The Honeymoon of Princess Diana

All right, now that the royal wedding madness is dying down a bit, let's look at some retro honeymoon fashions.

Date: July and August 1981
Place: England, the Mediterranean, and Scotland
Event: Honeymoon of Princess Diana and Prince Charles

Leaving from Buckingham Palace for Waterloo Station (where a private train was waiting to take them to Broadlands for the first leg of their honeymoon), Princess Diana wore a peach/salmon colored suit created by Bellville Sassoon.

The hat was created by John Boyd; Diana would repeat this style of hat throughout the next several years.

Following their time at Broadlands, Diana and Charles boarded a plane to Gibraltar.

Once in Gibraltar, the newlyweds boarded the royal yacht Britannia for a cruise around the Mediterranean.

The white and blue floral dress Diana wore in Gibraltar while setting sail on Britannia was designed by Donald Campbell.

Once on the yacht, Diana wore a number of dresses.

Including this polka dot dress (unknown designer).

And this striped, one-shoulder dress (unknown designer).  EDIT:  I have been informed that it may be a Mondi!

When they went ashore for time on the beach, Diana wore this bandeau-top bikini (unknown designer).

In Egypt, Anwar Sadat came aboard.

Diana wore this striped dress (unknown designer).

Eventually, the honeymooners made their way to Scotland.

On arrival in Scotland, Diana wore this white coat (unknown designer).

In Scotland, Diana and Charles spent the rest of their honeymoon at Balmoral.

A photo-call was arranged with the couple and Diana wore this iconic, tweed outfit designed by Bill Pashley.

Stay tuned for more (honeymooning) royal fashion!

Kate Middleton's Wedding Day

It has arrived!  The secret was kept well and we now know that it was indeed Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen who created the absolute vision that we saw today.

Date:  29 April 2011
Place:  Westminster Abbey, London
Event:  Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton)

Miss Middleton chose Sarah Burton, creative director of the Alexander McQueen fashion house, to create her  wedding gown.  The fashions of Burton (and McQueen) are known for being edgy and contemporary--not exactly what we saw today, which is a good thing.  It is believed that Kate first became interested in Burton's designs after seeing the wedding of Sara Buys and Tom Parker Bowles.

Indeed, commentators have noted that the dress worn by Kate today does not scream "Sarah Burton," but rather it looks very much like Kate had a hand, or two, in the design process.  Kate does have a degree in the history of art, so it would not be far-fetched to imagine her capable of the task.

The dress was made of silk gazar, the focal point of the dress being the lace appliqué bodice.  (So, what you see is a dress with lace then sewn onto it.  Look again at how much lace there is and imagine how much work that took!)  The lace was created by the Royal School of Needlework in London.  It is said that workers washed their hands every 30 minutes and changed needles every three hours to keep the dress crisp and clean.

The lace itself consisted of Chantilly and Cluny.  It was made to include symbols of each of the four countries of the United Kingdom:  rose (England), thistle (Scotland), daffodil (Wales), and shamrock (Northern Ireland).  The "body" of the veil was made of silk tulle with the handmade lace painstakingly hand-sewn into the edges.  The veil reached just beyond her waist.

The tiara was borrowed from the Queen's collection.  It was created by Cartier (called the "halo" tiara) and purchased by the then Duke of York, later King George VI, for his wife--later known as the Queen Mother.  The Queen received it for her 18th birthday from her parents.  It suits Kate perfectly and complemented her dress and veil exquisitely.

The train was nine feet (270 cm) long, considerably shorter than the last royal wedding dress train seen at Westminster.  It traveled beautifully both in the Rolls Royce that carried her to the Abbey and in the landau that carried her to Buckingham Palace.

The dress was designed to look like a flower blooming--an upside-down flower, I would imagine.  The dresses of the maid of honor and bridesmaids were made to echo the design of Kate's dress.  More to come on the rest of the wedding party!  (Stay tuned.)

The bridal bouquet was a small affair of lily of the valley, hyacinths, ivy, myrtle, and (my favorite) sweet William.  It was created by florist Shane Connolly.  Additionally, her earrings were created by jewelers Robinson Pelham to look like leaves made of diamonds.  The earrings were a gift from her parents for her wedding day.

