Catherine Middleton's Wedding Dress

[MetalLaLa]

I adore the neckline and bust of Catherine's dress, absolutely perfect for her figure, represented a fabulous sense of style and occasion, and most importantly, I can safely assume she will be one bride who will not look back decades down the line and regret wearing something so timeless!

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I think if any gown, Kate's dress more resembled Isabella Orsini's.

[IloveCP]

Does anyone notice that Liliy Allen's wedding dress looks KINDA like Kate's?Not the botton half but the sleeves.

[KittyAtlanta]

Originally Posted by MetalLaLa

I adore the neckline and bust of Catherine's dress, absolutely perfect for her figure, represented a fabulous sense of style and occasion, and most importantly, I can safely assume she will be one bride who will not look back decades down the line and regret wearing something so timeless!

The Orsini and Kate's gowns are pretty much identical. However, almost all "original" designs are influenced by garments that preceded them. Variation on a theme, so to say.

Neither of them will wince when looking at the wedding album in 30 years.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Almost all "royal" wedding gowns I have seen are designed to stand the test of time. The only one's I have seen that look aged are Princess Diana's and Queen Raina's. I could also say The Queen Mum's dress, but I honestly just think it is not a very flattering design and it has nothing to do with what was popular then, not being popular now.
A majority of royal bride's have had gowns that were inspired by the past rather than the current trend.

[Princess of Durham]

With regard to Diana's gown, all one has to do is pick up a well illustrated book of fairy tales and ... voila ... there it is. That that qualify for timeless. :)

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Um, No!
Diana's gown does not look like a fairytale dress.It screams 1980s! Cinderella's wedding dress was much better looking that her ball gown, but both of them knew not to go over the top in some areas. Fairy tale gowns have big skirts (bigger than Diana's) but not over the top bodice's, shoulders, and lace in places it wasn't needed. I should really just stop debating this with people, some people love that dress, others don't.

[COUNTESS]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

Um, No!
Diana's gown does not look like a fairytale dress.It screams 1980s! Cinderella's wedding dress was much better looking that her ball gown, but both of them knew not to go over the top in some areas. Fairy tale gowns have big skirts (bigger than Diana's) but not over the top bodice's, shoulders, and lace in places it wasn't needed. I should really just stop debating this with people, some people love that dress, others don't.

Of course, it screams '80's. It was the '80's. I disliked the top, too, but that's what you get when you put your faith in a designer and don't think about what looks best on your.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Well let's think about this now. Have previous wedding gowns of Princess' scream the decade they were created in? For example, Kate's is a throwback to the past. Princess Margaret's gown seemed more 19th century and Victorian than 1960s. Mette-Marit and Mary also didn't seem to go with current fashions either.
I think Diana's dress had the misfortune of being designed by novice designers and a teenage bride who didn't realize less is more.
Did anyone on here watch the series The Tudors? In the 4th season Catherine Howard wore a blue and yellow costume to a church service, and its design style reminded me of Diana's wedding gown, with being too much of a good thing.
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m.../GW227H319.jpg

[KPWillie]

IMO Catherine's dress was just a bit understated, whereas Diana's dress was a bit overstated. It has got to be extremely difficult to get it "just right" and anyway, you can never please everyone.

[Daria_S]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

Well let's think about this now. Have previous wedding gowns of Princess' scream the decade they were created in? For example, Kate's is a throwback to the past. Princess Margaret's gown seemed more 19th century and Victorian than 1960s. Mette-Marit and Mary also didn't seem to go with current fashions either.
I think Diana's dress had the misfortune of being designed by novice designers and a teenage bride who didn't realize less is more.
Did anyone on here watch the series The Tudors? In the 4th season Catherine Howard wore a blue and yellow costume to a church service, and its design style reminded me of Diana's wedding gown, with being too much of a good thing.
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m.../GW227H319.jpg

That get-up hurts my eyes. What were the costume designers thinking?

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Don't let that fool you. 98% of the costumes on the show were fantastic. With that one, I just have no idea what they were thinking, unless they purposely made it awful to show how young and immature Catherine was.

