OK, so this post is very late because I went travelling and an unusually hideous fall storm went travelling with me, and everywhere I went it wiped out the power and washed out roads and blew down tree branches and generally made life uncomfortable and the internet non-existent.
So, belatedly, the winner of the ‘Design a Dress for Kate‘ contest is…. (drumroll here). Entry A aka Mrs C ! Yep. You all cast your votes, and her ’50s inspired princess frock was a clear winner.
Interestingly, Mrs C also wins the wooden spoon prize, as her dress is also the one closest to what Kate wore. I guess all those rumors about Kate being inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s 1950s wedding dress were true!
Pity that Kate didn’t wear Mrs’ C’s exact dress though! I thought her dress, while lovely, missed that certain something to make it really special, and the extra details on Mrs’ C’s design would have taken it there (now runs and ducks for cover to hide from all the people who are madly in love with Kate’s dress).
So congratulations Mrs C! Your taste and judgment are impeccable!
Now let the comments about Kate’s dress begin. I can’t wait to hear what you all thought about it (even if I do get flagellated for thinking it was a trifle boring!).
Tomorrow I’ll show you what I designed for Kate before the wedding, and a few other last minute designs.
Mrs C is indeed a woman of impeccable taste and discernment.
What’s with the weird names? I felt like I had to vote in the 2004 presidential election all over again.
Huh? Do you mean “Entry A, Entry B” etc?
Nah. The elections that year didn’t offer much by way of choice. 😉 The fruity names are fun, anyway.
Surprisingly, I had just about the same opinion as you. I loved the dress and thought it was beautiful on her. The design reminds me of Princess Grace’s dress. It’s modern yet traditional, classic, and lovely. (And vintage! yay!) Yet it wasn’t *Breathtaking*. It could’ve been eye-poppingly gorgeous or stunning. But I gather that isn’t Kate’s style…she prefers to be more classic than conspicuous.
Good on you, Mrs. C! For Kate, she wore exactly the dress I hoped that she would wear. Nothing remarkable, but well-proportioned and perfectly presentable. I wish that she would have worn her hair up, though! But I really enjoyed watching the whole assembly of nice clothes and fun fun hats, and I adored her simple tiara and veil!
I was a little bit disappointed with Kate’s dress – it was FAR too close to Grace Kelley’s for my liking, and we were all expecting a cathedral-length train – but after thinking about it I think that was her plan all along. After all, I think she would rather be compared to Grace Kelley than Princess Diana…
Interesting how many people are comparing her dress with Grace Kelly’s. Apart from a sweetheart underbodice, lace overlay and an opening at the neck, they are completely different. That combination was not rare in the 1950’s at all, my mother had a dress like that in 59. Grace’s went right up to the neck and had tiny buttons. Kate’s opens right to her neckline. Grace’s dress had the ruched cummerbund, a pleated, tulip shaped skirt and separate train. Kate’s skirt flowed straight out of her waist with no pleating or gathering, and the skirt was a soft bell, like a lizzianthus, with train included. And some kind of detail at the back waist I never got to see properly.
If we had the patterns to both dresses laid out, the differences would be really obvious, like two flowers that have a passing similarity but are from completely different geni (or whatever it’s called). Having said that, I can imagine a conversation with her designer where Kate says how much she liked Grace’s bodice and Margaret’s dress(Quite amazingly similar if you disregard the lace http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_e9OLDZlTqHI/TBWRlKQDcgI/AAAAAAAAAb0/54G79r0AlZI/s1600/2010-05-06–WeddingDressFront–KensingtonPalace.jpg) and desperately wanted to avoid any similarity with Di’s! 🙂
What really grates for me is that a NZ wedding dress designer, Jane Yeh, laboured all night with her peeps to make a replica. It is embarrassing. It is an act of treason. It is WHITE, smacking of synthetics. It does not FIT the model. The neckline is slack, the sleeves too big, the skirt the wrong shape and the lace, well if it cost more than $20m they were ripped off. Looks like a 1990 hire dress. I weep!
