Words on Fashion

“It has been the experience of a lifetime to work with Catherine Middleton to create her wedding dress, and I have enjoyed every moment of it.” – Sarah Burton, Creative Director of Alexander McQueen and designer of the princess’s gown.

Look-of-the-Day

“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride…”  But it doesn’t matter if your Princess Catherine’s maid-of-honor, because you’ll be wearing some hot designer duds!  For the ceremony, both Kate Middleton and her younger sister, Pippa, were wearing Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton.  But for the second reception, Pippa wore an emerald green Temperley gown.  “The dress was designed especially for her with a fantastic open back and a full skirt for dancing in,” Alice Temperley explained.  Temperley, who attended the same college as McQueen and Burton (Central St. Martins), launched her own line in 2000.  The high-end British designer might sound familiar to American ears, due to her participation in the Target GO International program.  This gown’s color does look divine on Miss Middleton, but maybe that’s because our editors are quite biased… We certainly approve of maid-of-honors in green!

Something Blue

Something old, something new, something borrowed… Now THIS is “something blue!”  Prince Charles purchased a 12-carat oval sapphire surrounded by 14 rounds of diamonds set in an 18k white gold band from Garrard Jewelers.  (Fun Fact: Garrard Jewelers prides itself on being the world’s oldest jewelers since 1722.)  The ring was purchased for his future bride, whom we all know was Princess Diana.  The original purchase price was £28,500 [about $40,000 in 1981] but now that it is connected to the royals, the ring is currently valued at £250,000 [about $416,000 in 2011].  William said that his mother’s engagement ring was very special to him, just as Kate is, and that it was right that the two were put together in a way in which his mother wouldn’t miss out on their special day, and the rest of their lives together.  William told ITV, “I had been carrying it around in my rucksack for about three weeks before the proposal.  Everywhere I went, I was keeping ahold of it, cause I knew if this thing disappeared, I’d be in a lot of trouble.”  Catherine won’t be overshadowed by Diana’s legacy, and sure isn’t trying to fill any shoes.  Since Prince William’s younger brother Harry had inherited the ring, and he gifted it to his brother, it now has a special bond between all the members of William’s immediate family.  Catherine is her own person who wears the ring beautifully and elegantly, in a wonderful tribute to her husband’s mother.

Look-of-the-Day

Today Kate Middleton went from college girlfriend to Princess Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge.  This philanthropic, down-to-earth, educated, true British beauty deserves any royal title she’s given.  She has graced the world with the most regal and elegant gown in the history of royal weddings.  When Catherine descended her chariot (a Rolls Royce), the female newscasters all said the same thing, “Her dress looks very much like Grace Kelly’s.” Although the dresses have the same theme with the high collar and long sleeves done in lace, there was something about the people’s Kate that stood out amongst all the former brides.  The mystery behind the dress’s designer was one of the best-kept secrets in British history!  Sarah Burton, the creative director for the late Alexander McQueen, earned an art foundation diploma at Manchester Polytechnic before interning for McQueen during her third year at Central St. Martins (where McQueen also attended school) studying print fashion in London.  Burton graduated in ’97 and became McQueen’s protégé after school.  Catherine’s dress was fitted at the waistline and accompanied by a nine-foot train in a striking yet subtle floral embroidered pattern that continued to the front.  The bodice was a sweetheart bustier shape kept under long lace sleeves and extending collar.  The little peek-a-boo of skin at the neck was the perfect accent to looking modern and tasteful.  Catherine was definitely a “veil bride” versus a “hair bride” by keeping her chocolate tresses down in soft curls as she normally does, and put the attention on a soft, mantilla-styled headdress with lace piping and of course the Cartier platinum tiara.  The tiara was made in 1936 and bought by Prince William’s great-grandfather, King George VI, for William’s great-grandmother.  Queen Elizabeth was then given the tiara on her 18^th birthday by her mother and lent it to the new Princess for her special day.  Catherine’s maid of honor, her sister Pippa, also donned a custom Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen ivory gown.  Both the bride and the maid of honor wore earrings made by Robinson Pelham.  Catherine’s earrings were a wedding gift from her parents and were made to look like her family’s new coat of arms.  They had pave-set diamond acorns in the center of pear-shaped diamond drops.  Pippa wore floral diamond earrings with a coordinating headpiece.  Hopefully future brides take cues from the Duchess of Cambridge, instead of the horrible Bridezillas we see so much of.  Catherine’s equation to being a stunning bride: softness, sophistication, subtly, and all smiles!

Look-of-the-Day

It’s the dress seen ’round the world!  Today’s “Look-of-the-Day” is Kate Middleton’s most well-known outfit – her royal blue Issa dress.  The famous frock sold out at Harvey Nichols within 24 hours of the couple’s engagement announcement, and copycat dresses were being created and sold everywhere!  Issa is one of Kate’s favorite designers, as she seems to wear it quite frequently, and is in the running to design the bride’s gown.  The commoner-turned-princess also has a passion for the color blue!  theSkinnyStiletto has counted down our favorite Middleton looks for the last 10 days, and most of her outfits seem to feature shades of navy, periwinkle, sky, powder, and royal blue.  Maybe because it matches her eyes?  Well, whatever the reason Kate loves it, blue definitely complements her coloring.  Except tomorrow, she’ll be donning white.  Unless… “Something borrowed, something blue…”  We wonder what azure accessory the future Mrs. Windsor will be wearing tomorrow!

Wednesday’s Shoe

theSkinnyStiletto was hoping Kate Middleton’s wedding shoes would have been revealed by now to feature in this “Wednesday’s Shoe,” but we guess we’ll have to do it next week!  Instead, another piece of Kate’s footwear making a big splash are these simple navy pumps by L.K. Bennett.  She wore these conservative heels at her last public appearance with William before the wedding.  And apparently they’re selling out fast!  They are called the “Art shoe” and retail at about £95.  We can only imagine what shoes she’ll be wearing on April 29th… those will probably sell out 10x as fast!