All in all, the royal wedding went smoothly and is being hailed a fashion success from virtually all corners.  This little corner adds its approval, too!  Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess--may they have a long, happy life together.

Stay tuned for more on the royal wedding and honeymoon  fashions in the coming weeks!

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon's Wedding Day

One last look back before we turn our attention to our televisions for William and Kate Middleton's wedding.  This time, the wedding day of Elizabeth and Albert, better known as the Queen Mother and King George VI.

Date:  26 April 1923
Place:  Westminster Abbey, London
Event:  Wedding of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and Prince Albert (later King George VI)

Elizabeth's dress was designed by Madame Handley Seymour and is often looked back upon as dowdy and unfashionable. However, the dress was quite fashionable for the time but simply did not suit the bride's figure.

The dress was made of silk, ivory moire with a drop-waist and square-neck. Elizabeth wore a veil made of Flanders lace, borrowed from her mother-in-law and worn low over the brow in imitation of cloche hats that were en vogue.

The wedding was held in Westminster Abbey--the first royal wedding to happen in the Abbey in over 500 years. Elizabeth spontaneously laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in the Abbey as she walked down the aisle. Thus, in the official portraits afterward, she is holding no bouquet. We may see Kate Middleton lay her bouquet at the tomb tomorrow.

With the recent success of The King's Speech, interest has been high in Elizabeth. Her wedding dress never seems to inspire any kind sentiments. By the late 1930s, when she became Queen, she had found a style that suited her much better with the creations of Norman Hartnell (who eventually created both of her daughters' wedding dresses).

Now--stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for a look at the fashions from Kate and William's wedding!

Queen Victoria's Wedding Day

Today, on the last day of being single for Kate Middleton and Prince William, we examine the grandmother of weddings--that of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Date:  10 February 1840
Place:  Chapel Royal, St. James Palace, London
Event:  Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Victoria became queen less than a month after turning 18 years old in 1837.  As long as she remained unmarried, she was obliged to live with her mother with whom she had a strained relationship.  So, it was two and a half years after her ascension that she married her German first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Saxony.

Queen Victoria's wedding is most notable for setting a trend in wedding dresses; specifically, she chose to wear white and it sparked a craze that remains today. Before, most wedding dresses were expected to be practical and worn again, thus white was an unlikely choice because it was difficult to keep clean. You can bet your boots that Kate Middleton will be wearing white on Friday, and she can thank Victoria for that.

Victoria's dress was made of yards of satin and complemented by a veil made of ornate Honiton lace.  Honiton lace was also used to trim her neckline and sleeves.  The English town of Honiton had been known as a center of lace-making since the middle ages.  Additionally, she wore a massive diamond necklace and earrings.  Nestled at the center of her bosom was a sapphire brooch gifted to her by Prince Albert.

It is not known exactly who created her dress, but her shoes were created by Gundry and Sons, a London-based cobbler.

Around her head, Victoria wore a crown of orange blossoms as dramatized here in the film The Young Victoria (2009; quite a visually and dramatically worthy film if you are interested in this time period). It is said that Albert also chose the orange blossoms for his bride.

Stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for more wedding fashions in celebration of the big wedding tomorrow!

Queen Elizabeth's Wedding Day (or rather, Princess Elizabeth's Wedding Day)

In 1947, the United Kingdom, like most of Europe and the World, was recovering from World War II.  In July of that year, it was announced that there was to be a royal wedding!  The secret engagement of Elizabeth and Philip of more than a year was finally made official.  Their wedding later that year served a boost of morale for a war-weary nation (and world).

Date:  20 November 1947

Place:  Westminster Abbey, London

Event:  Wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Denmark and Greece

Princess Elizabeth's dress, like her sister Margaret's dress thirteen years later, was designed by Norman Hartnell, the royal dressmaker to the then Queen Elizabeth (to become the Queen Mother when her daughter became Queen Elizabeth II).

