I know we’re good and well into 2015 – what with being almost halfway through January already, my how time flies – but I did want to take a look back at the fashion highs from non-Kate royal ladies in 2014. Because A) why not; and B) it’s an excuse to look at Victoria’s red dress again. I picked my favorites from each royal (and royal-to-be) lady I covered in 2014. The list includes: Princess Madeleine; Crown Princess Victoria; Sofia Hellqvist; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Sophie, Countess of Wessex; Princess Charlene; Queen Letizia; and Crown Princess Mary. I’m looking forward to covering these ladies more in 2015, as well as other royal ladies from other houses I’ve never covered before.
Princess Madeleine
The choices for Madeleine’s best looks were limited in 2014, mainly because she hadn’t been out much due to the birth of her daughter, Princess Leonore, and the fact that she worked fulltime in New York at Childhood. Maddie’s best look came in December when she wore the purple embroidered Fadi el Khoury dress to the Nobel Prize Ceremony on December 10. I know not everyone was in love with this dress on Maddie, and I know it was loose-fitting, but the color looks great on her and I happen to think she looks fantastic.
Crown Princess Victoria
Not going to lie, Victoria is kind of hit or miss with her fashion. She’s had some stinkers, but great highs as well. Because of how much work she does, she’s given plenty to choose from for her best looks, but there was no competition, honestly. Victoria’s best of 2014 is obviously the Pär Engsheden red ballgown she wore to the Nobel Prize Ceremony on December 10. That dress is so grand and princess-y and absolutely perfect.
Sofia Hellqvist
Sofia’s style is still pretty hit and miss, and while she does nice day/cocktail looks her gowns have been this side of tragic. Sofia wore a nice blue Armani dress for her engagement photos, and she wore two nice Roland Mouret dresses this fall, but while those looks are nice, they don’t really stand out. I think Sofia’s outfit for Princess Leonore’s baptism on June 8, with the purple Valerie dress and the white Viktoria Chan coat, was her best look in 2014.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
One of my favorite dresses Camilla wore in 2014 seems to also be one of Camilla’s favorite dresses she wore in 2014, considering she wore the same dress four – count them 4! – different times in the year. It’s a red dress with a black lace overlay and three quarter sleeves that falls below the knee. She first wore the dress to the Million Lost Voices Gala Concert on January 21, then wore it to a pre-dinner reception hosted by the Royal Commonwealth Society on March 11, then busted it out again for the 300th Anniversary Gala For St John’s Smith Square on May 14, then brought it back for a fourth outing at the London International Horse Show on December 18. And they call Duchess Kate thrifty. Actually, Camilla rewears her clothes way more than Kate does – like, way more.
My other favorite outfit Camilla wore in 2014 is the fuchsia dress and matching scarf she wore to decorate the Clarence House Christmas tree with Helen & Douglas House children on December 11.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Sophie’s fashion is always lovely and appropriate, but the one that really stood out for me in 2014 came on June 17 when she wore an ice blue Emilia Wickstead dress to Ascot.
Princess Charlene
Not going to lie, Charlene’s 2014 fashion isn’t my favorite among the royal ladies. I think the pregnancy threw off her style game, because she usually looks great, but 2014 wasn’t so awesome. She’s already redeemed herself in 2015, though, with that awesome Akris ensemble she wore to debut her babies. My favorite outfit from Charlene in 2014 was a pants outfit she wore to the Clinton Global Citizen Awards on September 21 – nice and sharp and business-y but still fashionable.
Queen Letizia
My choice for Letizia’s best look is a berry-colored shutter pleat dress by Felipe Varela she wore to open the academic year for the University of Castilla – La Mancha (UCLM) on September 30. The dress is actually a repeat from 2009. The black Carolina Herrera gown she wore to Gala Dinner for the President Of Chile on October 29 was going to be my first choice, but that would have been based on the tiara, not the dress, which isn’t my favorite because black lace.
Crown Princess Mary
Mary is another lady whose fashion is always lovely and appropriate, but Mary’s best look was definitely the blue sequined Jesper Høvring gown she wore to the BAMBI Awards in Germany on November 13.
I don’t have a poll, but if I had to pick between these ladies, I’d of course have to pick Crown Princess Victoria’s red gown, with my runner up being Crown Princess Mary in that beautiful blue gown.
It’s so nice to see the other royal ladies who, while not always perfect in their choices, venture beyond the same thing time after time like Kate.
I’m a Camilla fan and I love that she’s grown into what looks good on her and works it. Sophie is coming into her own more and more.
But the winner of the year was Victoria’s Nobel dress. She could have entered the room in that dress to that Beyonce song that says “Bow down bitches, bow down” because it screams that she is THE Crown Princess.
I do appreciate that these ladies take way more risks than Kate. Something else I noticed, they all repeat their clothing – sometimes from years and years ago, too. Kate gets so much press for “recycling” her clothing, when it’s totally the norm for everyone else.
I have to say, I personally cannot stand to look at Letizia’s skeleton arms – no matter what she wears. It ruins every look of hers. They didn’t make your list this year – but keep an eye on Matilda (Belgium), Maxima (Netherlands), and Mette-Marit (Norway). Lalla Salma of Morrocco is stunning – and an introduction to the ladies of the Middle East would be a nice post.
