A major summer storm blew out my electricity for two days so this Bits and Bobs may be Bit -tier than usual. Onward!
Vacationing
I suppose that Daisy considers her whirlwind of activity a vacation, but it’s hardly disappearing from the world. They have caught her relaxing here, and I want a better glimpse of that watercolor.
Talk about working, Bhutan has been hopping. Both a visit from the Indian Prime Minister and a private, official visit from Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito began last week. Because there can never ever be enough Bhutan, we’ll put all the photos here. Kiko had a great arrival suit, which you can view more closely at New My Royals.
Princess Estelle has started first grade. Or grade one, depending on your country and point of view. She looks very Swedish, very mature and very happy, doesn’t she? May her school days continue in this way.
Welcome to this Thursday’s edition of ROYGBIV. Today we’ll be looking at gold entries. For me, gold clothing is hit or miss. It can either be so incredibly gaudy or really classy. Here’s hoping I picked some entries that please your eyes! If you’d like to look back on our lengthy ROYGBIV series, just search for it using the tag feature on the sidebar.
This one is a doozy. Depending on where you are in the world, get yourself set up with a snack, a cup of coffee or tea, or an evening cocktail and let’s get started!
Britain
Oh Betty. You slay me sometimes. Somehow this design manages to make the more senior lady look positively svelte!
OK, I admit this gold entry barely makes it into our category as it was pre-royal days, but this Edith Head creation from To Catch A Thief must be posted. Click the caption to read a great article with more snapshots and design sheets. The sculptural details pull me in on this one.
Look at this delicious vision, so proud at her son’s 2004 wedding! Check out the last photo in the slideshow to see her golden gown from the pre-wedding gala.
Auntie Astrid rocking the gown here with delicate pink floral accents. I almost feel like the necklace is too heavy, but hey, it’s Astrid. She does as she does.
Making her debut in today’s category is Desiree, sister to the King. I thought she carried this bevy of sequins off quite nicely, as I would expect any woman from Sweden to do! I especially like the neckline and that she wore the Cut Steel tiara. Nice touch.
Sister-in-law Silvia looks great here in 2015.
And here is Victoria, in one of my favorite Jenny Packham gowns of all time. Stunning.
Netherlands
Maxima knocked me out at Prinsjesdag 2013 in this golden creation. I cannot wait to see it again.
I mean, come on. Look at this lovely lady. You can see what those stairs look like now if you review our recent post on the Huis ten Bosch renovations.
And with my beloved Oma, I leave the gold category to you!
What say you about this gorgeous gold entries? What would you like to see worn again? Would you like another royal to try one of these entries? Show us your favorites in the comments!
Next week we will do Stripes and then wrap up our series with Florals. Feel free to post your blergh/sparkleblergh choices here as well!
Welcome our Royal Wedding Gown summer series, where we look at royal gowns from a different perspective. Today we’re taking a in-depth dive on gowns that are bedecked with orange blossoms.
Although no longer as common as they once were, historically, royal gowns made bounteous use of the blooms. They were considered symbols of both fertility and chastity, a dual message that is a bit boggling. “The Blossom” was also expensive and not easy to procure, which limited its use to those with means. Royals definitely had the resources to bedeck themselves in these powerful symbols.
Bride: Elisabeth, Queen of Romania Elisabeth of Wied was the Queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I. She was a talented and flamboyant woman, known as much as for her literary endeavors (under the name Carmen Sylva) as she was for being royal. Her wedding dress was dramatic, big and heavily decorated with strands of orange blossom, threaded through the skirt and bodice.
Bride: Princess Maud Princess Maud was a diverse character, described both as simply drop dead chic and terrifically rambunctious. For her wedding dress, she directed the designer, Miss Rosalie Whyte of the Royal Female School of Art, to design something simple and memorable. Her dress was woven in Spitalfields of pure white English satin. The square neckline was decorated with a full bow of mousseline de soie and orange blossoms, the skirt hem was trimmed with a ruche of chiffon and orange blossoms, and the bodice also sported a bow of mousseline and a cluster of orange blossoms.
Bride: Victoria of Baden Remember our lovely bride from the Baden post? It seems appropriate to see her again here, since she absolutely defines the word “festooned”, as in festooned in The Bloom. Neckline, veil, bodice and skirt are all decorated with orange blossoms.
Bride: Queen Victoria Queen Victoria wore a wedding dress that was, well, fit for a Queen. Orange flower blossoms liberally decorated the skirt and the neckline in dense bunches. Victoria also started a trend by wearing a wreath of orange blossoms instead of a tiara over her veil.
