Least Favourite Royal Wedding Dress

[XeniaCasaraghi]

If you don't like the thread then don't come in it ; its really that simple. Why detract from the topic because you don't like it? Threads on this forum are constantly getting locked because of arguments so let's not make this the next one. This is a topic some of us want to discuss, thanx.

As for Madeleine, her dress was the problem for me; the top looked like a tee shirt and I have no idea what that strange ruffle was at the bottom of the skirt. She is a beautiful young woman and the dress did her no justice.

Valid point, i guess this also goes for threads like "the most terrible fashion looks" (parts 1 to 4 [emoji38] )

I myself have less problem with these threads than for instance the thread about "most and least intelligent royal" (particularly the "least" part) or "Worst monarch of the 20th century"

Indeed, to each their own

Good point, there are numerous threads on here that mention the positive and the negative of multiple aspects of royalty; I highly doubt anyone has a problem with the "grooms who didn't look good" thread.
Judging someone's intelligence is much worse than questioning what was going through the head of Mabel Princess of the Bows.


Btw I would like to hear why some don't like the Cameo tiara? I felt it looked wonderful on Victoria.

 

[Marengo]

In the light of the discussion above we have changed the title of this thread.

 

[cepe]

There are a few dresses that I don't "get"

When I first saw CP Mary's dress, I thought "what was she thinking" - but I've grown to like it more especially the bodice. but the skirt still doesn't look right to me.

When I first saw Mabel's, I thought "she hasn't been thinking at all" - but it's all about quirky bows and she seems a bit quirky so good for her, but it's not for me.

I liked the design of Meghans - in fact it was similar to the style I mentioned on a thread on here - my problem was the fit. Imagine - Givenchy and the fit was wrong.

My least favourite though, after much thought was Madeleine's - just too much of everything - meringue-y, lace, flounces. But it did suit her.

 

[Curbside]

Madeleine's dress lacks congruity. There are a lot of ideas going on, and they sort of clash with each other.

I don't mind most wedding dresses as a rule, but I am an outlier and prefer a very sleek look without any frou frou. Things like lace, embroidery, ruffles, or whatever don't do anything for me.

For that reason, while I can appreciate Cathy Cambridge's wedding gown, for me, it looked as if she was wearing a strapless gown and added a lace overlay to make it modest enough for church. Sophie of Wessex is the only one that comes to mind as all wrong, and for me, it was mostly about the fit.

 

[cepe]

Agree - Victoria and Charlene are among my favourites.

Fit is usually what matters to me.

 

[Curbside]

Agree - Victoria and Charlene are among my favourites.

Fit is usually what matters to me.

Those aren't bad, and they lack a lot of extraneous details--that's definitely a win for me. But I don't like uncovered shoulders in church.

 

[Pranter]

In the light of the discussion above we have changed the title of this thread.

Thank you!!!!! So glad it was changed



LaRAe

 

[Pranter]

Least favorite:

Wallis Simpson
Princess Caroline (Junot wedding)
Marine Chantel of Greece
Mabel Wisse Smit of Norway (my least favorite of all)
Annemarie Duchess of Parma
Queen Mother (my second least favorite)

 

[Pranter]

......Btw I would like to hear why some don't like the Cameo tiara? I felt it looked wonderful on Victoria.

It's quite unattractive....I don't like the design or style of it at all.


LaRae

 

[cepe]

Least favorite:

Wallis Simpson
Princess Caroline (Junot wedding)
Marine Chantel of Greece
Mabel Wisse Smit of Norway (my least favorite of all)
Annemarie Duchess of Parma
Queen Mother (my second least favorite)

I saw a recent photo of this a couple of days ago and the colour has faded to off white - no blue left at all.

 

[WillVictoria]

While my grandmother will declare to her dying day that Diana's wedding dress was the ugliest of all time, I give her some leeway due to the fact it was the eighties (a notoriously terrible time for fashion) and she was so young.

The "style of the time" factor is also why I give a bit of a pass to the Queen Mum for her abysmal dropped waist dress. However, there's a reason why most of my least favorite wedding dresses (Diana, the Queen Mum, Juliana, Astrid, etc...) come from either the 1920s- early 1930s or the 1980s, because I dislike the styles that were in at the time (drop waist, big sleeves, etc...)

