Princess Letizia's Daytime Fashion Part 20: June 2011 - August 2011

[jjkg]

His wife's outfits are in sharp contrast and no match at all. I dont believe somebody in casareal will tell Letizia what to wear, its rather a statement she makes since other options to get a message across are very limited.

Isn't this Dianaesque, where Diana used her clothing to send messages of her unhappiness with Charles and Camilla affair, wanting out etc?

I think this kind of "read" on Leti's clothes may be a bridge too far. For now. All indications are that her husband and girls dote on her. So it is less likely that she is going the Diana route.


Considering that Felipe, Sophia do not appear to mind her dress sense, my read is that :

1. She has poor fashion sense. Her default is her suits she used to wear as journalist and during first few years of her marriage. Somewhere along, she got the advice to dress younger, hipper, not a younger version of Queen
   Sofia. This is not her default setting. So she has made some big blunders.
2. Bad advice from her main designer - Varela and his assistants. He has been pushing his atrocious clothes on her. His interest is to sell his designs, not to maintain the image of monarchy. There is a conflict of interest here.
   Take for example this recent pant suit which is so tight. Assistants who fitted her with this suit must have known how bad it looks given Leti has a backside. But this conflicts with probably their main driver - to get the publicity from Leti wearing this creation of theirs.
3. I also must add that I am really disappointed with current fashion trends - pants, shoes etc. When Leti started wearing those platform shoes, we all railed against her. Now they are everywhere.

She really needs a fashion adviser whose primary driver is projecting Leti's image, not that of the designer's image - whether it is Mango/Zara/Varela. Press may not have picked up her latest blunders, but if this keeps trend continues there will be raised voices.


If there is a message that she is sending with her clothing, my speculation is that she may be wanting to hire a fashion advisor, but the old foggies in the palace bureaucracy resisting it. If there is a message, it may be to get them to cave.

But this is all pulled out the air speculation. Leti needs help and palace needs to wake up and provide it.

 

[dbarn67]

Isn't this Dianaesque, where Diana used her clothing to send messages of her unhappiness with Charles and Camilla affair, wanting out etc?

I think this kind of "read" on Leti's clothes may be a bridge too far. For now. All indications are that her husband and girls dote on her. So it is less likely that she is going the Diana route.


Considering that Felipe, Sophia do not appear to mind her dress sense, my read is that :

1. She has poor fashion sense. Her default is her suits she used to wear as journalist and during first few years of her marriage. Somewhere along, she got the advice to dress younger, hipper, not a younger version of Queen
   Sofia. This is not her default setting. So she has made some big blunders.
2. Bad advice from her main designer - Varela and his assistants. He has been pushing his atrocious clothes on her. His interest is to sell his designs, not to maintain the image of monarchy. There is a conflict of interest here.
   Take for example this recent pant suit which is so tight. Assistants who fitted her with this suit must have known how bad it looks given Leti has a backside. But this conflicts with probably their main driver - to get the publicity from Leti wearing this creation of theirs.
3. I also must add that I am really disappointed with current fashion trends - pants, shoes etc. When Leti started wearing those platform shoes, we all railed against her. Now they are everywhere.

She really needs a fashion adviser whose primary driver is projecting Leti's image, not that of the designer's image - whether it is Mango/Zara/Varela. Press may not have picked up her latest blunders, but if this keeps trend continues there will be raised voices.


If there is a message that she is sending with her clothing, my speculation is that she may be wanting to hire a fashion advisor, but the old foggies in the palace bureaucracy resisting it. If there is a message, it may be to get them to cave.

But this is all pulled out the air speculation. Leti needs help and palace needs to wake up and provide it.

I took a look back at her fashion choices all the way back to 2005. I was impressed some of the time but alot of the time she was just as clueless. Intermittently, there were true sartorial breakthoughs when she looks sublime. But for the most part she made some strange choice back then too. So I'm inclined to thing she has relatively poor taste.

I believe that how one presents oneself to the world is always a reflection of what's going internally. I don't ascribe that trait solely to Diana. But I do think Diana and Leti use their clothing consciously or unconsciously to send a message. But IMHO Diana was rarely so consistently inappropriate as Letizia has been recently. The "tourist" outfit at the military graduation was straight out disrespectful IMHO.

