Monday, January 28, 2013

FAIL: Yrma Withers In Sophisticated, Latin Settings With Global Audience: Treats Life As Her Own Casual Trip to the Mall

"Suck on it, bogan!"
"OK, let's go under the bleachers."


God, she is an embarrassment. Yesterday, 27 January, Mary jetted off (business class? 1st class? private Lego jet?) to Barcelona for the World Championship of handball. Spain and Denmark were in the finals. What a perfect opportunity for Mary to prove to the Danes - by contrast with the sophisticated, formal Spanish - that she is about as poor a representative for them as one can get. Danes, if this isn't a splash of cold water, than I don't know what is.

Our clueless little filly was no doubt uber-excited about being at a sporting event that would not only burnish her phony credentials as "Sporty Mary", but she knew full and well that she'd be surrounded by MENS. Loads of them. Probably lots with money. And best of all she'd be required to sit next to someone she most likely knows is her superior in terms of classiness, but someone her middle class sensibilities believe is also a snob just by virtue of being a class act. You know she felt she has something to prove to Felipe who didn't let her rub his chest during the Sydney Olympics, whose wife upstaged Mary at her own wedding, whose children are gorgeous and tri-lingual, who can form a complete sentence in his own or another language. Too bad for Felipe that Cousin Joachim and his wife couldn't come instead; Letizia might have cleared her calendar for thatty, they all get along so well.

Felipe is such a royal! No trace of disgust with this bogan he saw catch, gut and fillet Cousin Fred that night in the Slip Inn in September 2000. No apparent nausea in the presence of the poorly clad sheila who is treating an official visit to his country like another day at the mall shopping for the kids. Mary is such a slob! Untucked hippie shirt hanging out from under a weird, belted dark suede jacket with faded jeans (she has nicer, darker rinse jeans; this pair is the one she wore to visit Amber Petty in Adelaide - Felipe, that's an affront, brother!), and new heels. What a mish-mash! She didn't need to wear a dress or skirt, but JEANS for f*ck's sake? FADED JEANS. With a shirt that looks like it smells of patchouli badly coordinated with a jacket. With a belt. Of course. How else would we know it's Mary?

Danes, this is what represents you. A tacky woman with no sense of occasion who believes her title is enough to make you love her, despite her lack of elegance and class. To show up to be Denmark's highest representative dressed as if she stopped by on her way back to the store to exchange socks. She has no clue. The Spaniards weren't impressed. She seemed to try to sing the Spanish national anthem, but couldn't really muster the Danish one (hint, Mary: you are no longer Australian). She didn't call out pouty Mikkel Hansen for taking off his second place medal not long after she put it around his neck (and this is someone they let Xian do his Usain Bolt imitation with). Not such a good sport or role model for Danish children, after all. Well, that's par for the course in Mary's world. Get used to it Denmark. Bad behaviour is tolerated.

Congratulations, Spain! Can't wait for the photies of the adorable Infantitas with the team!

Video: TV2 (Mary handing out medals)





 
  


 

 

 





 



Photos: Claus Fisker, Scanpix/POLFOTO, Luis Gene

Friday, January 25, 2013

In Case You Were Wondering: Why The World Loves Mary: Because The Reasons Are Not Obvious Nor Do They Make Sense



Billed Bladet brings us news of a feature on Yrma in the current issue of IN Magazine, a Danish fashion publication. It's titled, of course, Why the World So Loves Mary. Because you've wondered. Really looked hard and wondered.

Article with Photo Gallery: IN Magazine

Why the World So Loves Mary

Crown Princess Mary is known for her good style. In fact, according to the international fashion press, her style is so sure that she is often highlighted as an example of how to dress in a way that is feminine, timeless and elegant.

Since she married Crown Prince Frederik in May, 2004, Mary has ranked high on the list of the world's best-dressed. In 2012 she was thus once again on Vanity Fair's prestigious honours list 'Best Dressed Women'. But what exactly does our Crown Princess do stylistically? Why is everyone so crazy about Mary?

"I think she is modern and elegant. She is conscious about the trends that are known each season, and so I like that she is faithful to Danish fashion and therefore is a good representative of Danish design and the Nordic culture. She uses things such as fur, because that is what we traditionally have to keep us warm in the winter," says IN's fashion editor Louise Amstrup.