Sophie meanwhile was a woman in her thirties living in the nineties, a time of trends which have aged relatively well compared to its predecessor. For that reason, I see her dress as the biggest fashion "sin" because she was not a young ingenue lured in by now dated trends, but a grown woman who, in my opinion, had bad taste. Even Princess Alexia of Greece or Queen Silvia, who had simple sheaths I wasn't a huge fan of, at least had those beautiful tiaras to add interest. Sophie, meanwhile, had Edward's horrid attempt at jewelry design and a cobbled together tiara that, as the Sussex wedding has proven, was clearly not the only option in the vault.

Sophie's wedding look is the worst as usually, the poor dress designs had some saving grace (usually the embroidery, veil, or jewelry). All poor Sophie had was a plain and ill-fitting dress, a boring veil, and spectacularly ugly jewelry.

 

[Pranter]

I saw a recent photo of this a couple of days ago and the colour has faded to off white - no blue left at all.

It has been quite a few years! Perhaps it wasn't well kept or well preserved?


LaRae

 

[cepe]

Blue dye is very volatile (as the blue in my curtains testifies!).

 

[Frelinghighness]

Yes Sophie of Wessex was the worst that comes to mind. Mette-Marit and princess marina faves

 

[Countessmeout]

I love the simple clean line gowns. Victoria, Charlene, Meghan, Mette-Marit were all stand outs for me. The only exception to that rule, Stephanie ranks top three for me.

I hate the over done lacey/flouncy. Maria-Chantal, Mabel, Kate. Sophie and Mary's were not too over done, but not favorites either.

 

[Curbside]

Diana's gown was a young girl's idea of a princess dress. Diana was too young to know what would suit her. She was a tall woman with strong features all around, and she didn't come into herself until her 30s.

 

[Curryong]

I blame it all on the early 1980s fashion! Still think Diana's gown and veil were right for the vast expanses of St Pauls, though.

For me Mette Marit's gown and veil are standouts. That veil is more like a cloud than anything I've ever seen. Just beautiful.

Least favourite, Marie Chantal's and yes, poor Sophie Wessex, whose entire appearance was a real letdown.

 

[Curbside]

I blame it all on the early 1980s fashion! Still think Diana's gown and veil were right for the vast expanses of St Pauls, though.

For me Mette-Marit's gown and veil are standouts. That veil is more like a cloud than anything I've ever seen. Just beautiful.

Least favourite, Marie Chantal's and yes, poor Sophie Wessex, whose entire appearance was a real letdown.

I haven't seen Mette-Marit's before. It is beautiful, very nice and simple and the clean lines suited her.

 

[jacqui24]

Sophie - I don't think I have to explain much there.
Mette Marit - I think it's the neckline that really ruined it for me. I'm personally for more translucent veils, so her veil did nothing for me. Although I do think it's a good match for the material and color of her dress.
Kate - Very much like Grace Kelly's dress, but not nearly as good. I just also don't think the veil worked well with it. It needed to be more translucent with all the lace.

 

[Denville]

True,a weddig day is special, and even if one thinks that the dress is awful, the bride looks too thin, or anxious or whatever, it is a special day for the bride... and I think one should refrain from major league criticism. On ordinary events, there isn't so much emotion, and yes a Princess may pick a bad dress fro Event A and do better at EVent B.. so reasonable criticism for ordinary royal events is fair enough.

 

[Kitty1224]

Least Favorite Princess Anne's and Sophie's.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

[...]
When I first saw Mabel's, I thought "she hasn't been thinking at all" - but it's all about quirky bows and she seems a bit quirky so good for her, but it's not for me.[...]

I think she has been thinking very much about it. She turned down conventional dresses and requested her friends Viktor & Rolf to create something for her. Princess Mabel's dress was the most "weird" one but at the same time it is exactly unique because of that.

It was a dress at -technically- the highest level: double-faced duchesse satin was used to create a dress with a bateau neckline. Metres and metres of crêpe georgette was used to make 248 (!) bows by hand. The skill of Viktor & Rolf was shown with the trelliswork pattern: it covered the seams, so it looked like Princess Mabel's gown was cut from a single piece of cloth. Even the sleeves had no visible seam.

In an interview Princess Mabel once replied, when asked what her husband thought of her dress: "Friso thought the wedding dress was fascinating".


Princess Mabel

 

[Soula]

My least favourite is Princess Danica of Serbia's dress and Marie Chantal's wasn't the best

 

[Bine221]

Mabel is the clear winner in my "least favourite" list
BYe Bine

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

My least favourite are Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Mary, Countess of Wessex, Queen Letizia

Princess Mabel's dress was just weird. Without those bows, the design and cut was really nice

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I would like to throw in Princess Masako's western wedding dress; completely unflattering and looked like a bad prom dress. Her traditional ensemble and much better.