Royal style and gossip: get yer crowns out for the lads!

[QueenOfTheAndals]

Previous thread.

Usual rules - say what you like about the clothes, keep it civil re the wearers.

This was the Top Shop dress

She also wore a $200 Indian designer dress to play cricket.
Kate is game for anything on your. I can’t wait for her to do another Royal tour.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about that one. Turns out the one I'm thinking of was by Glamorous, a lovely maxi dress. Can't post pictures yet again, but it was cheap as chips.

Elspeth
I agree with you - Meghan's spending is insane.
This paragon of virtue- humanitarian feminist.
Yeah right !
She's a very pretty girl who has done very well for herself indeed but someone needs to have a little word in her ear about how endearing she isn't to the ordinary folk who pay the bills.

Kate India Tour wardrobe

The Top Shop dress was one I didn't like. The black embroidery looked too heavy against the other colours.

The royals have code names ( regularly changed) when they travel.
Kate is Daphne Clark and William is Danny Collins
( Not quite as glam as Renegade and Renaissance for the Obamas!)

Generally speaking, media coverage of Meghan is much more positive in the US. I think it partly has to do with defending one of our own, but also because of the sense that some opposition to her is fueled by racism.

@CurlyWurlyTwirly CDAN is nuts though. It claims just about every female sleb was a "yacht girl" (ie escort) at one point of another. Even Princess Di! I think it's safe to discount it as a reliable source.

@Queen, I quite liked the embroidery. I think the dress could have been a bit insipid without it. I do however agree with you about the story Burch dress; it was fabulous and colourful

I can see why she bought the Top Shop dress. Modest? Check. Nice bright colour? Check. Embroidery? Check.

The embroidery would have been prettier in another colour but I'd probably have included it too.

It's not the embroidery per se, it's that the black thread just doesn't look right! Maybe another colour would've been better.

I did once read that Queen Letizia ( in her news reading days) used to “ yatch ” not that I believe it.

The British Royal Family differ from other royal houses in that they are not allowed to accept free clothing nor are they allowed to receive items at a discount (although I believe they do receive cars etc. at a discount so how much they follow that rule is unknown). I highly doubt MM has paid for anything out of her pocket since the engagement was announced. She wasn't wearing Givenchy or 40k dresses before her engagement (beisdes that which she borrowed for red carpet events) which tells me that she couldn't afford it before getting married.

Prince Harry is very wealthy, but very very little of that incredible wealth has come from a private job (his work in the military doesn't afford him 40k dreses). Even the money left to him from his mother started as taxpayer money (as she was wealthy because of her divorce settlement. My understanding is that her own family were not personally funding her or helping her out once she was married). The idea that MM borrowed her 40K engagement dress is beside the point because the mere fact that she wore it sends a very bad message to the British public.

The royal family are wealthy because their status as representives and heads of state have allowed them ownership of property, land, businesses (like the Duchy), priceless artwork and jewerly. Again, all of this has trickled up to them because of their position and because of taxpayer money.

In my own viewpoint, I am not able to excuse away the extreme cost of the clothing worn by MM or KM because the only reason they are able to afford their lifestyle is because of the British tax payer (now and historically). I agree with the poster who said that MM is like a kid with a credit card. Her spending is insane and it can't be excused by the idea that she has to build a wardrobe. She doesn't need a wardrobe that costs hundreds of thousands of pounds for her first year of "work". I have had these same thoughts regarding KM. I wouldn't care as much if they were only spending large amounts of money on ball gowns for state dinners because those are few and far between, but when you tally up how much MM and KM are spending on basic everyday "work" clothing the cost is astounding.

Good post @Rosewater
I think however, that the RF should be allowed to accept free clothes as long as they are British. However, they get so much for free, it is unbelievable.
I think we will see a big change in the RF once Charles is King.
He has often spoken of streamlining the family, and that he will continue to live at Clarence House not BP.