 

[LadyFinn]

The flats she wore yesterday are "Marilyn" from Pretty Ballerinas, with Swarovski crystals, cost 499 euros in Spain.
Letizia luce unas manoletinas de 500 euros | Divinity

 

[jjkg]

I took a look back at her fashion choices all the way back to 2005. I was impressed some of the time but alot of the time she was just as clueless. Intermittently, there were true sartorial breakthoughs when she looks sublime. But for the most part she made some strange choice back then too. So I'm inclined to thing she has relatively poor taste.

I believe that how one presents oneself to the world is always a reflection of what's going internally. I don't ascribe that trait solely to Diana. But I do think Diana and Leti use their clothing consciously or unconsciously to send a message. But IMHO Diana was rarely so consistently inappropriate as Letizia has been recently. The "tourist" outfit at the military graduation was straight out disrespectful IMHO.

More than the military graduation, the outfit she wore when she had lunch with the head of state of Panana - those ridiculous green pants -was the deal breaker for me. How could she be dressed like that to meet head of state?
Here is the pic:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4EmhIVuaO...cepcion-a-presidente-de-panama-01%24599x0.jpg

More importantly, why are the King, Queen, Felipe silent when she was dressed so badly for a state occasion - lunch for a foreign head of state? For me, the answer to this question is critical.

I do not buy the argument from Duke that Palace wont say anything. They may not say anything if she was dressed conservatively, but poorly for a run-of-the-mill graduation ceremony (we have all heard how much the King did not want Leti to become a fashion icon, to focus on clothes etc) But they have to say something when she is dressed badly for a state occasion. For a royal family that is so very focused on strengthening their position in Spain, and makes so much effort to be seen helping Spain, it defies logic that they would let Leti's recent dress transgressions go unnoticed.

That is why I speculated that there may be a behind the scene battle going on for getting Leti some fashion help. It is clear that Leti has very poor fashion sense when she steps out of suits. And it is extremely clear that the fashion advice she is getting is horrendous and I repeat, more geared towards selling the latest concoction of the designer, and not on Leti's image.

 

[fascinator]

More than the military graduation, the outfit she wore when she had lunch with the head of state of Panana - those ridiculous green pants -was the deal breaker for me. How could she be dressed like that to meet head of state?
Here is the pic:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4EmhIVuaO...cepcion-a-presidente-de-panama-01%24599x0.jpg

Until I saw this picture, I thought everyone was being overly dramatic about how "terrible" she looked.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

That is why I speculated that there may be a behind the scene battle going on for getting Leti some fashion help.

What help? She knew how to dress before and a couple of years into her marriage on a rather normal than expensive level and its not that difficult, really. If there is no time or interest to worry about fashion, its easy to dress simple & professional clothes that fit well into the budget. Its more about getting a basis wardrobe and somebody managing it, very similar to Queen Sofia, and less about budget or economy.

I find the idea absurd that casareal would tell Letizia how to dress. She is an adult who has been cut short on too many issues anyway, with a husband who could easily afford a different level of wardrobe on his own, Felipe might be dependant on his father but not to the degree that he has to beg for money to run his family life.

I still believe it is a statement, the last bastion of autonomy so to say, and its well possible that Felipe is silent because he has witnessed or is still witnessing the suffering of his wife whose life & character has been restricted in so many ways because of him and his inabilty to fight her corner against those who are in charge of the institution.

 

[jjkg]

I find the idea absurd that casareal would tell Letizia how to dress. She is an adult who has been cut short on too many issues anyway, with a husband who could easily afford a different level of wardrobe on his own, Felipe might be dependant on his father but not to the degree that he has to beg for money to run his family life.

I still believe it is a statement, the last bastion of autonomy so to say, and its well possible that Felipe is silent because he has witnessed or is still witnessing the suffering of his wife whose life & character has been restricted in so many ways because of him and his inabilty to fight her corner against those who are in charge of the institution.

What I find extremely absurd is refusal to believe that Letizia, in all areas of her life, is on a leash. Sometimes the leash is very long to give the illusion of freedom - like your stance that she has absolute freedom in fashion, or short - like her public life.

