I never hated the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding gown, I just didn’t think it was a stunning fashion moment. The wedding gown was designed by Sarah Burton, who took over as head designer for the house of Alexander McQueen following his suicide in 2010. McQueen was a genius, an avant-garde enfant terrible, a terrible, self-destructive visionary. Burton is not any of those things. She is middle-of-the-road. She is boring. She is barely elevating the most basic of designs. And Burton’s design for Kate’s wedding gown showed that to perfection: the dress was lovely, uncontroversial, derivative, flattering, unremarkable and ultimately forgettable. It made Kate seem like she was following a very conservative wedding-gown trend rather than marking some territory as a style trendsetter. So, basically, it was a harbinger of things to come.
Why this walk down memory lane? Because Sarah Burton is fighting with another designer named Christine Kendall about who really designed Kate’s dress.
A royal misunderstanding? Christine Kendall, a designer based in Hertfordshire, England, is claiming that Sarah Burton, the creative director at fashion house Alexander McQueen, used her ideas for Kate Middleton’s royal wedding dress. As reported by The Sunday Times, Kendall says that she sent her sketches to the Duchess of Cambridge, 34, ahead of her 2011 nuptials to Prince William. The designer believes that without her sketches, Middleton’s instantly iconic wedding dress would not have looked the way it did.
“Proceedings have been issued because our client is certain that her company’s design was unfairly taken and copied,” Kendall’s lawyer, Humna Nadim, said in a statement. Nadim also noted, “This claim is not against the duchess and there is no allegation of wrongdoing against the palace.”
A representative at McQueen, however, says the company is “utterly baffled” by the allegations. “Christine Kendall first approached us at Alexander McQueen almost four years ago, when we were clear with her that any suggestion Sarah Burton’s design of the royal wedding dress was copied from her designs was nonsense,” said the spokesperson to WWD.
The rep continued, “Sarah Burton never saw any of Ms. Kendall’s designs or sketches and did not know of Ms. Kendall before Ms. Kendall got in touch with us — some 13 months after the wedding. We do not know why Ms. Kendall has raised this again, but there are no ifs, buts or maybes here: This claim is ridiculous.”
I think it’s funny that two designers are fighting over the design of one of the most boring wedding dresses of this century. But beyond that, what is there to fight about? I’m sure Kendall did design some wedding gowns that looked like Burton’s design. You know why? Because Burton designed a dress that any designer could have made. Lace sleeves and a corset? A bustle and a nine-foot-long train? A satin skirt? OMG THOSE ARE COMPLETELY NEW IDEAS. Besides all of that, I always thought that Burton was just ripping off Grace Kelly’s famous Helen Rose wedding gown.
But hey, any excuse to look at old photos of Will and Kate’s wedding…
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I don’t think the dress was meant to make a major fashion statement — that’s not what British royal weddings are about — but I do think it’s lovely. Compare to the ghastly Princess-Leia-inspired dress the Princess Royal wore back in the 70s. Horrendous.
Anne’s dress is still better than Diana’s monstrosity. The two *Sarahs’ dresses are still goodlooking several decades after their weddings.
*Sarah, Duchess of York and Lady Sarah Chatto.
According to Tina Brown, Di was later embarrassed about the dress, which she’d had designed around her adolescent Disney Princess fantasies and then had repeatedly altered to keep up with her rapid bulimia induced weight loss.
Almost as of the dress is analogous for her teen marriage and subsequent struggles to be an adult princess. Am I going too lit major in analyzing the dress?
Bettyrose, I’m glad I didn’t know that back in ’81 when my childish eyes thought it was a real-life Cinderella dress. I got up at the asscrack of dawn (Alaska Standard Time!) to watch that wedding; I was so caught up in the fairy tale they were spinning.
I abhor all styles that found their origin in 80’s fashion trends… bridesmaid’s dresses especially!
ETA: I liked Kate’s dress. Still do.
Lady Sarah Chatto’s wedding dress is gorgeous.
Opinions are very divided on CP Mary’s wedding dress but it is one of my all time favorites because it has some rather unique design features but they do not overwhelm the elegant simplicity of the silhouette. Queen Margrethe’s wedding dress is another favorite – it has a very simple silhouette but it is still regal and elegant. I saw it in an exhibit last summer and it is still impressive, even without the antique lace panel at the front that is used in all the royal weddings in the Danish DRF. Along with the lace veil and the Khedive Tiara, this lace panel has been worn at the weddings of Queen Ingrid’s female descendants. The only non-royal who has worn the veil and the lace panel is CP Mary.
Bettyrose: Apparently she was still reading Barbara Cartland, so no surprises there regarding dress design.
Also, i was a starting big school the year she was married. Our reading material was Hans Christian Fairytales. The versions we read had the big giant dresses for princesses as artwork.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, and my childish self was extremely delighted to see my book come to life on TV. Complete with Ruritanian dressed Princes. I was so delighted to find that there were real life Queens, Princesses, Princes. I don’t think i’ve ever recovered from my discovery of a glass coach taking the bride to church.
And then she climbed out of it, and that huge ball of a dress with the neverending train unfolded. My 5yr old self is still delighted all these decades later.
Grown up me is horrified at the dress and the fact that a grown woman wore such a dress on the most important day of her life.
Kate’s dress was OK. Quiet, forgetable. My aunts abd i watched this wedding together. Everyone was disappointed at the lack of a glass coach – not used in the name of modernisation, and we all thought her make up was too much and the tiara not suita ble for the occassion. One of my aunts thought she was wearing a jewelled headband.
@AH- The only thing I don’t like about C.P. Mary’s look was the placement of the veil and the (rinky-dink, paper clips–I’m sorry, I don’t like it) tiara. I don’t like the veil up, on top of her hair. And I thought the tiara was too far back, and it also got lost in the veil, *side eyes Kate*. I definitely think that Mary looked better in motion than still photos too.
My “weird” (for me) favorite is Mette-Marit. It’s something that I didn’t appreciate at all a few years ago. Now I love it. My all-time fav is Vickan. Hands down. I hated the Cameo tiara before seeing Victoria wear it. I don’t think you can touch those two (her and Mary’s) heirloom veils either. Maxima had my other favorite veil http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sgVR7VuyV0E/UHrPzB2jROI/AAAAAAAANBo/PtVVAjvRa98/s1600/__Best_Veil.jpg G.D. Stephanie also looked amazing on her wedding day. I think Charlene was underrated, (and overshadowed by Kate and the runaway drama). The best Camilla’s ever looked was on her wedding day, (like Fergie as well), and is also a favorite of mine. Jetsun! And this is just the past 20 years really. Don’t get me started on Princess Alexandra, or Alice of Gloucester in pearl pink, or Queen Sofia. The point is… Kate wouldn’t make my top 20 😀 Though she looked fine.
