Many of you were just as enchanted as I was with Crown Princess Mary's evening cloak from the other night (and many of you were not, fair enough, more cloaks for me), which brought up some of the cloak's previous wearings. The concert for Queen Margrethe's jubilee in 2012 is one example; another is the same New Year's Court event from 2008:
Which reminds me, we should talk about this purple dress. It's an interesting one, that's for sure. Not necessarily in keeping with Mary's current style, but that's because it dates from the days before her style was fully defined.
The gown was first worn in 2004 during a state visit from Romania, shortly before Mary and Frederik were married (hence her lack of orders above), and was made by Henrik Hviid from fabric purchased by Mary at a market in her hometown in Tasmania. You can actually see her buy the fabric in a documentary filmed after the couple's engagement (video link).
Based on the dress alone, you might guess it came from the closet of then-Princess Alexandra, now Countess of Frederiksborg, Prince Joachim's first wife. And with good reason: Hviid was one of her favorite designers. But despite my love for Alexandra's over the top early princess style, and despite my love for a purple gown, this one has never been a favorite. I think it mainly leaves me glad Mary went on to develop a style of her own, if you know what I mean. What's your verdict?
(By the way, there was also quite a bit of discussion about what color that evening cloak is, exactly. It's dark velvet, so that's naturally going to take on a few different shades. Given that Mary paired it with a purple purse this year, purple earrings in 2012, and a purple dress in 2008, I'm going to guess it's more purple in person.)
(And also by the way, the daytime New Year's Courts are happening in Denmark, and we'll check back in later this week to discuss.)
Photos: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images