The Spanish royal family and its protectors seems to go the extra mile to ensure nothing that could possibly impact the future of monarchy goes untended. Letizia playing host to the Panama head of state lunch in that absurd outfit crosses red lines. It directly impacts the image of warmth and welcome that the royal family and the State were aiming to project at the lunch. That outfit should throw up a flag for people concerned.


**********
Secondly, you seem to be wedded to the notion that Letizia's clothing reflects her rebellion and her unhappiness with royal life and desire to escape her life.
I can buy that she is going through a bit of a down time, but given the obvious love that exists between the Felipe and her, and her noted trait of dedication, I find this notion hard to accept. Also, Letizia would not consciously do anything that would undermine her daughter's future.

If she works so hard behind the scenes to ensure she and Felipe are well prepared for the events they go to (even you acknowledge that), then how could that same Letizia undermine all her hard work by simple act of dressing badly for the event. It does not compute!

The notion that I am wedded to is the fact that she has poor dress sense when it comes to mixing "cool" and "current" with "conservative". She is getting false advice, has poor internal compass on these matters, and has gone off the tracks. Needs help.

But this is all neither here or there. We both are speculating based upon our own prejudices and opinions of Letizia and her personality. Bottom line is this problem needs to be nipped in the bud.

Cheers

 

[donnaK]

I think because of the financial crisis, she either was told or wanted to dress down a bit to look more like normal Spanish working women. I have seen many pictures of Cristina, Elena, Telma going to work, most of the times they didn't dress like when they were doing royal acts or presenting news, no better than Letizia now. But Letizia should know when to dress up a bit, for example, the military events. Also she loves pants, but unfortunately the pants are truely the weakness of Varela, Zara or Mango, that really let her down lots of times. If she wore knee length skirts instead of those pants the last couple of weeks, most would have much less issues on her clothes IMO.
jjkg, Letizia and Felipe were not the hosts for the President of Panama, they were only playing hosts for the CP of Spain, CP of Saudi, Charles and Camilla. She and Felipe were holding an audience with young leaders (college kids) before the lunch. I pretty much agree with what you have been saying.
Varela is such a bore, his clothes have always looked the same. This spring/summer, I haven't seen many new pieces from Varela (the blue suit was from 2 years ago), perhaps Letizia is also bored with his designs.
I also think she needs to get a stylist (get rid of Varela) as Zapatero's wife Sonsoles who looks modern and stylish.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Varela is such a bore, his clothes have always looked the same. This spring/summer, I haven't seen many new pieces from Varela (the blue suit was from 2 years ago), perhaps Letizia is also bored with his designs.

I am by no means a fan of Varela but some of his designs are perfectly fine and suitable for the occasion, Letizia only needs to pick the right outfits, with or without help. When looking at other royal ladies, it doesnt take rocket science to figure out how to dress, simple & professional with a decent quality is enough.

I apologize in case I am wrong but I believe this suit is by Varela, one of the few new pieces lately, a great look for Letizia:
http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Princess+Letizia+Spanish+Royals+Visit+Navarra+w8eWVx9MAh8l.jpg
Some of Varela's shift dresses look very nice too.

 

[fandesacs2003]

I think we should NOT talk about crisis anymore, related to Letizia's choices!!!!!

When she buys flats at 500 euros, to appear like a rich young student, she crosses the line of no excuse!!!

Her choice of outfits is absolutely conscient, and has NOTHING to do with money, it is JUST bad taste, rejection of protocol and revolution, a like "I wear WHAT I want, and noone can say anything"

Someone in a prevous thread asked how the Casa Real and Felipe do not say anything! They might say, she does what she wants.

 

[fandesacs2003]

I think because of the financial crisis, she either was told or wanted to dress down a bit to look more like normal Spanish working women.

A normal Spanish working woman does not wear shorts and capri pants with these awful shoes, in a professionnal meeting. She wears simple suits or dresse or skirts.

I have seen many pictures of Cristina, Elena, Telma .

Telma is not part of the Royal family! she can dress how she wants, except going out naked.

