Showing posts with label Charlotte Casiraghi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlotte Casiraghi. Show all posts

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Royally Sartorial: The Fashionable Females of the World's Royal Families

One year ago I wrote about the Canadian royal tour and at the time a good portion of the world was fascinated by the trip of Prince William and his new bride, the Duchess of Cambridge and the array of outfits she wore for their tour throughout Canada. Fast forward one year and a few Canadian tour outfit repeats, and we are left with only the Olympic hosting duties of the royals as our chance to see the Duchess formerly known as Kate in something new to wear. 

In the meantime, the rest of the world is full of royalty more than willing to put their fashionable feet forward. Here are a few of the world's most fashionable royals.


Queen Rania of Jordan
Representing Simple Elegance
Before she was Queen, Rania worked at both Citibank & Apple. She has used her business acumen in her royal role by starting several charitable organizations and actively participating each year in the World Economic Forum at Davos. At the age of 28 she became the world's youngest Queen and today she still reigns as an admirable example of a woman who has managed career & family all while looking effortlessly chic. It's good to be queen...








Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
The Fairytale Princess
She met her Prince in a bar in Australia and did not find out he was a Prince until they were already dating. Soon she moved to Denmark, took Danish language lessons and one marriage, four children, and countless magazine covers later she emphasizes the fairytale aspect of her marriage through feminine, structured pieces. 












Princess Letizia
Tackling Tailored Basics
Princess Letizia was originally a journalist and was the daughter of father who was also a journalist & a mother who was a nurse. She worked at CNN and reported on presidential elections from Washington D.C. as well as on the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks in New York City. The career women has taken the structured basics from her broadcast journalism career and increased the glamour factor since becoming a Princess & a mother. 







Princess Caroline
Emphasizing Graceful Aging & Eternal Classic Style
Caroline is a Princess twice over: she is the Princess of Hanover by marriage and the hereditary Princess of Monaco. She is a princess thrice over when you consider that she is also the eldest daughter of Hollywood royalty, Princess Grace. Caroline has suffered much tragedy in her life: she lost her mother at a young age and also her first husband and the father of her children. She has thrown herself into fulfilling her role as a Monagasque princess. She speaks French, English, German, Spanish and Italian. From Vogue cover girl in her youth to the reigning First Lady of Monaco (even today, after the marriage of her brother Prince Albert), she has maintained a classic style that resembles but that encompasses her own personal flair. 









Princess Charlene
The South African Queen
Charlene's royal engagement came before Kate Middleton & her royal wedding came afterwards. Like her deceased mother-in-law, Grace Kelly, she comes from a family of athletes and she herself was an Olympic swimmer for her native South Africa. She has close relationships with designers including Giorgio Armani & Karl Lagerfeld. After she began dating the prince, she moved to Monaco in order to learn French and learn about the small principality. People often attempt to compare her to her mother-in-law, Princess Grace, or sister-in-law, Princess Caroline but her style is more basic, made up of beiges & sea greens, & is perfectly suited for her South African roots and Olympic frame.







Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco
The Heir to Style Royalty
Daughter to Princess Caroline, granddaughter to Grace Kelly & a world class equestrian, Charlotte Casiraghi embodies the French fashion sense typified by unfussy glamour. She is most often seen in jodhpurs & riding boots (made especially for her by Gucci, the house for whom she is the equestrian spokeperson and latest brand spokesmodel). Her street style is usually casual, with little makeup. Her evening style is often dramatic & feminine. She has been cited by Karl Lagerfeld as one of his muses. 










With all of the fuss that has been made about  Kate Middleton, the commoner, it is easy for one to forget about the other commoners turned princesses that came before her and to overlook the various accomplished & fashionable women that hold a position in this world that not only is the realization of every little girl's fantasy but also that puts them in the unparalleled position of being able to accomplish pretty much whatever they set out to do. 












Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Cinema with Style First Edition: TO CATCH A THIEF

One of my favorite pastimes is watching movies. Whether classic films at home or new movies on the big screen, I love movies and learning everything about what comprises a great film (from the history behind the story to the costumes, set design & soundtracks). As a result, I have developed a love of biographies written about old movie stars as well. This new series is about the films I cannot live without & what they mean to me.

