Queen Letizia of Spain looked positively radiant in a belted denim dress at the Retina Eco Awards in Madrid on Thursday, Sept. 19. Frankly, I'm convinced the stylish wife of King Felipe could make a trash bag look like couture. She has an uncanny knack for elevating casual, sometimes even ultra-affordable pieces with thoughtful styling—like her cut-out Mango shirt the day before—and the look she wore to officiate the environmental awards ceremony was yet another instance of her sartorial genius.
The sleeveless fit-and-flare denim midi dress with contrast stitching comes courtesy of Carolina Herrera. The detail I love most is the wide, waist-cinching belt, but the dress also features pockets—the holy grail of women's clothing, in my opinion. Luckily, you can still cop the exact dress she's wearing, and a similar version can be found at about half the price from Veronica Beard.
The fashion-loving queen—who recently celebrated her 52nd birthday—accessorized the dark wash denim ensemble with a punchy pop of color, care of red kitten heels from Magrit, a matching red leather clutch from Menbur, and gold hoop earrings. After rising to prominence on the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 runways thanks to early co-signs from Tibi, Proenza Schouler, Stella McCartney, STAUD, and Ferragamo, cherry red is expected to continue trending heavily through the end of 2024. So heavily, in fact, that it has spawned an adjacent fall 2024 color trend dubbed mulled wine red.
Queen Letizia isn't the only royal who loves to wear Carolina Herrera's sublime denim designs. At last year's Invictus Games, Meghan Markle wore a Carolina Herrera denim shirtdress with a belt and collar to attend the sitting volleyball finals. The Duchess of Sussex also wore a short-sleeved belted denim dress from the brand to support Prince Harry at the Sentebale Polo Cup only a few months after her wedding in 2018. Perhaps Miss Markle and Queen Letizia have been comparing notes.