 

[Emmily]

I think we should NOT talk about crisis anymore, related to Letizia's choices!!!!!

When she buys flats at 500 euros, to appear like a rich young student, she crosses the line of no excuse!!!

Her choice of outfits is absolutely conscient, and has NOTHING to do with money, it is JUST bad taste, rejection of protocol and revolution, a like "I wear WHAT I want, and noone can say anything"

Someone in a prevous thread asked how the Casa Real and Felipe do not say anything! They might say, she does what she wants.

You nailed it. Using the financial crisis as an excuse for how she appears doesn't hold water. And your point about rejection of protocol was written about in an article. Am I allowed to post a link that was mentioned on another board?

 

[royalist]

I think we should NOT talk about crisis anymore, related to Letizia's choices!!!!!

When she buys flats at 500 euros, to appear like a rich young student, she crosses the line of no excuse!!!

Her choice of outfits is absolutely conscient, and has NOTHING to do with money, it is JUST bad taste, rejection of protocol and revolution, a like "I wear WHAT I want, and noone can say anything"
.

Couldn't agree more, what she has is a very bad taste!!!

 

[donnaK]

I apologize in case I am wrong but I believe this suit is by Varela, one of the few new pieces lately, a great look for Letizia:
http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Princess+Letizia+Spanish+Royals+Visit+Navarra+w8eWVx9MAh8l.jpg
Some of Varela's shift dresses look very nice too.

The jacket was from Varela. Most of his clothes still belong to the classic collections, but style is always the same. Almost all of her jackets from Varela (actually most of Varela jackets) are cut exactly the same way the last 7 years. When she wore Varela's clothes at the beginning, there were many complaining she was wearing the same style suits in different colors, different fabrics.

A normal Spanish working woman does not wear shorts and capri pants with these awful shoes, in a professionnal meeting. She wears simple suits or dresse or skirts.

Telma is not part of the Royal family! she can dress how she wants, except going out naked.

Untrue. Corporate fashion has become more relaxed these days, I saw many professional women wearing capri style pants or even short skirts at work. I only used Telma, Elena or Cristina as an example of how working women in Spain dressed for work, perhaps the image Letizia wants to or was told to project.
Also lots of shoes (and other leather accessories) and purses were gifts since Spain is one of the leading shoes manufacturers in the world.

 

[chuchu]

What I find extremely absurd is refusal to believe that Letizia, in all areas of her life, is on a leash. Sometimes the leash is very long to give the illusion of freedom - like your stance that she has absolute freedom in fashion, or short - like her public life.

(..)

My take is that she had a stylist when she was in television. Now she is on her on when it comes to putting an outfit together unless it is a gala or an official formal reception.

 

[Emmily]

Untrue. Corporate fashion has become more relaxed these days, I saw many professional women wearing capri style pants or even short skirts at work. I only used Telma, Elena or Cristina as an example of how working women in Spain dressed for work, perhaps the image Letizia wants to or was told to project.
Also lots of shoes (and other leather accessories) and purses were gifts since Spain is one of the leading shoes manufacturers in the world.

Letizia isn't in the corporate world. She is the wife to the heir of the Spanish throne. It's time she dresses like it, particularly when she accompanies him. When he is dressed in suit and tie or in military uniform she should dress accordingly.

Here is a link to an article that discusses her appearance at the military graduation and how her choice of clothing didn't follow protocol and was criticized in military circles. You may have to use google translate or another site to translate.

http://www.vanitatis.com/casas-reales/2011/revuelo-cuarteles-atuendo-princesa-letizia-actos-20110721-15171.html

 

[donnaK]

Letizia isn't in the corporate world. She is the wife to the heir of the Spanish throne. It's time she dresses like it, particularly when she accompanies him. When he is dressed in suit and tie or in military uniform she should dress accordingly.

Here is a link to an article that discusses her appearance at the military graduation and how her choice of clothing didn't follow protocol and was criticized in military circles. You may have to use google translate or another site to translate.

