Fashion Police: The Bride Unveiled

[purejuice]

I have been married twice, once at 23 in church, to somebody my own age, and once at 30 in the courthouse, to someone 13 years older. Both outfits were carefully chosen. I was amused to see another bride of my vintage, the Parker Bowles, reiterate the unspoken rules I followed on both occasions when she married Prince Charles -- once at the

Comments

[aliceinfinland]

Interestingly, Elizabeth the current wore more revealing dresses and struck a few slightly bias-cut, Marilyn Monroe type poses in her youth. I seem to recall an actual instance of the strapless white prom gown in the current exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (the one advertised in part with a holographic image where the Queen appears to be asleep, or extremely bored) but can't find it online.

http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/the-queen/the-queen-art-image.php

I think Kate's dress worked for the job it was meant to do, which was look majestic on television and provide talking points, and I really have no problem with the lace or implied Catholic references. In fact it was kind of cool. Catholicism is part of British history and too often written out - recall the stir around Greenblatt's (?) biography of Shakespeare pointing out the Catholic connections. It was not my favorite of her outfits, but then nobody looks their best in white.

[purejuice]

i keep forgetting the obligation to be videogenic; one of the reasons i am fascinated by royalty is that they're not movie stars and have no imperative to look good or be good on camera. it's not like they're going to be fired if they're not, though they seem to be coming around to that idea. perhaps as a result of the realization that diana, queen of the tabs, had more power than they did? even if her power rested on being the anti-movie star.

yeah, the queen had a beautiful figure and didn't mind showing it off. her coronation haircut, i believe, was ava gardner's? all the girls had it.

interesting args about the cath references, and i don't disagree.

i still think it is -- dare i say it -- not okay for a wedding garment to refer to a movie star. we're trying to be authentic here. it's not about the pictures. it's not about looking good in the pictures. it's about stepping up to authenticity.

[purejuice]

let me ask you. have you noticed a dowdification/coarsening of the queen's wardrobe since angela kelley got her by the balls?

[aliceinfinland]

When was that? I have noticed a progressive dowdification but that's not unreasonable. I can imagine her thinking as Diana took over the model function, "You know what, let her have it, and I'll concentrate on the horses and the affairs of state. One does get over having to have a new frock every time one leaves the house."

[purejuice]

angela kelly is her dresser and took over as designer about 10 years ago. she is adding embellishment of the bejazzled sweatshirt ilk -- to the queen's white diamond jubilee daytime outfit for the boat ride down the thames; of the not very tasteful girly seamstress ilk -- the sunburst effect on the coat worn to p.w.'s wedding. and crusty boucle wrappings on the philip treacy knockoff hats -- the #1 principle of the treacy hats being their airborne quality and lightness of being. no can do, no matter how you rip off the shapes without getting the proportions right, and then wrapping the whole in big hairy fabric.
the q was looking more dapper, human, yet dignified when hartnell i think it was was just doing the plain coat and dress outfits.

[purejuice]

[purejuice]

here she is at the start (1952 ish) of the hardy amies daywear era. foxy. not dowdy. the long coat and dress look he pioneered -- much better cut less boxy etc. than kelly's; with the two ton kelly hats the queen looks more and more like a mushroom. for the money, she needs better tailoring and far fewer embellishments. she has the best jewels in the world, can the ruffles, the big ugly kelly buttons, the sequinned day dresses. blech.

[purejuice]

and here is the angela kelly wall of embellishment shame.
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/galleries/TMG8466968/Queen-Elizabeth-IIs-colourful-style-in-pictures.html