martedì 28 giugno 2016

Pea Green Outfit with Camellia-Trimmed Angela Kelly Hat

The Queen debuted this bright pea green crepe coat with self-covered buttons and classic lapels, delicate floral print silk dress with pleating detail at the neck and Angela Kelly hat in green sinamay, with the crown covered in the same fabric as the coat and an oversized white camellia bloom on a visit to the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on 28 June 2016 (Daily Mail article here). She finished off the look with her diamond Art Deco brooch:








The Queen repeated the outfit on 1 November 2016, when she welcomed the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and his wife at Horse Guards Parade, at the start of their 3-day visit to the UK (Daily Mail article here). The Queen appeared to be wearing a top and skirt underneath her coat, instead of the original silk floral print dress, and wore her ruby, diamond and gold floral brooch:




The Queen repeated the coat, this time with a different green dress underneath and a cheerful seaside-themed silk scarf, for her return journey from Sandringham to London on 7 February 2017, at the end of her annual winter stay in Norfolk (Daily Mail article here). She wore the Pearl Trefoil brooch:



The green dress that could be seen peeking out of the coat at King's Lynn in February was repeated on 8 March 2017 for audiences at Buckingham Palace. This time the Queen, shown below with Erlan Idrissov, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, wore the round Cambridge emerald brooch with pendant:


giovedì 16 giugno 2016

Pale Pink Angela Kelly Outfit With Berry-Trimmed Hat

For Day 2 of the Royal Ascot raceson 15 June 2016, the Queen debuted a new pale pink outfit by Angela Kelly, made up of a collarless coat with white frayed trim, a silk dress with a subdued black and white floral print on a pink background and a hat in pale pink straw trimmed with a spray of berries and a curling white straw ribbon (Daily Mail article here).
We also saw (gasp!) a new brooch: according to the Queen's Jewel Vault, it is a 1930s piece by Cartier, in the shape of a diamond-encrusted rose. I suspect this will be the first of quite a few new brooches that will make their appearance in the year of the Queen's 90th birthday:









martedì 14 giugno 2016

#NeonAt90

The Queen's choice of a bold neon green outfit for her official 90th birthday celebrations and Trooping the Colour on 11 June 2016 certainly sparked comments and prompted the hashtags #NeonAt90 and #HighVisHighness to sweep social media.

A creation by Stewart Parvin, with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan with bright pink hydrangea trim, the outfit made the Queen immediately visible among the sea of red of the Trooping the Colour parade (Daily Mail article here, Daily Telegraph article here; for a funny take on the Queen's neon look see here; for a short video of the Queen 'telling off' Prince William on the balcony, see here). There is a somewhat more subdued flower print dress on cream background worn underneath. The Guards badge was worn as usual as a brooch:





domenica 12 giugno 2016

Blue and White Naturalistic Floral Print Silk Dress

As far as I'm able to tell, we haven't seen yet a coat/jacket or a hat that match this dress. It's a simple silk dress printed with naturalistic blooms in shades of blue on a cream background which the Queen has worn for semi-formal daytime engagements.

It's first appearance that I'm aware of was on 10 May 2016, when the Queen received at Buckingham Palace delegations from both Houses of Parliament who presented loyal addresses on the occasion of HM's 90th birthday (Daily Mail article here). The dress was worn with Queen Victoria's sapphire and diamond brooch, a wedding present from Prince Albert:




A month later, on 10 June 2016, the Queen changed into this dress to host a luncheon for her Governors-General at Buckingham Palace following the National Service of Thanksgiving for her 90th birthday (she had previously worn a primrose yellow outfit for the service at St Paul's Cathedral - Daily Mail article on both events here). She also swapped brooches, opting for one of Queen Victoria's bow brooches:



 

 

venerdì 10 giugno 2016

Primrose Yellow Outfit with Scalloped Edges

For the National Service of Thanksgiving held at St Paul's Cathedral on 10 June 2016 to commemorate her 90th birthday, the Queen debuted a new outfit by Angela Kelly in primrose yellow, comprised of a collarless coat in a piqué fabric intricately embroidered in white, hidden fastenings and scalloped edges, matching dress (with scalloped neckline but straight bottom hem) and a hat in white sinamay, with the crown covered in plain yellow piqué fabric and the brim partially covered in the embroidered fabric, finished off with a starburst flower made up of white and yellow organdy petals and glass bead stamens (Daily Mail article here).

The Queen finished off her look with one of her 'special occasions' brooches, the Richmond brooch without pendant, a present from the town of Richmond to her grandmother Queen Mary upon her wedding to the future George V.

 







 

Pink Floral Silk Dress with White Jacket and Hat

The Queen debuted this look, comprised of a marshmallow-shaped, white piqué hat with floral silk braided piping by Angela Kelly, a short collarless jacket in the same piqué fabric with braid trim and floral embellished buttons and a pink and white floral print silk dress, on 29 October 2011 on the final day of her Australian tour at the Great Aussie BBQ in Perth (Daily Telegraph article here). It is a slightly unusual style for Her Majesty, who usually favours coats and only rarely wears jackets, but one that I think was perfect for an informal occasion like a BBQ! That time the Queen accessorized with the Flame Lily brooch:
 

 
 

The dress was repeated on its own for two official photographs taken by Mary McCartney and released on 8 September 2015 to mark the day the Queen became the longest reigning monarch in British history - overtaking Queen Victoria on 9 September (Daily Mail article here). The Queen wore her pink topaz and diamond brooch:



We finally got to see the complete outfit again on 9 June 2016, on the eve of her official 90th birthday celebrations (Daily Mail article here, the outfit is erroneously referred to as new). The Queen wore it, again with the pink topaz brooch, to launch the Commonwealth Hub, which brings Commonwealth organisations together, at Marlborough House in London:



giovedì 9 giugno 2016

Cornflower Blue Textured Coat, Tulip Print Dress and White Textured Straw Hat

This outfit is made up of a collarless coat with centrally-grouped buttons in textured cornflower wool, a tulip-printed silk dress and a hat by Angela Kelly in white textured sinamay trimmed with piping and a band in the same blue fabric as the coat, finished off with a somewhat odd feather and flower cluster to one side.

The Queen debuted it on 21 June 2013, Day 4 of Royal Ascot, accessorizing with Prince Albert's sapphire and diamond brooch (Daily Mail article here):



We didn't see this look for quite some time, until Her Majesty repeated it on 3 July 2015, for a visit to the University of Strathclyde and the South Glasgow University Hospital and Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow (Daily Mail article here). She wore another sapphire brooch, this time choosing Marie Feodorovna's sapphire and pearl pendant brooch:


 

Then, on 4 June 2016, the Queen recyled it for another racing engagement, this time the Epsom Derby, worn with the Cullinan V brooch (Daily Mail article here):