[URL="http://www.vanitatis.com/casas-reales/2011/revuelo-cuarteles-atuendo-princesa-letizia-actos-20110721-15171.html"]http://www.vanitatis.com/casas-reales/2011/revuelo-cuarteles-atuendo-princesa-letizia-actos-20110721-15171.html[/URL]

I was talking about the possible image Letizia wanted to project, not the image some people want her to. I wasn't talking about the military event, I already said many times she should dress up more for a military event, however many career women are wearing capri style pants (her capri pants are mostly silk, quite dressy) at the presence of men in suit and ties, might not photograph well, but nothing inappropriate, perhaps for some who have difficulties accepting new styles just as her platforms a few years ago.

I saw this article last night, I wouldn't take the source of vanitatis website (the owner is Paloma Barrientos) too seriously since most of them were from internet gossips than the real source. I have seen so many times someone posted a 'fiction' on a Spanish forum, the next day became the source of the story on vanitatis. . When the female defense minister wore pants at the military events, it already said that there was no protocol restricting women from wearing pants at the military events.

 

[jjkg]

I saw this article last night, I wouldn't take the source of vanitatis website (the owner is Paloma Barrientos) too seriously since most of them were from internet gossips than the real source. I have seen so many times someone posted a 'fiction' on a Spanish forum, the next day became the source of the story on vanitatis. . When the female defense minister wore pants at the military events, it already said that there was no protocol restricting women from wearing pants at the military events.

donnaK. Agree with your views, but the fact is that Letizia with her sloppy dressing is giving ammunition to her enemies who are looking for a way to bring her down, and prove that they were right...that she is should not have married the prince.

Regarding the absurdities of current fashion trends, I also made the same point. But Letizia should know better. Like the state lunch.

• She had an engagement with young folks before the lunch. Instead of trying to dress young and hip for the young crowd, she should have picked an outfit that was suitable for both events. Failing that, higher priority should have been given to the state event.
• A year or 2 ago when she and Felipe visited Chicago, her dresses were horrible and really inappropriate. Sure they followed the fashion trend of tiny, girlish dresses, but she looked ridiculous in her short, grey little number next to the Mayor of the city.

This is Letizia's fault. No two ways about it.

I also think that the palace was so fearful of Letizia's charisma (did not want another Diana) and were so thoroughly successful in deconstructing her identity and sublimating it, that she is now rudderless. From a pure marketing point of view, someone should take ownership of "Brand Letizia". Yes it should should be low in the royal pecking order, but there needs to be a distinct image of Letizia. Clothes are part of this brand building. Letizia, instead of chasing the fashion trend of current season, being a victim of designer fantasies, should choose the image she wants to project, and them pick her clothes accordingly. Her image should dictate her clothing choices, not vica versa as it is now. Female politicians, business executives do it. For example Hillary Clinton has a integrated her clothes into her image very well. As you mention, First Lady of Spain does a very good job.

And it is within Letizia's power to create it. She already does the hard work behind the scenes to be involved and preped for the events. Now she has to step her game up and SHOW that.

Bottom line, there is a problem and has been for quite a while, ever since she left her "skirts and jacket" phase. Someone needs to address it ASAP.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The jacket was from Varela. Most of his clothes still belong to the classic collections, but style is always the same. Almost all of her jackets from Varela (actually most of Varela jackets) are cut exactly the same way the last 7 years.

Compared to these examples, I dont mind the Varela style always being the same style, it would be boring but at least look professional!!!
Everyone has a day off sometimes, but it really takes some imagination to dress so ugly and of bad quality when your first job is to look neat.

Tshirt with vulgar pants
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/8246/103145169.jpg
two of the worst ever daytime outfits
http://i46.tinypic.com/27zxdgh.jpg
http://media.onsugar.com/files/2011...-07--InagurationofaResearchCenter--Zimbio.jpg
one of the worst ever evening outfits
http://theroyalcorrespondent.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/letizia2711.jpg?w=452&h=628
Chicago - the event jjkg is referring to
http://www.hola.com/imagenes//reale...incipes/asturias/chicago/0-19-207/19207-z.jpg

 

[soraya]

