State Visit from the Philippines: December 3-5, 2007

[lula]

Duke, we have commented on this often. The Princess with a lot of official activity has needed to buy more clothes in less time.

The Queen repeats suits up to the boredom also, and uses suits and dresses that have up to 10 years. She buys few clothes every year, because she has an immense wardrobe, and because of it she can spend more in few pieces.

The Infantas have little official activity, and also they repeat enough, but on having had acts rarely a month it does not seem to us that they repeat so much.

[fanletizia]

Farewell officer SS.EE. The President of the Republic of Philippines, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Mr. Jose Miguel Arroyo
Royal Palace of El Pardo

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[crisiñaki]

I don't think that's a matter of recycling clothes, it's a matter of Varela's clothing being ugly and cheap, Letizia deserves much better and many designers would kill at the opportunity to dress her (Elena gets things from Schlesser and Lacroix, Cristina gets from Burberry and del Pozo; other things they buy, but all in all they don't spend as much money in clothing as you may think)

It's better to buy some slighly more expensive clothing that can be consider classics, mix and match those, than get 15155454864 ugly Varela suits, gala gowns, skirts, dresses, etc

Varela is the issue here baby, I wouldn't wear something from him not even at gunpoint, so I don't get Letizia's loyalty to his brand

[Philippe Egalite']

On a general note, most ladies' outfits look and are cheap nowadays. Designers and quasi-designers make dresses that do not differ much from the glossy/shiny, of synthetic fabric, trashy clothes high-school girls wear for the prom.
It is not just the absence of talent and inspiration, it is not that many designers hate women, it is also the fact that high-quality, exquisite fabrics do not exist anymore because they are very costly. You will find lots of trashy taffeta, satin, chiffon and other glossy stuff appropriate for starlets, but you won't find the heavy,timeless crepe georgette, chantung, crepe de Chine or soie sauvage which used to make royal ladies, like Marina of Kent, look imperial in every sense of the word.

For years, I had been wondering why royal ladies, when in gala outfits, do not look as regal nowadays. The answers to this are many, but a central one is that there is competition between the ostentatious contemporary fabrics and the jewelry/diadems/decorations, often leading to disaster and, not rarely, making some personages look like beauty pageant participants. I guess, it is the matte but rich appearance of such fabrics as crepe georgette that allows the magnificence of the jewelry to excel, ultimately heightening, and adding gravitas to, the figure of the royal personage.

I would agree with Crisinaki that Christian Lacroix is among the very few talented ones with an exquisite sense of chic.
Insofar as recycling is concerned, there is no problem in the 21st century . A classic dress is a classic dress and may be worn again and again, whether one is a commoner, an aristocrat or royalty.

[crisiñaki]

there are a lot of good spanish designers, but seems like Letizia chose the worst (dunno why )
del Pozo and Schlesser are among the few that still use good fabric to design their creations, and they aren't as expensive as Galliano or Versace are
the point is: Letizia would be better dressed in Zara clothing than in Varela's supposedly couture, so what's the point of having a "personal" designer if you're gonna look like everybody else? the whole point of being a royal is to stand out from a crowd

[donnaK]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

The same person who pays for Queen Sofia and the Infantas as they do not wear such frumpy stuff like the PoA. If there is a clothes budget at least 80% of the money should still be untouched looking at Letizia's wardrobe in 2007 and now it's becoming tricky to still make use of Jaime's fashion discout connections Regarding the skinny topic, I did not think that Letizia was especially skinny on this event but looks like this most times since she came back to work. I agree the top cannot be Caprile's and overall she looked old and skinny (I expected her to look like that in 2027 but not in 2007)

I agree that Varela is bad, worse than the designers Sofia and the Infantas have been using. But my point was that Letizia couldn't buy Caprile's clothes whenever she wanted. Caprile's gown is rather expensive, where to get 6000 Euro for a gown from Caprile ?
I always think Sofia has a larger clothing budget since she is the Queen, about the Infantas, they don't do as many events, I don't know how much money they got for their clothes. Elena's clothes always looked the most expensive. Now she and Jaime are separated, we will find out soon if her clothes were bought and paid by Jaime or not.
I saw the gala on TV. I don't think Letizia looked bad or old except her top was old fashioned. Sometimes pictures didn't turn out well, expecially the pictures from terra website, very poor quality, doesn't favor the thin women.

[Philippe Egalite']

Another thing that should always be borne in mind, is that it takes two for a magnificent appearance: a gifted and trusted designer, and the personality/figure/body structure of the "model".
One such unique combination that created perfection was the Hubert de Givenchy - Audrey Hepburn harmonious collaboration for years.

Letizia is lucky enough to have a perfect figure, slim body and a strong personality - so, she is the right "material" for a gifted designer to work on.
I feel strenuously that Letizia is in a much better physical position than even Diana, in that the latter had some physical limitations such as unusual height and coarse facial features [eg nose etc.].
If Letizia decided to focus seriously in the fashion department, she could create history.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by donnaK

I agree that Varela is bad, worse than the designers Sofia and the Infantas have been using. But my point was that Letizia couldn't buy Caprile's clothes whenver she wanted. Caprile's gown is rather expensive, where to get 6000 Euro for a gown from Caprile ?

You must be joking If Zarzuela feel that they cannot afford 6.000 Euro to buy a proper gala dress for the future Queen of Spain I feel sorry for them. I mean the SRF is not exactly poor. As crisinaki said, the whole point about royals is that they stand out, eg at such gala events. It's ludicrous to wear a tiara or other jewellery worth a fortune together with a 149,99 € top by Varela. I understand the Queen is the Queen and must stand out as lady No 1 - and she does - but neither of the Infantas would ever turn up at such an event in cheap meaning low quality & badly fitted clothing as designed by Varela and worn by Letizia.

