Chanel everywhere, little black dresses, and… hippie fashion?! Princess Caroline of Monaco
isn’t only about glitz and glam. In fact, some of her best fashion moments are her quirkiest!
In the 1980s, as Princess Caroline of Monaco was thrown into her work leading various philanthropic
organizations, she always managed to embody style and class with her fashion choices.
In 1986, she was seen on a rainy day in London wearing a stunning red-and-black plaid blazer
adorned with gold chain accessories, paired with a skirt. On her head, she wore a plaid hat that
seemed to match the blazer perfectly. A thick gold cuff bracelet can be seen on her right hand,
while her high-heeled pumps added a pop of color. She held a red Chanel handbag with a gold chain.
“Okay. Now, Chanel. You’re in desperate need of Chanel.”
Chanel is always needed, but when Princess Caroline wears it? It’s a fashion requirement.
Of the look, Isabel Mundigo-Moore noted in an article for Who What Wear that the
royal was likely to have drawn inspiration from the late Princess Diana's apparel.
Red dresses can be everything from sexy to regal to classic. On Monaco National Day in 2018,
Princess Caroline of Monaco made her grand entrance in red, looking a bit of all three.
She exuded royalty and elegance in an asymmetrical caped gown in bright red from
Stella McCartney. She accessorized the gown with long white gloves,
dangling earrings, black-and-gold cage sandals, and a red clutch.
In addition, the princess wore a red-and-white sash featuring the
official colors of the country's flag. The sash was also adorned with the Grand
Cross of the Order of Saint Charles, a badge that featured multicolored jewels.
While some of Princess Caroline's looks are more classic and subtle,
others are bolder. In 2017, she was pictured at the Rose Ball alongside longtime friend
Karl Lagerfeld wearing a Chanel creation that can best be described as dramatic.
Not everyone could pull off this look, but the princess did so with
seemingly effortless confidence. She wore her hair down for the occasion,
showing off a pair of dangly earrings. The black-and-white,
full-length gown features a full collar neckline with a gold and emerald embellishment.
The top of the dress is decorated with a black-and-white checkered design; a pink
ribbon divides the top from the rest of the dress, which features a pattern of black swirls against
a white background. Completing the dress are dramatic ruffled sleeves in white with black trim.
In an article from the Red Carpet Fashion Awards,
writer Rachel Watkins described the princess' gown as:
"The epitome of elegance-meets-whimsicality."
We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
More than once over the years, Princess Caroline of Monaco has wowed in pink,
but in 2018 she took pink to another level.
“On Wednesdays we wear pink.”
Caroline showed up at the 2018 Rose Ball in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in a similar dress alongside
her daughter, Charlotte Casiraghi, and close friend, renowned Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld.
The Chanel dress, which was featured in the fashion house's spring 2018 couture show,
has a mesh material at the top and on the ruffled sleeves. The skirt of
the dress boasts the same ruffles layered in three separate tiers.
As Catherine Kallon of the Red Carpet Fashion Awards noted,
the look was a departure from the riskier Chanel creation the princess had worn the year before.
Another work of art worn by Princess Caroline of Monaco appeared in 2019 at the Rose Ball
in Monaco. Pictured alongside her brother, Prince Albert of Monaco, Caroline wore an
off-the-shoulder gown in black, set off by an explosion of pink ruffles along the side.
The princess accessorized the bold yet feminine look with diamond earrings and
a Van Cleef and Arpels three-string pearl necklace adorned with diamonds.
According to Hello! Magazine, the necklace had belonged to the princess' late mother,
Grace Kelly, and this was the first time Caroline had worn it.
The 2019 ball was particularly sentimental,
as it was the first one since the death of the princess' close friend Karl Lagerfeld,
with whom she had planned the event each year, noted the Evening Standard.
While this next dress gives off some court jester vibes,
we still love it. At a Royal Palace Christmas event in 2009, Princess
Caroline wore a stunning gray Chanel dress from the fashion house's 2009 pre-fall collection.
Even in gray, the princess managed to look festive,
thanks to the dress' fun geometric design and ruffled neckline, sleeves, and hemline.
In a rare 2014 interview, Caroline made a comment to AnOther about
her sense of style that seems quite appropriate in light of this look:
"I was growing up in the hippie years and maybe there's a bit of that lingering
on. I think you have to have a sense of fun, even if it's not in perfect taste.”
Princess Caroline has a habit of wearing looks straight off
the runway and in October 2019 she did just that.
When she attended the Secret Games, a 1920s speakeasy-themed event at
the Casino de Monte-Carlo, she wowed in a short-sleeved, feather-fringed gown.
The gown was first seen as part of Chanel's Spring/Summer 2014 Haute Couture collection.
Along with the gown, Caroline wore simple accessories with the statement dress.
We've already noted Princess Caroline's love of tiered dresses and gold accessories. In
this look from 2004, she indulged in both. That May, Caroline was dressed to the nines to attend
a gala held the night before the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik to Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
Her gold halter gown features tiers of shiny satin, each embellished with shimmering beads,
per The Court Jeweller. Her matching gloves, clutch,
shoes, and historic collection of jewelry completed the look.
While Princess Caroline has had her share of tried-and-true looks,
she also likes to change things up a bit. When she attended an AIDS charity
gala wearing a short, silver-and-white dress by Lanvin she truly changed it up.
While at first glance, the dress appears to have a watercolor effect,
a closer look shows that it's actually not an abstract design at all but an image of a naked
statue. Knowing this subtle design, the name makes more sense, it's called the Statue Print Dress.
It's a sleek and modern look that's also a bit "daring," as Town & Country
described it. Additionally, while we absolutely love her open-toed stilettos,
the eye-catching sandals didn't take away from her overall look.
The princess wore her hair down for the event while keeping it behind her
ears to show off her dainty pearl earrings, a subtle nod to her penchant for classic pearls.
When choosing an outfit for a wedding or a night out, nothing beats a little
black dress. Princess Caroline showed her love for the classic favorite when
she donned a simple black dress to celebrate something else she loves: equestrian sports.
As New My Royals noted, she was joined by her daughters, Charlotte Casiraghi and Princess
Alexandra of Hanover, as well as her son, Andrea Casiraghi, at the 2016 Longines Global Champions
Tour of Monte Carlo. Although she loves Chanel, Caroline's little black dress wasn’t designed
by Chanel. Instead, she donned a dress from Lanvin known as the Bicolour Crepe Dress.
The sleeveless sheath dress, which is made of 100% silk,
is described as having a round collar. What makes the dress so unique is its neckline,
which gives the illusion of a plunging v-neck without actually showing skin.
While the dress itself is simple and stunning, the princess' eye-catching
white statement drop earrings and unique bracelet added the perfect complement.