Turns out, the dress code for Willem-Alexander's inauguration was pretty much the same as 1980 where the royal guests were concerned: hats and long dresses for the ladies, uniforms or white tie for the men. Except now we're a little farther removed from the days when that was a standard dress code for formal day events, and, well, not everyone knows how to deal. Let's see how our royal guests did, shall we? (Reminder: King, Queen, and Princesses were covered in the last post.)
Best Dressed
Princess Letizia
Left to Right: Princess Mathilde of Belgium, the Princess of Asturias, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Let's start with the good stuff, shall we? First of all, Mathilde is on the list again, and she's on it while wearing Natan - but it works. Victoria was extra sparkly, sparkly dress and sparkly diamond rivière, which was fabulous. But Letizia's got the real lock on fabulous, with her statement hat and lace (not spiderweb-y this time, good). She's working it.
Most Improved
The Duchess of Cornwall
L to R: The Duchess of Cornwall, Crown Princess Masako of Japan
It's interesting how divided we end up on Camilla - I thought this was much better, and much more her territory, than last night's. Masako's in this category because, well, she showed up! And that's automatically an improvement.
Best in Traditional
Sheikha Mozah and Princess Sarvath
L to R: Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco, Sheikha Mozah of Qatar, Princess Sarvath El Hassan of Jordan, Crown Princess Sarah of Brunei, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
And now for our customary round up of ladies that have other standards to play by for various reasons: this one goes to Mozah, for she is my girl crush, and Sarvath, who was particularly lovely in this take on her usual traditional dress.
Worst in Hats
Princess Stéphanie and Princess Margarita
L to R: Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg, Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma, the Duchess of Parma
Well, I said we were out of practice pairing hats with long gowns. We've got a pair of Ecto Cooler green headphones, a tribute to Queen Beatrix, something from the Little Rascals, maybe, and things growing out of heads that are not hair. Because hats shouldn't need AquaNet and because we shouldn't dress four decades beyond our years, this one is shared by Stéphanie and Margarita.
Best in Dutch Lace
Princess Carolina
L to R: Princess Marilène of Orange-Nassau, Princess Carolina of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Anita of Orange-Nassau, Princess Irene of the Netherlands
Lace and lace sorts of things must have been on the memo today, because the ladies went wild. Irene is elegant, but Carolina's color wins it for me. (Marilène's one step away from being a contender in the previous category, so she's out of the running.)
Best of the Rest - Dutch Division
Princess Aimée
L to R: Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, Princess Aimée of Orange-Nassau, Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, Princess Christina of the Netherlands
Random selection of Dutch leftovers...let's go with...Aimée. Because court dress is hard enough, let alone maternity court dress. (She's expecting her third child.)
Best in Statements
Crown Princess Mary
L to R: Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Princess Annette of Orange-Nassau, Juliana Guillermo
And finally, the outfits with something to say.Something other than "Oh, don't I look luverly," that is. Mette-Marit clearly wants us to know that she can't be forced to wear a proper hat. Mabel needs you to know that she will never get her fill of bows. Mary seems to be telling us she forgot she had to wear a sash with this. And Annette and Juliana...I don't know, but maybe Annette's got something to prove after you didn't like her wedding gown the other day. Anyway, Mary wins just because that's the only dress of the bunch that I like on its own.
