Epsom Derby 2011

The Royals do love their horses!  And fashion . . . .

Date:  4 June 2011
Place:  Epsom, England
Event:  Epsom Derby

First up, the ever blossoming Princess Beatrice.  She took the blossoming bit rather literally with this floral ensemble and fascinator with white leaves and ivory rose.

The fascinator is interesting and beautiful in its own right, but the unflattering hues and potato-sack nature of the dress clash with it.  Meanwhile, her sister Princess Eugenie wore a white cap-sleeve dress with black polka dots and a matching wide-brimmed white and black straw hat.  The structure of the hat is stunning on her, but the dress is a bit plain.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who is purportedly undergoing intense physical training sessions to slim down (though she's thin already, we would like to point out!), chose a champagne colored Bruce Oldfield concoction.  Sophie seems to be less than amused by Philip's humor.

The hat she chose is one of those hats that looks better from certain angles that from others--this angle being less than stellar.  (I could not locate a suitable photo from the other side, but you can see a hint of the feathers and flowers on the underside in the above photo.)

Her Majesty popped in a bright, crayon pink outfit and hat, which she wore before to Ascot in 2009.  Looks like Liz is pulling a Kate.  The hat is by milliner Rachel Trevor-Morgan.

We here love the geometric pattern of the dress fabric and the fact that Prince Philip almost seems to have coordinated his look with his wife's.

Should I?  Or shouldn't I?  Okay, I'll do it.  "We are not amused."  Sorry.

Finally, we have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge--Will and Kate.  William's suit looks ever so slightly like he may have borrowed it from his father-in-law's wardrobe.

Catherine continued her affordable chic trend by wearing a Reiss "Peacock" dress (£195), a JOSEPH "Nessie" tweed jacket, L. K. Bennett "Sledge" leather court shoes in light taupe (£175--she's been getting a lot of mileage out of these shoes), L. K. Bennett "Natalie" handclutch (£140--she's been seen with this several times), a pale brown straw beret by Whiteley, and Kiki Mcdonough citrine drop earrings (£495).

The Reiss dress is, sadly, hidden by the slightly straight-jacket-esque look that Kate had going on.  Here is what it looks like underneath.

Another small quibble we have, though it is indeed minor, is Kate's poor posture.  She naturally looks amazing in practically anything, but she would indeed take it to 11 if she stood up straight with less rounded shoulders.  Don't be shy, girlfriend!

So, that was it for the Epsom Derby this year!  Stay tuned for lots lots more.  Thanks for reading Fashionably Royal.

Princess Diana's 1986 Visit to Austria

For a few days in April, 1986, Her Royal Highness charmed the Austrian crowds.  Have a look at what she wore.

Date:  April 1986
Place:  Vienna, Austria
Event:  Prince and Princess of Wales Official Tour of Italy

Upon arriving in Vienna (on the Concorde, no less), Diana was photographed wearing this red-striped outfit and matching hat, designers unknown.  (Again, I suspect Frederick Fox as having designed the hat because of the brim-style.  For the suit, I have two suspects:  Catherine Walker and Bruce Oldfield.)

Later, the Prince and Princess visited the Burgtheater for a performance.  For the evening, Diana wore a glittering sequined gown, designer unknown.  In this photo, the dress looks decidedly blue.  However, in video of the event (scroll to the bottom of this post), the dress looks undoubtedly green!  (It's definitely the same dress; you can see Charles' broken finger in the left corner of the photo.)  She wore it again in 1993 and here it looks turquoise.  You decide.

The next day, Diana was seen walking about Vienna with Charles wearing this cute, pink Victor Edelstein suit and Frederick Fox hat.

The couple were trying to drum up support for British Week in Vienna.

For instance, here, she was inspecting British cars as part of the week-long event.

Later on, she was regaled by the Vienna Boys Choir.  For the event, she wore this white and black suit (designer unknown).

Then, she attended a performance of the London Philharmonia Orchestra (at the Vienna Philharmonic's music hall) and wore a navy blue velvet Victor Edelstein gown.

This navy blue velvet gown is the one she famously wore to the White House state dinner in 1985 at which she danced with John Travolta.

Finally, as she left Austria (again on the Concorde), Diana wore a blue dress (designer unknown).  Must have been a comfortable outfit to turn around in her seat as such.

And, as a bonus, here's a photo (no joke) of Diana's passport and Concorde ticket.

Arrival:

Day two:

Day three:

That's all for today.  Check back for more of royal fashions throughout the years!  Thanks for reading.

Princess Diana's 1985 Visit to Italy, Part 2

Now, for part 2!  (See Part 1 from yesterday.)

