On March 30, 2021, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie visited the exhibition "'Figure in Print'" held at the National Library of Luxembourg. This exhibition exploring the human figure in Luxembourgish printmaking is the result of a collaboration between the National Museum of History and Art, the National Library of Luxembourg (BnL), and Luxembourg’s most renowned engraving workshop: Empreinte.
This major exhibition displays 84 artists of Luxembourgish origin or currently living and working in Luxembourg as printmakers, some of whom were or are significant figures for the Grand Duchy’s art history.
Another shapeless muumuu tent with bad pants, decorated with a bad ponytail held together with a lucky band. And comfy slippers to join to combo of bad and worse. Doesn't even bother to comb her hair properly. Awful. - Ellie
ReplyDeleteI totally agree
DeleteYes, her clothes and shoes are comfy, but I for one don't find it "awful". Her earrings are beautiful and so is her necklace, even if we don't see much of it. Stephanie is Stephanie, I do admit that I always liked her. She never made a lot of fuss about herself. This exhibition is about art, a lot of people like to wear an unspectacular black outfit in the context of art.
DeleteI agree with Coralie, Stephanie does not seem to be vain about her appearance, which I find refreshing in a way. She looks fine here except for the shoulder bag which is the wrong color and looks like a bargain-store purchase. I have wondered just how much money she is allotted for her clothing, while her mother-in-law seems to have an unlimited budget but restricts her daughters-in-law to hand-me-downs for significant events. Stylists cost money too. Just speculation on my part. S.M.
DeleteWell, Ellie, that was a bit harsh... Stephanie is a very intelligent person and seems to have a refreshingly pragmatic attitude to clothes and fashion.
Delete-B.
Cette longue tunique boutonnée sur un décolleté en V flatte beaucoup la silhouette de Stéphanie - Jolies boucles d'oreilles en quartz rose et onyx qui allongent son visage surtout que ses cheveux sont ramenés par une queue-de-cheval. J'aime beaucoup son sac de couleur Bordeaux ou marron foncé ? que j'entrevois tressé ? et qu'elle porte en bandoulière !
ReplyDeleteShe is too young to let go of herself
ReplyDeleteJ.
Not much to say about fashion here other than ultra-relaxed casual. I am curious, is this an official engagement or just a private outing, visiting an art gallery as her personal pass-time? we rarely see her doing any charity work or other meaningful engagements, just art exhibitions one after the other, they don't even seem to have any charitable or other social impact angle. I wonder....
ReplyDeleteEmma
And this is the woman who said in her pre-wedding interview that she wanted to help lonely people.
DeleteWhy is she so uninterested in her appearance?
ReplyDeleteDP
As usual, the other participants are better dressed than the Hereditary GD... I take it that she is not into fashion and nobody says that she should be a fashion horse, but a bit more elegant appearance would not hurt, at least at the same level as the people she is surrounded by. Is that too high of an expectation?
ReplyDeleteE.d'A.
My goodness Stephanie, it is springtime. Why dress in black from head to toe? She could at least have added a colourful scarf and the brown bag doesn't goe with the black outfit.
ReplyDeleteI get that she's a new mother. What I don't get, is with all the stylists and money available to her, this is the best she could come up with ! Why would you attend an event looking like you've popped out to run a couple of errands !
ReplyDeleteAna
I think that out of courtesy and respect, we should stop expressing criticism, even if we do not like her clothing style. Initiatives have to come from her and her family. We will have to wait until she has found adequate ways to improve the situation. I will stop commenting about her, she is then the 2nd on my list to skip commenting, but for totally different reasons.
ReplyDeleteIn the last 2 pictures you can see that the long wide blouse is of a wonderfull darkblue colour and silk (?) quality.
ReplyDeleteI think it suits het down- To- earth style very well!judy
I really hope non of the royals ever drop in on this blog. They could get mental problems from all this clothes and body bashing. Do we ever think about how we would feel reading the same about ourselves and our family. Hope
ReplyDeleteValid point. I, for one, try to create an ensemble and accessories for my looks, from everyday to more formal events. When I take time out of my day to comment on royal fashion, I write as someone who tries to walk the walk and talk the talk, so it's meant as peer review. I find joy and inspiration in the world of royal fashion. I suppose it is possible that someone can use these venues to express less than complimentary opinions, which is their choice for sure. I would find that energy exhausting, so I have chosen to find and express the positive. Everyone is entitled to think and behave as they please. I think there's no such thing as too much positivity in the world, to help balance things out a bit. Just my humble opinion.
