Like everyone else, Máxima wears her clothes more than once. But how often? This reader question was submitted by Ingenice. You can read the answer below.
When Máxima made an introductory visit to the province of South Holland in 2001, she wore a black trouser suit with a red scarf. Quite a businesslike choice for a royal performance. And also an economical one, because she still wore the trouser suit that was on duty that day to the office in 1999.
Rewearing well-known outfits is not something Máxima excels at. No royal, except the Moroccan king, discards garments after wearing them once.
It is also not something of recent times. In the time of Queen Emma, rolls of luxurious silk were transformed into robes with long trains. As the fabric started to wear out, the scissors were used again and again. This way you could transform from an evening dress to a bodice, skirt, hat, shawl or, with a bit of bad luck, even a handkerchief or cleaning cloth.
Because there is much more attention to royal fashion nowadays and everything is captured in detail – and in color! – by photographers, the reuse is more noticeable. Regular visitors to this site know how, with every royal news event, I mention whether an outfit is new and, if not, how often it has been worn.
To answer Ingenice’s question, I have included some annual overviews. In 2023 we saw Máxima 152 times. 106 times in a previously worn outfit, 46 times in a new outfit. The new share therefore amounts to 30 percent.
In 2022 we saw 136 looks, including 37 new ones. That year the counter reached 27 percent. If I go back further in time, I keep seeing numbers around 30 percent. We can therefore conclude that Máxima wears a new outfit slightly less than 1 in 3 times.
Certain outfits often appear by royal standards. Think of 8,9, 10 or 11 times.
However, there are also garments that only serve once, such as the three in the collage below. So there are no scripts for recycling clothing. How often an outfit appears depends on Máxima’s taste, previous success, changing fashion trends, the quality of the garment, etc.
Are you curious whether Máxima would be interested in a sustainable dress, hat or bag? That is convenient. Petra will soon start a series about sustainable, royal fashion brands. Do you have a suggestion for this? Let us know!