Amber,
Regarding Mary, I agree with you on the veil placement. I do like her wedding tiara – it has a delicate spikiness but it was the wrong choice for her wedding day. She needed a more substantial tiara to off-set the big hair and high veil placement. I would have loved to see her in the Perle Poire or the Khedive.
I completely forgot Mette-Marit’s wedding dress! It is another favorite of mine. Its etheral simplicity suited her so well. It is such a beautiful etheral gown, as if it was made by faires from spidersilk. 😉
Victoria really knows how to rock those tall empire tiaras. She’s the only one that actually looks good in the Steel Cut Tiara – and she owned the Cameo Tiara. I like the latter very much because it is such a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and because it embodies the style of the Empire period at the beginning of the 19th century where the tiara came into fashion again (since Antiquity). But it is one that is difficult to wear with modern hair.
Mette Marit threw it down with her wedding dress. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous and she looked amazing in it. Wasn’t crazy about the bouquet but the rest was really Lady of Shalott looking if you know what I mean.
How did Sarah Fergie arrive? Did she take the coach to the ceremony? I can’t recall but I remember she wore flowers instead of a tiara arriving then the tiara on the way out. I loved her dress, thought it was so pretty.
Wow!! Princess Anne’s gown was actually innovative, and pretty cool!! Love those sleeves.
To me, this sounds more like the designer Kendall sent Kate sketches of a gown, and Kate, wanting a huge name to make her dress, brought those sketches to Barton and said, “I want this.” And Barton complied. But God forbid anyone blame Barbie Cambridge!!! But logically, that makes more sense to me.
And the gown was boring with pointy boobs. Ugh. The only thing I really liked were that it had sleeves. (Thankfully, I’ve heard from wedding dress seamstresses that the strapless gown trend is dying!!!!!
I’m actually surprised, knowing how Kate tries to copy Diana, that she didn’t get out of that carriage in Diana’s huge dress, 25 feet of train, huge sleeves, etc. THAT would have been priceless!!
I loved Diana’s frothy whipped cream dress. Of course, I was six years old at the time. But I did, and always will, love it as the ultimate fantasy dress of a child’s mind.
Lady Sarah Chatto, Mette-Marit, CP Victoria, and Maxima for me. Those were beautiful and simple gowns, allowing bride (and bridal jewels) to shine.
I could never understand the fascination and adoration of Diana’s dress until I saw this photo http://img.thesun.co.uk/aidemitlum/archive/01295/09_1295393a.jpg This is also a good one http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/the-royal-wedding-st-pauls-cathedral-london-29th-july-the-wedding-of-picture-id79027602 But the former is the famous one. I just couldn’t understand what people liked about it. Or how it even happened, and how you wouldn’t think that it was all too much. I still think a lot of the details and adornments in particular are pretty cheesy. But when you look at it in context, it’s a spectacle and not too much at all. I still don’t like it. Or get it. But I get it, you know? And Diana from the neck up? There are no words. She looked unreal.
@AH & Bluhare – Mette-Marit was glorious, wasn’t she? When I first saw it I thought, she’s hardly wearing makeup, that’s like a bedazzled headband of a tiara, and that’s a plain, scrupulous dress. What’s great about this? It’s perfection, Amber! Why didn’t you recognize that sooner? Tiara, veil, their placement, the dress–All flawlessly matching the woman wearing it? Priceless. She looked like she walked off of the LOTRs set. Hate the bouquet. Throw it in a ditch or use it as kindle.
@AH – The Khedive would’ve been perfect on Mary. It is perfect in general. I kind of wish Mary had worn something that could’ve been a good fit with the rubies. She had already worn it prior to the wedding. Even better–I’d give anything to see the Alexandrine Drop Tiara in Mary’s hair just once. I think Alexandra and Joachim split after that wedding. It could’ve happened! Now we’ll never know. (Unless Alexandra is having some financial problems and is forced to sell it some day. Not that I wish that on her… I mean, it’s just a tiara, right?… I’m so ashamed of myself.)
I look at the Cameo now and think what offended you about this? “Oh, it’s not plain diamonds and princess-y.” It’s singular and faultless. It’s perfectly executed. (No small feat when it comes to tiaras. Ask QEII.) It also has an impressive lineage and history. Practically unparalleled. Few can match it’s significance. It’s also a rare tiara that actually does look great on different wearers. I think we, including Sylvia and Vickan, are the four weirdos who love the Cut Steel though. I do love a good “genre” tiara. Give me a nice Belle Epoque or medieval tiara any day. I think I just like specificity. I wish there were more cut steel tiaras though. Look how shiny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf2VGvD9hn4
Cricket: Sarah used the glass coach.
The glass coach was originally commissioned to take royal brides to church, so I was already disappointed when Kate chose not to use it.
Mette Merit’s gown is amazing. If I were to copy a royal wedding dress, that is the one i’d copy.
I thought the reasoning behind the coach was they were both titled. Kate was a “commoner” so car in, coach out as a royal
Lindsay: nope! ‘Commoner’was the excuse given for Kate’s refusal to use the glass coach. It played very well with an audience primed for a middle class girl marrying into the royal family -boy did they ring that bell!!!
Diana and Sarah didn’t hold titles in their own right, they were both commoners, but they used the glass coach without issue. A ‘commoner’ is anyone without a peerage title in their own right which makes Harry, the Yorkies, Anne all commoners.
Sarah’s concession to being an untitled bride was to enter the abbey without a tiara and exiting the abbey wearing one as a duchess.
That said, Sarah’s tiara was hidden under the floral head dress she wore into the abbey. It would have been too long/complicated to secure the tiara mid-ceremony.
Victoria’s is the all-time best. Now this is what a future queen looks
like:http://thebigfatindianwedding.com/images/wedding-of-crown-princess-victoria-of-sweden-and-daniel-westling-vasaorden
Princess Alexandra and Prince Joachim split shortly after CP Frederik and Mary’s wedding. She is/has been in some financial trouble, probably due to her now second ex-husband who is in major trouble with huge debts but it seems like Alex shares some of those debts. She’s sold her million kroner villa in Cph so hopefully she won’t been forced to sell the Alexandrine Drop Tiara.
The Khedive is one of my favorite tiaras, a perfect example of the Cartier style during the Belle Epoque with its scrolls, garlands and loops. I wish it was still in the DRF but it was Queen Ingrid’s personal property and she left it to Anne-Marie. She left the other tiara she got from the Swedish RF on her wedding (Queen Sofia’s Pearl and Star Tiara) to Benedikte.
