Literally everything is thought of.
For her work as a full-time fashionable royal, Máxima travels quite a bit, and every trip naturally requires suitable outfits. That makes us curious: how are our queen’s suitcases actually packed?
The right outfit
To say that Máxima’s agenda is usually well filled is quite an understatement. The queen flies (literally) from here to there, and also knows how to get exactly the right outfit from the suitcase at every destination where she appears. But as a queen you obviously don’t pack your own suitcases, no: Josine Droogendijk of Fashion Queen Máxima tells us that Máx has her people for that.
Fashion failure
Working visits abroad are of course planned well in advance for our Queen. A nice side effect of this is that the court has time to investigate the destination in question. The weather, the culture, politically sensitive colors: everything is selected to minimize the chance that Máxima will make a mistake with her outfit. And that’s a good thing, because accidents can happen just around the corner. This was also evident in April 2016, when Máx visited Germany with her husband.
The seemingly innocent glitter on her cloak…
…it turned out to look a bit too much like swastikas. And of course the queen, as a visitor to a former SS country, was not appreciated for that.
To avoid such misunderstandings, an international visit is also well prepared fashion-wise. Then it is Máxima’s maid Jolanda who packs the suitcases. However, that does not mean that she chooses the queen’s outfits: Máx prefers to do that herself (based on the advice received, of course). Jolanda is then responsible for the practical part.
Spare outfits
For a state visit, four to seven outfits are usually planned. To prevent scandalous occurrences such as a stain on a dress due to a bite of spaghetti or a soaking wet coat due to a downpour, some spare outfits are of course also taken along. All items are neatly placed in a clothing bag. The hats are kept in a designated box, and the responsibility for the jewelry naturally falls to security.
Fixed order
The order of the outfits that Máx will wear during a state visit is determined in advance. However, Josine Droogendijk says that this layout is not set in stone. She refers to an incident between Letizia and Mary in 2004. On the evening before Mary and Frederik’s wedding, a gala was organized at which Letizia was also present. For the occasion she had brought a bright red dress with a train, but fortunately that outfit was canceled just in time. None other than Mary herself would wear an almost identical dress on the eve of her wedding. When Leti heard this, she changed her dresses at the last minute so she wouldn’t take Mary’s spotlight.
Source: Fashion Queen Máxima | Image: NL Image
