Royal Fashion Awards: The Nobel Prizes, 2010

I meant to post over the weekend, my lovelies, but I ended up snowed in miles away from my laptop, a blizzard keeping me from my snark. Good thing reader Deidre emailed today to remind me of the overwhelming need for a post. I've never met Deidre, but I sense she's got that Claudia Schiffer look to her, topped off with an Einstein brain. Anyways: we shall continue forward in the spirit of "better late than never", for it is the most wonderful time of the year - that's right, time to award some Nobel prizes!

Norway kicked things off, awarding the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday with a concert on Saturday, and the rest of the prizes were of course awarded on Friday in Sweden with the traditional King's Dinner following on Saturday. To the clothes!

Most Typical

Queen Sonja at the Peace Prize ceremony, Princess Christina at the Nobel Banquet, and Queen Silvia at the King's Dinner

Nothing much to see here, friends. Queen Sonja held down the sartorial fort in Oslo with Mette-Marit out and about on her world travels, and she didn't venture a foot outside her comfort zone. I mean, sure, the hat's kinda oddball, but that IS her comfort zone. Princess Christina turned in a perfectly respectable appearance at the Nobel ceremonies in Sweden on Friday, and Queen Silvia did the same on Saturday (though I do not like that tiara and I can not be convinced otherwise).

Best Black Tie

Crown Princess Victoria at the King's Dinner

I can't hate on Crown Princess Victoria in a jewel-toned Elie Saab gown. That would be sacrilegious. But I can admit that this just wasn't the right occasion. There's too much going on at the neckline here for a necklace and a sash. Plus, that's some black tie hair right there. (What is up with that 'do? Part of the reason why the Nobel functions are so fabulous is because the Swedish ladies turn the tiara hair volume up to 11. This does not go to eleven.)

Best Repeat

Princess Christina at the King's Dinner

Yes, we've seen this one before, at Victoria's wedding. But it's fab, and thus she shall be excused from repeating a gown during the Nobel festivities. Yet again I fall prey to the allure of a luscious jewel tone.

Best Overall

Crown Princess Victoria at the Nobel Banquet

 

Oh, yummy. Elie Saab again, and this time absolutely perfect for the white tie event. The draping, the back - I mean, jumpy claps! It's even managing to make that steel cut tiara look alright (Napoleonic dress, Napoleonic tiara - nice), though this is yet another piece I can not get down with. It's just so...plume-tastic. And there's no diamonds on it! Come on now.

Best Use of Color

Queen Silvia at the Nobel Banquet

Combining colored jewels with colored gowns is dicey business. (Think back to Mary's combo of rubies and that mint-ish green dress at Victoria's wedding, or Sonja's coral and emerald pairing at the same event. Risky business.) But this - now, this was a good call. The sapphires and the green dress just play so nicely together. Well done, and the hair gets an A+ as well for having just enough volume to balance out the weight of that tiara.

Worst Use of Color

Queen Sonja at the Nobel Concert

Well, this is amusing. Army green and fuchsia? Really? With a black cummerbund? Someone please tell me this is a recycle from an era gone past. I think what I like best is that she took such an overwhelming color combo, busied it up by contrasting the fabrics, paired it with an overwhelming pattern on the top, and then topped the whole thing off with MORE pattern - brooches and a choker that might as well be part of the dress, that neckline's so high. The magpie in me can't help but admire the spirit.

Who made your best dressed list for the Nobel Awards this year? Speak! Type!

Photos: Svenskdam/Daylife/Getty

Royal Fashion Awards: The Duke of Parma's Wedding

I'm not very familiar with a lot of the royals on parade for the Duke of Parma's wedding this weekend, but that's not going to stop me from snarking on their wedding attire, oh no. Especially when so many of them didn't even bother to do it up right...

Most Occasion Confusion

Left to Right: Princess Margriet, Princess Anita, Princess Christina and daughter Juliana

Now I know that the bride and groom were civilly married way back in the summertime, and the wedding's been postponed due to the death of the groom's father, but come on. It's still a wedding, ladies - spruce it up a bit! Margriet and Anita may as well be going to any old day function (alright, Anita's is a little bit sparkly, but still), and Christina and Juliana...I don't even know what to make of that.

