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Our very own royal, Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco, put aside her national pride yesterday in order to celebrate Monaco National Day with her husband and his family. For the occasion onse Charlene did ok in the style stakes. Not brilliant. But also not terrible. In fact the navy coat dress that she wore for the day time activities was rather lovely.

Giving Charlene some proportional balance — which is always tricky with the broad swimmers shoulders — means that this coat dress lends her some femininity and elegance. I think it is a super look.

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And she looked very pretty and happy too. It's just that hat. That tiny, tiny hat. With all that shape on her frame, she really needed to play up the head gear. She needed a balanced broad-brimmed hat that worked with the proportions of the garment. Sadly, she looked a bit pin-headed with this particular hat pairing. No?

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For the evening affair, Charlene defaulted to her favourite vibe — a cream sheath gown. She arrived with a coat and gloves over the dress. I wasn't that crazy about it. But I loved the make up with the bold lip colour. That's very modern and cool.

But then the coat came off and she looked magnificent. Just dazzling in its simplicity. With her tall, icy-blonde looks, this is how Charlene looks best. Streamlined. Simplistic. I love it. Doesn't she just shine? Good girl, in the end. Now I need to teach her about proportions and scale. If she gets that down, she should be well on her way. Go Charlene!