Royalty Thread #7: Do They Get Frequent Flier Miles?

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I prefer Pippa's gown to her sister's.

Catherine's gown fell just short of the "Iconic" status she wished for, IMO.
I've always thought that there was something "off" with the fit of the dress.
 
I very much prefer Kate's wedding dress to Pippa's. Pippa's dress is nice but there's a little too much lace for my taste, and overall I find the look a bit plain. It's very suitable to athletic Pippa and it's attractive, and there's not a thing wrong with it, but it doesn't excite me either.

Personally, I loved Kate's dress and thought it was a smart and great choice in every way. The wide skirt, the lace overlay, and the long sleeves gave it a formal but modest and "princessy" look that fit the occasion. But the V-neck, the straight cut across the bottom of the bodice, and the overall simplicity of the design gave it a modern touch that said "21st-century royal bride". JMO. I loved it.
 
She probably lost weight at the very last minute; although I've never been sure if that was why the fit bothered me.
I wonder if they had a fitter available for "adjustments" needed "on the big day".

You'd think "of course"; but, it doesn't always happen.
 
Pippa had a better dress as maid of honor to Kate than she did today, but it was nice enough (and the maid of honor dress really was wonderful). I wouldn't have paid 40,000 pounds for it, or whatever it cost, but I'm not the one getting married ;)

Kate dresses very conservatively. I wish she would take a page from Queen Letizia and Crown Princess Mary - she's a decade younger than they are, but you wouldn't know it from the clothes.
 
skatesindreams said:
She probably lost weight at the very last minute; although I've never been sure if that was why the fit bothered me.
I wonder if they had a fitter available for "adjustments" needed "on the big day".

You'd think "of course"; but, it doesn't always happen.
Click to expand...

I saw nothing wrong with the fit. Even the haters on What Kate Wore who find errant threads on hems or slightly askew belt loops then pronounce the outfit a failure didn't have a problem with the fit.

Sarah Burton was at the hotel with her when she got dressed. So there was attention paid to fit that day.

I like Pippa's dress. Nice contrast to the endless parade of strapless wedding dresses. A friend who worked as a seamstress at David's for awhile told me that the industry is continuing to push strapless because it is easy to fit/alter and easy for everyone to try on. Sleeves and even sleeveless but not strapless are harder for every size to be able to try on and get an idea of the dress and brides fuss if they can't. I found that interesting. Women are being convinced it is what they want because the industry wants them to.
 
@Zemgirl I agree that Kate dresses conservatively. I don't blame her, though. I feel like she just wants to stay as controversy-free as possible, and one way to do that is not have any fashion faux pas moments.

I just looked at pictures of Queen Letizia and Crown Princess Mary online. They are so attractive, and definitely lots of beautiful clothes. The perks of royalty. :)
 
skatesindreams said:
I don't find most strapless dresses flattering at all.
Click to expand...

We were at a Catholic wedding a month after ours where the bride took hold of the top of her dress with both hands and hiked it up forcefully every time the couple stood up again. Right there on the platform in front of the altar and all the assembled guests. It completely confirmed to me that I was right to avoid a strapless dress. Not an attractive bridal move at all.

And I don't think it was a fit issue at all, I think she was just paranoid in it. She forgot about it during the dance and it wasn't dropping at all.

@clairecloutier I actually don't think that Kate is much of a fashionista. She likes plain, neutral functional shoes. She seems to like understated jewelry. The more conservative clothing goes with that, too. I'm not even sure it is a conscious decision as much as it is just who she is.
 
clairecloutier said:
I just looked at pictures of Queen Letizia and Crown Princess Mary online. They are so attractive, and definitely lots of beautiful clothes. The perks of royalty. :)
Click to expand...
Queen Maxima is another good one - she has hits and misses, but when she hits she knocks it out of the park. Check out what she wore to Willem-Alexander's investiture :swoon:

Mette-Marit of Norway dresses even more conservatively than Kate - I wonder if she just likes those Little House on the Prairie frocks, or maybe she's compensating for her colorful past.
 
Catherine M said:
I feel bad for Meagan that the rule is that she can't go to the church cause she's not engaged or married to Harry. Guess that protocol is a little outdated for me.
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I don't think there was any such rule. In photos, Princess Eugenie is with her boyfriend (or some guy that she is not engaged or married to, anyway) and the groom's brother's girlfriend appears in photographs identified as such. I am guessing that Megan stayed away because the press would have lost their minds if she were there with Harry and it would have taken attention from Pippa on her day and been disruptive. She did arrive in London yesterday, so she may be attending the evening reception.
 
I prefer Pippa's dress too. Her maid of honor dress was the best though, better than her wedding dress.

@PDilemma is right, the strapless dresses are much easier to manufacture, fit, and alter, so dress stores have an incentive to sell them.

I've never been a fan of lace and find the new lace trend unflattering.
 
^^ Agreed re Mette Marit. I think Queen Letizia and Queen Rania are the most elegant and stylish of current royal ladies. Duchess Kate generally looks well pulled together, sometimes with memorable outfits, but often lately she seems to tend toward wearing rather conservative styles (perhaps on purpose).

skatesindreams said:
I prefer Pippa's gown to her sister's.