The dress was made from ivory silk and was decorated with crystals and over 10,000 seed pearls that Hartnell traveled to the United States to find. (There was quite a shortage of materials following the war.) It had some pintucking on the bodice, somewhat like her daughter Anne's dress had 26 years later. It also had a drop-waist and sweetheart neckline.

The motif on her dress and 13-foot-long train was inspired by Botticelli's Primavera (a figure, covered in flowers, representing spring). This motif was meant to symbolize rebirth and growth after the devastation of World War II. From a distance, the motif looks like five-pointed stars, but they are in fact flower blossoms.

Also in common with her daughter Anne, Elizabeth wore the "fringe" tiara originally made for her grandmother Queen Mary, wife of King George V. The veil was made of silk tulle.  Her pearl jewelry are from the collection of crown jewels dating back to the middle ages.

Visit Fashionably Royal tomorrow for more build up the the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton when we look back at the most trend-setting wedding ever, that of Queen Victoria.  And, you guessed, we're not afraid of a bit of hyperbole around here.  Until then!

Princess Margaret's Wedding Day

Today we look back at the wedding day of the Queen's younger sister, Princess Margaret--

Date:  6 May 1960
Place:  Westminster Abbey, London
Event:  Wedding between Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones

Princess Margaret's wedding was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television.  Margaret's romantic life had been hotly followed by the press for years.  So, for the occasion, Margaret wore a dramatic dress and oozed elegance.

The dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and was made of white silk organza including a jacket-like overlay. It had long sleeps and long, slim v-neck with no embellishments such as embroidery or beading.

With a tightly cinched waist, the skirt was very full consisting of about 40 yards of fabric over layers of tulle underskirts.

Margaret's veil was also made of silk organza and cascades from her dramatic up-do (purportedly aided by hairpieces) and drawing even more attention to the dramatic Poltimore tiara that had been purchased just for her. (It sold at auction in 2006 for $1.7 million.)

The veil was trimmed with ivory lining giving the princess a polished, complete "frame."

Tune in tomorrow when Fashionably Royal reviews the wedding of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in the run-up to Friday's big wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Princess Anne's Wedding Day

Today we look back at a wedding that purportedly drew over 500 million television viewers nearly 40 years ago.

Date: 14 November 1973
Place: Westminster Abbey, London
Event: Wedding between Princess Anne and Mark Phillips

The dress is said to have been designed ostensibly by Princess Anne and executed by a team led by Maureen Baker.

The dress was made from silk with tight pintucking in the bodice to show her trim figure and included a high, collared neckline.

The sleeves of this dress were (and are!) a real talking point. They included enormous trumpet sleeves on the outside and puffed sleeves inside gathered at the wrist.

A nine-year-old Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Chatto), Princess Anne's first cousin, served as bridesmaid and also wore a medieval inspired outfit.

Anne wore a tiara loaned to her by her mother the Queen. In fact, it was the tiara that the Queen wore on her wedding day. Anne's veil was relatively short (for a royal bride) and the train had a silk gauze overlay

Tune in tomorrow to Fashionably Royal for more in our lead-up to William and Kate's wedding on Friday with a look back at Princess Margaret's 1960 wedding fashions.

Sophie Rhys-Jones' Wedding Day

Day 3 of our week-long build up to the marriage of William and Kate continues with a look back at the wedding of Sophie Rhys-Jones and Prince Edward.

Date: 19 June 1999
Place: St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
Event: Wedding between Sophie Rhys-Jones and Prince Edward

The bride wore a gown designed by Samantha Shaw made from hand-dyed silk organza and silk crepe.

The v-neck "coat dress" had long, bell sleeves and was embellished with 325,000 cut-glass and pearl beads. It was corseted underneath.

Samantha Shaw also designed the pageboys' and bridesmaids' outfits. The girls wore silk taffeta dresses and the boys wore silk taffeta shirts with navy velvet knickerbockers. Each wore navy velvet tunics.

Sophie wore a tiara from the Queen's private collection that was remodeled by the Crown Jewellers, Garrard and Company. She wore a necklace and pair of earrings designed by Edward and created, also, by Garrard and Company as a wedding gift.

Stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for more royal wedding fashions and more!