Category: Britain

Hofdame Bits and Bobs
Belgium · Bhutan · Britain · Japan · Lesotho · Netherlands

Hofdame Bits and Bobs

The HandbagLeave a comment

Getty

Did you miss a royal event last week? There were a lot! See Getty for a look back at the week of February 17th. Warning for those with snake phobias, Kate’s visit to the Ark Open Farm is included.

Milestones

So many royal milestones came and went last week. We celebrated some birthdays on the blog, but we missed a great deal too. Let’s rectify that.

Emperor Naruhito turned sixty! The original cheeks ; ).

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck turned forty. Although we don’t need an excuse to post a beautiful photo of Bhutan, let’s use this milestone as a chance to do so.

Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso and King Letsie celebrated their 20th anniverary, and their daughter Senate Seeiso posted an Instagram tribute. I know the Queen’s dress- her entire ensemble, indeed – intrigues many of you, so here is a chance to look at it close-up.

Daily Mail

Style Inspirations

Thanks to our intrepid community member Beth for the heads up on this bit here – Queen Elizabeth, Diana and Princess Anne – are style inspirations. Shrimps designer Hannah Weiland developed her Autumn 2020 line around the stylings of these three woman, and we are fully onboard.

Speaking of styling, in this announcement that WAX and MAX will be attending Daisy’s birthday celebrations was a photo of WAX’s christening . Daisy was one of his godparents, and, yes, there is that fabulous sixties dress we have discussed so many times. I can never see it enough.

Belgium

We need to check in with Mathilde, who has had a very busy February. The below is just a sampling of the Natan outings. For her full schedule, head over to Modekoningin Mathilde.

For a management symposium in Flanders, she broke out a new Natan, shown below with and without the jacket.

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She visited a horticultural school to talk about anti-bullying initiatives. I think she may have pulled this skirt from the end of the closet that holds her thigh-high boots ; )

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She wore various shades of gray for the yearly mass honoring deceased family members. It’s a good color choice, not as somber and unrelenting as black, but very respectful.

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What did I miss?

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Spam a Musical Encounter
Britain · Sweden

Spam a Musical Encounter

The HandbagLeave a comment

For those who don’t know, the Handbag is a Motown native. This girl loves her Barry Gordy styled music, and so do some royals.

Princess Christina of Sweden, anyone? Doesn’t she look just pleased as punch to meet the Supremes? Please check out Miss Ross’ hair – I think there is more than one royal person in this photo ; ).

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Princess Margaret, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to know what to make of the fabulous Motown costume machine, which included in this case a fair amount of decolletage. Ah, well, Margo, they seem to be very interested in you!

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Since not everyone is a Motown maven like me, I encourage you to spam your favorite royal and musician encounters in the comments, regardless of genre!

Random Royaling – A Long Look Back
Britain

Random Royaling – A Long Look Back

The HandbagLeave a comment

Divorce is a sad, complex subject and not one we tackle here in our drama-free world. That said, the recent announcement of two divorces in the British royal family are going to leave a sartorial hole that makes me rather wistful. Although we may see glimpses of Autumn Philips and Serena Armstrong-Jones now and then, they won’t be nearly as visible as private citizens. Let’s look back at their styles, and remember what fun and fabulousness there was.

I am going to stay off the topic of the divorces, and simply focus on the fashion. I invite you to join me in the same vein in the comments. Both lovely ladies deserve their privacy moving forward, but let’s help them wave goodbye to public life with a fashion retrospective.

Serena Armstrong-Jones

Were you aware that the Countess had a mini-me in her daughter Margarita? The family is so low-key that I didn’t realize the strong resemblence between mother and daughter, here wearing some matching sparkles at a friend’s birthday party in 2017, and in coordinating black and white at the service of Thanksgiving for Lord Snowdon.

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Channeling the sixties at the service for the Queen’s 90th birthday. I LOVED THIS.

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Channeling Princess Alexandra at Ascot in 2014.

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I love this necklace/collar combination, worn in 2007 for the service for the Queen and Prince Phllip’s sixtieth wedding anniversary.

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And……she’s had her wacky moments. Here she is, departing for her honeymoon in a hat that could be seen from the moon ; ).

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Autumn Philips

Ah, Autumn. You sure gave Charles a run for his money, style-wise, at the 2019 Braemar Games.

