On November 18, 2025, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium received individuals who had been granted a noble distinction or an honor in recognition of their achievements in their respective fields. The ceremony took place at the Royal Palace in Brussels. King Philippe presented the letters patent to the recipients of noble distinctions, an official document that confirms their title. For the occasion, the Queen wore a blue 'Vapeur' dress by Natan.
Both of them look tired on pic1. I rather like the dress, in spite of top rather complicated. Good color and hair styling
ReplyDeleteThe color of Mathilde's dress is very flattering, but that's the only good thing I can say about it. The design is awful. It must be from Natan. Only that atelier could create a garment so ill-fitting.
ReplyDeleteDiana
La robe est d’une couleur : le bleu roi ! De même, elle est d’une belle longueur. La matière semble être du velours, ce que j’apprécie également.
ReplyDeleteJ’aime sa paire de boucles d’oreilles et sa coiffure. Les cheveux relevés ainsi lui vont à ravir.
Par contre, je n’aime ni le sac ni le design de sa robe.
-Astrid.
Dear Natan, next time please finish the upper part of the dress before declaring a heap of haphazardly arranged fabric as design feature.
ReplyDelete15:29 I agree. Natan seems to do this often and no other brand does. The unfinished look! Very weird. She looks great but despite the very unfinished dress.
DeleteToo funny! I think Natan should just hang it up as a "designer" and try a different profession.
DeleteKim
Natan is a company not a person. The director Edouard Vermeulen is working together with young designers since approximately 3 years. If he wants he can be retired, but I think he loves being around in his boutiques and ateliers.
DeleteQueen Mathilde wore this dress at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 to attend 2 of the many new years receptions which take place every year at the Royal Palace in Brussels (or at the Castle of Laeken).
ReplyDeleteShe wore new black shoes with it by Giorgio Armani as well as a new "La prima" handbag also by Giorgio Armani. Her earrings are by Percossi Papi.
I think she still looks very elegant in this dress and with her hair in an up do.
King Philippe is looking good too in his beautiful suit.
I agree, although it's an unusual design on the top part. Interesting... but what a terrible name for a dress, "Vapeur"! I'd never buy it!
DeleteDamsel Dragonfly
It is the first time I hear the name of this dress "Vapeur". It only means "Steam" and I wonder what's so weird about it. Besides when the dress was new Queen Mathilde received a lot of good comments. When the people on this blog see something that is out of the ordinary and they discover it is by Natan, automatically it is not good anymore. But our beloved Queen Mathilde isn't influenced by that and she is wearing and doing what she pleases and therefore I admire her.
DeleteIt's in the description of the photos that this dress is called 'vapeur'. In Dutch, 'vapeur' means 'hot flash', like the ones you have in menopause. Curious, no? Edouard Vermeulen, the designer of Natan, is Flemish (Dutch speaking) so he knows this. But regardless the name, it remains a great dress.
DeleteDamsel Dragonfly
@ Damsel Dragonfly
DeleteI am Flemish myself. In Dutch vapeur cannot mean "hot flash" because "hot flash" is an English expression. You never heard of "Steam engines" ? In French they are called "machines à vapeur". In Dutch "vapeur" = "stoom" like in "stoommachine". What you call "hot flash" in English is called in modern Dutch (Flemish) : "warmteopwellingen" (during menopause). Did you ever heard Edouard Vermeulen speak Dutch ? He is from Flemish origin but is raised in Brussels and went probably to French speaking schools. His Dutch is translated French and his Dutch vocabulary is poor. He never heard of what is called in English "idioms" of the Dutch language.
I love the color, love the dress and I think the Queen looks lovely. I am in total agreement with the comment from 18:45 person about posters reaction to Natán, all designers have hit and misses, it’s part of the creative process, this dress is not a miss, look at it and try and get the lines of the drape and the way the sleeves flow with the upper part of the garment and stop being so petty, an opinion is one thing, pettiness is a totally different thing. Rem
Delete@anon 07:49 where I live, we call 'opvliegers' also 'vapeurs'. I thought it was a common word in Flanders but apparently not. It also means steam, I do agree on that. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opvlieger
DeleteI think Edouard Vermeulen actually speaks Dutch very well. He grew up in Ieper and went to school there until secondary school. I do think he mainly speaks French since his studies in Brussels, but you can watch and hear him speak in this podcastvideo: https://youtu.be/UZvs-YFTN6k?si=JNmh3ft-BbKBLFYE
Damsel Dragonfly
This dress is a really good dress until you get to the neckline and shoulder area. That part of the dress is terrible--it bunches at the top of the bust line instead of draping look and is a bad design mistake, it makes the rest of the dress look as if the wearer could not pull the dress down properly. The color is fabulous for Queen Mathilde and the rest of the dress fits her beautifully. She looks so lovely here, so elegant.
ReplyDeleteJanet
The color of the dress is beautiful and the design is unusual. However to Anon 16:25 it is not haphazardly arranged fabric - it looks like it's all one peice with the sleeve being part of the bodice and then attached to the dress. Very interesting construction for a designer and the result is really lovely and elegant.
ReplyDeleteMagnifique bleu cobalt. Les boucles d'oreilles sont belles aussi.
ReplyDeleteLe roi aurait dû choisir une cravate bleue pour égayer son costume car sa cravate est assez terne. Paloma.
La robe est d’un bleu-roi lumineux que l’on retrouve dans ses boucles d’oreilles ainsi que du rouge ; j’aime beaucoup ses cheveux relevés !
ReplyDeleteMathilde’s updo is pretty, and the blue color is a good color on her, but the top of her dress makes her look a little like she got tangled up in a blanket.
ReplyDelete-Royal Watcher
Or attacked by a rabid sheet!😉
DeleteThe color of the dress is gorgeous. Not liking the design of the top half of her dress. Her up style hair looks wonderful. The earrings are beautiful. I love her pose and shoe color. Her small clutch is pretty.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful color blue. The dress design is a puzzle, I don't like the top half. Her up style hair looks superb. Love the earrings. Her hose and shoe color, and bag, perfect color.
ReplyDeleteEn regardant mieux ses boucles d’oreilles, il me semble voir des lapis lazuli (bleu) ; qui pourrait dire ce que sont les pierres rouges ? Merci..
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. Talent flourishes when acknowledged and honored.
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