Thank you Duke for the pics.Those outfits come to my mind too when I say her style is sometimes ridiculous.What a silly idea to wear a bermuda short to an official event
The dress code in my company is not strict but I will never wear a bermuda.There is no written law in my company that says "don't wear bermuda short" but I know that's this is not suitable and respectful.
And what about that pink evening dress paired with burgundy pantyhose and ridiculous platforms boots.Its was a clownish outfit.
JJKG is right when she says that she should avoid being victim of designers fantasies
We can be fashionable and trendy without being ridiculous.Letizia should not forgot that she is a royal and not a Hollywood star.
For a military graduation keep it safe and wear a suit or a nice dress ,same thing for welcoming a foreign head of state.
I can't believe that some still try to find her excuses for wearing such an outfit for meeting the president of Panama.Either she should have worn something suitable for both events she attended or she should have favored something suitable for meeting a head of state.She could also have sent the day before an other suitable outfit to the palace where the meeting took place to dress within 5 minutes.
If her outfits are given to her by some spanish brands then she doesn't have to feel obliged to wear them if they are not suitable.Moreover,I think it's irrespectful for those brands to send her some outfits thats are not suitable for her high status.She is not a fashion model she is the wife of the spanish crown prince.

 

[Emmily]

donnaK. Agree with your views, but the fact is that Letizia with her sloppy dressing is giving ammunition to her enemies who are looking for a way to bring her down, and prove that they were right...that she is should not have married the prince.

Regarding the absurdities of current fashion trends, I also made the same point. But Letizia should know better. Like the state lunch.

• She had an engagement with young folks before the lunch. Instead of trying to dress young and hip for the young crowd, she should have picked an outfit that was suitable for both events. Failing that, higher priority should have been given to the state event.
• A year or 2 ago when she and Felipe visited Chicago, her dresses were horrible and really inappropriate. Sure they followed the fashion trend of tiny, girlish dresses, but she looked ridiculous in her short, grey little number next to the Mayor of the city.

This is Letizia's fault. No two ways about it.

I also think that the palace was so fearful of Letizia's charisma (did not want another Diana) and were so thoroughly successful in deconstructing her identity and sublimating it, that she is now rudderless. From a pure marketing point of view, someone should take ownership of "Brand Letizia". Yes it should should be low in the royal pecking order, but there needs to be a distinct image of Letizia. Clothes are part of this brand building. Letizia, instead of chasing the fashion trend of current season, being a victim of designer fantasies, should choose the image she wants to project, and them pick her clothes accordingly. Her image should dictate her clothing choices, not vica versa as it is now. Female politicians, business executives do it. For example Hillary Clinton has a integrated her clothes into her image very well. As you mention, First Lady of Spain does a very good job.

And it is within Letizia's power to create it. She already does the hard work behind the scenes to be involved and preped for the events. Now she has to step her game up and SHOW that.

Bottom line, there is a problem and has been for quite a while, ever since she left her "skirts and jacket" phase. Someone needs to address it ASAP.

There are so many good points in your post, jjkg. I agree that she needs to pay attention to the state events if she has two engagements a day. It's better to over-dress for the younger crowd than to under-dress for a more serious event. She isn't going to look out of place when she is with students if she dresses like the CP she is. But she ends up looking ridiculous when she dresses like she did at these military events. It's not just those two events, btw, as the Duke reminded us by posting the most horrible outfits ever.

I believe she does a good amount of work behind the scenes to prepare for her engagements. But no one sees that. What we see is the image she presents when she is on those engagements. That image hasn't been good for a long time, and it's getting worse. She looks sloppy at times and bored at others, and that ends up giving the impression to many that she couldn't be bothered . It doesn't matter what others in the crowd are wearing or how office workers dress. SHE is the one on the podium.

 

[donnaK]

I believe she does a good amount of work behind the scenes to prepare for her engagements. But no one sees that. What we see is the image she presents when she is on those engagements. That image hasn't been good for a long time, and it's getting worse. She looks sloppy at times and bored at others, and that ends up giving the impression to many that she couldn't be bothered . It doesn't matter what others in the crowd are wearing or how office workers dress. SHE is the one on the podium.

