Diana, Meghan, & Kate: Comparing their gowns
In the last four decades, the British monarchy has bestowed upon its public three royal weddings. And while each has followed the Royal traditions fairly closely in terms of the wedding ceremony itself (albeit with a few variations here and there), the brides’ gowns has varied immensely.
The designers
For Princess Diana (then, Diana Spencer)’s wedding to Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, the 20-year-old chose a show-stopping gown by London-based husband-and-wife designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel. (The couple went on to divorce in 1990.) Prior to designing Diana’s gown, the Emanuels mainly made couture, and had long been a favourite of Diana.
Kate’s gown, for her wedding to Prince William on April 29, 2011, was also designed by a Londoner: designer Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Three years after the fact, Burton opened up about her experience creating the now-iconic dress, saying, "I respect the intimate nature of that lovely project and I respect the friendships that were forged during it... an instinctive, intelligent, imaginative young woman's wish for a beautiful wedding dress-or any kind of dress-is the most natural thing in the world. I was honoured to pick up the challenge and always will be."
Saturday morning, we learned that Meghan Markle’s secretive, minimalist gown was designed by the Birmingham-born Clare Waight Keller, the current Artistic Director of French fashion house Givenchy.
The style
Princess Diana’s elaborate gown could best be described as rather extravagant. With puffy sleeves and lots of ruffles, it’s what 1980s wedding dreams were made of. According to Good Housekeeping, the fabric for Diana’s ivory taffeta gown was spun at a British silk farm. Antique lace, 10,000 pearls, and a 25-foot-long train completed the jaw-dropping dress.
Whereas Diana went for an extravagant look, her daughter-in-law Kate opted for a more subdued-though just as memorable-style for her wedding, choosing a lace, satin, and tulle design that evoked Princess Grace of Monaco's wedding dress. The white and ivory dress was both demure and insanely flattering, with a plunging (but not too plunging) V-neck, full-length lace sleeves, and slight padding at the hips to accentuate the bride’s waistline. A nine-foot train-famously held by Kate’s sister, Pippa-finished things off.
Already carving out her own unique path into the royal family, Meghan chose a remarkably different style of wedding gown for her trip down the aisle: A clean, unfussy, and utterly chic white gown that was tailored to a T. If the cut reminded you of Audrey Hepburn, it’s because Givenchy was a favourite designer of hers, as well.
The veil and tiara
Not to be upstaged by her gown, Diana wore a cathedral-length veil made of 153 yards of tulle, topped off by the Spencer family tiara, an 18th century-era heirloom loaned to Diana by her father.
Kate’s modest, mid-length veil was made of ivory silk tulle and trimmed with hand-embroidered flowers. Her tiara, the Cartier halo, was also loaned to her-though this time, by HRH The Queen. Featuring almost 1,000 diamonds, it was originally gifted to The Queen on her 18th birthday by her father, King George VI, who had purchased it prior to that for his wife.
For Meghan’s big day, The Queen loaned out another of her tiaras, the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau. Purchased from London jeweller Garrard in 1925, it was inherited by Queen Mary’s daughter-in-law, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, after her death in 1953. Meghan paired the tiara with a silk tulle 16-foot-veil, featuring hand-embroidered flowers representing the 53 counties in the British Commonwealth, along with the California Poppy-the official flower of the new Duchess’s home state of California.
The price
Diana’s intricate gown was, in 1981, estimated to have cost approximately $115,000 - about $330,000 by today’s standards.
Kate’s dress was rumoured to have cost $434,000.
It’s still a little early to determine the price of Meghan’s gown, though some have noted that the custom Givenchy wedding gown Kim Kardashian wore to marry Kanye West in 2014 was valued at around $500K. So, make of that what you will.
The Shoes
Diana’s Clive Shilton wedding shoes, which took six months to design, featured sequins, pearls, and a very low heel (the 5’10” bride didn’t want to appear taller than her new husband). To help keep her from tripping during the ceremony, the soles were made of soft suede - and, in honour of their union, Diana requested that the initials C + D - Charles and Diana - be painted under the heels.
Kate Middleton kept things matchy-matchy for her wedding day, opting for almond-toed stilettos made of ivory duchesse satin and hand-embroidered with the same lace as her gown and veil. Just like her gown, the shoes were made by Alexander McQueen. To marry Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan wore a simple white court shoe.
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