Date:  April-May, 1985

Place:  Anzio, the Vatican, Rome, Milan, and Venice, Italy

Event:  Prince and Princess of Wales Official Tour of Italy

While on a visit to a military cemetery in Anzio, Diana wore this striking purple striped Catherine Walker suit.

The hat was created by Frederick Fox.

Notice the red hose, which she first wore on this trip with a red suit in Florence.

While in Rome, the Prince and Princess visited the Vatican and met Pope John Paul II.  Diana wore the obligatory black dress and veil.  In this case, they were designed by Catherine Walker.

The detailing shows up much better in this black and white photo.  (I wonder what that sly smile was about.)

Also in Rome, she wore this multi-colored striped Bruce Oldfield suit.

With white hose, this time!

Then, on a visit to the Sistine Chapel, Diana wore this pink and white polka dot dress, designer unknown.

This was probably my favorite outfit of her trip.  (Still white hose!)

Still in Rome, Diana wore this rather bulky and unflattering white and black Bruce Oldfield suit with a hat by Viv Knowland.

Then, in Milan, she wore this blue silk Bruce Oldfield suit. 

The heart-shaped earrings were made for her by Butler and Wilson.

In Milan, Diana again "recycled" an old outfit.  This time, it was a pink Victor Edelstein gown, worn here to Turandot  at La Scala.

She had worn it almost exactly two years previously in Brisbane with different jewelry.

In Venice, she wore this white and blue polka dot suit by Jan van Velden, again with the heart-shaped earrings from Butler and Wilson.

Bruce Oldfield designed this extremely flattering blue dress, which she wore in Venice.

Unfortunately, on her last day in Venice (and Italy), she wore this green suit created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.  (Not sure who made the hat, but it looks like it may have been by John Boyd.)  The Emanuels also created her wedding gown four years previously.  It and this green suit swallowed her.

Here she is aboard the royal yacht Britannia looking better for the railing obscuring her outfit.  Their children rejoined them there and they set sail for home from Venice.

So, like a little Prince William, we too wave goodbye until next time.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned to Fashionably Royal.

The Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William: The Guest Edition

We've looked at that dress, now let's look at some of those fashionably royal guests at the wedding.  With 1,900 guests, though, we can't look at them all.  We'll limit ourselves to a selection of royal guests--we'll get to the wedding party in a later post.

Date:  29 April 2011
Place:  Westminster Abbey, London
Event:  The Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Married to a cousin of Prince William, here we have Sophie Winkleman, Lady Frederick Windsor.

Lady Sophie easily wins the style stakes in my opinion in this beautifully tailored, sleek navy blue Armani Privé dress and coat.  (I have a soft-spot for the actress as she is in one of my favorite television shows.)

She topped off her outfit with a relatively restrained Philip Treacy creation.  (See below!)

Here she is at the final fitting with Philip Treacy (on the right).

The night before the wedding, she set the tone for her navy suit with another navy Armani Privé design.  She wore this gown to a reception hosted by the Queen in anticipation of the big day.  (Here she is trying it on, as well.)

Next up, Autumn Phillips (wife of Peter Phillips) and Zara Phillips--Peter and Zara being Princess Anne's children.  Autumn had her first child a few months ago and doesn't seem to have regained her confidence just yet.  She wore a coat dress that swallowed here.  Her shoes are adorable, by Emmy.  Zara dressed as her usual, sleek self in a custom grey coat dress by Paul Costelloe and black Jimmy Choo stiletto Mary Janes.  She has her own upcoming nuptials in July.  Rest assured we'll bring you the fashion scoop!

Then, we have Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in a lovely peach dress by Elie Saab--have not yet confirmed the designer of the hat, but it really suits her.

She looked especially lovely the night before at the Queen's party in a red gown by Escada.  Same hair-do!

The Countess of Wessex, Sophie Rhys-Jones, looked well-put together in a pale suit by Bruce Oldfield and head-wear by Jane Taylor.  It is believed that Sophie suffered a broken rib a week before the wedding after falling off a horse--she doesn't show any sign of it!

Finally, I simply cannot omit the most talked about guests at the wedding:  Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice.  Eugenie wore a blue Vivienne Westwood concoction that not only didn't fit her proper, it didn't suit her at all.  The matching fascinator (topped with, among other things, a dragonfly) was made by Philip Treacy.  Beatrice wore a very flattering dress and coat by Valentino couture.  However, it was quite difficult to notice the Valentino for the Philip Treacy thing stuck on her head.  Some have criticized the color of the outfit for "clashing" with her hair, but we here at Fashionably Royal think the color was fine--the hat totally negated everything else, though.  She's certainly worn interesting headgear before, so I'm sure we'll continue to see her take risks.  Maybe the next one will pay off.

Make of the royal wedding fashions what you will, but they certainly are interesting!  Stay tuned for more from Fashionably Royal.