And that is exactly what her style is Nordic touch that makes her so popular and she seems indeed to have inspired a younger style-competitor: namely Duchess Catherine of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton. The two style-princesses are often compared.

"The younger generation of the royals have been good fashion ambassadors. Both Kate Middleton and Mary have a bourgeois background. They did not grow up with stylists. They even had to make choices," says Louise Amstrup of the royal style icons.

However, the difference between the two can be seen anyway. For example, Mary primarily uses exclusive brands and Danish fine jewellery, while Catherine has been known to go with budget-friendly brands and mix them with English designer finds from, among others, Roksanda Ilincic and Alexander McQueen.

IN's fashion editor believes Mary has a timeless style that complemented well by the always friendly smile and a dignified position. "You could almost call her a modern Jackie O," she says. Want to see examples of Mary's good style? So see the gallery where IN has collected Mary's best everyday looks.


A review of Yrma's pre-Denmark, natural style:















 
 
 

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Darling, Dejlig, Douce: Happy 1st Birthday, Princess Athena!

 
 
Quelle jolie minette! Princess Athena is cute as a button! Adorable, contemplative, and from this photo session, an old soul. Looks so much like Maman! Oh, those Schackenborg children are beauties. What a lovely smocked Liberty print dress, too, in such a pretty colour. Charming nursery in the background, so this little honey bunny has a sweet and safe environment in which to grow and learn. Marie is very loving and engaged with her baby, what a gorgeous sight, this mother-daughter bond, such pure love. A total and complete 180 from the bogan gargoyles over at Amalienborg with their out of touch parents, ratty gray clothing, and ever-rotating fleet of nannies. Cheers, Athena! You won the Danish, royal, and family lotteries.
 




 
 
Photos: Steen Brogaard

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Two Ships That Pass In the Night: The Mary and Fred Shows On Two Different Continents: Yrma to Davos, Derf to Hong Kong

Hilde Schwab: "Look, miss, I can't just give you cash, please stop bothering me!"
Mary: "Wow, someone's a bitch today, you don't have to be so rude."
Philippe: "Don't make eye contact. Look away. Pretend to be listening to the speaker."
 
 
Hey y'all, Madam MoreMore is in Switzerland today trying to rub shoulders with the world's bigwigs. She's scheduled to be at the big annual World Economic Conference in Davos from 20-24 January to pick up freebies, feel like a big shot and try to snag some endorsements (if La Comtesse de Freebies knows instinctively that she needs a revenue source after a divorce, then this is interesting news indeed). Mary is nothing if not a big time grifter. She wants the stuff AND the noteriety.
 
No wonder she asked Mathilde to be Izzy's godmother. She knew that hitching her wagon to the sweet, unassuming Duchess of Brabant's star would eventually yield gold, and indeed despite the cut-off age of forty, she finally got an invite to Davos, no doubt courtesy of her empty friendship with both Mette-Marit (Xian's godmother) and Mathilde (who is on the Schwab Foundation's board along with Quincy Jones and Muhammed Yunus, Maxima's micro-finance buddy). Both women exhibit a kindness and gratitude that is sorely lacking in Mary herself, but can be used against them so that Madam gets whatever she wants. And she wants money and celebrity. Poor Philippe - he can't even look at Mary! And neither can anyone else Mary's photographed talking to at Davos. Check out the article below - where people were just being polite, Mary - and Berlingske's writer - interpreted that as real interest.
 
But when it comes to the execution, naturally Mary is one big FAIL. GAH, could someone put her in anything other than the executive secretary's uniform of black clothes, fake Chanel jacket and that g-ddamn Marianne Dulong jewellery? Along with the dated hair cut, she just looks so junior league. How embarrassing. She was probably mistaken by the money and power classes as being someone's assistant. Bringing down Denmark's stock is one of the most unintended consequences there is. Thankfully, Helle Thorning-Schmidt and the Prince of Wales-approved Ida Auken, Environmental Minister, were there to help raise Denmark's profile amongst the assembled guests. When the Danes are constantly confused with the Dutch, you need some amazing women to turn that impression around.
 
Photo Gallery: Berlingske
 
Article: Berlingske
 
Buzzing With Ideas
 
For Crown Princess Mary, participation in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum has been a great learning experience, which has given her new ideas for her work in developing the Mary Fund. So says Crown Princess Mary after the last intense days at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. She has participated in numerous sessions, heard about the major trends in the world, economically and politically, and especially met young international leaders.
 
