The Obamas' Visit to Buckingham Palace, 2011

I'm certainly a fan of First Lady Michelle Obama's style, so it is with great pleasure I bring to you coverage of the President and Mrs. Obama's recent visit to Buckingham Palace.

Date:  May 2011
Place:  Buckingham Palace, London
Event:  American State Visit

First, let's start off with the newlyweds as they meet the Obamas.

The two men wore nicely tailored suits, but the real story was the women's style choices.  Michelle Obama wore a pale blue, floral jacquard dress designed by Barbara Tfank, a Los Angeles-based designer.  The dress was paired with a pink, three-quarter length sleeve bolero jacket and silver, pointed toe, high-heel shoes.

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a khaki colored bandage dress by Reiss called the "Shola" dress.  Word is, it sold out quickly through their website.  I don't doubt it--the dress looked great on her.  Also, if I'm not mistaken, the black heels she wore have been in her wardrobe for some time.

Actually, it's a good thing the First Lady didn't sit on that sofa.  It would have clashed with her dress.

Mrs. Obama looks enthralled by Camilla's anecdote.  I'm not crazy about the Duchess of Cornwall's choice of outfit here.  The extra-feathery hat looks too formal and the jacket accentuates all the wrong things.  (Also, didn't she wear those shoes the day before to the Chelsea Flower Show?)

Princes Charles looks a bit stodgy in one of his standard grey, double-breasted, pinstripe suits.  I would dearly love to see what a top stylist would do for him.

President Obama with Prince Philip, looking even more spry than usual, inspect the Scots Guards.

Her Majesty wore a floral number by Peter Enrione.  The four of them looked quite put together.

It's believed that the Queen has a fondness for the Obamas, but I'm not entirely convinced.

Here, the Queen has completed her outfit by wearing the matching pale blue coat and hat.  Mrs. Obama struggled with the wind to keep her skirt where it should be.  (The Queen usually has small weights sewn in her hems to avoid such a situation.)  All three of the ladies (Camilla being behind President Obama) had to fight the wind.

Mrs. Obama really wowed the crowd gathered for the formal state dinner at Buckingham Palace in a white halter-neck Tom Ford gown.  Again, the four together really looked sharp.  (One wonders if the Queen and Mrs. Obama coordinated their white gowns, though Her Majesty often wears white to state dinners.)

Coming in a close second in the style stakes was the Duchess of Cornwall, who wore a just-off-the-shoulder gown (designer unknown) in a stunning shade of blue.  Not to mention, the tiara she chose to wear really suited her as well as her gown.  (Click to enlarge the photo.)

That's all for now!  Come back soon for a look back at the Queen's recent state visit to Ireland.  Lots to talk about there!  Thanks for reading Fashionably Royal.

Royal Ascot 1981

The year was 1981.  The fashions were frightening, we must say.  But we can't get enough of them!

Date:  June 1981
Place:  Ascot, England
Event:  Royal Ascot Horse Races

With just a month before her wedding, Lady Diana was a sensation at the week-long event.  Thus, most of the photos that made their way to Internet archives are of her!  But, we did manage to get one of the Queen and Queen mother.

Here is Lady Diana wearing a distinctly peppermint-esque red and white outfit by Bellville Sassoon.

She was also seen wearing this rather unfortunate ruffly peach concoction (designer unknown).

I believe that is the Queen Mother whose blue sleeve and hat make an appearance in the right of this photo.

From the shoulders up, this purple striped outfit and purple hat (designers unknown) suited Diana.

But, seen at full-length it was yet another ill-fitting 80s monstrosity.

Finally, this grey gingham dress (designer unknown) was a bit more promising for the soon-to-be princess, but the hat took away from the overall look.  A wider-brimmed hat would have made it more stylish.

Notice the crowd's reaction to Diana!  (And only the second photo with Charles.  She didn't get to spend much time with him, it would seem.)

Last but not least, we have their majesties the Queen and Queen Mother.  The Queen wore a tangerine outfit (designer unknown) while the Queen Mother did indeed wear a light blue creation (designer unknown) with heavily netted hat.  (Though I think this outfit is different from the one mentioned above.  Very similar though!)

That's all for now!  I can't wait for this year's Ascot, just one month away.  Until next time, thanks for reading Fashionably Royal.

The Honeymoon of Elizabeth, Duchess of York

88 years ago and a plethora of photos!  Let's look back at the honeymoon of the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Date:  April - May 1923
Place:  England and Scotland
Event:  Honeymoon of the Duke and Duchess of York (Elizabeth and Albert, later King George VI)

Elizabeth's honeymoon wardrobe was very much in the style of wedding dress--baggy and very ill-suited for her womanly figure.  Here, the newlyweds prepare to depart London for the first leg of their honeymoon at Broadlands.

Elizabeth's hat and outfit looks quite different from opposite angles--but it is the same outfit!

Once at Broadlands, the newlyweds posed for photographs playing golf and enjoying the grounds.

How sweet do the newlyweds look here?

In the next photo, the couple are seen leaving a church service at Bookham while on their honeymoon.