I ahev always loved the Cameo Tiara. It is beautiful and regal, plus it has an amazing historical lineage.
Holy cow! Amber, thanks for that. Max wore the royal mother of all veils and all other veils must bow down before it. I have no words for the gorgeousness.
And Waity’s lace ? Totally lost in the execution. Come to think of it, kinda like her. Heh.
Jib,
I appreciated Anne’s Tudor-like dress. It suited her and her personality. She has a splendid figure and a spare style so her dress served her well. And those sleeves? DRAMA. Again, a novel addition to dresses of that period, and fabulous on the future Princess Royal walking down that ancient aisle ofWestminster Abbey.
What did Waity add to the conversation? A pointy corset and a big bustle behind.
LAK, from what you said down below:
If Kate went in as a commoner and couldn’t use the glass coach, how come she wore a tiara on the way in? (I feel silly asking this, as I think it is all stuff and nonsense, “commoner,” “royal blood” etc., but hey – I’m curious!!!
And I thought Diana, as Lady Diana, was titled. Is noble a real term? Or is it titled??
JIB: ‘noble’ has 2 meanings. It denotes someone born to the aristocracy, AND someone with an aristocratic title. The 2 meanings can exist separately and together.
Diana’s title is a courtesy title held as the daughter of an Earl. She’s a noble by birth.
Sarah Ferguson is a noble without titles. Her family is descended from the female line of various aristocratic families and since females don’t pass on titles, her family eventually had none.
Or to look at it another way, Peter and Zara are nobles without title, like Fergie.
As for Kate wearing a tiara on the way in, yet refusing a coach, your guess is as good as mine. Don’t think she thought about the mixed message she was sending.
Thanks, LAK!!! I teach British Literature and am obsessed with the Tudor time, but never really got into the details of titles, etc. Much appreciated!!
Anne married in 1973, before Star Wars came out, so if anything, Leia’s dress may have been inspired partially by hers.
Thank you!!!
I liked Anne’s dress except the sleeves. Without the extra puff inside, the long pointed sleeves would have been fine. The high neck and simple pin-tuck bodice suited her and her non-frilly ways.
Love Anne’s – the sleeves make it. It has a medieval look which i love. Anne was very attractive when she was a young woman – you can see the resemblance to her mother and Aunt more clearly.
I thought it was perfectly-suited to her. If she’d shown up in something covered in lace or chiffon, she wouldn’t have looked like herself.
I share the love for Anne’s dress.
Joining the dress appreciation party, although I’m kind of in the middle with the puffy sleeves. I don’t really like it, but think that it would look a little too costumey without it. It might have been there for structural reasons as well, as the pointed sleeves are so wide and flowy, they probably would have moved around a lot, or otherwise required a lot of adjusting, which obviously wouldn’t do with our famously un-fussy Anne.
I think part of the reason why Anne is my favourite royal is the Tudor throwback on top of the general work-ethic, badassery and sass.
I was given a book called the Crown and the Ring. In it it details that Anne’s dress was made in one piece with no seams by her regular dressmaker. I don’t know how it works but it was made that way so it couldn’t be copied. There are epilettes(sp ?) on the shoulders to reflect it was also a military wedding.
Agreed 100%!! Plus – before Kate all you saw for wedding dressed were strapless poofs. Kate’s dress changed all that and now you see sleeves and and slim cuts. Sarah set a new trend in wedding dresses.
I think the dress was gorgeous, flattering and appropriate.
Totally agree. And Kate’s was way better than Zara’s. I hated Zara’s.
Agree with @Alix. Kate is not obligated to be controversial or groundbreaking with her own wedding dress. She should have it exactly as she wants it and feels is appropriate. It is her wedding and her dress. Honestly, the amount of criticism she gets on here and the things she is criticized for is just absurd. And her dress looked absolutely NOTHING like Grace Kelly’s dress so I don’t understand the constant accusation that Kate or the designer ripped off that design. The only similarities between the two dresses is that they had lace, and they were white. Like most wedding dresses.
Alix~ exactly! It actually looked like a modernized version of the dress Princess Grace of Monaco wore. Westminster Abbey doesn’t really lend a stage for avant garde or haute couture design. It was perfectly lovely which is what it was suppose to be.
Disclaimer: I thought Princess Diana’s dress looked like a taffeta comforter & think that Geen Stefani’s dress was divine.
I thought the dress was fine but I was underwhelmed. And how do I say this delicately…the bust area of the corset was a little…angular for my taste. If you catch my drift…
Wonder if there’s any merit to this woman’s claim. I take Kaiser’s point about the design elements being generic, but still. Keep us updated, Kaiser!
I agree there was something odd to me about the shape of her cups maybe? Also, Kate veil looked like a mosquito net and didn’t match color of her dress- too greyish?
Anyway, I’m sure they did rip off dress design. Kate gave design to Burton along with another well-know wedding dress worn 2 years before in another royal wedding, which she absolutely copied.
It was wedding of “actress Isabella Orsini when she married Belgian Prince Edouard de Ligne two years ago.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8508627/Royal-wedding-Europe-cries-copycat-Kate-over-wedding-dress.html
It was also very reminiscent of Princess Margaret’s dress. http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2010/06/top-10-best-royal-wedding-dresses-6-hrh.html
But really, can you honestly say that ANY design is 100% original? You can’t, because it has ALL been done before. All any design can be is an amalgam of past designs, put together in a (hopefully) flattering new way.
What’s to rip off, really? It’s a fairly traditional, boring yet beautiful wedding dress. I’ve seen many like it both before and since. There’s only so many ways to cover a woman in white fabric.
And also similar to Lea Salonga’s Monique Lhuillier from 2004:
http://contents.pep.ph/images2/gallery/18-December-2006-282e2e9d46/6749fbfa4.jpg
Totally! I couldn’t stop looking at her pointy boobs (except to look at her sister’s bum)!
That is the most overrated bum of all time. *yawn*
Sarah Burton might not be Alexander McQueen (really, who is?) but I loved that dress. She was never going to wear something iconic or fashion forward. But it fit perfectly and the styling was lovely. They both looked really great that day. Maybe this is why we all had such high expectations. And then …. crickets.
As for the design, that’s going to be hard to prove. I wonder why she waited so long to pursue this.
Yeah, it suited her figure. And it’s a wedding gown not some Oscar dress, the bride has the final say on these things. Kate probably designed it, nicking some ideas from past designs, Burton just executed it. The designer cannot impose her vision and ideas unless the bride let her.
Victoria, it was a padded bum!!!!
