Red Cross Ball, Monaco: 2005 - 2019, 2021 - 2024


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I love the colors ! So summer night on the French Riviera ! It does illuminate the night! That purple looks great on Caroline, and I like the Greek goddess or softened column style on her. If she had some unwanted extra flesh she didn't want to attract attention to, (not that I am suggesting she did), it was a perfect choice. Is it my imagination or is Charlene's bust a bit more ample than usual ? It seems to strain on both sides of her body, maybe it's just the style or the dress is a bit too tight. But I like the cascade of colors toward the bottom, it is festive and evokes those toys children use in the evening at fairs, I forget their name. The orange on Stephanie fits the general mood, nice coordination of colors, ladies, but Stephanie, how can you let yourself get so tanned ? It is no longer attractive at your age !
 
Charlene looked beautiful, she must, now, have a professional stylist. I think we'll see an engagement in the very near future.
 
I wonder why no one has posted pictures of Caroline at the dinner table or anyone dancing......
 
I think some of the guests heard it was being held outdoors and neglected to wear jackets that matched the pants or a tie.
Ivana is getting too long on the tooth for those revealing gowns.
Charlene was too revealing again, between the flower up front, the plunging neckline I was distracted till I saw the bottom of her skirt. What was that all about?
Caroline manages to look glamorous even wearing a sack like that dress. Stephanie looked girlish and fresh.........what a party!
 
Charlene intergration

PrincessofEurope said:
i think that it is interesting to note that the first year that Charlene attended she walked in a good bit behind the royal family, then last year she walked and stood with Caroline and Stephanie but this year she walked in front with Albert - each year she has made a progression to be futher integrated into the family lets hope next year that progression will be as Alberts wife
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i totally agree - it very much looks like they are slowly introducing her to society etc. - there has been big changes!
 
charlene and albert

I find it interesting that the photos taken by Getty Images seem to announce Charlene. Does someone from the palace tell the photographers whom to shoot? They even shot her placement card at the table. It looks like a coming out, recognition party for her. Obviously, by the photo's, by her change of appearance over time there will be an announcement made.
 
Angela wrote: IMO Caroline's dress is shapeless and looks like a nightdress and Stephanie's looks like a little girl's party dress, someone should tell her that spaghetti straps and big muscular shoulders just don't work together. Charlene's is nice if a little tacky looking around the bust and I don't like the big flower.

Ah, Ladies, I, Johnnie Rotten, just love critiquing women's fashions! LOL. It's fun!

I agree 100% with Angela. The colour Caroline chose is rather beautiful and flattering for her, but the pattern/design? Egads! Nightdress is what I was thinking, too. Plus, her shoulder straps looked weird - asymetrical, what with the 2 colour/2 strap thing going on. All she needed to complete her nighty-night ensemble was curlers in her hair and a cup of Ovaltine.

Stephanie's dress: Orange? BRIGHT orange?? Wrong, wrong, wrong. And the horrible pattern at the bottom of it? It looks as if a high school home economics-sewing student put her dress together. And wearing a short skirty dress to a function such as this? Oh, someone call the Riviera fashion police! The woman looked like an orange popsicle with chocolate inside (her way-too-dark suntan).

Charlene? Angela hit the nail on the head. That big poofy flower? The weird colour thing going on at the bottom of her gown? Plus, the design of the upper portion of her gown only accentuated her huge shoulders.
Oh, somebody call Vera Wang!

And, *sigh*, I really wish somebody would advise Albert on how to dress.
I mean, with all the great Italian designers - Valentino, Versace, etc., he could actaully look decent with a great, dark designer dud suit. His on-going 'Mr. Penguin' look is getting tired.

And, correct me if I am wrong here, but for a function such as the Red Cross Gala, the table settings and wooden chairs, to me, anyway, looked a tad, well, understated for an event of this calibre. Mind you, the outdoor setting and landscape was rather nice.
 
^^ Haha, Mr. Penguin was funny :)

IMO, everyone looked good, but Charlene should fire her stylist or whatever.

Is there any video of the event?
 
Christine10 said:
I find it interesting that the photos taken by Getty Images seem to announce Charlene. Does someone from the palace tell the photographers whom to shoot? They even shot her placement card at the table. It looks like a coming out, recognition party for her. Obviously, by the photo's, by her change of appearance over time there will be an announcement made.
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agree because from what i can see this is more of charlene comming out party ball than for charity, the media and everyone else have made it her night, she got more photo coverages than anyone else the reason for this:eek: party is being over shadow, i don't this is what caro wanted when she pick up the newspapper or watch the news about it.
 
Melanie's gown, from what I could see of it - not much - did in fact look quite nice with beautiful colours.

