The Royalty Nerd

I hate to be negative, which is why my least favourite looks of the year are getting posted today so that we can end tomorrow and 2023 on a high note. I wasn’t a fan of any of the outfits on this list for one reason or another. Once again, I will be relying on the fabulous UFO No More for help with the ID’s. Let’s begin!

10: Queen Camilla-October 18th

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There’s a lot going on with this look. First of all, the first appearance of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara in the reign of King Charles III took all of us by pleasant surprise, but it wasn’t enough for me to get past the dress. This Bruce Oldfield design just missed the mark for me. I wasn’t a fan of the low waist line and I thought the all over silver embroidery was pretty, but distracting especially for a tiara debut. Overall, just not one of my favourite looks despite the beautiful jewels.

9: Crown Princess Mette-Marit- May 5th

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Most of what Crown Princess Mette-Marit is wearing here is perfectly fine, in fact, I really like the skirt she is wearing. But that damn Alexander McQueen jacket. Red and white are both colours on Norway’s and the United Kingdom’s flags, so I’m assuming that might have been the inspiration here, but to me it looks like she pilfered it from a Canadian marching band.

8: Crown Princess Mary- August 18th

Mary, Mary, Mary. This is one look that I think would work better as separates because I do actually like the individual Ralph Lauren pieces. But together, it’s giving me pyjama vibes. Imagine that jacket with white or black pants? It would be lovely! I’m also not crazy about wearing open toed sandals with this, but perhaps that’s just me nitpicking now. Not one of my faves.

7: The Princess of Wales, February 19th

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This one might get me some flack! Listen, I love Kate’s style, I really do, but this is another case of liking the individual pieces, just not all together. The Alexander McQueen gown is gorgeous, the earrings from Zara are a fun touch, and I do love a dramatic long glove, but all together? Eh. It reminds me of something I’d put together as a kid playing dress up in my mom’s closet. It’s a lot all together. Sometimes, less is more.

6: Queen Letizia- May 16th

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This Bleis pantsuit is a beautiful lavender colour and honestly, sometimes that’s all I need to like an outfit! However my issues with this outfit are fully a me problem and I get that. Oversized blazers are definitely a thing right now, but this one just seems…too big. It’s swallowing Letizia and it’s making her legs look super short! So while it’s a lovely colour and I think the pants alone would look great with another blazer, it’s just too big and boxy for me.

5: Princess Charlene- May 28th

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Alright, we’re in the top 5 and sadly Princess Charlene makes the list. It’s actually a very simple look, how can you really go wrong with a black and white gown? Well here’s how: if you told me this was an expensive beach cover up, I’d believe you. It’s very floaty and not that flattering to her figure. I’m trying to think of what I’d need to improve this look and all I can think is maybe a slit up the side? Otherwise, this Valentino gown is a miss for me.

4: The Duchess of Sussex- September 14th

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A lot of people on TikTok get mad when I include Meghan on my outfit lists, whether it’s my favourite looks of the week or not. But if I like the outfit, I like the outfit, and the same goes for when I dislike the outfit. And I didn’t like this one, so.

This is a blouse from L’Agence and trousers from Gabriella Hearst. The trousers look like they need a good hemming and shorten her torso considerably. They seem super hard to walk in, especially on grass. Pieces being oversized is clearly a theme with this list! There’s also a joke to be made here about wearing neutrals but I digress.

3: Crown Princess Victoria- October 5th

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Crown Princess Victoria isn’t Queen of Sweden yet, but she is Queen of Pantsuits. I can’t tell you how many she’s worn this year but I know that it’s a lot. This one from By Malina was just… blah. Beige, boring, blah. Out of all the pantsuits we all know she has to pick from, this is the one she’s worn multiple times? C’mon Victoria. I know that she has fun with her looks quite often so there’s no reason why we need this one in the rotation.

2: The Queen of the Belgians- September 28th

Ronald McDonald-oop, I mean the Queen of the Belgians is the runner up for my least favourite looks of 2023. This is a full Natan outfit and it makes the list for two main reasons. Number 1: This colour combo is definitely a choice and not one that I like unless it’s ketchup and mustard on my veggie burger, and number 2: this isn’t the first time she’s worn this exact look. This is a fully repeated outfit and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing (we love recycling royals!), it becomes a bad thing when it’s this colour combo. This is one look that needs to retire for 2024.

1: Queen Máxima- April 18th

Máxima what the hell is this?

This is an absolutely bonkers look. There’s a lot going on here and I’m going to repeat what I said previously: sometimes less is more. That’s not something I ever thought I would say about Queen Máxima but here we are. This Swiss cheese coat is covering what looks to be a really lovely outfit underneath! But even that pretty blue isn’t going to save this one. Máx is always one to take risks and I adore that about her but this was one that needed to stay on the rack.