; modern, clean lines - which Meghan seems to love - but much more playful use of strong design features and color. This particular dress is basically just dipping a single toe into the Roksanda pool. A promising dip.
October 19, 2018

Royal Outfits of the Day: Letizia and National Day

While we were tending to royal wedding business, the Spanish royal family was out and about for National Day. Queen Letizia left the color to her daughters, including the Princess of Asturias, who was wearing the brooch of the Order of the Golden Fleece she received earlier this year.

House of HM the King
Letizia remains exclusive to Felipe Varela for this annual event, and this offers exactly what you expect from Varela in terms of excellent fit and construction. It doesn't come without its quibbles, though; I'm not loving the length and froof of the skirt mixed with the structure of the jacket, plus this is one of those colors of blergh that kind of actively sucks up all the color around it. Not a bright outfit, not a bright day. (On multiple fronts, since the King and Queen ended the day visiting flooded areas in Mallorca.)

Embed from Getty Images
But my outfit quibbles were much reduced once Letizia headed inside the palace for the reception, ditching the coat and allowing the delicate Chantilly lace skirt to be its best ballerina self.

House of HM the King
Color has already made its return - Letizia's best color, in fact. She visited Rome for World Food Day, repeating the Carolina Herrera dress she wore in Asturias last month. Definitely worthy of a speedy rewear. That said, this might be the first time I'm actively distracted by her Steve Madden heels with transparent straps. Man, I hate that I sorta want to advocate for a plainer nude shoe.
October 17, 2018

Royal Trip of the Day: The Sussexes Kick Things Off in Australia

The Duke and Duchess are off and running on their tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand! We're off and running too:

The couple are given baby gifts by the Governor-General of Australia and Lady Cosgrove
Governor-General Facebook
The couple checked off multiple Australia tour musts on Day 1, from scenic views to koalas to collecting the first of what will surely be many swiftly procured baby gifts.

Embed from Getty Images
Meghan checked off another tour must, wearing an Australian designer right off the bat. The dress is simple but LWDs (little white dresses) are just as essential as LBDs, if you ask me. It's by designer Karen Gee. The brand's message is one of inclusivity and positive body image and confidence - in other words, it sounds like it's right up Meghan's alley. Someone's clearly done their homework beyond just googling "Australian fashion designers".

Embed from Getty Images
She also brought some jewel surprises with a special side of awww: the blue stone and diamond butterfly earrings and the gold bracelet with blue stones are pieces from the collection of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Embed from Getty Images
Diana wears the earrings and a matching necklace in 1986
Embed from Getty Images
Diana wears the bracelet in 1990
I'm impressed with the pieces she picked. A lot of Diana's everyday jewels - not the fanciest stuff, just the smaller things - honestly look pretty dated to me. These don't. Job well done.
October 16, 2018

Royal Outfits of the Day: Accessory Interest with Kate and Mary

First: The royal family announced yesterday that they will stream Princess Eugenie's wedding via the Royal Family and Duke of York social media sites and YouTube. That will be open to all, so huzzah for those in countries not broadcasting and those without cable. We will have an open post for the occasion.

***************

Embed from Getty Images
The Duchess of Cambridge opened the V&A's Photography Centre last night.
Wasn't planning on doubling up on Kate posts this week, but then she went and wore one of the most interesting things she's worn in quite some time. I loved this Erdem dress when Carey Mulligan wore it last year and I love it now. Plus, we're dabbling in purple (-ish, just let me have this one) accessories again. So you know I approve.

Erdem dress
(Might actually like it in the shorter retail version if you're going to add the belt, though? And then leave the longer without the belt, like Carey Mulligan did? Not a deal breaker either way.)

The Danish royal family attended a performance celebrating 100 years of Iceland's independence last night.
Crown Princess Mary has also been dabbling in purple accessories. Now, the shoes here almost look like she mismatched the dress color, but it appears she's also wearing her amethyst earrings, which says intentional. I don't think the overall thing is working. So I'm gonna blame that on the dress. (Princess Marie has a late entry to our green theme, you can click through the rest of the family above.)
October 11, 2018

Royal Outfit of the Day: Máxima Wants in on the Green Trend

How long do you think we can keep this little green week thing going, hmm?

Queen Máxima visited Utrecht on Friday.
Embed from Getty Images
Queen Máxima made sure to get in her contribution before the week ended, in a repeated green lace dress with a big green hat (of course), green shoes (of course), and a green bag (of course). In spite of my continued general objection to the constant matchiness, I'm tempted to say that this is one of the stars of green week.

Embed from Getty Images
Then again, throwing in a hefty dose of emeralds and diamonds from the family vaults never hurts.
October 08, 2018

Royal Outfits of the Day: Meghan and Kate Also Go Green

Look at all these people clamoring to get in on green week around here, sheesh.

