TREND I-SPY

Dolce & Gabbana's Runway Queens

2013-02-28T08:24:00.001-05:00

It's as if Dolce & Gabbana read my mind, my obsession with all things Medieval is their obsession too. For Fall 13 they used the golden mosaics of Sicily's Cathedral of Monreale as a starting point. It's an ancient view of womanhood, regal, powerful, queenly, saintly even, that feels thoroughly modern too.

Richard III, The King in the Car Park

2013-02-08T10:44:00.004-05:00

The recent media coverage confirming that the bones found under a car park in Leicester do indeed belong to England's most infamous and reviled Plantagenet king, Richard III, have put me in something of a Medieval mood that I'm dying to share.

Thanks to the wonderful The History Blog and The Richard III Society, I was able to learn some truths about Richard that go beyond Shakespeare and the image of the hunched-backed villain with a limp and withered arm, as played on film by Sir Lawrence Olivier and in the theater by numerous others.

Forensic research and DNA testing are both remarkable ways of connecting the past with the present. In this case, the Channel Four documentary, The King in the Car Park, traced the whole process of validating the find.

This included taking a swab from a living descendant (a Canadian-born cabinet-maker from London!) and reconstructing the face from detailed scans of the skull by Caroline Wilkinson, professor of craniofacial identification.

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The skin color and texture, eyes and hair were then added by Janice Aitken. This research adds up to the following, it's definitely Richard, who was a young handsome man (32 when he died), slight in build with a severe scoliosis of the spine but no hunchback and no withered arm either.

Richard was a married man. His wife, Lady Anne Neville, (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485), was an English noblewoman and a great beauty.

Lady Anne's father arranged a marriage to Edward, the son of King Henry VI of Lancaster, but Edward died suddenly and then she married his brother Richard. When Richard seized the crown in June 1483, Anne became Queen.

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Five months before Richard was killed at Bosworth Field, Anne died on 16 March 1485, probably of tuberculosis.

On the day that Queen Anne died, there was an eclipse, which some took to be an omen of Richard's fall from heavenly grace. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, in an unmarked grave. Richard is said to have wept at her funeral.

There was no memorial to her until 1960, when a bronze tablet was erected on a wall near her grave by the Richard III Society. It's inscription says,

ANNE NEVILLE 1456-1485 QUEEN OF ENGLAND YOUNGER DAUGHTER OF RICHARD EARL OF WARWICK CALLED THE KINGMAKER WIFE TO THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING RICHARD III.

“In person she was seemly, amiable and beauteous…And according to the interpretation of her name Anne full gracious” REQUIESCAT IN PACE.

Anne Neville by Michael Hicks

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In the Middle Ages, British and European women of high birth covered their heads, much as many Muslim women do today, signifying their modesty.

In this portrait of Anne Neville, she's wearing the fashionable horned headdress. The following is from Rosalie Gilbert's blog

A Dictionary of English Costume by Cunnington and Beard describes the horned headdress as being that which is worn with wide templers which are wired up to resemble horns from which a pendant veil curtained the back of the head. English headwear researcher, Katrina Wood has this to say:

This style of headdress was worn for many years by the middle classes and was Burgundian-French in origin. The cones or horns which projected out at roughly a 45 degree angle were called templettes or templars and over the course of the next few hundred years varied in shape and size according to fashion. The hair was completely concealed as decorum dictated. Starched white veils would then be attached to the headpiece using pins.

The late 15th century saw the return of the horned headdress for the upper classes. The primary difference between this and other previous styles of truncated head-dress, is the lack of a padded roll previously seen in earlier versions and the style of gown it was worn with. Interesting that the horns went out of fashion, and then came back in.

I found some wonderful collectable art dolls of Lady Anne Neville and Richard III by Debbie Ritter for sale on Etsy.com '

Finally, from the History Blog, these panels depict how Richard lost the Battle of Bosworth, died and ended up beneath the car park in Leicester!

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Pre-Raphaelites, Victorian Avant-Garde

2012-11-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

I'm in London and recently went to see the extensive Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at Tate Britain, entitled Pre-Raphaelites, Victorian Avant-Garde. I’ve been a huge fan of this school since I was a teenager so it was a thrilling experience.