In the next photo, the Duke seems to be wearing identical clothes.  Indeed, Elizabeth's outfits appear at first glance to be the same but there are slight differences:  different handbags, different waistlines, a large front pleat in one skirt and not the other, and most noticeably quite different hats--the first being rather wide-brimmed and the second a smaller, cloche hat.  The second photo is believed to have been snapped at Glamis Castle, Elizabeth's home in Scotland, where she "unromantically" caught whooping cough.

As we will explore eventually here at Fashionably Royal, Elizabeth's style certainly evolved over time.  She eventually dumped the baggy, formless dresses seen in these early photos for much more becoming outfits.

Stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for more honeymoon fashions and the evolution of the Queen Mother's style!

The Honeymoon of Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II)

Today, we continue our look at royal honeymoon fashions with Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II).

Date:  November 1947
Place:  England and Malta
Event:  Honeymoon of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip

As one looks farther back to royal fashions, the less is known about specific designers.  That is the case with Princess Elizabeth's honeymoon fashions.  Nonetheless, they're worth looking at--her fashion sense has remained timeless over the past six decades!

Here, the Prince and Princess set out for Waterloo Station from whence they traveled to Broadlands for the first leg of their honeymoon.

Once at Broadlands, the couple were photographed walking and enjoying the grounds.

In 2007, for their 60th wedding anniversary, the Queen and Prince had a second honeymoon returning to the Broadlands (and also Malta; see below) as pictured here.  Notice that she's wearing the same jewelry and Philip's suit is very similar.  Perhaps we can guess that her 1947 suit was blue, as well.

Following their time at Broadlands in 1947, the royal couple traveled to Balmoral in Scotland just as her parents had twenty-four years previously.  Sadly for us, there are no public photos of the couple at Balmoral in 1947.

Philip was on active duty as an officer in the navy.  So, as his honeymoon ended, he returned to service.  He was posted to Malta and Elizabeth followed him there.  Before she became Queen in 1952, she spent much of her time in Malta and it is considered the last leg of their honeymoon.

Save for some changes in button and pocket styles, these clothes could well be worn in the twenty-first century.  While the Queen has rarely taken fashion risks, she is still undeniably a solidly fashionable woman!

Stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for more royal honeymoon fashions in the days to come!

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon's Wedding Day

One last look back before we turn our attention to our televisions for William and Kate Middleton's wedding.  This time, the wedding day of Elizabeth and Albert, better known as the Queen Mother and King George VI.

Date:  26 April 1923
Place:  Westminster Abbey, London
Event:  Wedding of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and Prince Albert (later King George VI)

Elizabeth's dress was designed by Madame Handley Seymour and is often looked back upon as dowdy and unfashionable. However, the dress was quite fashionable for the time but simply did not suit the bride's figure.

The dress was made of silk, ivory moire with a drop-waist and square-neck. Elizabeth wore a veil made of Flanders lace, borrowed from her mother-in-law and worn low over the brow in imitation of cloche hats that were en vogue.

The wedding was held in Westminster Abbey--the first royal wedding to happen in the Abbey in over 500 years. Elizabeth spontaneously laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in the Abbey as she walked down the aisle. Thus, in the official portraits afterward, she is holding no bouquet. We may see Kate Middleton lay her bouquet at the tomb tomorrow.

With the recent success of The King's Speech, interest has been high in Elizabeth. Her wedding dress never seems to inspire any kind sentiments. By the late 1930s, when she became Queen, she had found a style that suited her much better with the creations of Norman Hartnell (who eventually created both of her daughters' wedding dresses).

Now--stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for a look at the fashions from Kate and William's wedding!

Queen Elizabeth's Wedding Day (or rather, Princess Elizabeth's Wedding Day)

In 1947, the United Kingdom, like most of Europe and the World, was recovering from World War II.  In July of that year, it was announced that there was to be a royal wedding!  The secret engagement of Elizabeth and Philip of more than a year was finally made official.  Their wedding later that year served a boost of morale for a war-weary nation (and world).

Date:  20 November 1947

Place:  Westminster Abbey, London

Event:  Wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Denmark and Greece

Princess Elizabeth's dress, like her sister Margaret's dress thirteen years later, was designed by Norman Hartnell, the royal dressmaker to the then Queen Elizabeth (to become the Queen Mother when her daughter became Queen Elizabeth II).

The dress was made from ivory silk and was decorated with crystals and over 10,000 seed pearls that Hartnell traveled to the United States to find. (There was quite a shortage of materials following the war.) It had some pintucking on the bodice, somewhat like her daughter Anne's dress had 26 years later. It also had a drop-waist and sweetheart neckline.

The motif on her dress and 13-foot-long train was inspired by Botticelli's Primavera (a figure, covered in flowers, representing spring). This motif was meant to symbolize rebirth and growth after the devastation of World War II. From a distance, the motif looks like five-pointed stars, but they are in fact flower blossoms.

Also in common with her daughter Anne, Elizabeth wore the "fringe" tiara originally made for her grandmother Queen Mary, wife of King George V. The veil was made of silk tulle.  Her pearl jewelry are from the collection of crown jewels dating back to the middle ages.

Visit Fashionably Royal tomorrow for more build up the the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton when we look back at the most trend-setting wedding ever, that of Queen Victoria.  And, you guessed, we're not afraid of a bit of hyperbole around here.  Until then!