Embed from Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited 
Sussex yesterday.
Embed from Getty Images
I like the concept of a green top + pencil skirt combo for Meghan and apparently she does, too, since she also used it for their trip to Ireland. The color difference between the shirt (from & Other Stories, a Swedish brand we've seen on Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Sofia) and the skirt (Hugo Boss) will probably get some twitchiness going for some of you I'm guessing, but I'll deal with it because I appreciate what a good texture contrast brings to the whole shebang.

The Duchess of Cambridge visited Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden yesterday.
Kensington Palace
Kate's back too, in her own combo of forest-y shades. Not a lot to talk about on the sartorial side of things - outdoor engagements with kids and all - but I know many of you have been waiting for her return from maternity leave with baited breath, so we won't omit her here.
October 04, 2018

Royal Events of the Day: Denmark & Norway Open Parliament

Two more monarchies checked the opening of parliament off their autumn to do list yesterday:

screencap
In Denmark, the primary members of the royal family watch the proceedings from a balcony (rather than the monarch giving a speech, as happens in other countries). Queen Margrethe's cheery blue outfit provided a welcome dash of color on a rainy day.

Embed from Getty Images
Crown Princess Mary and Princess Marie seemed appropriately bundled up, Marie even adding a turtleneck under her repeated Paule Ka coat (which Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie also owns). Mary is channeling Jackie O in this jacket and pillbox hat - with some skirt color to pep things up - which is pretty much a foolproof strategy.

Embed from Getty Images
My winner for the day, though, is the perpetually elegant Princess Benedikte. She arrived in a brown wrap over a pumpkin dress with a feather in her hat. If autumn itself needed a parliament opening outfit, this is the outfit autumn would wear. Perfection.

Hans Kristian Thorbjørnsen/Stortinget/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (cropped)
For Norway's parliament opening, King Harald reads the speech; he's accompanied by Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon. The gentlemen steal the show here as always in their uniforms. Queen Sonja pretty much has her own uniform, usually wearing black and/or white with some red thrown in some years. Can't really argue with that.
October 03, 2018

Royal Outfits of the Day: Mathilde and Mary Go Green

Is it easy being green? Two of our leading ladies valiantly seek the answer to that eternal question:

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visited Austria yesterday.
Royal Palace
Mathilde's giving me some Robin Hood vibes here. If Robin Hood were to don Natan and dash around opening art exhibitions, that is.

Embed from Getty Images
As much as I wish (again, and forever) that she'd curb her matchy ways before they hit the shoes, I do love this matching hat. It's interesting and a little bit different from her usual thing. Also, this green? Super rich, super flattering.

Crown Princess Mary presented the 2018 Design Awards in September.
Here's another example for your green investigation, one that happened a while back. This top and trouser combo is meant to have an easy elegance, I think, one which Mary can certainly pull off. But did she take a wrong turn into Gumby territory? You be the judge.
October 02, 2018

Royal Outfits of the Day: Swedish Royals at Parliament & More

It was Sweden's turn to open parliament this week, with the Swedish royal family present as always.

Embed from Getty Images
The ladies do a black and white (and shades thereof, in this case) dress code, which is reminiscent of the black and white court dress worn decades ago. This year that led to Crown Princess Victoria wearing a Paule Ka top she's worn previously to this same event. I'm half wishing Princess Sofia's jacket had a beige bottom, thereby completing the fake out crop top effect. Just for kicks.

The looks were likewise tame for the evening's concert. Feels a little more day attire than it usually does, really just shiny fabrics here to differentiate. Except for Victoria's metallic Escada dress, which has been worn multiple times in the past.

Kungl. Hovstaterna
While we're in Sweden: Princess Sofia attended a board meeting for Sophiahemmet yesterday and this look might have caught my eye more than the parliament stuff did. Nothing says cozy like a giant smocked velvet turtleneck, amirite? Cozy or claustrophobic, depending on your turtleneck tolerance. You be the judge.

Top by Rodebjer, per UFO No More
September 28, 2018

Royal Dress of the Day: Princess Charlene's Glam Ocean Gala

A bunch of you contacted me about this appearance right away yesterday, because: 1) it's a caftan, 2) it's a CAPED caftan, and 3) hello, it sparkles. So...that's about as far up my alley as you can get, basically.

Embed from Getty Images
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene attended the Monte-Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean last night.
Embed from Getty Images
Charlene!! When she wants to bring it, she can BRING IT. And so she brought it, balancing out the sparkly shoulder on this Oscar de la Renta caped caftan with a big diamond cuff on the opposite wrist for good measure. I hope she dramatically swooped around all night long.

Oscar de la Renta Navy Embroidered Illusion and Stretch-Georgette Cape-Back Caftan (h/t to reader Anne)
One thing, though...while I've long since resigned myself to the fact that Charlene doesn't really wear tiaras and her events in Monaco aren't tiara events anyway, this gown is just crying out for the Ocean Tiara. That's all.

That's all about Charlene, I mean, because we also had some Casiraghi action in the house:
Embed from Getty Images
Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo were there. This dress...feels about right for her.

