Wedding Wednesday: Your Favorite Bridal Gown of 2011

As we wind down and look back upon what really has been the Year of the Royal Wedding, it's only natural to ask...

Which is your favorite 2011 royal wedding gown?

Catherine Middleton married Prince William of Wales

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg married Alexander Johannsman

Charlene Wittstock married Prince Albert II of Monaco

Zeina Shaban married Prince Rashid bin El Hassan of Jordan

Zara Phillips married Mike Tindall

Princess Sophie of Isenburg married Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia

Jetsun Pema married the King of Bhutan

Vote here!

Your favorite 2011 gown?
	Catherine Middleton
	Princess Nathalie
	Charlene Wittstock
	Zeina Shaban
	Zara Phillips
	Princess Sophie
	Jetsun Pema
pollcode.com free polls

Week in Review: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 4-10 December

Here's what Mette-Marit wore from 4-10 December:

1. Attending the Save the Children party for the Nobel Peace Prize and then receiving the Peace Prize recipients at the palace, 10 December. Oh man, I love that coat. She also wore it when arriving at the ceremony.
2. a) At the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony, 10 December, in a b) Valentino dress. She added length to the dress, we'll all be happy to note.
3. a) Arriving for the Nobel Banquet, 10 December, in a c) Valentino dress that was, yes, (b) a little bit see-through. Any time we fail to take into account the things that flash photography will do is a fail indeed, I'm sorry to say. Now, as I said, the look had already been done, by Marie-Chantal at Princess Máxima's 40th birthday concert:

And so we must put it to a vote: who wore it best?

UPDATE: The poll is now closed, and Mette-Marit wins it with 63% of your 515 votes!

Photos: Daylife/Style.com/Reuters/Mimote

Royal Style Duel: Charlene vs. Madeleine

Two princesses, out on the same night, in the same city, both in intricately detailed black see through/no wait/not really/just kidding gowns...you know what that means: a duel!

I have to give it to Madeleine: this is one of her best appearances in quite some time, according to me. Who wins it for you? Vote!

Event Roundup: The Duchess of Cambridge in North America

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's North American trip has given us days and days of outfits galore, and now it's time for a little retrospective. You can review all the trip entries here:

Day 1: Arrival and Ottawa

Days 2 and 3: Canada Day and Montreal

Days 4 and 5: Quebec and Prince Edward Island

Days 6 and 7: Northwest Territories

Days 8 and 9: Calgary

Days 10 and 11: Los Angeles

Day 12: Los Angeles and Departure

So, how did she do?

Quibbles about fit, color, and relative hair messiness aside, I think the overall answer is clear: she knocked this trip out of the park. She gave the sartorially-obsessed lot of us plenty to talk about, and yet the fashion remained a footnote to the trip. The focus stayed on the real purpose of the trip: introducing themselves (and their causes) to Canada and the rest of the world. Kate's not a fashionista, and I think that was precisely the note she intended to hit. Mission: accomplished.

But since this is a sartorially-obsessed zone, one last question...

Which look is your favorite?

Vote, and make your case in the comments!

What was your favorite Kate outfit from the North American trip?
	1. Navy Smythe Jacket and Roland Mouret
	2. Navy Erdem
	3. Black Issa
	4. White Reiss with Red
	5. Purple Issa
	6. Gray Catherine Walker
	7. Blue Erdem
	8. White Joseph with or without Jacket
	9. White and Navy McQueen
	10. Nike Jacket with Skinny Jeans
	11. Navy Trench with Skinny Jeans
	12. Beige Malene Birger
	13. Navy Trench
	14. Beige Burberry Shirt with Skinny Jeans
	15. Navy Smythe Jacket and Skinny Jeans
	16. Yellow Jenny Packham
	17. Western Kate #1
	18. Western Kate #2
	19. Red Catherine Walker
	20. Lavender Roksanda Ilincic
	21. Green Diane von Furstenberg
	22. Printed Jenny Packham
	23. Lilac Alexander McQueen
	24. Navy and White Whistles
pollcode.com free polls

Royal Style Duel: Máxima vs. Mathilde

What Ali wants, Ali gets...

Always with the twinsies, Máxima and Mathilde. Which wedding guest outfit is your favorite?

Royal Style Duel: Letizia vs. Mary

What do we have here?

A battle of the LBDs! Letizia and Mary both stepped out this past week in what sure does look to be the exact same dress, from Hugo Boss (just about the only designer these two ever have in common):

Let the battle begin!

Celebrity Style Duel: Rania vs. Reese

It's not just royal ladies that sometimes inadvertently copy each others style; sometimes celebrities get in on the mix, too.

Did you watch the Oscars? I can't handle awards shows (ugh, boring) but I do eagerly await the red carpet photos for a little high-fashion hit the next day. And this year, I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of déja vu:

Reese Witherspoon popped up in an Armani Privé gown strikingly similar to the Armani Privé worn by Queen Rania during a state visit in Italy in 2009.

Besides being a little surprised that each lady would get such similar custom gowns, I had to ask: who wore it best? Before you make your choice, consider the back views:

Rania's is bejeweled. Watch this video to see it sparkle.



Honestly, I prefer Reese. From the front, Rania's is more interesting, but from the back she's just giving off too strong of an Eighties vibe with the sparkle, and the way the white band wraps around, and that hair. Oh, the hair: so many people took issue with Reese's ponytail, but compared to Rania's mess of curls I much prefer it. Then again, I'm not averse to the odd well done ponytail.

Royal Style Duel: Silvia vs. Marie

When Princess Marie turned up at the first gala event for Queen Margrethe's birthday celebrations last April, I was pleasantly refreshed.

Here was Marie, who usually ends up in something more suited to a Hollywood starlet, actually wearing something completely covered up and demure! And doing something different with her hair to boot! Plus, I love a crisp white dress.

And then Queen Silvia busted this repeated Yuki gown out this week:

Here's my question: when an 35-year-old woman and a 67-year-old woman sport the same style, who wins?

Royal Style Duel: Letizia vs. Aimée

 Last year, we saw this Mango dress modeled by our usual Mango model, Letizia:

And this year, it's déja vu my friends, on Dutch Princess Aimée earlier this month:

Suit up, it's time for a duel! Who wore it best?



Me, I'm actually rooting for Letizia. Dark tights with light shoes make me want to crawl in a hole and cry. Plus, I dig the chunky belt. Et toi?

Photos: PPE/Life

Royal Style Duel: Sarah vs. Mary

Poor Sarah Ferguson.

First she voluntarily places herself in fashion competition with her two daughters by dressing ridiculously below her age. Now she's got something that could be age-appropriate, but she's still placing herself in competition with younger princesses in a dress well-known from its outings on Crown Princess Mary.

I love Alexander McQueen (this is from the Fall 2004 RTW collection - both ladies have worn this dress more than once), and I love a purple dress, but I don't know about this one. Seems designed to draw lines exactly where you don't want them.

What do you think?


Photos: Daily Mail/Brennan/Simpson/Marcio Madiera/Style.com

Royal Style Duel: Mary vs. Victoria

Yet another thing I'm way late in covering: another royal twin appearance!

Mary sported this gown first in white at Victoria's private pre-wedding party, followed by Victoria herself in the gray version while on duty with Willem-Alexander:

You think Victoria and Mary had a little fashion chat at the party? That's the scenario I'm going with, just because the picture of a couple of princesses sneaking off for a bit of girl talk makes me smile.

This, of course, is from Malene Birger:

Now, here's something I thought might be fun: let's put it to a style duel and see who wore it best! Cast your vote below:



Photos: Svenskdam