Gold Star: Cambridge Black and Bling

Did your teacher give out gold stars when you were a kid? Mine did. And while sometimes those stars were for a job perfectly done, other times they were for progress well made. You know, a little encouragement along the way. It is in this spirit that I award the Duchess of Cambridge her first ever Gold Star.

Because tonight, at The Sun Military Awards, Catherine busted out her first major piece of ice since that tiara she wore that one time - a new necklace and bracelet, a wedding gift. Seems to be a diamond necklace with circles of diamonds alternating with fringes ending in petite flowers made of colored stones, maybe rubies. The bracelet appears to be a part of the demi-parure, as we can see the same motif and colored stones. (And we pause for a FAQ quick hit: What are the stones? Don't know for sure. Who gave them to her? Don't know. Can it be a tiara too? Don't know. Isn't the bracelet just the one she's worn before but with different inserts? Doubt it, as they're different scale and have different spacing.) She paired these pieces with the same diamond earrings we've seen several times before.

These are the most substantial jewels we've seen her wear, and simply breaking them out is something worth a little applause around here. The velvet Alexander McQueen gown is applause-worthy too - simple and black, but it fits her incredibly well. Stunning. And when you have a piece like that necklace, you don't need competition.

Would it have been MAJOR jumpy claps if she would've pulled the hair back? Yes. Are there other things to pick at? Of course, and I'm sure many of you will do so in the comments. But, baby steps. Step 1: put the diamonds on. Step 2: do other things. Gold Star, Catherine.

And another two Gold Stars for her escorts, Cambridge No. 2 and Prince Harry, for suiting up the James Bond way. You can never go wrong with a tux.

Photos: Getty Images/Reuters/Daylife/Just Jared/Grazia

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 23-29 October

Here's what Catherine wore from 23-29 October:

1. Hosting an event for In Kind Direct at Clarence House, 26 October - her first solo engagement, filling in for Prince Charles who was away paying respects to the recently deceased Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. She wore an Amanda Wakeley gown and accessorized with her standard diamond earrings and bracelet (and engagement ring, obviously) as well as those sparkly Jimmy Choos first seen in L.A. I really think she knocked this one out of the park. She looks fantastic! Even the hair is just right - out of her face, but still adding some shoulder coverage.

Photos: Just Jared/Paul Burns/Clarence House/Zimbio/Daily Mail/Mirror/Net-a-porter

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 17-23 July

Here's what Catherine wore from 17-23 July:

1. Viewing the summer exhibition at Buckingham Palace with the Queen, 22 July, in a Joseph dress and Jimmy Choo heels. I got nothing. Bored to tears. Thank heavens the Queen pepped things up with her candor.

As you've no doubt heard by now, the Queen finds the headless display of Kate's wedding gown at Buckingham Palace "horrid" and "creepy", God love her.

I'll take a weird floating tiara over one of those mannequins that look possessed any day, myself. No, you won't find me voluntarily visiting a Madame Tussaud's museum...ever. (Pictures of the dress on display have been added to the wedding gown post.)

Photos: Daily Mail/Getty Images/Daylife

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 3 July - 9 July, Part 4

We last left off with William and Kate departing Canada for Los Angeles, and now we return for some royal Hollywood fun:

1. Arriving in Los Angeles, 8 July, a) on Kate, and b) from Roksanda Ilincic, worn with peach-ish shoes and her LK Bennett clutch.

2. Attending a reception, 8 July, a) and b) on Kate, and c) the front, d) the back of the dress from Diane von Furstenberg, carrying a leopard print clutch by DVF and in nude shoes.

The lavender...please. You know I love it. Shape, interest, perfection. (Everybody's calling it blue or blue/gray? Looks lavender as originally reported to me!) The green...that's a different story. I should love it, given how I always stand by the sidelines with my rainbow pom-poms in hand, rooting for some color. But I really really don't. DVF dresses are supposed to be magical curve-creating machines, but this one looks like an oversized sweatshirt re-cut into a dress.

