Red Cross Ball, Monaco: 2005 - 2019, 2021 - 2024


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Johnnie, I think I will go with you to Monaco as your fashion assistant and then we can go and sort the York Princesses out. Someone mentioned money which is absolutely nothing to do with howgood/bad someone dresses. I can say with total confidence that I could have bought a dress from a department store and with hair and make-up done I would have looked better dressed than that trio of ladies. Caroline and co. would have spent a fortune on thoses dresses and IMO they just didn't look good.
 
The dress by Alberta in white organza/chiffon should be cut and fitted to her body in the bodice right into her armpits and not hanging on her chest. I do not blame Miss Wittstock for this but the fitters. They also should have the lady look at her accessories harder as purple shoes[same as the colour at the bottom of her dress] and stole would have made this outfit exceptional.
The flower was a lovely retro touch from the seventies - but we have to look at symmetry as the flower was almost as big as the face of Miss Wittsock and I am not certain that it was actually the greatest for that gown. Perhaps a bunch of smaller flowers in a cluster would have been better. Again the designer's call.
BY far her best appearance although I find her make- up would have been spruced up had she worn the deeper lipstick.
In fact I think Miss Wittstock could be painted like this and in this gown for all time in an official portrait. I think Miss Wittsock does not need a designer gown anyway as she does not have to wear the label on her forehead to look good or bad like all of us.
 
Obviously she was dressed by a stylist, and most certainly a stylist that was paid for by the Palace. This was a calculated move by the Palace to showcase Charlene as part of the family and possibly the next Princess of Monaco.
 
I don't know much much the French magazine VSD knows. In their 25 June-1st July issue, Albert and Charlene grace the cover, and the cover story is about the imminent marriage announcement. But we've read that a dozen times before, so I don't know how much credit to give to that "scoop".
 
Jaya said:
The dress by Alberta in white organza/chiffon should be cut and fitted to her body in the bodice right into her armpits and not hanging on her chest. I do not blame Miss Wittstock for this but the fitters. They also should have the lady look at her accessories harder as purple shoes[same as the colour at the bottom of her dress] and stole would have made this outfit exceptional.
The flower was a lovely retro touch from the seventies - but we have to look at symmetry as the flower was almost as big as the face of Miss Wittsock and I am not certain that it was actually the greatest for that gown. Perhaps a bunch of smaller flowers in a cluster would have been better. Again the designer's call.
BY far her best appearance although I find her make- up would have been spruced up had she worn the deeper lipstick.
In fact I think Miss Wittstock could be painted like this and in this gown for all time in an official portrait. I think Miss Wittsock does not need a designer gown anyway as she does not have to wear the label on her forehead to look good or bad like all of us.
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I like what you've said about the fitting and the addition of the right stole and shoes but I just feel that Charlene looks better in clean lines and not frou frou. I think the dress clashes with her personality in that regard. I liked her in the short turquoise dress she wore to the concert. That color suited her much better but again it wasn't properly fitted. I did not like her hair and make up as it clashed with the dress too severe and the make up washed out her features entirely. I still think last year she looked much better. JMO
 
I really liked Caroline's dress, especially the color. I also loved the earrings even though they were big, I thought she looked very elegant and classy.

I was also looking at pictures of Bill Wyman and his wife, she looks like a corpse with that awful makeup and hair. Someone should have told her that this was the Red Cross Ball, not Night of the Living Dead!!
 
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I like the looks of the three ladies. Charlene is the best this time. Caroline is one of the few women who can pull of a dress like that. I really like the color and patern of Stephanie's dress, but I think it would have looked better if it was long and strapless.
But over all, bravo! Great location and decoration too.

Ps: For those who have suggestions for other dresses: maybe someone could open a fashion suggestions thread in the Royal Fashion section, there you can give all your suggestions for the Monaco ladies.
 