People who attended the events with her had seen that. It has been commented on the press many times that she has always been well prepared and interested at everything (well matched her former journalist background), a bit different from 'traditional' ways of royals (in the family) handling the acts.
Her office workers' clothes are OK now except for some events required more formal clothes (such as military events). Everyday dressing like a news anchor might get her more trouble on spending, a lie repeated a thousand times becomes a truth, for example, a tabloid used to have a headline on Letizia spending 20,000 euro per month on clothes and accessories when more than half of the items were recycled.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Everyday dressing like a news anchor might get her more trouble on spending, a lie repeated a thousand times becomes a truth, for example, a tabloid used to have a headline on Letizia spending 20,000 euro per month on clothes and accessories when more than half of the items were recycled.

Really? Still these days she wears ballerinas for 500 Euros, I rather think that the whole spending/budget issue (poor Letizia wearing rummage clothes due to economy) is a lame excuse and repeating it again and again doesnt make it true. Letizia now clearly has more money on her hands than she did when she was a news anchor, and while the clothes back then looked neat and professional, they certainly didnt cost a fortune, neither did the Varela suits back in the first year of marriage. Many people claim that Letizia does a lot of clothing loan arrangements anyway, why doesnt she do a loan arrangment for appropriate clothes then?

Letizia does wear expensive stuff when she wants to (shoes, purses), so does the rest of the family. Whatever the reason is for her to present herself in public LIKE THIS, its has NOTHING to do with money.

 

[Nahla10]

Really? Still these days she wears ballerinas for 500 Euros, I rather think that the whole spending/budget issue (poor Letizia wearing rummage clothes due to economy) is a lame excuse and repeating it again and again doesnt make it true. Letizia now clearly has more money on her hands than she did when she was a news anchor, and while the clothes back then looked neat and professional, they certainly didnt cost a fortune, neither did the Varela suits back in the first year of marriage. Many people claim that Letizia does a lot of clothing loan arrangements anyway, why doesnt she do a loan arrangment for appropriate clothes then?

Letizia does wear expensive stuff when she wants to (shoes, purses), so does the rest of the family. Whatever the reason is for her to present herself in public LIKE THIS, its has NOTHING to do with money.

Exactly!! That makes me think why she's dressing herself so inappropriate (her sense of style isn't always bad for example the outfit she wore at the parade wasn't ugly but just inappropriate for the event, if she would've wear it on a day off I would've loved the outfit) I mean, she knows how she needs to dress to look aproppriate (she showed many good outfits in the past f.e. when she met Carla Bruni) and for me it looks more like she's tired of her role as the crown princess and kinda shows it with her outfits than any money-problems (come on... I bet she has a room full of clothes, it's not like she has nothing to wear) It's kinda sad because IMO this gives her and the royal family of spain a bad reputation. I hope she gets the curve and goes back to dress herself nice in pretty dresses and skirts.

 

[donnaK]

Really? Still these days she wears ballerinas for 500 Euros, I rather think that the whole spending/budget issue (poor Letizia wearing rummage clothes due to economy) is a lame excuse and repeating it again and again doesnt make it true. Letizia now clearly has more money on her hands than she did when she was a news anchor, and while the clothes back then looked neat and professional, they certainly didnt cost a fortune, neither did the Varela suits back in the first year of marriage. Many people claim that Letizia does a lot of clothing loan arrangements anyway, why doesnt she do a loan arrangment for appropriate clothes then?

Letizia does wear expensive stuff when she wants to (shoes, purses), so does the rest of the family. Whatever the reason is for her to present herself in public LIKE THIS, its has NOTHING to do with money.

Like I said before, lots of shoes/purses were gifts. I read one time she ordered a couple of pairs of shoes, the brand (don't remember which one) ended up sending her 5 pairs. She is a royal princess, it's impossible for her to wear something always $30 or $40, she surely had many expensive pieces. The recent cream jacket by Varela shown on the pictures listed by you was priced at 600 Euros, Varela's clothes have been priced a lot higher since he became her designer. So I think mixing expensive clothes with cheap clothes is a token of solidarity with the people who have been greatly affected by the economic crisis in the country. Of course she should know when to dress up (more formal style clothes), for example the military events, that's another story.

I also want to know where her old clothes before 2007. She has been recycled a lot of her old suits bought in 2007 and after, but not before 2007. Maybe some were the designer samples she had returned (since she was deciding on her designer) or she gave those clothes away since she didn't expect the financial crisis 2 years later, I really want to know.