I saw my favorite John Everett Millais painting, Ophelia “in person” for the first time and felt quite overwhelmed by the attention to detail, the vibrant quality of the color and the emotional connection it engenders.

Ophelia is such a terribly tragic Shakespearean figure, driven out of her mind when her father is murdered by her lover Hamlet, she drowns herself in a stream. However, I couldn't help but think about Millais' poor model, Lizzie Siddal, lying in a bath filled with water for so many hours that she caught a bad cold.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in London in 1948 as a way to express the artists’ dissatisfaction with the drawing style being advocated by the Royal Academy Schools.

For them, it was too mechanical. The Brotherhood was initially made up of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman-Hunt and John Everett Millais.

They were later joined by the likes of Edward Burne-Jones, John Ruskin, Edward Burne-Jones, Frederick Sandys, Simeon Solomon, Ford Madox Brown and William Morris. Together they formed Britain’s first modern art movement. Some of the most famous and best-loved works are shown here. For more about The Pre-Raphaelites and their impact on fashion, go to Hall-Five.com Buzz

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Mariana: John Everett Millais

Beguiling of Merlin: Edward Burne-Jones

The Lady of Shallot: John William Waterhouse

Monna Vanna by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Lady Lilith: Dante Gabrielle Rossetti

Beata Beatrix: Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Modestly Active - Arab Women in Sport

2012-07-21T16:58:00.000-04:00

At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, as many as 26 countries refrained from sending female athletes. However, by Beijing 2008 that list had shrunk to just three nations; Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei. Four years down the line, London 2012 is set to be the first Olympics in history whereby every participating nation will have at least one female representative.

And with the inclusion of women’s boxing, it will also be the first Olympics to involve female athletes in every sport. Saudi Arabia, who had opened the doors for women participants last month, were the last one to complete the numbers when they named two female athletes on July 9.

Middle distance runner, Sarah Attar and Judoka, Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahman Shahrkhani are Saudi’s historic first-ever female Olympic selections. Attar, born in California of mixed Saudi and American parentage, aged 17, is the youngest Arab athlete competing at the Olympics.

From renowned photographer, Brigitte Lacombe, an exhibition and book celebrating Arab women in sport. Saudi Arabian basketball players and Qatari swimmers feature in Brigitte Lacombe’s striking portraits of Arab women in sport. Commissioned by the Qatar Museums Authority, Brigitte and her sister, the documentary filmmaker Marian Lacombe, stayed at the pre-Olympic Arab Games in Doha for ten days last December to find their subjects.

Traveling extensively around the Arab world, visiting Qatar, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, Lacombe photographed athletes who were often from economically deprived or war torn countries. “The young girls and women athletes we met were spirited and full of joy,” says Lacombe. “For them to arrive at this level of excellence requires extreme determination to overcome resistance––not only cultural, but economic and political".

The work will be shown at Lacombe’s first exhibition in London, Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport, opening at Sotheby’s in late July, alongside a video essay from Marian, and an accompanying large-format book designed by 2x4 and published by Q.M.A. to be published at the same time.
Lifted from an Arab expression meaning “let's go,” the show’s title suggests that this is only the beginning for Lacombe. “I hope it will help to open some minds,” she says.

“It could end up being an important project, one I will continue to work on.”Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport by Brigitte Lacombe and Marian Lacombe is running at Sotheby's London from July 25 to August 11, traveling to the Q.M.A. Gallery in Doha, Qatar, Spring 2013

Sprinter Ruqaya Al Ghasara of Bahrain isn't held back by running in a hijab, a full Muslim headscarf. In fact, she says, it makes her even quicker.
"Wearing traditional Muslim dress has encouraged me. It's not an obstacle -- quite the opposite".

Some athletic wear companies specialize in "modest" sports attire, including ResportOn
and Modestly Active

And sometimes women cover-up for non-religious reasons. The "Domestic Goddess" Nigella Lawson on Bondi Beach 2011 and Cathy Freeman winning Gold at The Sydney Olympics 2000.

