08 December 2014

Royal Closet Raid of the Day: December 8

It's shaping up to be a busy royal week, and I thought we'd kick it off with a little excitement for the sparkliest event coming our way: the Nobel Prize Ceremony, on the 10th. And to do that, another in our series of closet raids is in order. This time we're stealing borrowing admiring respectfully items from the wonder of Queen Silvia's wardrobe.

Silvia has all the age-appropriate daywear you could ask for, but she also has years and years of some of the most spectacular royal gowns around. There's a selection there no matter what your age - just ask her daughter Princess Madeleine, who borrowed one of the gowns worn to the Nobel Prize Ceremony for her wedding reception!
The Nobel ceremony dress archives are the real treasure trove here, and I think I might have to go with 1999's grand number from Jacques Zehnder (one of Silvia's favorite designers), a light pink silk brocade woven with gold roses and featuring a serious train at the back. Gotta have that train, that's one of the things Silvia's best at.
And I might also be swayed here by her use of the majestic pink topaz and diamond demi-parure from the family collection - drool. The set dates from the early 1800s in Russia, where it belonged to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. Made of pink topaz stones surrounded by diamonds and set in gold and silver, the demi-parure includes a necklace with pendants, earrings, and two brooches (one smaller and one larger with a pendant). It's featured in the book Jewels from Imperial St. Petersburg by Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm, where its roots are described as such:
"The set was a gift by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna to her daughter Maria on the occasion of the birth of her second daughter, Augusta. It was inherited by Augusta (1811-1900), later Queen of Prussia and Empress of Germany. She passed it on to her daughter Luise (1838-1923), Grand Duchess of Baden, who in her turn bequeathed it to her daughter Viktoria (1866-1929), Queen of Sweden."
And it has remained in Sweden ever since, where it is currently worn exclusively by Queen Silvia. She uses it as a grand accompaniment to her diamond tiaras, as illustrated in some striking new portraits recently released by the royal court:
Gorgeous. Just wrap those up and we'll be good, actually. But - back on track now - if you need gown inspiration, the Nobel organization has the details on the Queen's gowns, and here's a fun video with many of the Nobel years in a quick flash:
And now, my question to you...

If you could have one thing from Silvia's wardrobe, what would it be? 

Photos: Nobel Prize video, De Kongelige Julever video, Anna-Lena Ahlström / kungahuset.se