Princess Charlene's Fashion and Style Part 4: April 2012 - June 2012

[Lady Marlboro]

Question - is what appears to be a shawl with the apple green dress part of the dress (in which case it is a little weird) or is it an actual shawl? I liked the more kelly green dress she wore before better.

[Artemisia]

I don't think it's part of the dress; just a matching shawl.

[iceflower]

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Princess Charlene at a mass in Lourdes, France on May 13, 2012, as part of the 54th International Military Pilgrimage,
looking lovely in a simple but elegant combination of dress and jacket - perfect for the event:



** Full view ** Upper part 1 ** Upper part 2 **

[Artemisia]

The general design of the suit is lovely, but I'm really not sure about the lace which she has on in some pictures - looks out of place.
Of course, given the event, it was not inappropriate.

[carrief]

The lace is a mantilla or head covering. Not so common now (50 years ago all women at a Catholic mass would be wearing one or a hat) but in a pilgrimage sit like Lourdes not unusual.

Regards.

[melina premiere]

The mantilla was appopriat, The white mantille is the custom of the catholic women of Monaco, The princesses of Monaco must wear this mantilla and not a hat , Lourdes is not in England but in France and it is the most big sit of catholicism in the world.
It Was a big military internationaly mass over presided by the prince and Princess of Monaco.

[Artemisia]

Thank you carrief and melina premiere additional details.
I understand now that considering the event and especially the location, the mantilla was indeed appropriate.

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by iceflower

.

Princess Charlene at a mass in Lourdes, France on May 13, 2012, as part of the 54th International Military Pilgrimage,
looking lovely in a simple but elegant combination of dress and jacket - perfect for the event:



** Full view ** Upper part 1 ** Upper part 2 **

Like the suit - especially the sleeves - very interesting detail there with the openness.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Very beige and blah but considering the event I'd say Charlene looks good.

[bertie5252003]

I love the outfit on her the beige maybe a bit light on her but it is really appropiate for the occasion IMO

[PrincessApple]

I am not sure that beige (or at least the shades of it that she favors) is Charlene's color - sometimes it seems to look good and other times ok - but it was a fitting choice considering the event. Color aside, I think she looked very elegant and sophisticated. I like the blow wave.

[Baroness of Books]

Meh to the beige, but her hair looks nice.

[Daria_S]

I do wish she wore some color, but the suit does look nice, as does the lace mantilla.

[Jacknch]

Charelene looks lovely. I think she's becoming a great favourite of mine at long last. She's certainly a great asset to her country and has dressed very appropriately for the occassion.

[MARG]

I'm with you on that one, Jack. I think Charlene's style is uniquely her own and she looks really fragile and feminine without being wimpy if that makes sense?

Her penchant for the cream and beige palette suits her and her ensemble for the Mass in Lourdes provided a good example, The sleeves were really interesting and weirdly enough Charlene's beautiful white lace mantilla looked really good with the beige. She looked lovely wearing it and her hair now really reflects her personal style.

[EIIR]

Why is no one in her staff telling her that beige is the last colour she should be wearing? It washes her out completely. She generally looks unhappy, so she needs something to draw the attention of those who are looking at her, and make the awkwardness and discomfort less blatantly obvious. The beige just doesn't do that.

It just looks like something we've seen on her so many times before.

I always have to giggle at Albert in uniform. Most men are improved my military uniform, he is not one of them.

[sophie25]

I would say that from the Rose Ball onwards she's looked far from unhappy, they are constatntly beaming at each other. I love this outfit but the colour isn't great for her.

[Jacknch]

Originally Posted by MARG

I'm with you on that one, Jack. I think Charlene's style is uniquely her own and she looks really fragile and feminine without being wimpy if that makes sense?

Her penchant for the cream and beige palette suits her and her ensemble for the Mass in Lourdes provided a good example, The sleeves were really interesting and weirdly enough Charlene's beautiful white lace mantilla looked really good with the beige. She looked lovely wearing it and her hair now really reflects her personal style.

I think that makes very good sense!

It's important to understand the individual style here, not just what conventions state. Transforming from a sporty athlete with a tall statuesque figure into what most people's assumptions of how a fairytale princess should look is not an easy task. But I think Charlene is doing exactly the right thing if the last few outfits are to go by. Her physical presence is stong and tall and athletic and so what I think is required is less structured, less armour plated clothes in less vibrant in-your-face colours. Accoringly, Charlene's style is very simple elegance, wearing very light tones in very light fabrics with hardly any complicating accessories and in the same shade from head to foot, rather than more obvious colours in heavy, fitted fabrics with too much bling. The green dress she wore recently is an example of what I mean: it was incredibly feminine, in a soft shade of green which allowed her inner strength and obviously strong physique to be tempered and made effortlessly elegant.



I know that beige in itself can be rather a safe, if not boring, shade to wear. It doesn't suit everyone and it seems - from what people say - to be a colour Charlene should not wear even though she obvioulsy likes it. And there lies the key - Charlene likes beige, feels happy and comfortable in it and exudes just as much elegance as if she wore more colour.

We can all avoid beige and cream and wear something else, but maybe we should try a colour not traditionally suited to our colouring and just see what happens. Stepping outside the box of what is safe and sane has created a unique look for Chalrene that few other women or indeed princesses can replicate. And that is the key to Charlene's style.

[Frelinghighness]

Just perfectly elegant. The mantilla was gorgeous also.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Another boring color but she looks better than she has in her most recent outfits. At least this one isn't swallowing her.