Best of the "At Least They Tried" Category

L to R: Princess Mabel, Princess Máxima, Princess Aimee, Queen Beatrix, Princess Irene

Yes, you get credit just for making an effort on this occasion. Mabel gets credit for veering away from a total trainwreck, even though the outfit really doesn't make any sense. Máxima manages to look put together, even though it's not her best showing. (And somehow I feel like the trousers are alright here. Am I losing it?) I like Aimee's coat, but the shoes and the length are off - plus, her dress underneath is lace, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Beatrix...well, that's a lot of look when you add the wrap in. Per usual, really. Irene, she looks good, but I don't get the silver with that purple color. Shame, too, because the suit itself has potential.

Best of Those That Made the Effort

L to R: Princess Marilene, Princess Margarita, Princess Annette, Princess Carolina, Princess Laurentien

Marilene has turned up in a perfectly lovely wedding outfit, I like the combo of brighter spring colors and winter fabrics. Pregnant Margarita is one of my favorites: the different textures among the reds make her monochromatic look work. It wouldn't have killed Annette to put a hat on for the day, but her coat is well cut and the shoes are fab. Carolina is the only one out of the entire bunch that really made a lasting impression, with her gorge purple dress, so structural, and a fascinator to match. And now we've come to Laurentien, and I know what you're thinking: first I don't have a problem with trousers at a wedding, now I've included Laurentien among my favorites. I know. And you can't even see properly in this picture that her skirt is kind of sequin-y. But like I said, at this wedding you get points for bothering to put an outfit together in the first place, and I think Laurentien actually looks pretty good here.

Best of the Day

No competition. Princess Annemarie looks positively lovely. The dress, by Jacques Devos and Pamela Hoffman, is extremely flattering, and I love the mermaid cut and train length. There were a few photos that weren't as flattering, so I suspect this is a dress not meant to move around quite so much, but that's alright. The tiara, from the Dutch royal family, isn't one of my favorites - it always manages to look off because of that v-shape at the base - but this is the best I've seen it look. She's certainly bested Laurentien here, on whom this tiara always manages to look like it's about to fall off. Well played, Duchess.
What do you think? Who's your best dressed for the day?

Photos:PPE/Nieboer/ANP/AP IMAGES ROYAL MARCEL ANTONIS/Belga

Royal Fashion Awards: Monaco's National Day

It's always a mixed bag with the crew from Monaco, isn't it? For every well-dressed turn, you're bound to have someone else show up woefully misguided. Not that I'm naming names. Alright, I'm naming names:

Best Ridiculous

Charlene Wittstock, Day Events

Well, alright then, Charlene! This is ridiculous. Ridiculous in the most amazing way. I won't lie, when I first saw the pictures, I thought, "Yeesh, someone's trying awfully hard on their first National Day." But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. With a suit like this, you've got to go big or go home on the rest of the outfit, and she certainly did that, right down to the gloves. And hey, if Charlene's decided to bring more attention to tiny Monaco this way instead of through scandal (you know, the usual way), I'm all for it.

Most Typical

Princess Caroline, Day Events

And here we have an extraordinarily typical Caroline outfit. A little snooze-worthy, but I suppose too much oomph next to Charlene would have given me a sartorial heart attack.

Most Guilty

Princess Stephanie

It's the expression. She just has a knack for looking like she's done something wrong. In this case, she's taken a perfectly average coat and attempted to wear it like the Red Baron with that scarf. Maybe she was flying around, daredevil-style, beforehand: it's the only excuse I can think of for that hair.

Best of the Day Events

Charlotte Casiraghi

I should probably go gaga for Charlene here, but in truth, Charlotte's the one that has me lusting after her outfit. I'm loving the casual way she's got the jacket over the black and white dress (which is perfectly ladylike and flattering), and the all-black touch of tights. It's appropriate yet still completely in character.

Cutest Touch

Princess Alexandra

It's Hello Kitty. At National Day. Cute.

Best Reminder

Princess Caroline, Evening

Caroline can look a bit dowdy sometimes, I think, despite her couture-filled wardrobe. What an excellent reminder this look is: she's still got it. A touch of bling, a flattering dress, perfection.

Best Theme Commitment

Charlene Wittstock, Evening

She started the day on a retro kick, and she ended it with the most fantastic retro hair. She's also finishing her commitment to the Armani theme, with the second of two outfits I previously begged for a royal to sport. The only thing I'd change here is to get rid of the hand hold for the train of the skirt. It's a little awkward, especially considering there weren't even any pictures (that I saw, at least) of her not holding it up.

Best Men

Andrea and Pierre Casiraghi

You didn't think I'd let this day go by without an appearance from two handsome royal men, did you? Of course you didn't. Glad to see Andrea looking good - he's been looking a little rough around the edges of late.

Who topped your best-dressed list in Monaco?

Photos: Daylife/Zimbio/Getty/HuffPo