Valentine's Day is coming up, and it's our excuse to wear as much red, pink, purple, and heart-patterned clothing as we want. But for anyone in need of some outfit inspiration, look no further. Over the years, the royals have provided some great V-Day fashion inspo, whether they meant to or not.
The only true example of a specific Valentine's Day fashion seems to be when Kate Middleton wore a heart-print scarf on February 4, 2020. Other than that, most of the royals tend to celebrate privately, if at all. But the royals' regular red dresses and heart-shaped jewelry that they wear all year is still worth looking into for our Valentine's Day fashion inspiration. They may not have intended them to be Valentine's looks, but we're gonna interpret them that way.
Whether we're looking to go head-to-toe red or we just want a small nod to the holiday, the royals have all our Valentine's Day inspo here.
Red on Red
The monochrome style is already trendy again, and Princess Diana showed a great way to wear all one color when she was in Italy in 1985. For anyone trying a look like this, just commit. Red jacket, red skirt, red tights, red shoes, red purse, and a red and white polka-dot top. Valentine's Day is the one day a year we can fully dive into one color scheme, so take advantage of it.
Kate's Heart Scarf
In February 2020, the Duchess of Cambridge got into the Valentine's Day spirit with a fun, heart-print scarf. That wasn't her only nod to the holiday, though. She also wore a red dress under her coat and matched it with a red clutch. We hope she brings the scarf back again, it was such a playful choice. The brand she got it from still sells it, too.
Pink Pantsuit
Sure, Queen Elizabeth may prefer the royal women wear dresses, but we adore Kate's business chic pantsuit. And the duchess later wore the pants without the blazer, so it's a multi-use outfit. It's also a trendy way to add a rosy color into the mix, because it's not as traditionally feminine as a pink dress. Steal the look for less here.
Camilla's Heart Pin
In October 2020, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, gave a speech on a matter close to her heart: osteoporosis. Camilla's mother had the bone condition. Zooming into the Instagram video shows that Camilla is also wearing a little heart pin on her collar. Maybe she did that as a nod to her mother, but it's also a great jewelry idea for Valentine's Day.
Fun Manicure
Another royal protocol no-no is dark-colored nails. The Queen likes everyone to have natural nails or barely-there polish. But Princess Diana was all about breaking the rules, and we love this bold red manicure on her. Changing our polish for Valentine's Day is one of those simple and fun things we can do to celebrate.
For the Little Ones
For anyone who has kids, we're excited to say that Prince George's cute red romper is still for sale. Valentine's Day is sometimes even more fun for the little ones because they get cards and candy and it's kind of like Christmas all over again. Putting the whole family in a red color scheme is just part of the excitement.
Heart Earrings
As The Office once noted, heart-shaped jewelry is often purchased by men for their loved ones. We don't know if that's true for Kate Middleton's diamond and gold heart earrings, but we love the idea that Prince William picked them out for her — maybe even with some help from Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Statement Earrings
We love Kate's small diamond heart earrings, but we also love these statement red baubles from the Kate Spade brand. They're much bigger than the earrings the duchess normally wears, and they're great example that on Valentine's Day, we can switch up our usual style and try something bold.
Heart Necklace
If Prince William picked out Kate's earrings, then we would like to think that Prince Charles bought this for Camilla. She wore the huge heart-shaped gem on the red carpet for the Skyfall movie premiere in 2012. Does it remind anyone else of the necklace from Titanic? It's got a total Heart of the Ocean vibe to it.
Cocktail Attire
Even if we can't necessarily go out for a Valentine's Day dinner, we can still dress up at home. Let's channel Princess Diana's cocktail dress energy, because she's ravishing. We love her strappy red gown which she paired with matching silk heels. She may have worn this over two decades ago, but we'd still wear it now.
Keeping It Casual
At the same time, February 14 can be a casual day, too. We love taking inspiration from Meghan Markle's shades of red outfit that she wore in 2019. A red sweater and a cute red skirt with some red heels? Just as chic and pretty as a cocktail dress. It's all about whatever makes us feel the most comfortable and happy.
The Queen's Rose Hat
Roses are pretty much the official flower of the holiday, and Queen Elizabeth showed a fun way to incorporate the flower into an outfit. Her red coat and red rose hat are stylish and warm. She may be in her 90s, but the Queen has never stopped being a style icon in her own way. Her sense of fashion is classic, but we can totally get behind it.
Bold Beatrice
Sometimes in life, we've just gotta go big and wear a neon pink dress like Princess Beatrice did to a wedding a few years back. It's bold and stylish and when else can we wear neon pink and still be totally on trend? Valentine's Day gives us that excuse, and we're gonna take it. Why not?
Blush Tones
OK, OK, for anyone out there who just isn't into the bold, bright pink tones, the Duchess of Sussex showed how elegant a blush-colored outfit can be. Gen Z may be taking over, but millennial pink is here to stay. It's a sweet and simple way to honor the holiday and the color looks good on anyone — whereas bright pink can be harder to pull off.
Ombré Coat
Kate managed to fit several shades of red into this one coat. It's perfect for Valentine's Day with its ombré effect, and look she's holding a stuffed bear like a lot of people get on the holiday. She's so prepared. This is one of Kate's best coats, which is saying a lot, because she has many great ones.
Princely Pink
Valentine's Day style is not just for the women. Men can get in on the fun day by trying out a pink shirt instead of a boring white or blue one. Come on, Prince William did it and he looked great. Seriously, this is one of his best looks ever. The slightly unbuttoned top? The rolled sleeves? We should be talking about this photo way more.
Prince Charles' Tie
If a pink shirt isn't every guy's jam, they can go the Prince Charles route and opt for a traditional pink tie. It gets the color of the day involved but keeps it business formal at the same time. Whatever floats his Valentine's Day boat! It's all about embracing the holiday and having fun.
A Bold Red Lip
Bold lipstick is another one of those things, like red nail polish, that we rarely see the royals wearing. At best, maybe they get a pale pink balm. But in her pre-duchess days, Meghan Markle was all about a bold red lip, and we are, too. It's a pretty look, and matching it to a red dress like Meghan did makes it pack an even more powerful punch.
Hair Accessories
The headband trend is still around, and we especially love Kate's braided pink one that she wore to Archie's christening. She paired it with a breezy light pink dress and heels. Petition for Kate to wear the headband with her heart scarf this February 14.
Pretty in Purple
Purple is such an underrated Valentine's Day color. Most people opt to wear red or pink, but purple is just darker red — and it deserves its day in the sun, too. Meghan illustrated a perfect purple look when she wore this maroon dress and purple coat in 2018. Layering pinks, reds, and purples together this V-Day is a great choice.
