Fashion
8 STYLE LESSONS YOU CAN LEARN FROM MÁXIMA
I was already quite royal-minded, but since our king married the Argentine Máxima, I dance on the tables. Read here and here just how much I like her and if you this also take a moment to understand why I am intensely jealous of Josselin Bijl.
Máxima is warm, kind, intelligent, and funny, and by far the best-dressed royal on the planet. That is why I roll out the red carpet for our royal highness Queen Máxima in this column.
Lesson 1
Color on color
Máxima’s outfits are often ton sur ton. A red dress with a wrap in the same shade or at least one that belongs to the same color family. This layering of colors creates calm in the picture. A queen often goes all out with her look. Hair done, a tiara, some diamonds in her ears, and the most beautiful clothing. It’s a good idea to stick to a color theme at official events. Especially since the people around you are likely to have pulled out their best suits as well. Otherwise, it becomes such a color cacophony.
Lesson 2
Never black
Although the little black dress is generally always good, you don’t really stand out in it. If you scour Google Images, you will find exactly one black dress that Máxima wears, and that is at least made of leather. Unless she has to dress appropriately due to a sad event. Black is just too boring for a queen and moreover has the association with mourning while normally the champagne dances from the glasses in joy when the queen honors you with a visit.
Lesson 3
Asymmetrical is better than strapless
The queen's arms seem to become slimmer, more ‘toned’, and tighter with her age, so she can pull off strapless very well, but I still find a strapless dress always a bit medium. The piece from chest to face is too long and too bare. Unless you wear an enormous necklace or drape a beautiful wrap over your shoulders, I often find it a bit dull. Máxima usually opts for an asymmetrical look where one shoulder is bare and the other is not. That breaks the image and makes it much less stiff and more accessible.
Lesson 4
A little belt breaks the whole
Around a dress, over a short jacket, or around that amazing pantsuit from Etro that Máxima recently wore to the Film Festival in Rotterdam: a belt just shows the stylist's (herself) hand a little and makes it a bit funkier.
Lesson 5
Out of your comfort zone
Of course, you can always choose a safe dress with a robe manteau over it, but if you dare to step out of your comfort zone like Máxima, you write fashion history. The denim jacket on Queen's Day, the post bag suit, the aforementioned jumpsuit: Máxima rocks them all.
Lesson 6
Match shoes, coat, and bag
Normally I would say: vary and mix. It’s a bit safe to choose a bag and shoes in the same color. But at official events, that’s different. Máxima is primarily a queen and not a fashion queen. It’s mainly about being stylish and pushing the boundaries of creativity. To not detonate too much in the overall picture, it’s wise to coordinate shoes, bag, and coat.
Lesson 7
Embrace local designers
Kate Middleton does it, Máxima does it, so why shouldn’t you? We have such good designers that you would be crazy not to wear them. Jan Taminiau, Edwin Oudshoorn, the Spijkers sisters, Monique van Heijst… And they are really not all unaffordable. Claes Iversen has, for example, the beautiful ready-to-wear line II by Claes Iversen.
Lesson 8
Print on print
Afraid that a print might become a bit tacky? That won’t happen quickly if you stamp the above rules into your lovely head. And if you then combine a jacket and dress or pants in the same print, you are, with some exceptions, safe. Just a belt around it, okay? And when in doubt, ask yourself the question; What would Máxima do?