Ridiculous lawsuit, since the dress was a rip off of Grace Kelly’s and a dress worn by an Italian aristo a year or so before kate’s wedding, minus the pointy cone boobs.
P.S Is it mean for me to say that looks wise their best years are behind them? These five (only 5!) years have not been good to them
william peaked in his teens. After getting to college everything went down hill when the Windsor genes took over.
As for her, them aré not young looking. Pippa does look much older too.
But the change with Will was so dramatic, and in such a short space of time. Id expect to see someone who lives a hard life losing their looks that way, or someone on hard drugs
Phaksi: That’s what i was talking about yesterday. In theory, only hard living, drugging, extreme shock and being POTUS can age a person overnight.
As much as William’s looks changed from teens to 20something man, he still looked like himself.
The change since his wedding is shocking.
I’m not sure about this but isn’t William a heavy drinker? All the swelling in his face could be from that. Andrew also has bloat while Charles and Edward don’t, so maybe it isn’t just down to being a Windsor.
Natalie: he’s put on weight since his wedding, which could account for his swollen face. It’s had the effect of highlighting his big jaw. The big jaw is pure Spencer, Johnnie and Charles Spencer have/had the same Jaw. Ditto Jane Fellows. From William’s generation, most of the Spencer cousins have it.
Btw: Andrew doesn’t drink. I think he has reverted to size he was always meant to be because he was a heavyset child, and he favours the Bowes-Lyons side of the family. They all tend to heavyset bodies. He was thin as a teen, then joined the military for 20yrs which kept his weight down per military requirements.
LAK; Natalie, he really has gained weight, first time I’m noticing it. I’m also gonna assume these pics have been photoshopped cos their skin looks beautiful and clear and glowing, I know that wasn’t the case on the day. Maybe the change is just his knob-ness showing on the outside
Phaksi: Halcyon days of photoshopping these two!!!
LAK, I had no idea Andrew doesn’t drink! My mind’s image of him is as a boozy aged party boy.
I can’t see that much of a weight gain on William’s body. I think his body is the only good thing about his appearance.
It’s not mean if it’s true. They’ve both aged at least 15 years in 5 years.
Yes, it was very similar to Isabella Orsini’s wedding dress.
It’s the truth. You aren’t being mean but they have both aged fast in a perplexing way.
Kate’s dress was a cheap copy of Grace Kelly’s dress
Cheap???? 450,000 CHEAP???
Phaski I’m LOLing at “minus the pointy cone boobs!” Glad someone else feels that way! On Grace Kelly’s gown it came across as structural and elegant, on Kate’s it looked like a Madonna 80s era bra. Wonder why she okayed that part of the design…showing us her exhibitionist streak early? I’m not trying to be mean…just a bit cheeky!
🙂
I do love her acorn earrings, though. Has she ever worn them again at a public event?
She looks very different in these pics! Obviously she looks younger, but that’s not it. There’s something different about her face and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Is anyone else seeing what I’m seeing? Any guesses on the changes?
The earrings are stunning. Maybe she hasn’t worn them since the wedding cos the middletons want to start a family tradition with them; we’ll see them again on Pippa’s wedding day
Yes, I also felt she did not look herself. Maybe her makeup was too harsh? It’s hard to pin down but she looked quite different.
@Castor & Pollux,
I don’t think Kate has worn the acorn earrings since the wedding but she’s worn other acorn jewelry, specifically a necklace and a brooch.
I think the difference in her face comes down to her looking happy. She looked very happy on her wedding day – since then we only see her on official engagements where she very rarely looks genuinely happy.
They both looked happier then. You are right. She never looks carefree and happy anymore. Neither does he.
Magnoliarose,
Well obviously Kate was happy (though what I saw was triumph, not happiness). But kate actually asked him if he was happy. What does that tell us?
I believe that at this point, he tolerates her. He has good days and bad days in her company. I believe she irritates him a lot.
hmmm, when did Kate ask Will if he was happy?
And yes, I agree, I think he tolerates her. I also think (and I have no evidence, of course, just from looking at the puss face he wears a lot) that he berates her, finds her lacking and bullies her. In my view, she is acting like an emotionally abused woman.
If I’m right, she has paid a heavy price for that crown.
JIB: when they got into the carriage after their wedding ceremony, before they set off back to the palace. She very clearly asks him if he is happy as they are settling into the coach before it pulls away. No special lip reading skills required.
Her face was a great portrait/anatomical sketch study for me a few months ago, pretty much because it was all that People mag, Star, etc have had on their covers since they were married, ffs…and the local grocery store only carries the crappiest of magazines. In my amateur artist opinion, face was very sculpted on wedding day via dehydration from dieting and hi-lo lighting with her makeup, a la Kim Kardashian. The darkness from the bronzer really shows. I guess she chose that look to make the fatty portion of face look smoother. She has genetics from her father in the cheek area, methinks. Maybe fillers and Botox were thrown in too for big day too, IDK?
Her face presents a very strong angular chin and jawline, inherited from her mother, which was only emphasized in her wedding day photos, ending in a very masculine look, at least to me. Feminine face=fuller lips, smooth cheek and brow, smaller curving jawline, relatively flat face from front. Masculine face=square heavy jaw and chin, overlapping brow, bonier along cheek and browline, thin lips.
Yes, I’ve put some thought into this. Everyone needs a hobby, right?
Interesting, what you said about masculine and feminine faces. Most pretty women have those feminine features, but in my view, most beautiful women, Lauren Hutton to name the one I find the most beautiful woman to ever take a breath, have very strong jawlines and chins and strong cheekbones. Pretty = what we think of as Princess – sweet, soft. Beautiful – strong. Someone like Charlize is interesting, because I think she crosses both lines as does Tea Leoni.
Just how I look at bone structure.
kaiko,
I’ve enjoyed your observations and musings. That’s food for thought. I think she overdid the makeup because she’s bad at it. In effect, she blotted on harsh bits of colour. I guess the orange bronzing is a status symbol?
She’s sporty but presents wishfully as girly. Check out the delicate jewellery, the endless lace dresses, the flirty skirts, and the passivity. Never mind jumping around in wedges and skirts when trousers and flats makes more sense- common sense.
Ive seen that dress many times it was boring but kate likes safe ane boring. Sarah fergusons dress was nice except for all those stupid bows and bees etc. For sarah its the best she ever looked. Dianas was a disaster the queens was nice.
Kate copied also Grace Kelly’s bouquet! Lol
Given the advance publicity, and the fact that it turned out to be McQueen, this dress was a disappointment. Infact, at the time, replicas of Pippa’s dress sold out everywhere whilst Kate’s dress was largely ignored.