I liked that grand entrance into that beautiful walkway outdoors. What a lovely setting for this year's gala. I thought they all looked very good and happy. I was glad to see Charlene making her entrance next to her beau, but I felt bad when she didn't get any flowers and that is up to Prince Albert. Princess Caroline is a beautiful woman and I loved her simple gown which for the summer evening was perfect and what a pretty color. Princess Stephanie looked good and happy, but the dress, although I did like the color, it should have been long and I don't like her hair pulled back that way. You could see that snake like tattoo she has on her back. Charlene looked glamorous, also simple, I loved that vanilla color and her hair with the platinum highlights. She has a very pretty face and beautiful eyes which were enhanced by the rose-lilac color of her eyeshadow. But most of all, everyone seemed so happy to be together and to be at the gala. Prince Albert looked handsome in his white jacket tuxedo and I could see in some of the photos how sweetly he looks at Charlene. Compare her with some of the other women that attend these events and I think that Charlene outshines them by far. She is a statuesque beauty. I would be happy is she attends next year's gala at least as his fiance. I also liked the fact that although Princess Caroline is the first lady of the Principality, she stepped back and allowed Charlene to make her entrance next to Prince Albert and that shows respect, consideration and that there is obviously a good relationship between them. They all looked wonderful!
 
You know, for all our internal (to the forum) criticism, none of the ladies has made it in the "gofugyourself" website. So it's an improvement over the Rose Ball, where Princess Caroline, of all people, was induced. I am surprised they missed putting either Princess Stephanie or Mrs Wyman, I can see how much fun they would have had with them. But personally, I agree with you, miraglia1983. I think my expectations were so low that on the whole, I thought it all went quite well.
 
Oh my...it looks like someone has take someone else place to stay in the frontline...
Anyway it looks a natural thing, Albert and Charlene are a very handsome couple...
 
cdm said:
I like the looks of the three ladies. Charlene is the best this time. Caroline is one of the few women who can pull of a dress like that. I really like the color and patern of Stephanie's dress, but I think it would have looked better if it was long and strapless.
But over all, bravo! Great location and decoration too.

Ps: For those who have suggestions for other dresses: maybe someone could open a fashion suggestions thread in the Royal Fashion section, there you can give all your suggestions for the Monaco ladies.
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LOL The beauty of it all is that we can all discuss what we see, the way we see it. If we all go WOW!!!!! everytime they show up, no matter how they look, there would not be much of give and take after all.:flowers:
 
Charlene, while beautiful, is not the focus of the event; seems the majority of pics are of her - certainly should have been more focus on the family, as well as Princess Caroline and Prince Albert, individually.
 
The most newsworthy person will get most attention. Charlene is the big news - especially as she is by Albert's side for the evening and not walking a few steps behind him and his sisters. Hence, most of the pictures will be of her. Everything else is old hat - the event has been going on for too many years with mostly the same people and Caroline is no longer the cutting edge of fashion.
 
grevinnan said:
The most newsworthy person will get most attention. Charlene is the big news - especially as she is by Albert's side for the evening and not walking a few steps behind him and his sisters. Hence, most of the pictures will be of her. Everything else is old hat - the event has been going on for too many years with mostly the same people and Caroline is no longer the cutting edge of fashion.
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Sadly I think I agree with this comment. The ball does need some a little tired & needs some fresh faces - particularly amongst the high profile guests. Caroline & Stephanie will always attract interest but inevitably the media will want to focus on younger & newer faces. I guess I'm just disappointed Charlotte didn't show- why do you think she hasn't attended yet?
 
Maybe the reason is that this event seems a bit more official and regal in comparison to the Rose Ball in which the Ball is all about the theme, and therefore the atmosphere and show is very dynamic and fun. However maybe it's not an excuse because Melanie and her brother have been attending the Red Cross Ball since 2005 every year, Pierre only went in 2006.

I do agree with the fact that new and younger faces (the Casiraghis) have to start attending this event or it will soon start to loose interest. It's really interesting how a lot of us refer to this ball as THE RED CROSS BALL, because in the past it was Monaco's biggest summer event, bigger than the Rose Ball (which nowadays seems more interesting than this Ball), due to the amount of international celebrities that it brought and the top shows. Nowadays we see some, not all, of the Ball's regulars.
 
charlene's dress is lovely. any ideas on who designed it? she looked just great.
 
This may have come up before but could you clear up the confusion for me ? I understand Princess Caroline is in charge of the Rose Ball and Prince Albert is in charge of the Red Cross Ball. Or is that too simplistic ?
 
