Arriving on the arm of her father with bridesmaids (including cousin Princess Theodora of Greece) in tow
Cristina met her handsome groom at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, where he was a member of the bronze medal-winning Spanish handball team. When they married in the Barcelona Cathedral the following year, the bride wore a Lorenzo Caprile dress. Caprile has proved to be a popular designer among the Spanish royal ladies. Featuring a princess line silhouette, the gown is crafted from silk specially made in Valencia.
It's a very simple design, with a few standout features. The dress seems to feature little to no ornamentation, but there's actually an embroidered silver detail at the empire line of the waist. Very figure flattering, that. The design is carried through on the train, a detail that doesn't come across in many photographs. It also features an off-the-shoulder neckline, an interesting feature given we usually hear that the first component of a royal wedding dress is that it must cover the shoulders to be respectful of the church.
The train itself is about 3 meters long and like Letizia's does not appear to have been detachable. Unseen here, the back of the dress had a small laced up detail which was echoed in the design of her bridal party's outfits.
I was surprised in this video to see how well the train held its shape without too much fussing from the attendants. Of course, the fussing could just be edited out:
Infanta Cristina's veil is one of the main stars of the show. As we've discussed before, it is a 19th century family heirloom that is owned by Spain's National Anthropology Museum and was restored for the wedding. It was once used by Queen Victoria Eugenia, Cristina's great-grandmother, as were the diamond earrings she wore.
Underneath the veil, one of the prettiest royal wedding hairdos of all time, if you ask me. The hair was created by Gloria Delgado, a stylist knowledgeable in 19th century hair styling techniques that had been recommended by Caprile, and Cristina gave her free reign. (Good call!) On top of it all, the Mellerio Floral Tiara reigned supreme.
This has always been a favorite for me. It's just one of those gowns that has stuck in my mind since the wedding itself, which I would say is one of the components of greatness when it comes to a royal wedding gown.
Welcoming Charles and Camilla for their official visit to Spain, 30 March. The gray coat is back, and she's shaking it up with a different dress underneath (the actual matching dress this time) and a bare leg. See, I don't mind the repeating so much when you shake it up a little bit (even just a tiny bit).
Gala dinner for Charles and Camilla, 30 March. It's red (which we love), it's a full skirt (which I love), and the hair's fantastic. So why don't I love this one fully and completely?
Visiting a guide dog center with Camilla and then lunch with C & C and the King and Queen, 31 March. The dress of indeterminate color returns, and we can see that it is actually red. Very much enjoying the shoe change - give those platform pumps a rest!
At the opening ceremony of a young entrepreneur's congress, 1 April. Looks like somebody's ready for summer, rocking a white suit already! Can't argue with that.
Best and Worst of the Week
Hmm. I like both of the red appearances (naturally), and I feel like I should be head over heels for the Lorenzo Caprile, but I'm not. Just too much going on there for my tastes - the texture on the skirt and the bodice are competing for my visual attention. (Best hair of the week, for sure, to be fair.) Nothing's really bad this week, either; can't complain about the gray or the white. How about you?
At the movies with Felipe and the girls. I do love a little boot-over-jean action.
Lunch with the President of Chile, 7 March. It may be gray and black (which I think we can all agree we've seen too much of lately), but this is classy and appropriate.
State dinner for the Chilean president, 7 March. The skirt is reused from a previous outing. Every time I look at this, something different bothers me. Today, it's where the skirt is sitting on her waist. A little too high, maybe.
Visiting the Cervantes Institute during the state visit from Chile, 8 March. More gray and black, but again: classy and appropriate. And I really, really like the straight hair with the side part!
Attending the Discapnet Awards, 10 March, a) with coat and b) without. Color! And pattern! And yet I like it, but don't love it. Meh.
Audience with members of Tel Aviv University, 11 March. Oh, this again.
Best and Worst of the Week
Sad that my two favorites from this week are the gray and black ones, but it is what it is: outfits 2 and 4 are running close for best of the week for me, but the new hair from #4 tips it over the edge. Doesn't it make her look so much younger? Love it. Really, this was a pretty good week for Letizia. A little more dressed up than usual, which of course is what I'm always rooting for. But the end was a disappointing return to the norm, and thus it makes my worst of the week.