DeleteВера💚🦋
There is no body-bashing here.
DeletePeople here discuss clothes and how they like various looks.
Being a royal these days is basically PR work, and as with any PR, it´s all about monitoring public perception and adjusting accordingly.
I think it is highly unlikely any royal will ever read this blog, but if they did, I´m sure they wouldn´t mind the critique. If they did get mental problems from reading a fashion blog, they are not suited for their role. Being under constant public scrutiny is part of the job (which most of the featured women have actively chosen).
Really Vanessa? The other day comment about Steph was like is she pregnant. That's rude. How would we feel if someone asked that about us if weren't. She got trashed with comments that she couldn't dress
Deleteherself and didn't understand her own figure. We have seen Mette-Marit getting trashed for not wearing shaping underneath her dresses. That's our own fault that we are so vain. MM are not afraid to show she has not a perfect body and are proud to show that she have given birth to 3 kids. We have seen MM get angry comment's like go buy you're self a bra. We can all see she is wearing one and even when we know her bad posture are the reason not the bra. We see trashing and body bashing all the time. There are comment about their weight. MM and Steph have gotten comment's about being fat, Kate and Leti about being to skinny. What they wear. How there hair is. How many times have we seen MM, Victoria and Maxima get trashed for their hair. Lately it has been Charlene in that category. We don't have to walk all over them. We can use the golden rule and a little polite and common sense. Why not tell what we like, and keep the rest for us selves. Why do we have to be mean? Jenny
@ Emma .
ReplyDeleteGood question. Maybe Duchess Stephanie is doing minimum public work and reserving her energy for her new role as a young mum. And yes, low key fashion seems to be her choice for the moment.
Thank you deadeggs for expressing your point of view which I respect. I would gladly agree with you (being a relatively new mother myself) if this was a pattern that emerged after she became a mother. I have followed her since she first came into the royal scene, almost 9 years ago, and my comment applies equally to the entire period she has been a member of the grand-ducal house. I was very fond of her, she is definitely down to earth, intelligent and well educated, I was excited to see how she was going to put all that great potential to excellent use and bring a breath of fresh air into the work of the grand ducal family and for the Luxembourgish society at large. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any initiative, project, or cause that she has embraced and shone a light upon... It is disappointing. Over all these years we have only seen her attend official royal events (show up, smile and shake hands type of thing), she did join only one (if I am not mistaken) tour of her husband abroad and, beyond that, visits to art galleries or concert halls seems to be her only interest. Maybe she is saving her energies for when she becomes a Grand Duchess. By then she will have a huge mountain to climb though, and with no "warm up" ...
DeleteEmma
I hope whatever she wants, she is getting to do, and that baby is so adorable, who wouldn't want to spend time with him :)
DeleteShe has never presented as a clothes horse anyway, but she looks nice enough here.
Chel
As we are on a fashion blog, discussing Stephanie's fashion is not wrong. Any criticism is not a personal attack, only a critique of her choice in clothing. We have seen the difference and it is very ugly. I think women know when they look good, and they feel better emotionally and carry themselves differently. I don't think Stephanie dresses to her best advantage, and she obviously doesn't care. I am puzzled by this. Being a new mom may be the reason now, but she didn't care much before either. One positive is that the RF obviously allows Stephanie to make her own decisions, for better or worse, regarding her dress. In contrast, if the stories about the BRF are true, and I suspect there is a fair amount of truth in them, there is little wiggle room in how one can dress. It would be nice if the Luxembourg Royals would become a little more strict with their dress and the BRF would relax just a little in some cases. ~d
ReplyDeleteLook, I don't think this is a great outfit either but I feel bad for the way in which she is being judged. Her body has changed since her pregnancy and she is dealing with it by wearing mostly black trousers and wide blouses. Like many women probably are...
ReplyDeleteShe is also dressed like the mother of a small child, who is very busy taking care of her baby, with her hair in a ponytail. I don't think she has a nanny, except for when she is on engagements. In an interview, she said that she takes care of the baby during the day, while her husband works and he takes over evening & night duties. I know she could afford a nanny, but this is what she wants to do and I very much respect that. Here is a woman who has tried for many years to have a child and here it is, her much longed for & adored baby, and you can see in every picture with him just how much it means to her!