 

[donnaK]

Exactly!! That makes me think why she's dressing herself so inappropriate (her sense of style isn't always bad for example the outfit she wore at the parade wasn't ugly but just inappropriate for the event, if she would've wear it on a day off I would've loved the outfit) I mean, she knows how she needs to dress to look aproppriate (she showed many good outfits in the past f.e. when she met Carla Bruni) and for me it looks more like she's tired of her role as the crown princess and kinda shows it with her outfits than any money-problems (come on... I bet she has a room full of clothes, it's not like she has nothing to wear) It's kinda sad because IMO this gives her and the royal family of spain a bad reputation. I hope she gets the curve and goes back to dress herself nice in pretty dresses and skirts.

She wore her favorite suede jacket she had worn all over the globe (including a visit to India) and white pants matched exactly her hubby's uniform. You can question her taste (it's subjective), but certainly not bored with her role.
They were on a very rough helicopter ride to the military school with bad weather, I can understand why she preferred pants instead of a skirt.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Maybe some were the samples or she gave those clothes away since she didn't expect the financial crisis 2 years later, I really want to know.

Still, these clothes were NOT high-end price range, has nothing to do with the economy, could be afforded and werent regarded as flashy/pricey back then (only as boring but that is a different matter), can be afforded and arent regarded as flashy/pricey now, those suits back then were similar to the recent Varela suit that you (and I'd agree) estimate around 600 Euros.

By the way, unless there is a confirmation about loans, we can only speculate. For now, the public only sees that Letizia is wearing 500 Euro ballerinas, what I find - paid for or not - rather offensive in times of economic downturn, I have yet to hear an outcry in the Spanish media about Letizia wearing overpriced shoes, going to William's wedding in an expensive evening gown, travelling to London for fun etc and in the same way nobody would critizise her for wearing 600 Euro suits on a regular basis that are neat and professional and perfectly suitable for princess duty.

For me the economic downturn is the lamest of all excuses for not looking appropriate according to position.

 

[donnaK]

Duke, the jacket is 600 Euro, the whole suit is about 1000 Euro, very standard for Varela's suits. His dress is about 700-1000 Euros.
Flat shoes are still shoes. Magrit shoes (Letizia often wore) are not cheap (about 300 Euros) either, she also mixed expensive shoes with cheaper shoes from Zara or Mango. Spain is one of the biggest shoes manufacturers in the world, they had wanted to head for the more luxury end since they had a hard time competing with cheap shoes from China.

 

[lula]

The ballerinas are of a limited collection of the brand Pretty Ballerinas.

In the last years, the ballerinas have become very fashionable in Spain, and women have taken advantage of the trend... Normally in the shops you have or high heels or flats, find something medium it is difficult.

Pretty Ballerinas is a brand of the family Mascaró of Menorca. All the women of the Royal Family wear their shoes... and Claudia Schiffer or Kate Moss are fans of their ballerinas.

Pretty Ballerinas
Jaime Mascaró
Ursula Mascaró - Menorca

Queen Sofia with Mascaró shoes at the wedding in London

REINA SOFÍA CON MASCARÓ EN LA BODA DEl PRÍNCIPE GUILLERMO | Facebook

Princess Letizia and her ballerinas

Galería de Fotos: Letizia Ortiz, fan de Pretty Ballerinas. -- Mujerhoy.com --

Infanta Leonor

http://www.zapatosymoda.es/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Screenshot-15_07_2010-18_09_52.jpg

Infanta Sofía

http://www.diariofemenino.com/images/galeria/17000/17395_m.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nE08fqG5J...s400/Hannah_hello_+sailor_PVP_84%E2%82%AC.jpg

Infantas Elena and Cristina shopping ballerinas

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Thats all fine with me - but then please dont give the economy as an excuse for Letizia dressing badly. If she can promote spanish fashion by wearing luxus ballerinas, she well can promote spanish fashion by wearing appropriate suits and dresses between 600 and 1.000 Euros without being crucified for over-the-top spending (and we still no know if Letizia acutally spends or if the ballerinas or Varelas suits are loans).