I think excessive media hype followed by disappointing execution on Kate’s part was a harbinger of what followed.
Ha! Your second paragraph is a thing of beauty- Kate (and Will) in a nutshell- all flash, no follow through.
The big fuss over Pippa’s bottom though, that was entirely down to Sarah Burton – judicious use of underpinnings plus that lovely long row of buttons drawing the eye exactly where it needed to go as she followed her sister up the steps of the Abbey.
Burton is no McQueen or any kind of fashion visionary but visionaries are not what royal weddings need or want.
Teacakes: you make a very good point, however, since McQueen had passed only a year previously, and his house was still churning out his ideas, there was excitement that Kate was going to make a powerful fashion statement for the 24hrs the dress designer was outed until the big reveal.
Having McQueen design her wedding dress was seen as a very bold fashion statement primarily because safe and boring were not words one would use to describe even the most staid of his designs. A reputation the house still banks on despite moving away from said vision.
Given the dress she wore, a society dress designer would have been as good a choice. And i think that’s why her dress is judged harshly. It suffers from not being a true McQueen in design, more society lady who lunches.
If you approach it with no expectations or McQueen knowledge, it’s perfectly fine dress.
Well, Kate is not really a trend setter nor is she a style forward, her boring dress matches her persona perfectly (at least her public persona that we know of).
I agree Kate’s dress was very generic but definitely not cheap looking. It was very well rendered for what it was. I always thought it was too low cut; a theme with the Middleton women. Yeah, cone boobs, very apt.
I always liked Margaret’s dress. New look, but very unadorned. Not at all like most royal wedding dresses. By today’s tastes, Diana’s dress was dreadful, but trend setting at the time.
Oh, silly law proceeding. There’s really not much new under the sun when it comes to wedding dress design.
This lawsuit reminds of one currently playing out between two fantasy authors where the one suing claims that the other one has copied her story because she has included items like magic cups and swords!
There are narrative motifs and design elements that are so common place that no person can hold copyright on them. This whole thing is just very silly.
I agree, it’s lovely and well done. Not a “cheap rip off”. If you think about it most wedding dresses are “rip offs”. If you go in with no expectation of a certain look, the dress is great. I think part of the problem is that people were expecting so much more from a McQueen dress. Something bold and unexpected, and instead the dress was tasteful, beautiful and ultimately generic in design. I think it was executed very well, but people had so many lofty ideas about it that instead of “ooh, pretty” there was a collective sigh of disappointment. Which is sad, but it’s just a freaking dress.
McQueen was an artist. He truly elevated fashion into an artform. Even his ready-to-wear collections were singular in execution. His clothese are in museums as artworks and examples of tailoring and design.
You can’t go to picasso and ask for a painting, tell everyone Picasso is painting you, and come back with a boring painting as seen up and down the country. Everyone expected a picasso, hence the disappointment.
The dress clashes with Kate’s harsh makeup and spray tan. That sort of flowery lace needs a more delicate look.
I know the designs in the lace were a reference to the UK (the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock) but it would have been fantastic if they could have streamlined these elements. It would have taken her wedding dress from being an overt copy of 1950s designs and modernized it and made it pop. Kate has a modern, sporty look, and the lace designs worked a little against that and the lines of the dress
Also a harbinger of things to come with my feelings towards William and Kate, even at a time when I was trying to find them interesting, when I totally bought into all the PR bs, and on that day, was trying to get into this wedding–I watched it long enough to see the dress, went, “That’s it?”, and then went to do laundry or something.
“The dress was lovely, uncontroversial, derivative, flattering, unremarkable and ultimately forgettable”
I gotta’ disagree with you on the fourth one. The cone boobs? Not flattering. The mosquito net, cheap looking veil? (Honestly, she had one of the worst veils of any royal bride.) No. And the overall cake topper aspect was also not flattering. It’s really noticeable in the official portrait when Kate’s straight to camera. It’s conical. Everything about the look is pulling downward.
Sorry, I should have read through comments before posting above- I repeated what you said. I completely agree with what you said about dress. How it managed to be flawed and boring at the same time…
Well, great minds @Hudson Girl. What can you do? 😀 No need to apologize. I comment without reading the others all the time. I do this thing where I just get so excited when I see something I agree with, I stop reading and “MUST leave comment!” I completely forget that there are others.
Wow, I’m really surprised. I absolutely loved it. Everyone in my circle loved it also. I guess we were in the minority.
I like it too. I can see the critique about the pointy boobs, but other than that I thought it was lovely.
Not only were the boob cones pointy, what about how *high* the cups were placed on her chest. I mean there are certain pictures where it looked like it was at an inch or two north of where you’d expect her chest to be.
They look like they’re in the right place to me. And I liked the dress. 😛
I guess I’m blind – I still think it’s an exquisitely beautiful gown.
And you may not have meant it that way, but you make it sound like “flattering” is a bad thing.
Oh wow these two have aged a hundred years since their wedding. Methinks there is trouble in paradise.
ITA agree the dress was a bad rip off of Grace Kelly’s but I wouldn’t put all the blame on Sarah Burton, Kate would have been very very involved in the design just like she was with everything else. She by all accounts turned up with mood boards that had clearly been worked on for a long time – it would have been Kate’s idea to rip Grace’s dress off.
I’m betting a lot of it was Ma Midds idea. I very much doubt Kate even knows who Grace Kelly was.
Also, 5 years later of learning about these two, I’m surprised they didn’t just copy Diana’s dress or even borrow it. They copy everything else she did.
“I very much doubt Kate even knows who Grace Kelly was”
Everybody know who Grace Kelly was. She’s one of the icons of the last century and her wedding dress is the most famous in the history (there was even a poll a year ago)
Just read on the DM that Grace Kelly’s wedding gown was actually created by the Hollywood studio designers and not a fashion designer. I thought that was interesting. There has been a bunch of articles and photos released from her wedding and she was a beautiful bride.
It is the 60th anniversary of the wedding of Grace and Rainier (April 1956) so a lot of photos and stories are being released.
After the engagement, KM was reportedly overheard at a restaurant saying how much she liked Grace Kelly’s dress.
I remember reading at the time of the wedding that Kate had her dress planned out for a long time. That the embroidered details in the skirt (none of which “read” on TV) and the flowers in icing on her cake were all from her notebook. I think Burton took Kate’s ideas and made them wearable. IMHO, McQueen wouldn’t have done a dress for Kate. I thought the dress was “meh” and you could hear it in the tone of the TV commentators.
Cricket: Grace Kelly’s dress and wedding, ceremonies and all were a hollywood production courtesy of MGM studios to whom she was still contracted. It was her way of getting out of her long term contract with them.