So I know most people expect more of a Duchess, but she isn't yet the consort and I'm sure that at some point she will go back to spending more time on picking out fashion and feel comfortable wearing something other than black trousers and wide blouses... Though, honestly, considering how these women's bodies are judged (also on here), I also couldn't judge if some of them never get comfortable with fashion. Wearing dark trousers & a wide dark top is as much of an escape from body judgement as you can get, it conceals the figure.
I agree with your comment 100%. A young mother myself, I dressed this way too, but with jeans instead of black trousers. It's easy, practical to have a kind of uniform to use every day. It will probably evolve when Charles gets older (once your energy gets up again).
DeleteI very much like the earrings she's wearing. She does a lot of visits recently, more than other members of the family, it appears. Good for her.
Stephanie's body is not being judged. No one disputes that a woman's body changes when she has a child. It is her wardrobe that is being judged. As a royal, it is really surprising that she is not presenting herself in the best way she can. The wonderful thing about fashion is that there are many tricks to dressing for each body type. She also has a job that should come with an expectation that she appear professional. She doesn't have to look Maxima-level pulled together, just somewhere between that and what she has been wearing. She is wearing an oversized top with no structure. I promise you that she looks much bigger than she is. She makes so few public appearances, it really shouldn't be a problem to have a working wardrobe and save these clothes for her days at home. We all dress more casually at home. I believe official engagements require better from her, and she has no excuse for not asking for help if she has trouble figuring it out on her own. Her body is not an excuse. Any body type can be dressed beautifully. ~d
DeleteTo Anon 17 15, the purpose of this site, as I have always understood it, is to comment on clothes and, by association, overall appearance. It’s also not correct to describe her as a new mother as Prince Charles is only a month away from his first birthday. She doesn’t need all out formal or glamorous outfits but it’s not too much to ask anyone in the public eye to appear as if they’ve made some effort when appearing at events.
ReplyDeleteI think she looks fine. There is no need to impress everyone or anyone. I like the black and navy on her and it does help her look slimmer. We all can't be thin and, some of us don't desire to be. Ann B
ReplyDeleteI am totally agree with you Anonymous 21 : 38 .
DeleteThat is true Ann B, not everyone is thin, but you can just look no further than Stephanie's MIL.... She is not thin either but has way much more style and most of the time (with some exceptions here and there) knows how to dress in a way that flatters her body without looking dowdy or as if she cannot be bothered. Her body shape is not the issue here, it is how she chooses to dress it. As women of all shapes and sizes we all try to make the best of what we have. Choosing the right style for our body, the right cut, length, pattern, colour etc. can make a huge difference, and it is completely possible even on a tiny budget, let alone on a royal budget.... My mother is 85 and she still goes regularly to the hairdresser to have her hair styled and dyed, and she has no other income than her modest pension. It is not vanity, it is self respect. I think Stephanie was better put together in the early days of her marriage, I feel like she gradually let go of herself as time went by, she lost interest in her appearance. I have come to the conclusion that this is actually her real self, perhaps the occasional better dressing in the early days was a rather unnatural thing for her, maybe she wanted (or was even requested) to project a more regal look and, as with everything that goes against one's innate inclination, that faded away and what we now see is the real Stephanie. Well, so be it. Life goes on.
DeleteE.d'A.
I have always liked Stephanie. Her wedding dress is one of my all time favorites. She was a truly beautiful bride and she comes across as someone who is very genuine and nice. She can look lovely and very well put together when she tries, but I tend to agree with those who say that she probably isn't all that much into fashion. When I was young I spent some time in Belgium as an Au Pair for an aristocratic family. One thing I noticed and which surprised me was that they could not have cared less about clothes. Any old thing would do! Maybe that is how Stephanie was raised too.
ReplyDeleteSo true Gemma. Just because one is born or is married into royalty or aristocracy doesn't mean that they see themselves as fashion plates to the public. Most of them - and I say this from knowing a few such people - consider themselves to be as ordinary as possible. A basic sense of neatness and decorum in their dress and appearance is as much as they are interested in; they are happy to throw on their glad rags and make a bit of a fuss occasionally, but otherwise it's as plain and ordinary as to gets and they are happy that way. Nothing wrong with that.