From this year’s looks – I will pick Camilla. It’s not easy to dress a 65+ body and I really love the look you picked out for her. Second is Mary – because I think it is a look we all could attempt. But I will give Victoria – Best Future Monarch – as she is actually the only one on the list who inherits in her own right and not as a spouse. I’m giving Sophie Honorable Mention for not actually being in line for the throne but representing the family elegantly. Charlene gets Best Medicated Dresser (I swear they are keeping her calm on something!) Madeleine gets “Could Wear a Cotton Towel Wrap and Still Look Awesome” for not really needing clothes to accent her beauty. And Sofia H. gets “And Tell Me Again What It Is That You Do Besides Sleep with Prince Carl?”
Thanks for the fashion show KMR!
Lol, best medicated dresser. Poor Charlene, she really does look medicated most of the time.
ROFLOL Love everything you said LadyBlueRibbon I also cant stand Letizia’s arms, they are too skinny, like the rest of her and I SOOOOOOOOOOOO agree with you about Charlene being medicated.
I am not normally a huge fan of Mary, but I would give first prize to her this year and second to Victoria.
In the years to come, I am looking forward to seeing what Letizia;s daughters wear, as I think that they are going to be stunners when they grow up.
“And they call Duchess Kate thrifty. Actually, Camilla rewears her clothes way more than Kate does – like way more.”
Very true KMR. There would seem to be a good reason for this: Camilla manages more than a couple of hours work a month. Kate also pulls out repeats when there’s trouble brewing: those awful neck to below-knee coats first seen in autumn in Australia reappeared in the middle of an English summer in the wake of butt-gate.
This blog is marvellous: thank you KMR.
Thanks Erica! I agree about Kate using repeats to fan flames. She wore what looked like a heavy coat in July (repeated from the tour) after the lastest bum flashing hit the interwebs. I love that Camilla repeats her clothes so often, it makes her seem like any other women who pulls her favorite clothes from her closet.
C.P.Mary, Princess Charlene, C.P. Victoria and H.R.H. Sophie are the royal ladies I like to watch for their sartorial choices.
I do not think Princess Charlene likes to be in the limelight. My impression is she is not particularly good at plastering a smile on her face. If you watch her in video v photos, I think you get a better impression of her true mood. Instead of the “boy, she is terribly unhappy” belief which has been floating around for years. I have always wondered who started the runaway bride news right before the wedding. Could it have been a former girlfriend?
I kind of think Charlene is just not good at posing for the cameras, and probably finds it super awkward.
This is a great post. I love all of the fashion. Victoria is always #1 in my book, but she can look a mess at times. Camilla looks so comfortable in her skin. She has most certainly grown on me.
Camilla has grown on me as well. I am probably her age and have been married for 30 years come February so I will go on record as saying that I am not a fan of adultery. But it is way more than time to move past all that and none of us were there or lived it. I appreciate how hard she has worked, how she makes her husband happy, how the princes accept her because of all that. And I thought she looked lovely in the fuchsia dress with the scarf. I did think she looked much thinner than normal in that picture so I am hoping she is not in poor health.
Camilla has definitely grown on me as well, and for the right reasons. I like the causes she’s championed.
My favorites are CP Mary and CP Victoria – and Queen Letizia always look good in Varela designs.
Victoria’s dress is from the same designer who did her lovely wedding dress. I hope she will continue working with him because his designs really flatter her.
Mary’s Jesper Høvring outfit is just gorgeous! Høvring is one of the very few Danish designers who do couture so I was really happy to her in one of his designs. She also wore a stunning floral diamond bracelet from Ole Lynggaard Jewelery, who also designed her Midnight Tiara.
Regarding Madeline – she’s a very pretty woman but I generally find her sartorial choices verging on horrible. Her Nobel gown is not as bad as her other outfits though.
This year Queen Mathilde wore an absolutely stunning black velvet dress – it was great to see because Mathilde, who is a very beautiful woman, often dresses so very dowdy, which does her no favours at all.
http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.dk/2014/12/year-in-review-mathilde-letizia-and.html
Victoria and Pär Engsheden is an excellent pairing. I loved her wedding dress, and she always looks good in Engsheden designs.
Lol, I like Maddie a lot, but she has made some terrible fashion choices in the past.
Mathilde looks fabulous in that dress.
One thing I notice is that all these ladies have their hair “up” when wearing formal gowns and Sofia has hers “half-up” in her outfit for Leonore’s baptism. Camilla’s hair is the exception, and Sophie’s isn’t long enough to put up. My point being, why can’t Kate get the message? It simply looks better, more appropriate, for a woman wearing formal wear to have her hair “up”. Kate’s hair is really annoying.
Thanks, KMR, for a great post…I love to see these ladies. I’d give Victoria first, Mary second, and Letizia third…skinny arms and all, I love, love Letizia.
Agree with you Dan. The Duchess hair does not look groomed or styled. It just is a hanging mess. The up do’s when wearing formal gowns is so much more chic and classy, that is the difference.
The Duchess needs a major overhaul. Especially with her makeup, it is way to heavy and thick. Especially her eye makeup. It looks very hard looking, she would look much softer in the face if she was shown how to apply her makeup more flatteringly and a softer hairstyle would be a start in the right direction.