First up, TO CATCH A THIEF:





The 1955 classic Hitchcock film, based on the novel by David Dodge,  is somewhat eerie in that the winding French Riviera roads where Francie Stevens (Grace Kelly) recklessly drives a convertible with a frightened John Robie (Cary Grant) in the passenger seat are the same roads where Grace Kelly also veered off the road & lost her life in 1982.




However, the movie itself is uplifting in its beauty, attention to detail & thrillingly suspenseful story (a tale you can literally watch over & over again & still be on the edge of your seat). Edith Head does the costumes and the mix between Grecian Goddess & princess of the Riviera that she achieves may well be a career highlight for a costume designer whose career was a series of costuming successes. Grace Kelly's own granddaughter, Princess Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco, already a fashion icon in her own right, recently paid tribute to her grandmother's costuming by wearing a blue dress to part of her Uncle's wedding celebrations that was reminiscent of the gown Francie Stevens is wearing the first time we are formally introduced to her in the film (we see her briefly on the beach prior to that introduction when she watches John Robie swim ashore on the beach outside the beach club at Cannes).
Costume Designer Edith Head



Grace Kelly as Francie Stevens in Blue Dress



Charlotte Casiraghi Channeling her Grandmother in To Catch a Thief in Giambattista Valli at her Uncle, Prince Albert's Wedding Celebrations 



To Catch a Thief Barbie

The white dress Francie Stevens wears to a room service dinner where the dinner conversation is dripping with sexual innuendo far more seductive than the explicit sexuality typical of 21st century films is a dress that reflects the tone of the conversation. She is all in white,a regal gown that reaches the floor but the dress is strapless & reveals the diamond necklace (fake) that she hopes will lure John Robie into admitting his true identity & the fact that he has met his match. I often think that the dress in this scene has as much of an influence on contemporary wedding fashion (see every subpar strapless white gown flooding the market) as Grace Kelly's actual wedding dress (see Duchess of Cambridge/Ivanka Trump).

The White Dress


Seducing John Robie aka "The Cat" into..."Watching Fireworks"




Grace Kelly Real Life Wedding Dress (also "on location" in the South of France)



Ivanka Trump in Grace Kelly-Inspired Wedding Dress

Duchess of Cambridge in a Grace Kelly-Inspired Wedding Dress

Noticing a Theme?


I am often inspired to give a modern spin to my favorite To Catch a Thief costumes:






Francie Meeting John for a Swim in the Mediterranean


Later Inspired:




Francie Watching the Fireworks with John

Later Inspired:


and the following as well:





Francie Walks Down the Hall Determined to Kiss John for the First Time



Later Inspired:


 One of the best scenes in the movie is a picnic scene in Francie Stevens's convertible. Francie & John look out on the beauty of the Riviera but they have eyes only for one another & their verbal exchange reveals their mutual attraction for one another & the sizzling chemistry between Grant & Kelly (contrast with Audrey Hepburn & Grant in CHARADE, another amazing movie but one that reveals a more paternal love between Hepburn & Grant so they could address the age difference that perturbed Grant when signing on to the film).

 Above: The View of the Riviera for Francie & John's Picnic Lunch

Below: Two Movies & Two Separate Lessons in Chemistry

The Beach Club at Cannes is in fact the real life Carlton Hotel in Cannes, a location I happily visited two years ago on a day trip from my hostel in Nice. My traveling companions literally had to chase me down as I sprinted towards the scene of one of my top three favorite movies. Unfortunately, photographing the interior of the hotel is not permitted if you are a non-guest so I only have these pictures of the exterior until I can afford to upgrade from hostel to a hotel fit for a princess.



The Real Life Beach Club at Cannes: The Carlton Hotel in Cannes



Me in Front of the Carlton Hotel


More elements inspired by TO CATCH A THIEF:








KAFUMANFRANCO Gown Looks Similar to the Metallic of Francie's Costume at the Costume Ball with the Draping of the Blue Grecian Gown:




Looks Similar to John Robie's "I'm Just Your Average Retired Frenchman/Horticulturist" Look:







Looks similar to Francie's "You can have me and the necklace, have you ever had a better deal" look:





Victorias Secret Swimsuit

Karen Walker Tortoise Frames

Hermes Scarf


Looks Similar to Francie's "Why are mysterious men who swim ashore from boats driven by teenage french girls the most intriguing type of man" look:




Signing off for now but surely the inspiration from My Favorite Jewel Thief/American Heiress love story will continue in later posts.


I leave you with one of my favorite images: