I think the dress looks worse because of the 'busy' background that she is photographed against.
Yes, Hannah Regina, there is pressure on her for a son. At the time Italy became a republic, the salic law (men only inheriting) was in operation in Italy.
Although almost all the reigning royal families either did not have the salic law or have removed it, most of the non-reigning houses have not. Some say this is because it is not possible to do so when you are not reigning (that is EP's view). Others, like Roumania, have changed theirs. Ex-King Michael (who only has daughters) has re-written the House rules and has quite clearly set out the new succession.
However, before his younger daughter was born, EP did not seem to want the salic law changed. Maybe he thought he was about to have a son! Certainly, there is no love lost between his line and his distant cousins, the Aosta branch. But I think there is a problem there too, as the current Duke of Aosta has only one son, and he is aged 41 and unmarried! There are a lot of Italian Princesses, though!