Catherine's gown fell just short of the "Iconic" status she wished for, IMO.
I've always thought that there was something "off" with the fit of the dress.
Click to expand...

I thought Duchess Kate's lace bodice and long sleeves were quite lovely (as well as the veil and tiara). I'm not sure where you are seeing the fit of the gown being off, unless you are referring to the way the folds fall on the body of the dress and/or something off with the hemline.

I love the applique lace and cut of Pippa's dress. The keyhole opening on the back is an elegant touch, but I'm not too fond of the cut of the neckline or the cap sleeves. Overall, Pippa looked the part of the blushing, happy bride. Seemingly its been a wonderful family occasion and they lucked out with the rain not falling when they entered and exited the church.

Princess Charlotte and Prince George were the picture of cuteness in their outfits. Kate had her hands full with her kids and the entire crew of pageboys and flower girls. :)

Princess Grace's gorgeous wedding dress stands the test of time for its classic beauty.
http://us.hellomagazine.com/imagene...ration-bridal-week/0-95-32/grace-kelly--z.jpg
Diana Princess of Wales' dress was OTT fussy, but she carried it off well.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d0/b6/d1/d0b6d17619c8f3d41d09b34aa3836992.jpg
 
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aftershocks said:
Princess Grace's gorgeous wedding dress stands the test of time for its classic beauty.
http://us.hellomagazine.com/imagene...ration-bridal-week/0-95-32/grace-kelly--z.jpg
Click to expand...
Grace's dress is a masterpiece in black and white photos, but it doesn't look nearly as good in color photos. Since most photos those days, and definitely the ones that would be published in newspapers, were black and white, they probably designed it with black and white photos in mind.

https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/e...ace-Kelly-wedding-dress-pictures-5.jpg.cf.jpg
 
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ballettmaus said:
The cut itself seems to very similar. But I guess, when it comes to wedding dresses that is not really unusual and why not? If Pippa liked the cut of her sister's dress then she can very well say to the designer that she did. I don't think she was trying to copy her. I also think that the different fabrics made them look very different.
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I agree that she wasn't trying to copy her & IMO she succeeded. The fact that they both had lace & had full skirts didn't make them look similar to me. From watching Say Yes to the Dress it seems like about 1/2 the brides choose lace & a big percentage choose a ballgown/A-line silhouette.
 
skatesindreams said:
Aside from Princess Grace's dress; my other favorite royal wedding gown is this one:
http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2012/10/readers-top-10-wedding-gowns-6-princess.html
Click to expand...
Oh yes, that was a gorgeous one! If only the marriage had been as good as the dress...

I like Lady Sarah Chatto's wedding look, and for less traditional wedding apparel, the Duchess of Cornwall; both were in the top ten over at OoS. And of course Jetsun Pema looked stunning on her wedding day, but then she could look stunning in anything.
 
PDilemma said:
I don't think there was any such rule. In photos, Princess Eugenie is with her boyfriend (or some guy that she is not engaged or married to, anyway) and the groom's brother's girlfriend appears in photographs identified as such. I am guessing that Megan stayed away because the press would have lost their minds if she were there with Harry and it would have taken attention from Pippa on her day and been disruptive. She did arrive in London yesterday, so she may be attending the evening reception.
Click to expand...

You are probably right. The press has already lost whatever 'mind' they possibly halfway had. The tabloid media has been having a field day with all kinds of gossip, made-up stories, and silly innuendo. We may not see Meghan again at all on this visit after one of the tabloid headlines from yesterday showed pictures of her exiting a London spa and then made scurrilous reference to a particular body part battle between Pippa and Meghan. :rolleyes: I don't blame Harry and Meghan for keeping their relationship under wraps and out of the public eye as much as possible.

I've seen reports that Eugenie is engaged to her boyfriend, even though it hasn't been publicly announced. James Middleton and Donna Air are rumored to possibly be heading toward an engagement as well. But there's usually a lot of unconfirmed rumors floating around the royals.

Gazpacho said:
Grace's dress is a masterpiece in black and white photos, but it doesn't look nearly as good in color photos. Since most photos those days, and definitely the ones that would be published in newspapers, were black and white, they probably designed it with black and white photos in mind.

https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/e...ace-Kelly-wedding-dress-pictures-5.jpg.cf.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes, those were the days of black-and-white photos, so that could be the approach the designers were taking. I still think Princess Grace's dress looks quite lovely on her in color pictures, but some of the color pictures tend to show up the dress as having a silvery tinge, which again was probably on purpose in order to photograph well for black-and-white photos.

Here's another view:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/72/82/3c/72823c68dd3b4a6130f5cf27b950ca2f.jpg
 
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taf2002 said:
I can't find one thing about Diana's dress that I could compliment. I thought it was hideous in 1981 & I still think it's one of the worst of all time. And the skirt was wrinkled. The one that I think rivaled it was Princess Margaret's dress.
Click to expand...

Oh, I thought it was perfect and wonderful in 1981. But I was a little girl and she was about to be a Princess. I would have liked anything she wore.