It always makes me laugh when people go on and on about her dress and wedding ceremonies when the entire thing was dreamt up by the finest hollywood producers MGM studios could wrangle.
The dress designer was someone who headed up the costume dept even though she later parlayed her Grace Kelly dress moment into a career as a fashion designer/stylist. Honestly Kelly’s dress was probably a job lot to her because she was also tasked with designing Elizabeth Taylor’s dress for her upcoming wedding to Conrad Hilton, an event MGM studios also exploited via the film FATHER OF THE BRIDE with constumes by the same person.
This is something known. Not hidden.
A royal, televised wedding is per definition part ritual, part theatrical spectacle. It would be disingenious to pretend otherwise. Staged spectacle has always been an integral part of royal power. It has just been severely toned down in the 20th and 21th centuries.
LAK – was that a dig at me? My intention wasn’t to go on and on about Grace Kelly and the details to her dress/wedding.. I just thought it was interesting that it was the studio designers who created her gown, considering how it seems to be the end all for all wedding gown designs.
I do always appreciate your insights as you have tons of knowledge on so many details that are interesting.
Cricket: I was musing out loud because so many people nowaydays don’t seem to know that Grace Kelly’s wedding/dress came straight from Hollywood.
It surprises me because they never hid it, and seems to be one of those things everyone knew at one time and now suddenly do not.
I do apologise for my tone. I really wasn’t having a go at you. And you weren’t going on and on. That last was a memory running through my brain as i recalled someone who *was* going on and on.
That said, Grace Kelly’s wedding hits the intersection of my interest vis a vis hollywood/ royal influence on society.
thanks for clarifying LAK 🙂 you are one of my most respected and favs here so wouldn’t want to cause any conflict 🙂
Grace Kelly’s dress was designed by then MGM costume designer Helen Rose. It was given to Grace as a gift from the studio.
A Barbie wedding dress as designed by an 8 year-old.
+1
That’s it. Barbie is the word, alright! _with plastic personality. People fawn over prince equus caballus wife, if he had married a cleaning mop that would have been claimed as the most inspirational, lovely , beautiful mop ever!
This woman is the worst a woman can aspire to. She is defined by her husband who is Lazy arrogant buffoon who thinks universe revolves around him and his brood.
In 21st century meritocracy should be celebrated rather than this royal farce.
+2. She was so thin at the time and her make-up so harsh, that her personal appearance only added to the Barbie image. I remember thinking that she didn’t look like the typical blushing bride, and then felt a little sad for her because I thought she must have been a nervous wreck for weeks prior. Instead, I learned that she had dieted to look that way. So much for the fairy tale image of a princess.
I know what you mean, Amber. She got out of the car and I thought…that’s it? That being said, I think the dress was lovely enough, and clearly Kate loved it. Which, at the end of the day, is all that matters.
A story. I used to be a teacher, and I got married over summer break. I brought my wedding album in to show people, and when the school nurse was looking through it, she got to a certain pic and exclamined, “Mrs. Pollux, you look fat in this picture!” I weighed about 125 at my wedding, and I’m 5’5″. My dress had a bow on the back, right avove the bustle, and from the angle the picture was taken, it looked like my waist was as wide as the bow and bustle included. She later apologized, but suffice to say our relationship was never quite the same! Now every time I see that picture I think about her comment. I don’t care if I was 300 pounds, you NEVER tell a bride she looked anything but gorgeous on the big day!
Oh, don’t get me wrong. Baby names and wedding gowns–If you’re happy, I don’t care. If Princess Mabel wants to wear this http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2011/11/wedding-wednesday-princess-mabels-gown.html then do you, boo boo. (Don’t do you at C.P. Vickan’s wedding though. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_L7JC05D4BC0/TGiiW6-1ZAI/AAAAAAAAA84/arSpCJcJnLM/s1600/2010-06-19–WeddingMabel.jpg That was not the time.) Kate’s dress is not bad by any means. But with all the salivating at the time, and people saying things like, “How to look perfect on your wedding day? Look like Kate!”, my eyes just roll out of my head. It wasn’t flawless, nor especially interesting.
Oh my goodness that wedding dress!!! LOL!!
@Amber, I didn’t know who Mabel was so I idly clicked on the link. Was NOT expecting the ending to the story to be like that.
Those bows though…man.
Oh, I’m sorry @HollyG. Yes it’s terribly sad. They seemed like a lovely couple. Happy together. And Mabel… is exactly the kind of woman that would wear that wedding dress. She’s pretty fabulous.
The first time I saw the dress though? There was a mention of “bows”. So I’m scrolling along and going, “*Sees the bodice* Ok, there are bows. *Seeing the rest of the front* Not my style. But what’s wrong wi–*Sees the train* OH, holy moly!”
Oh my stars, that dress! Well…Mabel certainly has her own sense of style, I will say that! But Bows Gone Wild is going to be the name of my Queen cover band!
If they had stopped with just the tiny bows on the bodice, it would have been a lovely dress similar to Caroline Kennedy’s.
She recognized the criticism and mocking of the bows, but it was meaningful to them somehow. The black dress she wore to his memorial had one sleeve made from a similar bow, from the same designers. One of their daughters had a black-and-white bow too (on her sling).
Oh my. Okay. That is surely something to behold. I don’t even know what to say about the pant dress. It reminded me of Victor Victoria or those performers who do half man on one side and then turn and it’s half woman.
I didn’t care for her dress, it was very blah and I don’t like lace. I think it’s used too frequently where it shouldn’t even be there. I loooooved Diana’s dress and had mine made very similar but with slightly smaller poofy sleeves. Plus, it was a very “young” dress, thus very fitting for a 20 yr old marrying a stodgy oaf.
I LOVED Diana’s dress! It was the yards and yards of taffeta silk that blew me away. It was dramatic, a bigger than big costume that suited the occasion and her tender youth and her height. Fairy princess, indeed, especially topped with that stunning Spencer tiara. For spectacle, it was splendid!
I would never wear it, not my style, but I certainly can see the appeal!
+1,000,000
I love the Spencer tiara 🙂 best part of her look. I also loved her huge flower bouquet, guess she had to go huge with flowers though with that huge dress. She was the epitome of princess on her wedding day.
I thought Diana’s dress suited the times, it was the 80s. However, I didn’t like the big puffy sleeves and I thought the skirt was too big. It really overwhelmed Diana. It engulfed her to the point it made her head look unusually small. Add the fact she wasn’t having a good hair day (it looked flat and greasy) and her head looked even smaller. The look would’ve been better, I suppose, if she had the big 1984-85 hair on her wedding day.
