Royal Style: High Summer, The Chic Continues

[Maireas]

Afternoon Style Mavens!
The threads continue - join us?

It looks more like a scarf tie than a corset. Maybe it’s a mis translation from the Spanish 🤔

Could be. I like it.

I think it must have some stiffening or boning or something otherwise the long side (on the L of the photo) would all bunch up and flop over. I agree it's a good look, but whenever I see anyone wearing white I just think menstrual bleeds and pasta sauce!

Jakers Squeaky 😂😂

I like it - Kate could wear that for Wimbledon!

I love that white dress and the gold accessories.

Thanks. They weren’t all exactly the same then.

Not wild about any of these dresses for various reasons, but Felipe looks completely wrong to my British eyes. As if he were a sartorially clueless, uptight bloke that he needed to drag himself away from business for half an hour and look smart yet relaxed. It's partly the shirt hem. I think that if you're going to wear a shirt untucked it needs some shaping at the hem or very definite slits at the sides. A looser cut might have looked less officey and some subtle decoration would have got him closer to the mark set by the three women. He obviously isn't that kind of bloke, so there's something about Spanish dress codes for men that I don't get.

It's a shame - we’re always short of examples of men doing 'relaxed glamour' without donning a suit and I feel that on this occasion Felipe's letting down the male side - not to mention his beautifully dressed wife, daughters and mother(?)!

I'm another fan of Leti’s white film festival dress. According to the article it's linen - what could be more perfectly elegant and summery? I'm intrigued as to how the stiffening of the ‘corset-style’ sash is achieved. You can see it's seamed at the waist, but it doesn't seem to be boned, unless only at the edges. Would simply (ha! - it would make the dress regrettably high-maintenance) starching it be sufficient? The seaweed bracelet (it looks like seaweed to me; the article says ‘botanical’, so I may be right about the inspiration) is gorgeous, although I wish she were wearing it lower down her arm.

I've had a look and you're right he does look terrible.

Gah. Four women. Looking at pics on my phone and losing track...

Felipe is wearing a guayabera which is a men's summer shirt, worn outside the trousers, distinguished by two columns of closely sewn pleats running the length of the front and back of the shirt. Typically made of linen, silk, or cotton, and appropriate for hot and/or humid weather, guayaberas are popular in Latin and South America, Spain and Portugal and SE Asia.

The guayabera is often worn in formal contexts, such as offices and weddings. In Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, guayaberas are part of the traditional wear for men and may be considered formalwear. So while it looks strange to our British eyes he is is very well dressed for a king in a Spanish summer.

I think the shirt looks nice and not at all strange. I thought it might be traditional. My only suggestion would be for him to wear it with lighter coloured trousers and shoes, unless the Spanish tradition would be to pair the shirt with formal dark trousers and shoes.

I don't mind the shirt at all. It's the combination with those trousers that make him look terrible.

(but I accept that it could be exactly right according to local customs in which case it's my eyes that are in the wrong!)

Thank you, @Choux . I had a quick look for info and it seems Felipe's version is ticking all the boxes for a formal guayabera, although some subtle embroidery would be an entirely acceptable expression of individual style. I'm pleased to understand his choice, but I don't think the aesthetic translates.

I don’t know enough about what you wear with it and if light trousers for men can be considered formalwear as the event was apparently a reception for 700 guests including representatives of the branches of government, regional and local authorities, as well as prominent figures from public and private institutions across the Balearic Islands.

in this first picture he looks like he is dressed identically to the staff in the background!

That's so strange - from the photo I saw the trousers looked shiny and grey (unless I've managed to misremember which tbh is entirely possible).

Much better with black trousers. It also makes much more sense as formal wear rather than casual. To begin with it just seemed like a complete mishmash of styles, dressed down shirt and very formal trousers.

**I can't make my words work for me tonight. Sorry if that's unintelligible.

According to the art of manliness (the name makes me cringe): 'the standard formal style is: Long-sleeves — short sleeves are casual

Plain white or cream/off-white base color — darker or brighter colors are very casual and worn more by young men

Low-contrast (often same-color) embroidery — flashy embroidery does make the guayabera more casual, although this is the one area you can be a bit more flamboyant in a formal setting to add a dash of personal style

Typically two pockets rather than four for a dressier look — no pockets and it is technically no longer a guayabera

Tailored fit — loose-fitted guayaberas are more casual

The piccies show dark trousers and I do think of black trousers as traditional for southern Europe. I think the black and white monochrome is fine and potentially quite classy, even to British eyes (although my personal preference is always for chocolate brown and white, rather than black and white).

I like it. Beautifully made shirt especially in the heat.

Our king on the other hand with his red socks and vegetable dyed kilt 🙈😂

I also love Leti’s white dress and particularly that gold bracelet.

Leonor’s blue dress was worn by Leti a couple of years ago. Both of the Spanish princesses look great.

@justasking111 When I wrote my original post about Felipe's guayabera I was thinking about how strange kilts, sporrans etc. must look to the unaccustomed eye... Of course I love seeing kilts at black-and white-tie dos!

@Cassiope I've sent that link to my three boys, who like to dress well I'll see what they say.

The eldest lived in Bermuda for six years. Summer office wear was Bermuda shorts and Polo shirts. He still dresses like that in hot weather.

Middle son lived in Abu Dhabi, bespoke linen suits were smart wear there.

Youngest in Yorkshire it's more quarter zip sweatshirt and jeans 😂

To be fair, KC is usually very dapper.
Felipe is definitely one of the better male royals we feature on here. He definitely has one of the best tailors!

I agree, and I love the summery colours.