But thankyou for accolades. I will spend the next few years saying that had she come to me in the first place, we’d both be a lot richer!
Agreed! I don’t understand all the comparisons to Grace’s dress – it looks a lot more like Elizabeth’s or Margaret’s dresses.
And like you, I’m horrified about the replica of the dress. I didn’t know it was Jane Yeh doing it, but the whole idea is so tacky and embarrassing (and such a travesty against seamstresses and dressmakers – there is no pride or art in replicating a dress in 6 hours!).
Absolutely. HAD they produced a dress that was beautiful, and well made from good materials, then I’d be ok with it. Even without all the work on the skirt. But not the piece of tat they came up with!
For anyone following these comments, here is a link to the replica: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/weddings/royal-wedding/4947003/Kiwis-check-out-royal-wedding-dress-replica
Shudder, now we hear it is (luxury) silk satin, so she managed to make a dress out of good quality materials look cheap. Go Jane! This is no more like Kate’s dress than my dressing gown is…grrr…
Congratulations fabulous MrsC. Stunning amd incredibly close in desiign. I agree that Kate’s dress is much closer to Margaret’s but flashes of Grace. It is entirely suited to Kate and her taste, pleasant, appropriate and no surprises. But I personnaly prefer a little more ka pow and if you can’t have it a royal wedding then somehow I believe a little magic leaks out of the universe.
PS That word you were searching for is genera
Oh and also, I thought her dress was a bit boring too, as was my design. But I suspect that this, like many aspects of this wedding, was a conscious decision. It was I feel a beautifully blanced event – pageantry and lots of it, BUT balanced with concern for the environment, the economy and respect for the “people” and the couple. This was the first royal wedding I’ve seen that felt like the wedding of two actual people. The trees instead of massive cut flower arrangements, and the recycled engagement ring are other overt examples. Having it be beautiful but not extravagant. Her dress was beautiful but not at all extravagant. The chantilly lace on it is not particulary costly, it isn’t encrusted with pearls or crystals, the whole dress’s fabric bill wouldn’t have topped 700GBP. All of this will endear them to the British people. And I’m not sure they did it for that purpose in a calculated way, I think they actually care!
I loved the trees, and liked the recycled elements, but the chantilly lace makes me sad. It should have been an English lace, and it should have been handmade!
When I was watching the broadcast, the British commentator for the channel I was watching (CBC) said the lace was Irish. Were they wrong, or are there conflicting reports (as is so often the case)?
Conflicting reports perhaps?
I think there were various laces involved in making up the applique on her dress, so there may well have been some on there. Somewhere!
I thought the trees were visually stunning, but I couldn’t help but think of all the work that went into the avenue of trees. And where will they be planted? Somewhere symbolic? I’m still not sure what I think about indoor trees… Made me think of the Sagrada Familia, with the interior meant to look like a forest made of stone…. Forest in the stone… Witches… Something there bugs me, I’m not sure what!
Kate’s dress had both Irish and English lace on it. I thought it was lovely and -might- have been stunning if the lace applique on the skirt and train had been more visible.
Mrs c’s design is quite beautiful.
The lace was Carrickmacross (which is Irish in origin but Kate’s was made in England)- apparently the appliques were handmade by the Royal School of Needlework and they also appliqued them to the silk tulle using stab stitch. I do Carrickmacross a different way, maybe how it was described was incorrect.
I did think she looked lovely, although think a more ivory hue would have complimented her a bit more.
Oh! I was given a whole pile of really old Carrickmacross lace recently, such a wonderful find. The big collar of it is currently on stage on an 1895 style jacket. I will unpick it nd put it darefully away after the show closes. Such treasures!
BTW thank you all for lovely comments about my design. I’ve been so into the whole debate I only just noticed them! Very flattered! 🙂