I think you are right Iloveroyals and what the Balls need are not a younger element but a more sophisticated one! Victoria and Ivanna? The family is the only draw now and this year they were hardly featured, they barely made it into a few pictures:ermm:? It is really hard to say what these Ball are really suppose to be about anymore?:whistling:!
 
sandsla said:
I think you are right Iloveroyals and what the Balls need are not a younger element but a more sophisticated one! Victoria and Ivanna? The family is the only draw now and this year they were hardly featured, they barely made it into a few pictures:ermm:? It is really hard to say what these Ball are really suppose to be about anymore?:whistling:!
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When you mentioned Victoria, it suddenly fell into place (especially since she seems to be great pals with Albert.) I think they need to gather all the royals of the planet who are interested in the Red Cross and make it the draw for them to gather once a year. Think of all the profits for that agency ! Why, oh why aren't we employed by the Monaco public relations department ? It seems everybody always comes up with fabulous ideas to return Monaco to its former glamour (and therefore touristic destination must) and generate profits for its charities...
 
Charlene

Is it me or does Charlene look older than her age? I don't know if it's because of her makeup, hairstyle or both.
 
Once you get the royal make-over treatment - i.e. all personal characteristics erased - they all look the same from 25 to 45.
 
iloveroyals said:
When you mentioned Victoria, it suddenly fell into place (especially since she seems to be great pals with Albert.) I think they need to gather all the royals of the planet who are interested in the Red Cross and make it the draw for them to gather once a year. Think of all the profits for that agency ! Why, oh why aren't we employed by the Monaco public relations department ? It seems everybody always comes up with fabulous ideas to return Monaco to its former glamour (and therefore touristic destination must) and generate profits for its charities...
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Do you really think so?? I see from the caliber of the guests to the entertainers, it is becoming a bit more provincial and low key. I wonder why the Duc of Castro and lovely Camilla did not attend this year. Also way back Princess Grace could bring over Hollywood stars to throw some glitter in the mix. Where was Roger Moore, Gina Lolobridgida? A few Royals also attended throughout the years. Now it seems like anyone who can "buy" a table can make it in and they are the stars of the night. Perhaps they should move it at a time when less people are on vacation??
 
Well when the Red Cross Ball took place back, the harbor in Monaco was filled with celebrities and their yachts. Even though it's not a Red Cross Ball anecdote, I remember reading Caroline say at this year's Rose Ball, that for 1964's Rose Ball , the performer (I think it was Sammy Davis Jr.) had gotten ill, and that night among those attending the Ball was Burt Bacharach, so he hopped on stage and saved the night. Then for an early 70s Red Cross Ball, the same happened and Josephine Baker saved the night once again. I guess if that happens nowadays, due to the caliber of the guests that everyone is mentioning, the Ball would somehow be left out with a show, sad.

I agree where was Roger Moore, Gina Lolobrigida, Shirley Bassey, and the others which are Ball veterans. For this year they could have gotten on stage previous Ball performers that are still alive like: Tony Bennet, Shirley Bassey, Michael Bolton, Liza Minelli, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Elton John, and Paul Anka just to mention some. Imagine what a show it would have been, a great celebration for the Ball's 60 years and I'm sure a lot of Ball veterans and frequent guests would have showed.
 
Seems to me it is like most other things. Princess Grace put Monaco on the map. (Don't forget her mother thought she became engaged to the Prince of Morroco, when e first heard the news:whistling:) She brought Hollywood and with it came the emigrees and the moneyed who wanted to rub elbows with the elite. In the process the fund swelled.
Nowdays the moneyed are after other pursuits and apparently do not give a hoot about the Ball. The Old Hollywood is truly old and the younger Royal clan cannot attract the Sammy Davis and the Josephine Bakers of today.
BTW Every year there was a tombola where they were drawing some beautiful jewelry from Reposi. Does anyone know if they had it this year??
Perhaps moving to the gardens was not such a bright idea after all.
 
I imagine there was a tombola like always since the Repossis were there. They moved it to the gardens this year because the Ball room this year was used for some rock concerts during the summer, so it would have been difficult to organize everything I suppose in hours.

And you're right Odette, the times have changed...
 
The Monaco Times reports:
"In the raffle this year, there is a wonderful ‘Heart Jewel Set’ to be won. The valuable donation from the Repossi Jewellers consists of a necklace, a bracelet and earrings in white gold and gemstones. The proceeds will be used to fund international and Monegasque projects. "
 
That's very nice. Wonder who the lucky guest was!!!!!!!!!
 
Odette, you are so right. Dare I say that Princess Grace would not have shown her ahem b---- as much as Charlene has. Maybe I'm old fashioned but gee golly whiz. If Albert wants a girl like his mom keep looking. Grace would not have been caught (unless theres a photo I havent seen) in a dress that was that revealing. Does the girl just love halter tops?
 
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