After watching the recent Diamond Jubilee celebration that took place in London and (as always) fawning over what the Duchess of Cambridge wore, I became newly inspired to introduce more color to my capsule wardrobe. She just knows how to pull off color beautifully and can wear anything from deep red, to subtle neutrals to bright green.

I recently purchased this bright green dress by Amanda Uprichard to inject some vibrant color into my wardrobe. It's a lovely, lightweight silk piece that has a bit of a forgiving silhouette as I am still losing the baby weight.

If you are unable to see the embedded video above where I show you my new dress, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

As a side note, for all of you Duchess fans, you must check out the blog What Kate Wore to always get a comprehensive post on her elegant style. (Thank you Cashmere Librarian for recommending WKW so long ago!)

So this week I would love to know... how are you with wearing color?


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Before this week’s post beings, check out my latest video On Sleepwear where I show you my own sleepwear collection and discuss the important concept of looking presentable always- even in your pajamas! To see the video click here, look in the sidebar of this blog or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

And now for this week’s post…



For those of you that follow me on Twitter you know how I adore the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I was thrilled with their wedding and thought her wedding dress was one of the loveliest I have ever seen. I wasn’t just thrilled because it was a royal event, however, but because I’ve had my eye on the Duchess of Cambridge for quite some time as one to watch- style-wise.

In our society of late, young women have had few (if any) good fashion role models. Platform pumps, bandage dresses, hair extensions and orange tans are much too prevalent on the fashion scene. Too much flesh exposed, too little grace and class displayed.

And then came Catherine in the public eye- now scrutinized to the last detail like her late mother-in-law Princess Diana. But thankfully this delicate Duchess is anything but garish and showy. In fact, it is my humble opinion that she is single-handedly (if I am to make a play on that famous Justin Timberlake song) bringing “lady” back.

Demure knee-length dresses, court shoes, polished hair and understated makeup (le no makeup look, if you will)- Catherine is showing young women all over the world that being classy, tasteful and polished is the height of chicness and style. My favorite look from the whole tour is the Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen sweater dress she wore to Prince Edward Island (pictured above). I adore this dress because it is a nod to the 20s, nautical and ladylike- perfect for the romance of Prince Edward Island- the setting for one of my favorite childhood books (and apparently the Duchess's too!), Anne of Green Gables.

Elements of her ladylike style:

The dress. Catherine’s dresses are always modest, yet alluring. Her hemlines and necklines do not expose too much skin, yet because her clothing always fits her beautifully she does not come off as frumpy or old fashioned in the least. She also has fun with color wearing yellow, red, lilac and purple on her royal tour.

Sheer pantyhose This look is being dusted off from the 80s and I am, surprisingly, loving it! It is Royal protocol to have the legs covered in tights. Catherine’s flesh colored sheer tights create an added polish to her looks. I am thinking about how I am going to incorporate sheer tights to my wardrobe this fall...

Shoes Catherine’s shoes are always understated and ladylike. She forgoes today’s popular platform heels for more traditional court shoes, tasteful heels and ballet flats. She often wears nude-tone shoes which give her outfits a modern look and are a great way to elongate the leg. In her downtime she opts for classic footwear. Just a few days after her wedding she was spotted going grocery shopping in a pair of London Sole brown croc ballet flats (a personal favorite of my own).

Hair There are several ways Catherine wears her hair:

Long and flowing: a polished blow dry and curling iron create this effect- very princess-y

Half up and half down: with some volume at the crown of her head and the top half of her hair neatly tied back in a semi-bun

Ponytail: Catherine's ponytails are never pulled too tight on her head... she usually has movement and body to her ponytails as is demonstrated in the above picture.

A sophisticated chignon: one of my favorite looks for her- pinned artfully and with volume at the crown, this is a chic and polished hairdo.

Jewelry I imagine as the years go on Catherine’s jewelry will become more and more spectacular. On this tour her jewels have been very subtle and understated- Kiki McDonough gemstone earrings, delicate bracelets, a diamond broach (on loan from the Queen) and, of course, her stunning sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

There you have my recap of Kate's spectacular royal tour fashions. To see a picture of all of the outfits she wore on tour, check out this Daily Mail article by clicking here.

Some critics have called her sartorial choices boring. I, on the other hand, have never been more thrilled.

I would love to know... what do you think of Catherine's style?

This Thursday, look for a special review of Ramy Beauty's Fall 2011 makeup line...