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A few Ascot looks – like I said, I will miss her. She gave us something to talk about without getting too wacky.

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What struck me going through the photos was the array of fabulous hats – how did I ever not realize her talent at this? – and her beaming, laughing face. She’s just pure joy to people watch.

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In 2008, showing that she had hat game from the beginning.

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Show us your favorite moments in the comments – fashion talk only, please! Thanks, all!

Hall of Fame – Duchess of Cornwall, Daywear
Britain

Hall of Fame – Duchess of Cornwall, Daywear

Jane MapleLeave a comment

Thank you to our guest author and community member, Jane Maple, for this Hall of Fame entry! I think you will find it as witty and engaging as we did. (Note: photo of Jane Maple courtesy of Jane Maple. All other photos from Hello and Daily Mail.)

Jane’s Thesis

I love Camilla’s daywear for two quite different reasons.  First there’s the hats – giant concoctions of flowers, feathers and froof.  I love her hats; I wish I had a lifestyle that involved wearing hats, ‘cause I’d really try to give her a run for her Phillip Treacy.  When it comes to hats, Camilla is, for me, that unreachable star.

My other reason for loving her daywear is the complete opposite; it often seems so doable, even for someone who buys most of her clothes at thrift stores.  She’s a year older and several pounds lighter than I am, but I look at her outfits and can realistically see myself wearing something similar.

A case in point is this purple skirt and top which Cams has worn several times.  I looked at that and realized that I could pull something similar together .

Photo courtesy of Jane Maple

Runners-Up

Even the outfits that I know I would have no reason to wear are still so elegant but achievable for other women her age.

I love her approach to hot weather dressing; wherever she is, she will probably be wearing a loose and comfortable but absolutely beautiful salwar kameez.  There have been many, but my favourite is this one she wore to the Hermitage Plantation House on March 21, 2019 during her visit to Saint Kitts and Nevis.

It was harder for me to pick a favourite of her day dresses/suits, possibly because I like most of them.  But, unsurprisingly, I chose this one that she wore to the annual tree trimming at Clarence House because… well… red.  And this is such a wonderful event, that I’m always predisposed to like what she wears to it.

Winner

But the one outfit Camilla wore this year that totally made me sit up and notice was this blue suit with the scalloped hem on the jacket that she wore on .  Uh may zing!

What kind of daywear do you like best on Camilla?
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Hofdame Bits and Bobs
Britain · Japan · Netherlands · Sweden

Hofdame Bits and Bobs

The HandbagLeave a comment

Winter wanders on…..let’s spread warmth with some royal news.

Getty

Did you miss some royal news last week? Check out Getty images for the week of February 10th. There is a lot we didn’t cover, including Prince Albert at the glitzy Hollywood Ocean do and Anne being, well, very Anne.

Britain

The Brits have been everywhere. Cams tried to give the Beefeaters at the Tower a run for their money, stylewise, with this complicated coat, while Charles inspected the family jewels.

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Sophie, as always, has a wardrobe that doesn’t excite me, but her work is flawless. She was great with the kids at The Shooting Star Chase Hospice.

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Kate visited Scotland (rewearing her excellent “Delaney” coat), sat in on the “Happy Mum, Happy Baby” podcast, and released a lovely new photo of Charlotte. Her husband stayed home in London, hosting the Metropolitan and City Police Orphans Fund at St. James Palace.

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Japan

Several of the senior Japanese royals attended the Grand Prix Orchid and Flower show, which is an event I am very happy to learn exists. Princess Hisako stands out to me for her boucle suit and her very obvious enjoyment of the festivities.

The Netherlands

Does it surprise anyone that Princess Laurentien is game for a singalong? Tap your feet under your desk and sing along with her, “What the world needs now…..”

Meanwhile, what do we have here? Movie star or Max’s husband? You tell me.

Sweden

Princess Victoria, carrying on a strong Swedish royal tradition, granted the wish of a child with a brain tumor, and it’s as touching as you would imagine. Royal Central has some further information on the event, which included an hour with the princess and a carriage ride through town.

Let’s End with a Different Classic Princess

Princess Alexandra opened St. Christopher’s hospice in 1967, when it was a new concept in health care. She has been patron since 1981 and has visited every year since 1982. Now that is commitment, and that is why royals remain relevant.

What did I miss?

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