3. Polo for their charitable foundation at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club, 9 July, a) on Kate, b) from Jenny Packham, c) a close up on the hand-painted dress design, d) new shoes from LK Bennett, the Sliver shoe.

Wasn't sure how I felt about the general sleeve area, but I'm going with: LOVE IT. And not just because of the dress, but because of the way they blew through the red carpet (so awesomely un-Hollywood) and because of Polo Wills, which is right up there with Cowboy Wills in my affections. And hey: the LK Bennett Sledge shoes have been given a much-needed rest! New nude heels, and - sit down for this one - no pantyhose. (As we all breathe a collective sigh of relief that she's not an open-toe stockings-wearer.) I also love it because, when asked what she was wearing, Kate said: "I'm sure you know by now." See, I told you I like my Kate a little bit sassy.

4. a) At the BAFTA Brits to Watch event, 9 July, with b) earrings borrowed from the Queen, c) Jimmy Choo shoes and d) a diamond bracelet and Jimmy Choo clutch.

It really is a very pretty dress. It's lilac, and it's McQueen, and it's twirly. The shoes are positively Vegas-worthy, pure sparkle. There's borrowed bling and bling that's all her own. And it keeps fully in line with the right strategy: nothing special for Hollywood, one is not a starlet. And yet I really wanted an honest-to-gawd hairdo for a change. Go ahead, fine, stick me in the pillory if you must! I wanted something show-stopping. I tweeted that I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up, and I was right. But I'm always cheering for the greatest amount of fabulous humanly possible (especially when the Queen's earrings are involved!), that's just me. Et toi?

Photos: Just Jared/Net-a-porter/XclusivePix/Daily Mail/Polyvore/Matches/Lionel Hahn/PA

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 26 June - 2 July

Here's what Letizia wore from 26 June - 2 July:

1. Awarding the Beca Ferro 2011 for cancer research, 28 June. You know, I've never met a jumpsuit I liked. I just think at best, they look like something you should have stopped wearing when you hit puberty; at worst, relics from Betty White's Golden Girls wardrobe. (Wow, second Golden Girls reference in a week. Either something's going terribly wrong with royal fashion, or I need to quit with the late night television marathons.)
2. Opening the Cervantes Institute in Hamburg, Germany, 30 June. Meh.

Month in Review: Charlene Wittstock, July

Here's what Charlene Wittstock wore in July:

1. Open air concert in front of the Palace, 5 July. The "rock star" version of Charlene.
2. "Dinner in the sky" event, 12 July. I'm guessing the dress is Armani.
3. Ladies Lunch event, 14 July.  Black for the third event ina row.
4. FightAIDS Gala, 16 July.  What kind of fabric is that?  Looks like suede to me, which would be very odd indeed.
5. Asprey World Cup, 17 July.  A fairly perfect polo outfit, me thinks.
6. IAAF Diamond League Athletics Meeting, 22 July.  Another neutral, belted outfit in a month of black and neutrals.
7. Red Cross Ball, 30 July.  Apparently this is a shade of pink, though it looks beige in every picture I've seen.
8. Interview with Nice-Matin.  Don't know when this was taken, but it popped up this month.

Best and Worst of the Month

Good month, though I'm not happy at the total lack of color.  This green suede-looking dress is the closest to real color she came, but I'm not finding it as flattering or chic as everything else.  On the other hand, the Armani for the Red Cross Ball is fantastic in every way - I especially love the accessories, which are intricate enough to stand out on such a simple dress but still light enough not to weigh the whole thing down.  Perfection.

Also....

On the left, Charlene's engagement ring as seen in the official engagement portrait.  On the right, the ring in action on Charlene.  The ring seems to have magically changed sizes...I'm inclined to believe they digitally added it into the portrait in one of the worst photoshopping jobs I've seen in some time.  What's your theory?  Which one do you like better?

Photos: NiceMatin/Samir Hussein/Getty Images Europe/Zimbio