Hmmm, the more I observe Stephanie's dress, the more I want to tear it off her. I'm sorry, folks, but it's just plain hideous. The fabric looks too shiny/cheap, and again, that horrible print at the bottom of it and the too-thin spaghetti shoulder straps make this dress a very poor choice. From what I understand, they played 1960's music at this Ball, and from the looks of it, Stephanie's dress is recycled from 1960's curtains.

Charlene's dress looks too....'done up'. Do you know what I mean? It's too busy and fussy. When will women learn that less is more?

If only more women would listen to men and take OUR advice as to what to wear. Many of we men have great taste in clothes.

That's IT? These are the only photos of the Red Cross Ball??? No other dinner or dancing photos? Hmm, it would seem that the non-presence of Charlotte and her siblings means less interest in these events? That's too bad. Or, I guess interest in this particular event on this forum has diminished?
 
I loved what Caroline wore. Charlene's dress was nice but I would have liked it more if her breasts hadn't been showing in front and on the sides. The lavender actually added to the dress keeping it from being ordinary as adding the flower most don't like. She's only been in Monaco full-time for a year. I think she is trying to find her own fashion style like Princess Diana did. As far as the hair the first thing I thought of was Diana when she wore that slicked back style to some event. I wish Charlene would add some bangs and a style that softens her features.
 
There doesn't appear to be a good show of famous faces - this seems to have been increasingly the case in recent years. It is a great pity this event is becoming more provincial rather than an international occasion. I know Princess Grace was largely responsible for making it an important social event in the past, but Monaco still attracts enough of the world's beautiful people to suggest the turn out should be better. (I haven't even seen any pictures of Shirley Bassey or Roger Moore) - thank goodness Ivana turned up:lol:
 
Johnnie said:
Stephanie's dress: Orange? BRIGHT orange?? Wrong, wrong, wrong. And the horrible pattern at the bottom of it? It looks as if a high school home economics-sewing student put her dress together. And wearing a short skirty dress to a function such as this? Oh, someone call the Riviera fashion police! The woman looked like an orange popsicle with chocolate inside (her way-too-dark suntan).
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Maybe she has less financial ressources than her siblings? Necessity to economize? Who knows where she got it from ...
 
It seems an unkind thing to say, but since we're trying to explain... Do you remember when Stephanie was banned from Princess Caroline's pre-wedding ball by her mother because she wanted to wear pants ? It makes you wonder if she is indeed caught in a personal time warp of the rebellious adolescent and made it clear it was either that short orange dress or a no-show. Considering that Caroline's children did not attend, they needed all the warm bodies they could get...

Now, I know I can have horribly bad taste and I'd love to be Johnnie's student here, since he claims he could often dress women better than they can, but I have a certain fondness for that dress. It looks wrong on Stephanie, it looks wrong for the occasion, and yet... there is almost a self-parodying effect to it that is endearing: a sort of Grease revisited.... The question might be : What was Stephanie trying to do ?
 
Avicenna said:
Maybe she has less financial ressources than her siblings? Necessity to economize? Who knows where she got it from ...
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Don't be ridiculous. I do agree with Johnnie about the dresses and with Angela. I am in doubt, however, about Caroline's dress. It could be that it looked better in reality, because of the material, and I would have liked to see the back. But in general, I am not impressed about the appearances of these people who have all the money and aid in the world to dress to impress.
 
LOL! Good one, Avicenna! ;)

Yes, perhaps Stephanie shopped at a Paris bargain basement shop for her Red Cross Ball dress? Although, I think Steph is well off, financially speaking.
 
After seeing the pics, I think Melanie looked great, she is very stunning. She looks like a young version of her mom and grandmother. I wish there were more pics from the dinner and party, but it seems the coverage this year is being like in 2005 or 2006. Maybe there wasn't an opening dance like always since it was a rock concert, however it would have been nice to get pics of when the Retrospective Red Cross Ball video was shown.

I guess if they had gotten together on stage previous Red Cross Ball performers it would have been a great show too and maybe more appropiate for the anniversary. They did something like this back in 1998. Probably the 60s rock concert would have been better for a Rose Ball, which they had in 2002 with a similar theme.

Stephanie's dress indeed reminds me of her 1982 Red Cross Ball dress, she looked nice regardless of the length. I guess Stephanie is someone who likes to be herself and do and wear what she pleases, and that's what makes her different. She's always taken risks at the Red Cross Balls...who can forget when she wore a necklace over her head in 1987, or her dress in 1998 after giving birth to Camille, or the blue feather boa from 1984, just to name some. And I think she's looked good always despite adding her signature to her Red Cross dresses. It's a pity that Charlotte didn't attend.
 
iloveroyals said:
It seems an unkind thing to say...