Bride: Princess Alexandra of Denmark, later Queen Alexandra The ultimate orange blossom wedding ensemble was worn by then Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Made of white silk satin (the silk was woven at Spitalfields), the dress was trimmed throughout the skirt and bodice with orange blossoms, myrtle and puffs of tulle and Honiton lace. Princess Alexandra wore a wreath of orange blossom and myrtle, and carried a bouquet of orange blossoms, to carry through the theme.
Modern Takes on the Tradition
The orange blossom tradition does continue, although as they have become easier to procure, their prominence in royal wedding dress has receded. Both the Queen Mother and the current Queen Elizabeth wore orange blossoms scattered throughout their wedding attire. The QM wore a wreath containing the flower and Queen Elizabeth’s dress was hemmed with the blossom. In 2013, Princess Madeleine decorated the base of her tiara with orange blossom, in a lovely nod to tradition.
Summer is winding down, at least for some folks. School doesn’t start here until after our Labor Day in September, but in many parts of the world it begins next week. It seems that many royals are grabbing some last minute vacation time. Let’s take a look at what is going on as August marches on.
Vacationing
I feel like we get a glorious travelogue as the Danes and Swedes vacation in their respective countries. They are pretty good Chamber of Commerce representatives because these snaps are making me want to visit both countries. First up, gorgeous Sweden and a surprisingly happy Oscar and big kid Estelle.
The Danes are touring their own country also. I am a bit disturbed that every royal woman seems to have fantastic legs. Is it a requirement? Is this why I am not royal? Questions that dog me during the dog days of August.
The Grand Duke was called to duty to visit the site of a tornado in Luxembourg. I was horrified to hear that Luxembourg had tornadoes – it was like hearing about a snowstorm in Miami. This is just not something I expected to happen.
Here is something fun! Thanks to one of our eagle-eyed readers, this interview with Edouard Vermeulen of Natan and Fabienne Delvigne – mostly subtitled in English – has been unearthed. It’s about 13 minutes long so schedule it for your lunch hour ; ).
I think I mentioned last week that I am on a bit of a Queen Maud kick. We posted some photos of Sonja visiting the “Queens Meetings” exhibit back in June. The exhibit ends on August 25 and the royal house posted a fun clip of some of the exhibit on their website. I am hoping someone who speaks Norwegian can give us a translation because the dresses are gorgeous. I think it’s about how Maud brought the tradition of afternoon tea to Norway but don’t quote me on it. Just look at the pretty dresses!
This isn’t new – it ran on the BBC website back in April – but I just managed to get back to read it. It’s an interesting piece on some of the negotiations and plans discussed during the waning days of World War II, and Queen Wilhemina and King George VI are featured.
Here is a beautiful scarf commissioned for the “Queen Victoria’s Palace” exhibition. Alas, I will be nowhere near Great Britain this summer or I would pick up a scarf or two for Christmas gifts.
It’s Thursday and you know what that means! ROYGBIV is still in expanded form, and today we will dive into silver and gray royal clothing. Off we go!
Sweden
The ladies of Sweden rarely fully disappoint us in the gown category and here are a few great examples.
Victoria in this fab and flowy Packham is gooooood. The symmetry of the crusty dangly bits makes me happy and I don’t even think it needed that central element.
We can’t leave Sweden without this gem from our friend Lilian!
Monaco
Charlene has a few entries in this category simply because I just couldn’t pick my favorite between the fab day suit and the mesmerizing jumpsuit. The simple lines. The corsetry. Love all around.
Now I’ve read that this dress is gold and I’ve read that it is silver. In every photo I’ve ever seen it looks silver to me, so I will include Diana and her pleats here.
Maxima wore this Benito Fernandez tweed to Prinsjesdag in 2004 and I think it’s really striking. I’m not convinced it hit in the right place for this odd dress code event, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. Almost Chanel-ish, no?
Belgium
I love this gray coat Mathilde has worn a few times. It looks luxurious and totally wearable at the same time.
Theodora rocked this glittery gown at Madeleine’s wedding. I’m actually interested to see what she’ll do for her own upcoming wedding.
Denmark
Margrethe wore this gray dress along with her precious Yeti to the 2006 New Year Celebrations. If it looks a little familiar to you, it’s because that eye searing apple green dress is the same pattern in a different color. I believe (though have not confirmed) this is the dress worn in this glorious portrait.
Mary has worn this pale silver dress to tailoring perfection.
What say you about these silver and gray beauties? Would you like to see any of them repeated? Show us your favorite royal silver and gray items in the comments!
Programming note: We will tackle gold clothing in our next ROYGBIV post!