Embed from Getty Images
Pierre Casiraghi and Beatrice Borromeo were also on hand. Beatrice has fur and fringe going on, which is bonkers and super swishy and fun. Eh, why not?
September 27, 2018

Royal Outfit of the Day: Meghan Flies Solo at the Royal Academy

The Duchess of Sussex opened the "Oceania" exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts last night, her first solo engagement.
Kensington Palace
I must confess, when I first saw this outfit on the Duchess' arrival via some Twitter videos, I wrote it off with a yawn. Yet another black outfit. Moving on.

Embed from Getty Images
But I must also confess that I wrote it off way too soon. (One of the downsides of the rush for first looks on social media, really.) This is one that gets more interesting with a closer look.

Embed from Getty Images
The contrasting fabric makes this Givenchy look: a velvet panel, the belt, and the sheer sleeves. Her favorite Aquazzura pumps and Birks diamond earrings are solid choices too. Might not be a look I'll remember, but it's getting the job done nicely. I formally retract my yawn and replace it with a satisfied nod.
September 26, 2018

Royal Outfits of the Day: Victoria and Mathilde in New York

The UN General Assembly is running in New York City, so basically a whole bunch of royals are roaming the city and running into one another, which is convenient for our purposes. (Our purposes being, as always, considerably more frivolous.)

Instagram/mozabintnasser
Crown Princess Victoria's stateside visit saw her meet up with Sheikha Mozah! If anyone's going to appreciate a good monochrome look, it should be the Sheikha. Her metallic shoes are exactly the contrasting touch her own green look needed, though.

Also on Victoria's list of friends to see in NYC: Crown Prince Haakon, who surely conveyed this prairie dress sighting to certain interested parties back home. This is a repeat from Princess Adrienne's christening this summer.

Belgian Monarchy
A new floral dress accompanied the Crown Princess as she met up with a vibrantly pink-clad Queen Mathilde, who...

Belgian Monarchy
...naturally brought along her own supply of florals. (Don't leave home without 'em!) This Natan dress a repeat from the Australian state visit earlier this summer. As I suspected at the time, it is indeed improved without the hat.

This is far from all! Queen Máxima is expected, Crown Princess Mary's already there (we'll check in with her separately), and maybe more, I don't know. So New Yorkers, I guess you should keep your eyes peeled.
September 25, 2018

Royal Outfit of the Day: Letizia's Jumpsuit with a Superhero Spin

The King and Queen of Spain attended the opening of the Royal Theater's new season, the opera "Fausto", last night
House of HM the King
'Tis no gown, this ensemble for a night at the theater. 'Tis a jumpsuit! A jumpsuit with a CAPE!

House of HM the King
Sticking a cape on something is one of of the fastest ways to my heart. Get your superhero on at all times, that's my policy. That said, I do think this basic idea has been done a touch better in the past:

Embed from Getty Images
Queen Letizia's jumpsuit immediately called to mind one of my favorite Oscar after party outfits of the past few years, Diane Kruger in a red caped jumpsuit by Donna Karan in 2015. I would steal just one thing from this for Letizia's navy look (which is by Pedro del Hierro): the cropped slim-fit pant.

Embed from Getty Images
The longer pants on Letizia's version can almost trick you into thinking this was a gown. Only an issue here because a gown would be overkill for this particular event, where others are in business suits, shorter dresses, and the like. The rest of this, I'm all on board.
September 20, 2018

Royal Event of the Day: Dutch Royals at Prinsjesdag 2018

Get your hats ready, it's Prinsjesdag time! King Willem-Alexander addresses the government every September, reading a speech from the throne detailing plans for the coming session; he's accompanied by Queen Máxima, Prince Constantijn, and Princess Laurentien. For those not familiar, this event features a dress code that was popular for big royal events many years ago but which has become increasingly rare: long dresses, orders, and hats for the ladies. No tiaras because this is a day event.

Embed from Getty Images
Queen Máxima goes all out for Prinsjesdag with a special outfit. This year's outfit is...

NOS screencap
...well, it's impressive, really...

Embed from Getty Images
...because I would not have thought...

Louisa Beccaria Iridescent Multicolor Georgette Long Dress, per ModeKoninginMaxima
...that a candidate for my least favorite Máxima Prinsjesdag outfit ever would be so...bland, honestly?

Embed from Getty Images
It's too much and not enough for me. There's so much happening in the overly vertical hat with unrelated feathers and the fussy neck and sleeves, but underneath it all is a muted pastel color blocking thing that just doesn't do much. Suffice it to say, I won't be remembering this year's edition when it comes time for the bests of 2018.

Embed from Getty Images
Princess Laurentien opted for a tried-and-true combination for this sort of dress code: the long jacket over a matching sleek long dress. Very elegant! And I need hardly tell you that she picks up multiple bonus points for highlighting an accent color from the fabric with her purse and shoes.

NOS screencap
Also, nice beard, Prince Constantijn.
September 19, 2018