[chuchu]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

You must be joking If Zarzuela feel that they cannot afford 6.000 Euro to buy a proper gala dress for the future Queen of Spain I feel sorry for them. I mean the SRF is not exactly poor. As crisinaki said, the whole point about royals is that they stand out, eg at such gala events. It's ludicrous to wear a tiara or other jewellery worth a fortune together with a 149,99 € top by Varela. I understand the Queen is the Queen and must stand out as lady No 1 - and she does - but neither of the Infantas would ever turn up at such an event in cheap meaning low quality & badly fitted clothing as designed by Varela and worn by Letizia.

If I were a Spaniard, I would not want the royal family to spend a lot on clothing. Their service to the country would be more important to me than who's clothes they are wearing.

[crisiñaki]

one part of the service to their country is to promote their designers abroad, to look appropiate in some acts, their appareance is vital, or would you want to see Letizia wearing a suit in a gala dinner? it's a part of who they are, their work is important, but their appareance is important as well

like I said, some of Varela's creations make Letizia look like an employee or so (see el Rastrillo, where she looked like the Queen's secretary or so), and it's quite a pity, because Letizia has a lot of potential clothes-wise (I agree with Philippe Egalite' on that) but she's wasting herself with those cheap, ill-fitting and not creative Varela outfits

[donnaK]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

You must be joking If Zarzuela feel that they cannot afford 6.000 Euro to buy a proper gala dress for the future Queen of Spain I feel sorry for them. I mean the SRF is not exactly poor. As crisinaki said, the whole point about royals is that they stand out, eg at such gala events. It's ludicrous to wear a tiara or other jewellery worth a fortune together with a 149,99 € top by Varela. I understand the Queen is the Queen and must stand out as lady No 1 - and she does - but neither of the Infantas would ever turn up at such an event in cheap meaning low quality & badly fitted clothing as designed by Varela and worn by Letizia.

I didn't mean that Letizia absolutely couldn't afford Caprile, but what I heard was that each had their clothing budget annually, she couldn't buy expensive clothes whenever she wanted to. Of course, she might be able to spend the money more wisely, ex. recycles more her daytime clothes (although I already think she recycled quite a lot), saves money to buy more expensive gowns.
I think her top was OK, just old-fashioned, it wasn't improper either. I have seen much worse gala gowns on other royals, whether expensive or cheap. I don't like Queen's gown either and don't think she stood out. The 'queen' of the gala was Isabel Preysler, that's the type of gowns I'd like to see Letizia wearing.

[galatea_12]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

Not sure about Mrs Arroyo's gown, the sleeves are ugly.

The "Maria Clara" is one of the traditional dresses in the Philippines. It was a very popular dress when the Philippines was still under the Spaniards.

Here's an old photo: http://musictimeline.net/tours/Peralta/303_nati_3.jpg

The national costume became an emblematic expression of national identity.

Nowadays, designers are modifying/modernizing the look, but the sleeves of the dress remains the same... I guess without that sleeves, the dress would loose its identity.

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[RhapsodyBrat]

Originally Posted by galatea_12

The "Maria Clara" is one of the traditional dresses in the Philippines. It was a very popular dress when the Philippines was still under the Spaniards.

i'm sorry but Gloria was wearing the terno, the Filipino dress with "butterfly" sleeves made popular by Imelda Marcos, not the "Maria Clara" which is in line with the baro't saya (literally, blouse and skirt). i guess she only accompanied her dress with a shawl similar to the manton de Manila due to the cold.

[madeleine victoria]

Originally Posted by RhapsodyBrat

hey, what level are you now? attend their events, you might just spot Telma; that's how i got to see her. and i believe the society mag you're referring to is the January 2007 issue of Lifestyle Asia (with Imelda Marcos on the cover) and the event was the Flavors of Spain 2006 launch.

and i'm absolutely sure they will visit Instituto Cervantes and the other agencies of the Spanish government here when they do visit.



she and her husband speak spanish at home, that's probably why. the Tuason-Arroyo clans are "old money" families who still speak spanish to this day.


yes, she does. she always does. those congressmen like to travel for free. damn them.



you tell me. DoM, if you can glean from our comments, you guys can see we don't have any love for the President. we're just here because of the SRF.

Next year I'll start level 7. I think that's the magazine. I remember reading the article of Imelda Marcos. Yep, our politicians like to travel for free!!! The president's secretary of the press even commented that the King financed the trip of other Congressmen!!!! Hello! With 30+ of them, I don't think any monarch would finance the trip. Too costly IMO and even if the host will finance the visit I don't think they will allow to finance 30+ people. I think the First Family is the only one being financed since it's a State Visit but not the whole delegation...I'm just here to see the SRF not our president! :p

[RhapsodyBrat]

Originally Posted by madeleine victoria

Next year I'll start level 7. I think that's the magazine. I remember reading the article of Imelda Marcos. Yep, our politicians like to travel for free!!! The president's secretary of the press even commented that the King financed the trip of other Congressmen!!!! Hello! With 30+ of them, I don't think any monarch would finance the trip. Too costly IMO and even if the host will finance the visit I don't think they will allow to finance 30+ people. I think the First Family is the only one being financed since it's a State Visit but not the whole delegation...I'm just here to see the SRF not our president! :p

totally agree. someone pointed out that maybe the King's royal household or the Spanish government may have spent something for this visit, but i believe they would only foot the bill for the state dinner, meetings and such. i don't think they'd ever pay for the entourage's other expenses such as airfare or accommodations.