DeleteSome of them change their style as they find their work needs changing and that might well be Stephanie's case. I think she's very down to earth and doesn't care for any fuss.
- Anon 9:13
I am in my late sixties, but I remember it being very difficult to lose weight after I gave birth to my children. For some of us, it takes years for our bodies to return to our former weight and shape. Also, we don't know how money for clothes are apportioned in the family. Stephanie may not want to spend a lot on clothes during this transition time, in hopes that she will need to change sizes frequently after giving birth. I believe that when Guillaume ascends, her clothing budget will increase and she would have a professional stylist. Remember, too, that as we watched and waited for years for her to announce a pregnancy, she probably felt self-conscious, know that all eyes were on her for signs of a pregnancy. I think she's doing great.
ReplyDeleteI agree, we don't know how much money Stephanie is allocated for her clothing. After all, Stephanie has often been wearing Maria Teresa's old clothes in the past, as did Alexandra and Tessy. The only one who never has is Claire, who has a lot of family money of her own. So while the family has a lot of money, I wouldn't be so sure that it is available for Stephanie's clothing and/ or a stylist.
DeletePersonally, I'm just glad she doesn't have to wear Maria Teresa's old clothes anymore.. They did not fit, and neither did they fit Tessy and Alexandra.
Some people just interpret fashion opinion like a personal affront... I haven’t seen body shaming comments, only the ones complaining about the people giving their honest fashion views are the ones implying that there is something wrong with her figure....
ReplyDeleteGo figure!! and bringing up the subject about being a new mom, which is getting old since the baby is almost a year old... could it be that Stephanie just doesn’t have any sense of style? Possibly is not a priority for her, otherwise she would hire somebody to help her. She dressed badly before and still does. My opinion has nothing to do with her as a person, her character or personality, this is a fashion blog and we are judging clothes, period. This is a most unfortunate outfit, one can be casual, but this ensamble is beyond that.
CB
Stephanie has never been and will probably never become a fashionista. Either she is not interested or doesn't have a clue or is depressed, we don't know.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm following her for 9 years already and what I've seen is that after her marriage, Guillaume and she had many engagements (for such a small country, of course, not for GB), went on overseas business trips, etc. But with years, the number of their engagements decreased, and Stephanie was reduced to arts only. The quality of her dressing decreased accordingly.
At the same time, I've read that neither she nor any other girl in the family – including Alexandra – had never had a stylist or a hairdresser or a makeup artist. And all of them (even Claire several times) wore a lot of poorly fitted hand-me-downs from Maria Teresa. People claiming that they live in Luxembourg wrote to different forums in different years that even for National Day galas, Stephanie, Alexandra, Tessy, and Claire didn't get any professional help with their clothes or makeup – only a one-time visit for a hairdo.
Waringo report, afair, never mentioned a person in G&S's household whose position sounded like having anything to do with clothes.
The only woman in the family who seems to have an unlimited budget for style and clothes is Maria Teresa.
Of course, we all do on our own. Of course, Stephanie can ask her sisters or close personal friends for advice. Of course, being an heir's wife at an official engagement isn't the same as being an ordinary Jane Doe at her grocery shopping.
But when we ask why Stephanie doesn't hire a stylist, we don't know whether she is even allowed to do it. Possibly, she asked for one and was refused.
And when we say that she looks grumpy and unkept (and she often does, and it's a great pity) and compare her to her mother-in-law, we compare a girl with no help and no clue to a woman who has all the help she likes, all the Photoshop she wants and all the money in the family she wishes to spend on Armani and Saab.
And personally I think that it is Henri – as the head of state and as the person in the family who distributes the money – who must hire Stephanie a stylist. In the same very way as it was done by Queen Margrethe, Queen Beatrix, and Prince Charles.
I guess we all come from different backgrounds. The way I was brought up, my mum would go to her job always appropriately dressed, even if she had to walk over 30 minutes, sometimes in -20C winter blizzard. She would wear a scarf. Match her top with her shoes. Wear a unique brooch Yes, she had a higher level of education than average, a more senior role, but also a sense of ‘responsibility’ to dress accordingly. Not just comfortably. I share her point of view. Stephanie probably doesn’t.
ReplyDeleteCH
Liked her from the very beginning and still do. Stephanie had some elegant performance before the baby & christmas with the lovely prince Charles, her birthday pictures are beautiful. When having a photoshooting she is very well dressed.
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