In retrospect, though, that dress was a disaster. And it is well documented that she lost a significant amount of weight prior to the wedding. It seems that the designers did not correct that problem and the fit was terrible. I don't think she carried it well at all; it swallowed her up and drowned her in taffeta. As for the wrinkles, I have seen in several sources that the designers realized at the last minute that there was no way to fit the train neatly into the coach she traveled to St Paul's in and they had to crush it to make it fit which resulted in terrible wrinkling. Poor woman was the victim of other people's poor planning.
 
I think that Diana's dress was designed with "virginal over-the-topness" in mind.
It seems dated now; rather than iconic or classic.

Taffeta always wrinkles; and there was so much skirt that it would have been difficult to prevent.
 
skatesindreams said:
I think that Diana's dress was designed with "virginal over-the-topness" in mind.
It seems dated now; rather than iconic or classic.

Taffeta always wrinkles; and there was so much skirt that it would have been difficult to prevent.
Click to expand...

The choice of taffeta was probably not a good one. Another fabric might not have resulted in the entire dress wrinkling because of the train being crushed into the carriage. But, really, the issue of getting her into the carriage should have been considered prior.

It was the 80s, so that was part of the problem. The dress definitely does look dated.

Princess Margaret's dress was mentioned above. I had never realized that it was similar to Kate's:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yhFioQlRj_g/UHQ_aDVIkfI/AAAAAAAAMoU/BbscLFGRZTs/s1600/_BestMar1.jpg
 
skatesindreams said:
I think that Diana's dress was designed with "virginal over-the-topness" in mind.
It seems dated now; rather than iconic or classic.

Taffeta always wrinkles; and there was so much skirt that it would have been difficult to prevent.
Click to expand...

I agree. Too puffy sleeves, too much taffeta and not the right choice for a wedding dress with endless yards of material. Lets not even talk about the gaudy detail around the neckline. I'm not sure how Diana got into the dress, nor how she was able to walk down the aisle, much less get into the carriage with all of that on. The dress was wearing her more than she was wearing it. But yes, OTT dreamy, and misbegotten fairytale romantic, just like the unfortunate marriage outcome (aside from their two wonderful boys, of course :)) I guess she was blindly happy on the day, despite being anxious in the lead-up to the wedding. I think some of the gasps from fashion watchers covering the long ago wedding were not meant to be gasps of awe or of approval. But a lot of people were certainly taken in by pomp and circumstance and the romantic dreaminess of the occasion which hadn't been seen to that extent in quite awhile at that point in time.

taf2002 said:
I can't find one thing about Diana's dress that I could compliment. I thought it was hideous in 1981 & I still think it's one of the worst of all time. And the skirt was wrinkled. The one that I think rivaled it was Princess Margaret's dress.
Click to expand...

^^ Overly la-di-da 1980s it definitely was. I saw an article recently where David Emanuel (Diana's dress designer) was interviewed about how he envisions styling a wedding dress for Meghan Markle. As if! And why don't the media wait at least until there's an official engagement announcement before starting in on a wedding dress discussion. :p
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fas...ould-style-meghan-markle-20170127-gtzxpy.html
 
PDilemma said:
Oh, I thought it was perfect and wonderful in 1981. But I was a little girl and she was about to be a Princess. I would have liked anything she wore.

In retrospect, though, that dress was a disaster. And it is well documented that she lost a significant amount of weight prior to the wedding. It seems that the designers did not correct that problem and the fit was terrible. I don't think she carried it well at all; it swallowed her up and drowned her in taffeta. As for the wrinkles, I have seen in several sources that the designers realized at the last minute that there was no way to fit the train neatly into the coach she traveled to St Paul's in and they had to crush it to make it fit which resulted in terrible wrinkling. Poor woman was the victim of other people's poor planning.
Click to expand...

:lol: Yes, I suppose I was being generous earlier because Diana was so young, beautiful and eager for happiness. And then I 'fessed up about the dress in my post #507, prior to seeing your recent post. :p I remember thinking the dress was a bit much at the time, and so wrinkled, but like watching an exciting movie that stretches credulity, it's possible to get swept away and go along with it for the fun of the moment. :D It was all downhill from there, at least in the privacy of their marriage, until their mismatch and irredeemable conflict became so publicly damaging.

skatesindreams said:
More about Grace Kelly's wedding dress:
http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/56621.html
Photos:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...ved=0ahUKEwji_e3cjf_TAhUCSCYKHU6WD9MQ9QEIKzAA
Click to expand...

I think Princess Margaret's veil and headpiece were beautiful, and the overall dress was stunning for that time period. As @PDilemma mentions, it is somewhat similar to Duchess Kate's dress in the cut of the body of the dress, and in the long sleeves, except of course that Kate's bodice and sleeves were made of lace.

skategal said:
I liked Sarah Ferguson's wedding dress much better than Princess Diana's.
Click to expand...

Fergie's wedding dress appears to be a modified, scaled down version of Princess Diana's. :)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Sarah_Ferguson_wedding_dress.jpg
 
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