However, the endless houses and their upkeep is incredible.
Although their security costs are probably the biggest cost borne by the tax payer.
I think all future Royal Weddings should be at Windsor without a flipping carriage ride. With the possible exception of Prince George.

CurlyWurlyTwirly
You say there will be big changes once Charles is King.
Hmmm I'm not so sure. He hasn't reined in MM's spending.
How can Kate and Meghan's wedding dresses and MM's engagement dress cost so much.
The material might be expensive but surely not hundreds of thousands of pounds.

CurlyWurlyTwirly, I like the idea of them being able to accept free clothing if it is British. I think each outing should come with a statement from the royal family outlining how much that event costs including clothing costs (indicating when the clothing is free) and security. That would probably encourage less extravagant taste.

I am a big lover of quality clothing and will spend quite a bit of money if a clothing item is well made and will last. But my issue is the sheer amount of expensive clothing that they own and wear. KM has done a good job of rewearing clothing but I think she can do better. They do not need new outfits for every event and could certainly modernize out of date clothing by reusing the fabric or tailoring it to a new fit. Moreover, there is a big push right now for people to realise the environmental impact of shopping and buying new clothes all the time. KM could send a powerful message to the public if she decided that for an entire year she would not buy anything new and would instead re-wear and tailor her older clothing.

The problem is that a lot of "British" brands aren't owned by British companies. But rather by huge global conglomerates. So that's dodgy ground.

For example Christopher Kane, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen are all owned by Kering which is French. Alaia and Dubhill are owned by Richemont which is Swiss, Nicholas Kirkwood is Lvmh.

I just discovered Jimmy Choo is now owned by Michael Kors!

Mind blown.

@ElspethFlashman I worked in retail in a store that carried Glamorous - we had ordered the maxi from the line sheet ages before Katre wore it (Hers was altered which annoyed customers who wanted it ‘as seen on’!) and it caused us such grief as we never received it for weeks. We were very perturbed as we were a small store and it was one of our key pieces that all displays and other pieces were built around, capsule style. Only time I’ve ever side eyed one of her fashion choices, never heard the end of it from our boss
Extremely tangential but I’d never heard of Vogue Williams (Pippa’s DSIL) until I saw an advert yesterday. Had a little wiki nosy and she did a degree in construction in Aberdeen - did not expect to read that!

I think the wedding dresses are expensive because of the man hours of labour.
Both Kate’s dress & veil and Meghan’s veil had loads of hand embroidery.
Although clothes are marked up by 70%. I’m not sure if it is the same with couture; but may be the real cost of Meghan’s dress was £100k
Kate’s dress was expensive too; but it was paid for by her parents. So quite frankly, we cannot criticise her for that.

Lomondstripe
Vogue Matthews nee Williams formerly Vogue Mc Fadden ( married to Kerry Katonas ex Brian Mc Fadden 🙄) became a 'celebrity' in Ireland when she starred in a reality show called Fade Street which kick started her tv career.
She is a very pretty, middle class girl - I saw her once, browsing in Dunnes Stores, Grafton Street, Dublin.
Her first cousin is married to Jamie Heaslip who captained Ireland's Rugby team at some point.
She is articulate and fun I'd say, judging by her tv interviews. She's certainly not a dumb blonde bimbo.

thanks curly for the link to Kate's india wardrobe. Love this one for the sheer change from coatdresses!!

Agree about Royal spending being excessive. If Letizia can do it on less i have no idea why MM is spending so much I remember loving that Kate wore a Reiss dress to meet the Obamas and think high end high st should feature more. I'm not sure if Charles will discourage spending- a 200k bracelet as a present to a daughter in law seems very extravagent!

Can you do FOI requests on spending on banquets etc??

So, in a very convulated way, Kerry Katona is related to the RF? Beyond bizarre!
Vogue must know Kerry's kids and Kate's kids. Must be odd Christmas shopping for them both!

Brian McFadden has a lot to answer for.