Look-of-the-Day

Only two days till Kate’s big day, and here’s another outfit of hers accented by a big hat!  We’ve mentioned the Brit’s passion for terrific toppers, and this beautiful black and white polka-dotted suit gets a matching hat of its own!  Here, Middleton was attending Prince William’s Induction into the Order of the Garter at St. George’s Chapel in 2008.  Sophisticated, conservative, yet still eye-catching.  Classic Kate.  Forget the money, forget the jewels, forget the palace – we think it’d be fun to become a royal, purely to have more social events to dress like this to!  (Okay, the Crown Jewels and an historic mansion wouldn’t be bad either…)

The Princess and the Posh

We here at theSkinnyStiletto were beyond excited when we heard that Victoria Beckham was one of the talents in the running to design Kate Middleton’s wedding dress.  As we’ve mentioned, the former Spice Girl is our favorite living style icon.  To have her outfit another fashion icon during an historical moment for their homeland would be, in a word, amazing.  “Apparently, she likes my clothes and has asked to see a selection,” the designer said at her New York Fashion Week show. “It’s tremendously exciting and I would be honored if she were to wear my designs.  I admire her tremendously.”  This juicy tidbit was released on February 14th (this editor’s birthday – who could ask for a better birthday present than to hear two beautiful Brits might collaborate on an ultimate fashion item?!)  Victoria has impeccable taste and has designed gowns for her own line, but to see an actual wedding dress created by the famed fashionista would make our hearts aflutter!  Who better to dress a royal than a pop princess anyway?  Posh even wore a crown on her own big day in 1999, pictured left.  Beckham stated that Kate is “a beautiful young girl.  She has a wonderful figure and I think she wears clothes beautifully.”  However, the latest news states that Beckham will just design some regal romps for the honeymoon.  Posh sent over samples of her Spring/Summer line and was very flattered to be considered to dress the future princess on her magical day.  Beckham and her world-famous husband, David, will be attending the nuptials, as well.  Even though we’d rather see Kate wearing a Posh gown on April 29th, seeing her wear some of the cute frocks pictured below on her honeymoon will be fun, too.   Middleton has taken some fashion advice from the former Spice Girl and now it’s concrete: Kate has wonderful taste!  But will we see Beckingham meet Buckingham on the big day?

Look-of-the-Day

In our 10-Day Countdown to the Royal Wedding, who better to have as our “Tuesday Twosome” than the happy couple themselves?  Here are Prince William and Kate Middleton in one of their official engagement pictures.  The future king is wearing a dark gray Turnbull & Asser suit with a white shirt and navy tie.  Kate is sporting a white Reiss dress called the “Nannette,” which Reiss included in their Spring 2011 line for $325.  The ruffled dress is actually a couple of years old, but the company is re-releasing it, because the demand was so high after Kate wore it for the photo shoot.  And what better item to have other than a huge ring front and center for an engagement release?  Kate’s dazzler is the sapphire and diamond ring Prince Charles gave to Princess Diana when he proposed.  Let’s hope Kate and Wills have a better romantic future than the ring’s former owners…

Kate Middleton: Accessory Buyer to Jigsaw

This isn’t the creep from the horrible Saw movies.  This Jigsaw is a women’s clothing retailer that was founded in 1971 and based in London, with 43 stores across the United Kingdom.  And the reason we’re talking about this company is because fashion icon and future princess Kate Middleton used to work for Jigsaw as an assistant accessories buyer.  Kate used to worked four days a week (Monday-Thursday) when she was hired by the brand in December 2006.  Her mother, Carole Middleton, helped design the Jigsaw Junior website.  The company is owned by fashion bigwigs John and Belle Robinson, who also own Kew womenswear.  Jigsaw was one of the first stores to ever carry a size 16.  As Belle Robinson is 5’10, and the mother of five, she admitted to the Evening Standard that no amount of diet and exercise would ever make her super-skinny, which is why the store has been sympathetic to full-figured gals.  The Robinsons happen to know Kate Middleton’s family, although Belle claims they aren’t very close, but that Kate fit right in at Jigsaw.  “She sat in the kitchen at lunchtime and chatted with everyone from the van drivers to the accounts girls.  She wasn’t precious.  A lot of people have distorted it to say we’re friends with her parents but I’ve only met them four times,” Belle told the Evening Standard in 2008.  Jigsaw states on its website: “Jigsaw remains focused on selling desirable, high quality clothes and accessories in individual and stimulating shopping environments.  We are always striving to find a creative balance of inspiring our current customers whilst enticing in the new, offering collections made up of ‘on trend’ elements as well as beautifully cut wardrobe classics… No two Jigsaw stores are the same.  We are not formulaic; every store is designed to be sympathetic to its surroundings and with respect to the existing architecture.  Our store teams are carefully selected to ensure that they can offer our customers friendly, genuine, knowledgeable and impartial advice in a relaxed environment.”  In 2007, jeweler Claudia Bradby worked with Middleton to create a silver pendant for the chain.  “Kate was very clear in what she wanted,” Bradby told People. “She wanted a very simple bean pendant that a mother and daughter could both wear together… It was completely her initiative because she thought there was a gap in the market for something real and sophisticated, that had longevity for that age group.”  The simple silver necklace features with rose quartz and freshwater charms has been re-released in honor of Kate’s upcoming wedding, and retails at £54.  Even though Kate doesn’t work for Jigsaw anymore, it’s interesting to where the princess dabbled in professional fashion before moving onto royal duties… maybe after all this wedding stuff is over, she can come out with her own line!