Image of the Duchess in the Alexander McQueen sweater dress is from fashionista.com

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Now I realize by now you may be royal wedding-ed out. But I do hope you’ll indulge me for this special edition post as I dish out my observations on the big event, connoisseur-style.

It is common knowledge on this blog that I am a devoted Francophile but not many of you know that I am also a hopeless Anglophile as well (after all, I did marry an Englishman!) So of course last Friday’s royal wedding was a complete treat for me- as it was for over 2 billion people around the world.

Here are my reactions, sentiments and recaps:


The bride looked beautiful. Her wedding dress, pitch perfect- the lace sleeves were reminiscent of Princess Grace. She exuded elegance. Her bouquet was a lesson in restraint. She purportedly did her own makeup which boggles my mind- she opted for a slightly heightened variation of le no makeup look. Her hair, simple and unfussy. She is a class act.

Prince William- dapper and doting and very handsome. I will admit, I always wanted to marry Prince William, but as you have probably already figured out, that didn’t happen and as I tell my husband, I got the next best thing! (It’s always good to tell one’s husband things like that).

Prince Harry’s cheekiness was refreshing and very attractive.

I loved the hats! I hope seeing all of those gorgeous hats that were burgeoning on art pieces brings back the fashion of wearing hats to more than just special occasions. I must say that the most alluring hats were the ones that complimented the ladies’ outfit and did not overtake their face. There were a few questionable choices made. I will not name names but you probably know who I am referring to.

As a side note, A few years ago I attended a beautiful English wedding in Stoke Poges at the Stoke Park Club and got to wear a hat for the first time (pictured above). Wearing a hat really adds a heightened sense of drama to an outfit. I sadly had to leave my hat in England as it did not fit in my luggage, and I long to be reunited with it again!

Pippa Middleton, sister of the bride / maid of honor, looked stunning in her alluring cowl neck white dress. What a figure! The fact that she wore white was also very fresh and modern, although I hope it does not spark a trend across the world for wedding guests to wear white!

The only reading in the ceremony, done by Catherine’s younger brother James, astonished me. His public speaking skills were excellent! I can’t imagine doing a reading in Westminster Abbey for all of those esteemed guests and 2 billion people watching all over the world. At my good friend Juliana’s wedding in Miami a few years ago I was asked to read a Shakespearean sonnet during the ceremony and out of nowhere broke into tears halfway through the reading. They were tears of joy for my good friends, of course, but no matter what the reason, it is not pleasant to break into the ‘ugly cry’ in front of a hundred guests, so I can only imagine what would happen if I were to do a reading at a Royal Wedding. I suppose it’s best I wasn’t asked.

The procession, the uniforms, the horses, the carriages, the tradition, the pomp and circumstance of it all enchanted me… we don’t have that in America and it is thrilling to see.

And, of course, the Queen looked lovely in her daffodil yellow ensemble…

To celebrate the royal wedding I threw a tea party for 10 of my girlfriends. I had it catered by the Tudor House Tea Room in Santa Monica as I did not have time to make the food myself (although if I had had the time I would loved to have done so). We served five different kinds of tea sandwiches (cucumber, smoked salmon, turkey cranberry, chicken curry and cream cheese herb and walnut), currant scones with clotted cream and farmer’s market raspberry jam, various confections and mini tarts (including apricot, chocolate, and lemon), fresh strawberries with cream and a large sponge cake with buttercream frosting. Yum.



To drink I decided to go with Mr. Connoisseur’s suggestion of Pimm’s cocktails (a splash of Pimm’s gin with lemon soda, ice and a twist of lemon rind), and French berry lemonade for the ladies who did not want Pimm’s. I gave away commemorative tea towels (pictured above) as presents to each guest.

Oddly enough, at the end of the party I realized we didn’t have a drop of tea! Oops! (I did ask, but everyone seemed contented with their Pimm’s!)

All in all it was a lovely day spent with friends to celebrate a lovely occasion. Cheers to Prince William and Catherine Middleton the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. May they have a very happy life together.

** Please note, this special Sunday post will take the place of the regular Monday evening post. Join me again this Thursday for a special skin care review.

** I would like to send my prayers to the families that have lost loved ones on 9/11 and send a thank you to our troops. God Bless America!

What a week!




My Royal Tea Party table is pictured above...

The picture of the Duchess of Cambridge is courtesy of Access Hollywood.

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