As the story goes, she took some of the hot rollers out to talk on the phone with Charles the morning of the wedding, resulting in the flat look.
It was the fairy tale dress and it was appropriate for the time and venue. Fashions come and go, but I will never forget the shock and awe of that dress as Diana got out of the glass coach. That train! At that moment she embodied the young princess.
I think Diana wore her dress well. Would I recommend it on anyone else? Heck no. But given her height, stature, charisma, overall youthful appearance, and the fact that she was marrying a prince and being watched by millions around the globe, I think the dress suited her. Maybe this is one of those instances where you notice the person more than the dress and the person elevates the dress. But do I think anyone else could have pulled that off? No. So I guess the credit goes more to Diana than the designers for making the thing look good.
I also think her veil made her face look very beautiful.
From the Mantel speech that got her in so much trouble:
“When Diana drove to St Paul’s she was a blur of virginal white behind glass. The public was waiting to see the dress, but this was more than a fashion moment. An everyday sort of girl had been squashed into the coach, but a goddess came out. She didn’t get out of the coach in any ordinary way: she hatched. The extraordinary dress came first, like a flow of liquid, like ectoplasm emerging from the orifices of a medium. It was a long moment before she solidified. Indeed the coach was a medium, a method of conveyance and communication between two spheres, the private and the public, the common and the royal. The dress’s first effect was dismaying. I could hear a nation of women catching their breath as one, not in awe but in horror: it’s creased to glory, how did they let that happen? I heard the squeak as a million ironing-boards unfolded, a sigh and shudder as a collective nightmare came true: that dream we all have, that we are incorrectly dressed or not dressed at all, that we are naked in the street. But as the dress resolved about her, the princess was born and the world breathed out.”
The iconic moment for me was the sight of Diana emerging from the coach upon her arrival and that huge train kept unfurling on the steps. I couldn’t believe how massive it was and was surprised the carriage didn’t tip over from the weight! That dress may have been OTT and badly creased, but to me that was secondary to the overall effect of a burgeoning princess. It was a glorious design for a glorious young lady.
By George, she’s got it! In that moment, Diana the Princess was born.
The huge train, the veil blowing around in the wind, the crowds cheering. It fit St. Paul’s and the occasion.
What’s iconic about this dress? It’s derivative and inoffensive except for that cone bustier peculiarity. She has to sexualise everything.
Well at least she didn’t flash her butt that day.
High praise, indeed! 🙂
Remember the cone bustier look persisted after the wedding with her reception outfit.
I like looking at these pictures because it reminds me of the time when I was so excited and hopeful for them. My sister and I had a party and watched the wedding-it was such a fun day.
Unfortunately since then they have let us down so badly that all I feel when I look at them is disappointment.
I watched it live, too. I think the lack of the gilt coach was the beginning of the end for me. 🙂
I thought the dress did exactly what it was supposed to do. A stunning fashion statement isn’t always appropriate for a future Princess of Wales. The dress was fitted within an inch of its life and perfectly blended sumptuousness with restraint. The details if you look closely are exquisite, and they aren’t as obvious in photos as they are if you watch real time footage of the event. I have often taken issue with the Duchess’s choices, but the wedding dress wasn’t one of them. It totally nailed the requirements of the day, the requirements of her future, and made her look far prettier than she actually is while allowing her to look like herself. And it was far, far more elegant than that ghastly overblown meringue her late mother-in-law wore . . . JMHO.
What did you think of the veil…..it did look like cheap netting, no?
The veil was horrid. The only ok part of the look IMO was the skirt and train.
I was watching it live on TV and they were interviewing Vera Wang to get her opinion of the dress and when Kate got out of the car and the first good look at the dress and veil.. .Vera was a bit paused in her response regarding the veil. It took her a few seconds to say something flattering about it. Which I would have overlooked initially but remember focused on it then after her stammer on commenting and then trying to sell its beauty.
I wasn’t overwhelmed by the dress and disliked the cones, but my main sticking point was the limp, short veil and how the small tiara was obscured. And I have to chuckle about the “requirements of her future.” Any expectations of what the requirements were went downhill fast!
Well, we appear to have varied views on that! No, I didn’t think it looked like cheap netting. It looked like a veil. And I’ve disliked quite a few of Wang’s creations, come to it, so her opinion wouldn’t say much to me.
“Overwhelmed” misses the point (@Feeshalori). I don’t think “overwhelmed” is ever the aim in royal wedding dresses – looking “royal” is more to the point. But where I will agree with most is the tiara, which was too slight to balance out the ballroom lower half of the dress. I’ve seen quite a few royal weddings in the last 15 years (not as a guest, she said hastily): Maxima, Mary, Letizia of Spain, Mathilde of Belgium – they all aimed for the same thing, a sumptuous but not too daring or threateningly glamorous look. They all seem to be trying to say, “I Am Now A Princess And Later I Will Be A Queen” not, “Get a load of this everyone!”
The veil was terrible. Sophie R-J’s was bad in the same way, although that might have been due to the strong wind at the time she exited the car. The veils were too light, didn’t hold any shape away from the face, so they clung unattractively.
@seesittellsit, in comparison to other wedding dresses that royal ladies have worn who have been mentioned here, I was underwhelmed by Kate’s dress since there was nothing in particular that made it a signature or outstanding look for that day. For me, it looked like a dress that could have been bought off the rack in a bridal store, although I’m sure the quality of workmanship was superb. But considering it was designed by a top-level designer, it was nothing to write home about.
I just searched and learned the veil was made of silk tulle, Seriously???? Mine was silk tulle and it never lay heavily, like a limp-hearted thing – it almost strangled her. I disliked it beyond words. At first I thought it was some old fashioned variation, but it is reported as silk tulle. I’m gob smacked. Just goes to show, there are ways NOT to wear it!
I thought the dress was lovely and fit her beautifully, except for the cone boobs. Hated that. It was forgettable, definitely not a “Diana” dress, but after seeing what Kate’s about years later, it was Kate.
I’m just loving the first picture – was this the last time we saw her minus Big Blue? It’s there in spirit, can’t you tell!
She probably had it stuffed down her bodice. Or Carole was clutching it.
Wasn’t it on her right hand? That’s not unusual for women who don’t want to take it off for the ring exchange.
I actually saw the exhibit at BP and in person, I really loved the dress. The details were hard to see in photos and on TV. But I really wish she would have worn her hair up to see the complete back of the dress and toned down the make up.
I never got all the hype over Pippa and her dress. It was pretty and fit her very well but thought she overshadowed the bride. First time I ever saw an adult brides maid wear white.