Now, I know I can have horribly bad taste and I'd love to be Johnnie's student here, since he claims he could often dress women better than they can, but I have a certain fondness for that dress. It looks wrong on Stephanie, it looks wrong for the occasion, and yet... there is almost a self-parodying effect to it that is endearing: a sort of Grease revisited.... The question might be : What was Stephanie trying to do ?
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I think he was just joking around...but then again, when I look at that dress....

Yes, Johnnie CAN and DOES dress women very nicely. :) A lot of men can, actually, if women would only give men half a chance in regards to their opinions and suggestions. In my opinion, far too many women dress too young for their age. They think they look sexy - no - they look ridiculous.

My simple, basic rule for any woman is: Keep it classic, keep it subtle yet flattering to her particular age and figure. Never dress under your age or over your age; it will be too obvious and is not flattering at all. Stick to classic, straight lines and colours and fabrics which enhance a woman's face and figure and match her hair colour, eye colour and complexion, and do not overpower it. No horizontal lines/stripes, as VERY few women can get away with this. The dress/gown itself should have as little pattern as possible - a little is permitted, but it should be the tasteful accessories (earrings, bracelets, rings which accompany the outifit). NO dress or gown should detract from the woman's face - adorned with subtle make-up - nothing too dramatic or overpowering. Believe it or not, Ladies, VERY few men like their women to be overly made up. Many men prefer women who wear little to no make-up. Too many women go way over the top with cosmetics. NO clunky, trendy shoes with formal wear - they simply do NOT flatter any woman. Shoe heel length should be in accordance with the woman's height and body type - for example, a very short woman looks simply ridiculous when wearing 4 or 5 inch heels.

I could have dressed Stephanie, Caroline and Charlene in a manner that they would have each been knock-outs at the Ball.
 
Johnnie once you make it to Monaco, please tell Charlene she is auditioning for the part, Princess Grace used to play.........
 
Johnnie said:
I think he was just joking around...but then again, when I look at that dress....

Yes, Johnnie CAN and DOES dress women very nicely. :) A lot of men can, actually, if women would only give men half a chance in regards to their opinions and suggestions. In my opinion, far too many women dress too young for their age. They think they look sexy - no - they look ridiculous.

My simple, basic rule for any woman is: Keep it classic, keep it subtle yet flattering to her particular age and figure. Never dress under your age or over your age; it will be too obvious and is not flattering at all. Stick to classic, straight lines and colours and fabrics which enhance a woman's face and figure and match her hair colour, eye colour and complexion, and do not overpower it. No horizontal lines/stripes, as VERY few women can get away with this. The dress/gown itself should have as little pattern as possible - a little is permitted, but it should be the tasteful accessories (earrings, bracelets, rings which accompany the outifit). NO dress or gown should detract from the woman's face - adorned with subtle make-up - nothing too dramatic or overpowering. Believe it or not, Ladies, VERY few men like their women to be overly made up. Many men prefer women who wear little to no make-up. Too many women go way over the top with cosmetics. NO clunky, trendy shoes with formal wear - they simply do NOT flatter any woman. Shoe heel length should be in accordance with the woman's height and body type - for example, a very short woman looks simply ridiculous when wearing 4 or 5 inch heels.

I could have dressed Stephanie, Caroline and Charlene in a manner that they would have each been knock-outs at the Ball.
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Thanks, Johnnie, so you do the book ! (That's in reference to another thread where I suggested Princess Caroline could write a book on style for the over-fifty set.) Also, if the moderators permit it, or on another thread, I'd love to see how you would have dressed the three leading ladies. I wanted to do that myself for Princess Caroline's Rose Ball "mistake" (my opinion) and had found all kinds of interesting designs by Spanish designers, but didn't know where to post them...
 
pruts said:
Don't be ridiculous. I do agree with Johnnie about the dresses and with Angela. I am in doubt, however, about Caroline's dress. It could be that it looked better in reality, because of the material, and I would have liked to see the back. But in general, I am not impressed about the appearances of these people who have all the money and aid in the world to dress to impress.
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Exactly. Well put, Pruts. Far too many women select a dress or gown based on it's appearance on a hanger or model or mannequin; they foolishly think because the dress or gown looks good off of them, it will look even better on them. Caroline chose well, colour wise, but her gown simply hangs off of her, it does nothing to accentuate her body type. Caroline recently is a mystery to me; here is a woman who, in the past, dressed VERY well; she had exquisite taste.

Stephanie? Yes, Steph has always been the wild one, the odd one out, a true individualist. That doesn't mean she could not select clothing that would really bring out the best in her. First thing I would advise Stephanie to do would be to ditch the suntanning and put on 10 pounds - she's far too thin, and women over 40 need the correct body weight as to not 'age' themselves - an older, too-thin woman reveals her age immediately.

