Royal Style: Stilettos or kittens? More royal style and beauty chat.

[Maireas]

Morning!
A new thread. Autumn beckons, lets hope we get some interesting looks to discuss!

Good to see Sophie flying the flag for prints! I don't really like the style of any of those dresses, but the monochrome chintz print is good and makes for an elegant look - I just wish the neckline were a bit lower. I may be imagining it, but I think that the religious 'modest' dress code now influences quite a lot of designs.

What seem to have become much rarer are all the styles that weren't in any way sexualised or flesh-baring, just ordinary styles worn by women like me, who mostly don't want bodycon, cleavage or genuine mini-length, but appreciate shorter skirts and dresses, short or sleeveless tops and necklines lower than 'high crew'.

I like Sophie's look very much, it's a working wardrobe that doesn't permit mishaps or scream attention seeking. I think she's nailed it.

I’m in the minority, but I don’t like any of those print dresses on Sophie. They are dowdy.

Sophie Habsburg bags are designed by an actual Habsburg, a descendent of one of Franz Joseph's brothers and a cousin to the British and Spanish royal families!

I wondered about the name.

Oh @ChouxI never thought of that !!!! 😂

I did clock the Habsburg name but wasn’t sure if it was the same Habsburg family. She is a second cousin once removed of King Charles.

I just went to the website and there is photo of Sophie embedded in the bottom of the homepage! Is that allowed or would that be with her permission? It’s a shot from her recent trip to Japan and I recognized it was her from the patterned dress as her face isn’t visible on the embedded photo but when you open it up you get this.

Sophie is now in Panama wearing another patterned dress with jewels stitched on the neckline. This couple performed a traditional dance for her.

That's very pretty, it reminds me of a Liberty print.

I imagine they can use publicly available photos of Sophie using their bags (it would be hard not to be honest, Sophie has more than 70 of them!) as that is simply factual. What they can’t do is imply that Sophie is promoting them, or show photos of her using their bags because they sent them to her.

(It’s a murky line though - hard to police I imagine!)

I agree, Sophie looks like a more luxe version of every middle aged woman in the UK. However the causes are great and she never makes about her, perhaps that's why.

"Dowdy" is a very loaded word. She's not 20, she's doing official engagements in a hot country and she's trying not to make it about her. It's a tricky balance.
I'm just grateful she's not gone for a safari suit 😊

I am not sure I love the consecutive patterned dresses but they are different colours and styles.

She is 60 and in a public role. She needs to be event appropriate, is in a different climate to the UK and needs to not steal the limelight from the causes and people she is meeting. It’s a tough set of criteria to find a dozen or more outfits for. Maybe they don’t all please everyone but what do people think she should be wearing instead?

I think Sophie's got it right for this tour too, lightweight fabrics for the heat, smart-casual so as not to be too wow and detract from her work, patterns are practical because if they do get any creases, marks or damp patches they won't show as much as on plain light-coloured fabrics.

Isn’t that just what she is?
What would you prefer her to wear?

I think Sophie’s pretty much got it right with the patterned frocks and on the whole they suit her. I tend to take dresses rather than separates on holiday as I hate having things tucked in when it’s hot or having a ‘midriff gap’. Whilst I’m sure she has a fairly generous clothing budget, presumably it isn’t limitless so she has to rewear items (which is generally a good thing) and her dresses work for lots of engagements.

Rumour on Twitterx is that the Girls of Great Britain tiara has been removed from its exhibition so there’s speculation that Camilla will wear it for the next state occasion. We could do with a good tiara and gown event!

What's the next tiara event?
The print dresses are suitable. Not high fashion but work for the occasion.

I think there’s a German state visit at the start of December.

I wasn't criticising her at all!

Prince Philip would have loved a German state visit. I wonder ifany of his family will be invited? Weren't a couple of cousins at his funeral.

Good point about not showing creases. She's not travelling in air con limos more bumpy land rovers.
I got car sick in a classic land rover once after about ten minutes. God awful vehicles.

@Choux but what do people think she should be wearing instead?
As I said, I liked the monochrome chintz, but since you ask…

A few more slightly bigger or bolder prints and a few more dark backgrounds (I love bright florals on a black background). How about the occasional landscape/frieze print?
More separates. No need to tuck the tops or blouses in, so no problem to have a comfortable waist. Might increase the scope for prints? Printed skirt plus plain or textured top (I'm sure she'd do great white boho-ish blouses). Plain trousers and a printed top?
Some short or at least shorter sleeves (flappy or straight rather than puffed) and scooped/boatneck/slashneck necklines.
Fewer shirt dresses (just because I like very few shirtdress styles and none with long sleeves; I realise this isn't a widely shared antipathy amongst women of a certain age).

I actually quite like the safari suit look, but part of the visual appeal is that the wearer looks implausibly poised, cool and elegant for her tropical surroundings and, in the pictures we see, Sophie is usually getting involved with people and activities, so louche elegance wouldn't work. I think her figure may have thickened more than Anne's too, making tailored looks a bit harder to pull off.

I'm an advocate of wearing what makes you feel confident, so if that's endless long-sleeved shirt dresses for Sophie, that’s what she should wear. She has a much better eye for print than Kate, incidentally.

I think the guest list for a state visit is determined by the Foreign Office, but I suppose they could put a word in for a cousin 😄

I'm an advocate of wearing what makes you feel confident, so if that's endless long-sleeved shirt dresses for Sophie, that’s what she should wear
Sophie has never made these visits about her and I admire her choice of practical outfits that don't distract - she looks cool and comfortable with a relaxed look about her that's become a trademark. The PoW has followed QE2 in wearing stand out monochrome outfits - different looks that suit different women.

I was lucky enough to get a trip to the Cartier exhibition at the V&A this week. And while perusing aaallll the amazing bling 😍I had a couple of thoughts.

1. I wonder if Max also thinks about wearing lots of jewels, in part because she loves them, and why not! But also because Holland has a big history in the jewel trade, especially diamonds, and it may still be a fair chunk of its export trades, so it's a bit of cultural support.
2. Cartier and other jewellers must be wringing their hands that POW (and Meghan come to that) are not big jewellery wearers, and when they do it's smallish, mid-range stuff. Obviously times are very changed from the absolute heydays of 1880-1920s, but if Kate wore more and bigger jewellery, even just a wider variety of the jewels/necklaces/bracelets etc that must already exist within the Royal Family, that would have some effect on the trends for us lesser mortals.
3. The exhibition had a real story about Cartier constantly adapting and innovating, so I guess they and others like them are moving on to whoever their new customer base will be. Feels like it may be less royalty and more for musicians/rappers and actors.

Anyway, a few musings.