How Much Is It All Worth?!
NOTE: This is a constantly updating post and subject to change as pieces are identified. If you would like to contribute to finding the UFOs from 2019, visit our comprehensive breakdown HERE.
As is becoming our annual tradition, Heaven and I have sat down with our notes, spreadsheets and calculators to bring you a comprehensive look at the value of the new clothing of 14 different royal ladies from around the world. We have done this for the since 2017 at UFO No More in an effort to provide a more comprehensive look into the statistics side of things that come with Royal Fashion Watching.
When we calculate costs we break down the numbers into 3 categories:
Pieces that remain UFO (Unidentified Fashion Objects)
Pieces that are identified and costs can be found
Pieces where the designer is known but the design is custom or a price us unknown
In very few instances, we will estimate a price of an article of clothing. This occurs when the piece is similar to a “base model” being sold and there are minor details changed (color, neckline, sleeves, etc). Out of 1,361 new pieces debuted this year by these ladies - only 26 of these pieces did we estimate a price. We mention this in an effort to convey the most transparent and accurate view of the costs.
Totals in Euros (Descending by 2019 Total)
Now onto the data! In total, these 14 royal ladies debuted clothing retailing over 803,278.32 € ($ USD) during 2019 on clothing and accessories. This 803,278.32€ ($ USD) takes into account the 908 pieces which were identified with costs or had costs estimated. Excluded from this tally was 455 pieces where the pieces remain UFO or are custom pieces.
Average Price-Per-Piece in Euros
We acknowledge that some of these tallies could be higher because a royal has more pieces identified than others - which is why we include the average price-per-piece graphic for you below. These numbers are calculated by dividing the cost of pieces we have prices for by the number of pieces we have prices for (Example: Even though Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden had 137 new pieces, we divided her total amount by 103 because that was how many pieces we had prices for). This gives us a better idea of her spending habits and trends.
In the top spot, Princess Charlene leads the pack with her 2019 wardrobe additions costing 151,569€ ($168,218 USD) for 56 pieces and debuting 91 pieces. Her average price-per-piece was 2,706.59 € ($3,004 USD), putting her at the top of the ranking for our cost-for-pieces tally.
In the year of welcoming her first child, the Duchess of Sussex takes the second spot in our tally with a retail price of 111,628.19 € ($125,212.22 USD) for 125 pieces and debuting 169 pieces. Her average price-per-piece was 893.03 € ($1,001.70 USD), putting her at the middle of the pack for our cost-for-pieces tally.
After being 2nd last year, Crown Princess Mary moved down to the third spot with a retail price of 70,119.35 € ($ 78,652.17 USD) for 65 new items, while debuting 126 new pieces. At the beginning of the year, she stated in an interview that she was focusing more on recycling old pieces in an effort to do her part in reducing the fashion industry’s impact on climate change and waste- and her 126 new items was certainly a reduction from her 170 last year. Still mixing Danish and International designers, she had a heavier emphasis on the international, her average price-per-piece was 1,078 € ($ 1,209.18 USD). (Visit Princess Marie’s Closet’s post for a further analysis)
Following her was Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge who debuted 137 new pieces this year. Of those 137 pieces, only 88 of them factored into her 68,719.28€ ($77,081.73 USD) total. Her average price-per-piece was lower than 2018 by over 200€ coming in at 780.90€ ($ 875.93 USD).
Princess Beatrice had an exciting year, becoming engaged to her boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. During this exciting year, Princess Beatrice debuted 55 new items totaling 63,612€ ($ 71,352.94USD) with 62 new items in total throughout the year. Her average price-per-piece for the year was 1,178€ ($1321.35 USD).
Next up on the list is Sophie, Countess of Wessex who had a particularly busy year with multiple overseas trips. During the year, we saw 59 new items with 39 items contributing to her total of 55,113.36 € ($61,820.10 USD). Her choices tended to be on the more costly price-point with her average price-per-piece being 1,413.16€ ($1,585.13 USD).
Following the Countess of Wessex, is Queen Letizia of Spain who continued her love of high street brands which allowed her to debut 181 new pieces but remain a middle figure on the tally. With 117 of those pieces factored into her total of 50,465.75€ ($56,606.93 USD) her average price-per-piece was 431.33€ ($483.82 USD).
Princess Sofia of Sweden had her hands full this year, raising two boys and launching two new projects with her foundation, during all of this she debuted 126 new items, with 89 of them factoring into her total 48,793.78€ ($54,731.50 USD). Continuing to mix couture and budget friendly designers- she finished the year with an average price-per-piece number of 548.24€ ($614.96 USD).
Following Princess Sofia in our list, is Queen Maxima of the Netherlands who continued her love of Belgian designer Natan (Edouard Vermeulen). She debuted 96 new items in 2019 with 44 of those items being factored into our total of 45,777.49 € ($51,348.15 USD). With these 44 items, her average price-per-piece was 1,040.40 € ($1,167.01 USD).
Crown Princess Victoria had her busiest work year of the decade, and managed to continuously show that it is possible to champion local designers without breaking the bank. She debuted 137 new items this year with 104 of those items being accounted for in her €35,024.19€ ($39,286.28 USD) total. She also had the lowest average price-per-piece at 336.66€ ($377.63 USD).
Princess Eugenie is up next in our rundown, debuting 44 new items this year. Of those 44 items, 37 of those items factored into her 29,717.83€ ($33,334.19 USD) total. Her average price-per-piece for 2019 was 803.18€ ($900.92 USD).
Next is Princess Marie who relocated with her family this summer to France, thus reducing her average number of appearances. In 2019, she debuted 52 new items, 30 of those items accumulating to her total of 28,546.70€ ($32,020.55 USD). She mixed high-end, and high-street designers bringing her average price-per-piece to 951.56€ ($1,067.36 USD).
Second to last was Princess Madeleine who had a busier year launching her first book collaboration for World Childhood Foundation. With this she debuted 44 new items, with 37 of those items being accounted for in her total figure of 28,171.4 € ($31,599.58 USD). Her 2019 average price-per-piece was 761.38€ ($854.03 USD).
Crown Princess Mette Marit takes the final spot in our tally spending most the year on sick leave due to her diagnosis pulmonary fibrosis at the end of 2018. When she felt well enough to appear we saw her debut 19 pieces contributing to her total of 14,270.46 € ($16,007.03 USD) and a total of 34 new pieces in total throughout 2019. Her average price-per-piece was 751.08€ ($ 842.48 USD).
In summary, the standings from 2019 are:
Princess Charlene of Monaco
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Princess Beatrice
Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Queen Letizia of Spain
Princess Sofia of Sweden
Queen Maxima of Netherlands
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Princess Eugenie
Princess Marie of Denmark
Princess Madeleine of Sweden
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
Did any of these numbers surprise you? Leave a comment and let us know!
**At face value our calculations are what the royal’s clothes are worth, and in theory, what they would cost for you or I to buy. However, we are not saying that these calculations are what the royals ladies specifically spent, as we cannot verify that. We fully recognize that royals may receive discounts, shop sales, or be gifted some of these pieces. However, in order to stay objective, we made the decision to only use the full retail value of the pieces so that we do not show bias. These numbers should be viewed as the retail cost of their new pieces, rather than the exact number they personally spent.**
Check out our Complete Series of “How Much is it All Worth” posts from the past 3 years below!
If you would like to use these numbers for your own article - please make sure to credit us and link back to our original post. If you have any questions or want more information about the data posted here, send us an email .