Caroline? She needs to ditch the black dyed hair and opt for a softer colour - her chestnut brown looked great on her. Older women rarely wear black or dark brown hair well - as their complexion tones lighten with age.
 
By far albert's girlfriend looked so stunning and stylish...stephanie looked too orange!!!:ermm::rolleyes:
 
Am pleased to read Angela and Johnnie's posts as soon as I saw the photos I felt the same. Caroline is dressed in a nighty the gown is for a younger woman Stephanie is in a child's party dress the hair too servere and the tan too tan. All very telling . At least Caroline spared us the whitr faced and red lips. Charlene looked pretty though and there is hope here.
 
i don't see a reason to put caro down to please charlene,yes caro need some improvement on her dress but it was not too bad also cherlene dress was too tight on her chest you can almost see her thing falling out of it,stephanie dress was o.k no big deal it is a charity ball night, not a runway.:frazzled::wacko:
 
Johnnie said:
Charlene's dress looks too....'done up'. Do you know what I mean?
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No. The cut was simply divine on her thanks to Ms. Ferretti.


It's too busy and fussy. When will women learn that less is more?
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Busy? Fussy?? Far from it. The cut and use of fabric suited her frame perfectly. The dramatic flower accent was tastefully placed by the designer. It is so unfortunate that in some peoples minds Charlene can never do anything right.
 
GlitteringTiaras said:
No. The cut was simply divine on her thanks to Ms. Ferretti.




Busy? Fussy?? Far from it. The cut and use of fabric suited her frame perfectly. The dramatic flower accent was tastefully placed by the designer. It is so unfortunate that in some peoples minds Charlene can never do anything right.
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I beg to differ. It's not that some people's minds that Charlene can never do anything right. It's just that they have a different opinion of the dress than you do. Just because it's a designer gown doesn't make it wonderful. I've seen some pretty hidious designer gowns that have made some very fashionable people look ridiculous. I thought Charlene's dress last year was much much better.
 
I liked Charlene's dress GT. I just would have liked it even better had there been more fabric on the sides of the top. The top isn't to tight either for those who think it is. It's designed that way on purpose. Having worn things like that back in my early 20s if they aren't snug your breasts will be out there for everyone to see with each move or they could fall out. In other words it keeps them in place. On the report card for looks I rate Charlene at B+ only due to lack of fabric. The makeup I've wore those colors back in the 1980s so I can't complain. I think she is trying to find her style. Don't forget while most women were shopping for clothing for work, suits, etc., and developing style she was shopping for swim suits. It makes a difference. Hibou for the first time we can't agree. :flowers:

Caroline got an A+ in my opinion and not every older woman looks good with light colored hair Johnnie I'm one of them. Lighter makes you look older or washes you out. I think Caroline is still as elegant as always she once had a wardrobe misfunction other than that she takes after her mother.

I didn't really look at Stephanie and won't rate her to me a ball is still a long gown and she's looked great in the past. Monaco70s mentioned the time she worn the necklace on her head I liked it.
 
Johnnie said:
I think he was just joking around...but then again, when I look at that dress....

Yes, Johnnie CAN and DOES dress women very nicely. :) A lot of men can, actually, if women would only give men half a chance in regards to their opinions and suggestions. In my opinion, far too many women dress too young for their age. They think they look sexy - no - they look ridiculous.

My simple, basic rule for any woman is: Keep it classic, keep it subtle yet flattering to her particular age and figure. Never dress under your age or over your age; it will be too obvious and is not flattering at all. Stick to classic, straight lines and colours and fabrics which enhance a woman's face and figure and match her hair colour, eye colour and complexion, and do not overpower it. No horizontal lines/stripes, as VERY few women can get away with this. The dress/gown itself should have as little pattern as possible - a little is permitted, but it should be the tasteful accessories (earrings, bracelets, rings which accompany the outifit). NO dress or gown should detract from the woman's face - adorned with subtle make-up - nothing too dramatic or overpowering. Believe it or not, Ladies, VERY few men like their women to be overly made up. Many men prefer women who wear little to no make-up. Too many women go way over the top with cosmetics. NO clunky, trendy shoes with formal wear - they simply do NOT flatter any woman. Shoe heel length should be in accordance with the woman's height and body type - for example, a very short woman looks simply ridiculous when wearing 4 or 5 inch heels.

I could have dressed Stephanie, Caroline and Charlene in a manner that they would have each been knock-outs at the Ball.
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Johnnie - better book your airline ticket and get going!!! You sound like a very good fashion consultant. Thanks for the information. I agree.
 
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