Pippa looked a thousand times better than Kate LOL.
Since Queen Victoria, all the wedding party wear white. The rest of the population copied colour of Victoria’s dress without extending it to bridesmaids, but royals copied it wholesale. If you look for older royals’ wedding parties, all the ladies, young and grown, are wearing white.
Thanks for sharing that info, I did not know that.. I’m used to seeing bridesmaids in some type of pastel meringue creation.
I saw the dress there too and yes, in person its a lovely dress. Shame that the detail didn’t show up on screen or in the photo’s of the day. I know others didn’t like the collar and sleeves but those were my favourite part of the dress – i liked the vintage look it gave. The same goes for the veil – no strong opinions only to say that i don’t like veils period, i think they take away from the dress.
Well, there ya go, sounds like it doesn’t photograph well. Did it look expensive?
hmmm, I’m not an expert in design or fashion but in person, my opinion was that yes, it was expensive looking based on the intricate detail of the embroidery all over the dress and the lace. I also was very impressed with the back of the dress and as stated earlier, I wish she had worn her hair up to see the full back of the dress. The exhibit also included her shoes which were not her standard 4 inch height but lower and also included lace all around them to complement the dress.
I thought he gown was lovely, including the veil, but then again I’m used to those horrid strapless a-lines that have been popular in the US for many years now and flatter very few women. I’ve seen more sleeved wedding dresses since Kate’s, so she did start a bit of a trend.
Kate wedding dress was basic/meh, I can’t see how anyone would allege that the design was copied. BTW I didn’t like Kate’s veil.
Crown Princess Victoria is my favorite royal bride of recent times, she even made me like that ridiculous Cameo tiara.
Grand Duchess Stephanie is another favorite, she, Princess Madeline and Princess Claire did the best when it came to going with a classic design but still having wow.
I like Crown Princess Mary’s wedding dress much more than I dislike it but there are some off elements.
I like Maxima and Mette-Marit’s trains.
Princess Grace and Princess Margaret’s are my favorites from a previous era.
I like Serena Stanhope’s homage to Princess Margaret’s dress.
Princess Alexandra of Denmark is my favorite big, puffy wedding dress.
Sofia’s wedding dress was another dress I consider basic/meh.
At the time I was embarrassed for Diana over her hideous, wrinkled wedding dress but it has grown on me over time. It’s hard to explain, I would never recommend the dress or want to see it be used as inspiration but it seems right for her and the times.
I really, really liked Sarah Ferguson’s wedding dress, and still like it, but it’s wow has not stood the test of time.
Camilla’s wedding ensemble is another favorite.
You just sent me down a rabbit hole of gowns.
Maxima’s was boring for her! I agree, Victoria’s was lovely, but I think my favorite that I came across was Lady Melissa Percy, already divorced from Will and Kate’s ski vacation guest this winter. I adore the bottom of her gown – it’s so chiffony, and floaty and light!! Her crown/veil is seriously odd, though.
Camilla’s wedding blessing outfit is gorgeous. May be her best look ever.
I agree. It was perfect. Just perfect. In fact, if it were a royal wedding dress, I would place it at #1.
As $$$$$ as it was ugly, Marie-Chantal Miller when she wed Pavlos of Greece. It’s #10 on this website:
http://cronicassicotropicas.blogspot.ca/2011/09/fashion-corner-most-beautiful-wedding.html
It’s just demure and old fashioned. I thought it was going to have nipple cutouts or something the way you wrote!
There’s so much wrong with that dress, holy crap. Lace in three clashing patterns? My eyes!
I liked Kate’s wedding dress but I agree with previous posts that it was not outstanding or memorable. I didn’t like Diana’s at the time. It looked like a bundle of rolled-up laundry when she got out of the carriage. It hasn’t grown on me since then. I liked Sarah Ferguson’s and Princess Anne1973 dress. Both of camilla’s wedding outfits were lovely. I can’t remember too much about the European royals’ dresses.
I don’t know how the other designer will be able to prove Sarah Burton copied her designs unless she has witnesses from that time.
I didn’t care for the dress but then again her style and mine are very different. The veil was awful but the dress was just ok. I had to click on the story to even remember it.
They have ruined McQueen’s legacy and to me that is the most memorable thing about her “style”.
I agree. McQueen would never have designed a lot of the very boring clothing Sarah Burton has produced. He was a visionary artist. Sarah Burton isn’t worthy of being his successor.
I loved Diana’s wedding dress. She looked like a fairy princess for a day.
The only similarities I see between Duchess Catherine’s and Princess Grace’s gowns are that both are white and both have close-fitting lace sleeves. Pretty much every wedding dress in the past two centuries has been white. Most have lace. The only reason you notice the sleeves are because 99% of wedding dresses these days are strapless and sleeves are noticeable. Period.
Princess Grace’s dress has a high neckline – Catherine’s is v-necked. Princess Grace’s dress has buttons up the front – Catherine’s does not. Princess Grace’s dress has a cummerbund detail at the waistline – Catherine’s does not.
I think Kate’s dress was not only pretty but timeless. I’d rather wear something like this than go for something avant-garde or the latest trend and have it look “dated” later on.
Agreed.
I rememberthinking to was very pretty, but somehow very underwhelming? I’m not sure what I expected, and I did love learning about all the incredible work the makers and embroiderers put into it, but something was off. I remember thinking the v-neck seemed too narrow and pointy, something like that. I can definitely appreciate the materials and work, though. That was gorgeous.
Kate looked elegant and beautiful. I hate strapless wedding gowns. They’re hideous. If you look and are built like a young Ava Gardner, yeah, you’re going to look like Ava Gardner. Most of the brides who wear them look like they have big thick towels around their chests with globs of fat hanging from the arms.
Ive never thought her dress was worthy of carrying the mcqueen name.
The dress is conservative, but fine. It’s the Dynasty makeup that is dragging the whole look down.
I liked her dress but was expecting something different with the McQueen name attached. Take away the McQueen name and it’s lovely dress. I’d wear it. Of course it would look a little out of place at the grocery store or standing in line at the bank, but I’d still wear it.
It’s a very pretty dress!
I liked Kate’s dress apart from the chest area which was too emphasised. I thought she should have had a bigger tiara and a bigger bouquet. She apparently did not want to wear a tiara.
Kate’s bouquet was very similar to that of Princess Grace who was the most exquisite royal bride ever. I thought Princess Margaret was possibly the nicest British royal bride. Also thought the Queen was lovely but looked better with the wedding bouquet. I have liked the dresses of most of the British royal brides although I did not like the overskirt on Serena Stanhope’s dress or the neckline of Lady Helen Windsor’s .