Crown Princess arrived at the annual meeting in the Swiss mountain village of Davos, after she had been previously invited into the world-renowned think tank network, Young Global Leaders. Being with the young global talent has made an impression. "I have met so many dynamic and smart people who come from all backgrounds and from all parts of the world. These are people who have sparked things and made a difference."
 
Some of the young leaders of Young Global Leaders have made meteoric careers in giant companies, others have shown tremendous capabilities in research, and others have rendered humanitarian work, which has helped vulnerable people.
 
United openness
 
The group of young leaders by the way got a meeting with the founder of the World Economic Forum, Professor Klaus Schwab which has been enriching. And along the way, the open and frank discussions came as a surprise to the Crown Princess. "All the meetings have been marked by great openness, and all have shown a willingness to share, which surprised me. This meant that contact was quickly made and an exchange of ideas."
 
For the same reason, the Crown Princess is extremely positive about what she experienced at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which on the surface is known as the meeting place for the world's power elite. The annual meeting puts political leaders and business executives from the world's largest companies each year in a congree during the last week of January. And so it is again this year, where 50 heads of state and government have visited and where no fewer than 1,500 senior executives from the business community have turned up. In City Hall, the temperature of the state of the world is taken, speeches are given and in some cases projects are undertaken between themselves all supervised by a massive media presence, which in a few hectic days makes Davos the world's navel.
 
Idealistic view
 
The World Economic Forum has also an idealistic and humanitarian basis, which is formulated in the organisation's slogan that reads: "Committed to Improving the State of the World". In short, it's about making the world a better place.
 
Exactly how was the starting point, as Klaus Schwab founded the organisation more than 40 years ago with the hope that dialogue and conversation would be a way to overcome tensions and confrontations in a turbulent planet. And the same principles apply today, even if the organisation has in the meantime risen to perhaps the most powerful thinktank in the world.
 
The idea of ​​the Network of Young Global Leaders is just that they need to engage and relate to some of their contemporaries' most pressing challenges. And that basic idea was what Klaus Schwab talked about when he spoke of the Crown Princess and the group of young leaders.
 
One of the ideas behind the annual meeting is to bring decision makers from different fields, and therefore politicians and business people are not the only ones who have been invited. The same leaders from humanitarian organisations, religious communities and NGOs.
 
This particular joint meeting which can sometimes result in the formation of partnerships - for example between companies and humanitarian organisations to help in a particular area - appeal strongly to the Crown Princess. The Mary Fund rests on exactly the same logic.
 
In recent years, the Crown Princess helped to form more successful partnerships between its own fund, Danish companies and organisations such as Save the Children. In Davos, she discovered to her delight that many were concerned about the purpose of the Mary Fund. "It made an impression on many that we are working to combat loneliness," she says. "Maybe they wondered about that at first but then realised the importance."
 
Great interest
 
On the whole, the Crown Princess saw a great response when she talked about the fund. "When I stood up and talked about the Mary Fund, I met a great interest. There were several people who asked if the Mary Fund shouldn't work internationally," said the Crown Princess with a smile.
Whether it actually is a possibility she will not quite answer. Here and now she is proud and pleased that several of the Mary Fund's projects have come out throughout the commonwealth. Whether there will also be trips abroad remains to be seen.
 
First, she will return home and reflect. "I have so many ideas in my head. Now I need to get them sorted out and thought through." That she had a new inspiration in the meeting with the talented young global leaders is evident and it is hardly the last time that Crown Princess will set sail for Davos.
 
 
What body language! Just smile tensely and look past Mary and hopefully it will be over soon.
 

 

 
Day Two:






Meanwhile, Derfie has decided to come out of hiding and take off to Hong Kong for a week "sailing in dragon class competitions" called the Prince Henrik Silver Trophy. No doubt the palace has already sent advance instructions to the hotel to arrange for "nice, rovery Asian radies" to be on standby for "massage" and "other calming treatments". Kind of yucky and kind of sad that Derf has to go halfway around the world to get loved up. He'll be gone 23-29 January, missing Mary's return home on the 24th. Don't expect many tears until he gets back and is reunited with his beloved (children) and gets the Donaldson punishment treatment (5:17 & 6:11)!
 

Photos: Urs Jaudas, Mirko Ries