[LOSSEAN]

I think Catherine's gown was carefully planned and I commend her for her great effort and she looked very comfortable in it.

Diana's gown when it came out was just magical and a real fairy tale as someone has already mentioned above. The close up wedding picture revealed more of its intricate details. I loved it!

The mistake was when she got off the carriage at St Pauls. She started up the steps straight away. I believe she should have waited as Catherine did during her wedding - and got the skirt adjusted so that it did not look so crumpled as she continued up the steps - when the first shots were taken. It did not help that she had to climb up steps at St Pauls instead of just walking straight ahead as Catherine did at Westminister Abbey.

[firebee34]

Diana's gown was so 80's.... While I didn't care for it much.... I understand where the Emmanuaels were going. They didn't want Diana to be 'lost' in St. paul's. The hugeness of the venue meant a huge dress. Diana's dress was over the top in some ways (the huge sleeves for one) but overall my only complaint was the boring train. Waaaaay to plain for a 26ft length train. Sarah's designer had the right idea.

My only complaint with Kate's dress was no sparkle and a slightly to short train............

[IloveCP]

I agree about everything the person who wrote this.Nice but not original.

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge's Wedding: The Bridal Gown

[Mia_mae]

Thank God it didn't had sparkles, no! The lace and the embroidment was more than enough. Anything else would have made the dress tacky.

[Patty93]

I adore Kate's wedding dress.She looked beautiful in it. Besides every dress with lace ,which she was wearing were amazing.

[Daisiesforever]

It is not easy to "pull off" simple, classic and elegant. When one thinks of a royal wedding one automatically thinks of something from the Elizabethan era. Heavy, shiny, large and puffy with metres of unecessary tuille. I feel Kate's gown was indeed well planned and certainly complimented her and her style of dress sense. I cannot understand why people expected drama and "over the top" flashiness and sparkles. It was a lovely, classic gown for a lovely girl. Maybe a bit more could have been done with the veil to make it higher and fuller but maybe this was her choice. However Kate still looked radiant and Willam was indeed proud. A perfect combination for two royals we have come love more and more each day.

[Aliza]

I'll add myself to the "unpopular people list" here While I thought Kate looked amazing and that the dress definitely highlighted her tiny waist and petite figure - I was disappointed when she first stepped out of the car. Whether it's the heir or the "heir to the heir" - there is only one of these weddings every thirty years or so and I thought the dress could have had something more, while still remaining very much Kate's style and still retaining simplicity. Even a few more metres on the train might have done it. To sum it up, it looked like an appropriate dress for wedding the second son of the heir in St George's Chapel, Windsor rather than the second in line to the throne in Westminster Abbey. (I was also disappointed they did not take a leaf from Charles and Diana's book and choose Saint Paul's Cathedral, but that's for another thread....)

The veil, to me was just a miss. It plastered itself in an unflattering manner, IMHO, to her face with the blusher down and the length made it look as though someone forgot to attach the main part of the veil. It also needed more gathers so as not to set so flatly on her head. I also thought a slightly larger tiara would have worked better with the look she chose. The bouquet was the biggest problem for my taste; it was tinier than Sarah Armstrong-Jones' posy when she was bridesmaid to Lady Diana Spencer, and while the language of flowers was a truly lovely touch, it would have been nice to see a few more of those flowers.

I guess I'm picky and I was looking for that "gasp!" moment when she stepped out and it wasn't there. But as long as Kate and William were happy with the results, that's all that matters in reality. She did achieve timeless elegance and as someone here noted, she will never cringe when looking at her wedding photos in twenty years' time. Although maybe her makeup might earn a cringe or two if she ever weans off of the panda eyeliner. (There was no need for so much orangey blush, either.) Okay, now I am picking at details. Maybe Prince Harry's future bride will provide me with a "gasp" sometime in the not too distant future.

[Mirabel]

Brides magazine cover this month has a Kate lookalike wearing a replica of her wedding dress, and credits Kate with an upsurge in people requesting lace on their dresses. Also, More coverage after so many years of strapless only!