Royal Reuse of the Day: September 3

The theme for Crown Princess Mette-Marit's wardrobe yesterday was "reuse", you see, which is also the theme of my wardrobe every single day, only she does it fancier. Watch and see...
The President of Estonia arrived in Norway for a state visit yesterday.
In addition to her Valentino lace coat (reused indeed, and which she also has in red...though I'm not sure that detail fits with today's message), Mette-Marit wore a navy pillbox hat for the official welcome. She perched it on the back of her head, as she is prone to do, but it's a little taller than the usual types she anchors back there. Turns out, there's a good reason for that: it was made to be part of a different hat entirely. She shared the story on her new Instagram account.
An old hat with a navy crown and wide cream brim was remade into four wee pieces that are more in line with the headgear she prefers today. An interesting choice and an innovative one too, I think. And even though I'm sorry to see her moving further away from the general millinery category of Things With Brims, she does get an A+ for breaking in that Instagram with behind the scenes sartorial details.

She also shared that her gown for the evening's state banquet had undergone a similar transformation. It used to be this gem:
And now designer Nina Skarra has transformed it into something new:
And that something new looks just like something old in her closet (the dress she wore to Crown Princess Victoria's wedding), I can't help but notice. I miss the pink waistband. It was such a fresh touch, that color combination.

This is all in connection with a reuse day she's supporting. She'll be making a couple visits this week for the same cause, and she's donated some clothing items to be auctioned. She's putting her closet where her mouth is, so to speak, and that's all good stuff. I just wouldn't have minded seeing that hat or this dress reused in, you know, the regular way before they went on the chopping block. Oh well. There's always the next incarnation... (It also strikes me as hilarious that the other two royal ladies present at the banquet might be better examples of reuse principles - how many times have we seen these two dresses?! - but I digress.)

Anyway, your Tiara Watch before I go: Queen Sonja is wearing the big version of Queen Maud's Pearl and Diamond Tiara, our fair Crown Princess is wearing her usual Diamond Daisy Tiara, and Princess Astrid is letting her antenna aigrette fly, I think in the flower version, because she is the best.


Photos: Heiko Junge/AFP via Getty Images, Instagram, Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images, and MSN Video