A Second Senior Moment

2012-07-09T08:16:00.001-04:00

American Apparel is well known for their controversial marketing tactics but I applaud their latest campaign with its innovative photographs of a leggy, grey-haired 60 year old called Jacky.

Thanks Fashionista for a great interview with Jacky.

Click here for the original Trend ISpy posting A Senior Moment

Face Value

2012-07-08T01:39:00.000-04:00

As you all know by now, I'm fascinated by any sort of head or face covering. At his season's Couture they were ubiquitous. Whether they alluded to the Middle East both present and past, The Arabian Nights! or the Western mid-century modern ('30s, '40s, '50s) ideals of femininity and beauty, the result was the same, the exotic allure of the part-concealed and part-revealed female face.

Armani Privé by Sarah Mower on vogue.com
Towards the finale, he sent out graceful dresses in black velvet and midnight-blue sequin, on models whose heads were veiled in crystal-edged face-coverings—a vaguely Arabian Nights counterpoint to the fifties netting seen in other Paris collections this week.

Christian Dior by Tim Blanks on style.com

Past and future met again in an evening ensemble that matched the athletic ease of a citron silk knit to the grandeur of a floor-sweeping silk skirt. And the veils that Stephen Jones contributed to the finale may have been from Paris in the 1930's, but there is timeless allure in that look.

Maison Martin Margiela by Nicole Phelps on style.com

The models went incognito behind masks (another old Margiela trope) embroidered with hundreds of crystals. There was no shortage of beads or lace either, but nonetheless the presentation acted as an avant-garde (and eco-friendlier) antidote to the shows that preceded it this week.

Giambattista Valli by Hamish Bowles on vogue.com
Real butterfly specimens kissed the veiled lips of Valli’s mannequins or lit up in their hair, whilst gilded ones perched on the twisting branches that formed the waist-cinching belts or collars created by jeweler Luigi Scialanga.

photographed by Kevin Tachman

If you are also interested in veils, masks, head scarves ...
Net.Net
Mecca Stars
Head Start

The Young Queen - Photographs Of Queen Elizabeth II By Cecil Beaton

2012-06-03T11:28:00.000-04:00

The photographs of the British royal family by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) were central to shaping the monarchy's public image in the mid-20th century. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was still a young princess when she first sat for Beaton in 1942. Over the next three decades he would be invited to photograph the Queen on many significant occasions, including her Coronation Day in 1953.

The most memorable of Beaton's images combine the splendour of historic royal portrait painting with an intimacy that only photography and film can convey. His detailed diary accounts reveal the complexities of each sitting, from the intense planning and excitement beforehand to the pressures of achieving the perfect shot.

Beaton bequeathed his archive of royal portraits to his devoted secretary Eileen Hose. In 1987 she, in turn, bequeathed the archive to London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Photographs, diaries, personal letters and press cuttings combine to tell the fascinating story of a magnificent collaboration between crown and camera.

Guido Palau, The Man Who Turns Heads

2012-05-20T18:04:00.000-04:00

I recently went to see the Met's Spring 2012 Costume Institute exhibition,

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations

and was quite smitten with the striking head coverings and masks of the mannequins.

They were designed by the hair genius Guido Palau who also created last year's head pieces for Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

The Met has issued both prints and cards of the work with illustrations by Miguel Villalobos.

When Ziggy Played Guitar

2012-04-03T12:13:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe it's been 40 years since David Bowie's landmark 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

It will be reissued in a special 40th anniversary edition on June 5th 2012. The record, which was Bowie's fifth and features such enduring classics as Five Years, Moonage Daydream, Starman and Ziggy Stardust will be presented in several formats, including CD, 180-gram vinyl and 5.1 mix DVD.

The original album shows Bowie dressed as Ziggy standing with one foot on the steps leading into a building that, at the time, housed late photographer Brian Ward's makeshift studio.

Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet recently unveiled a plaque at the location in Heddon Street, London.

Kemp said, “Ziggy was the ultimate messianic rock star, and with him David Bowie successfully blurred the lines not just between boys and girls, but himself and his creation. Bowie was Ziggy come to save us."

Over the years, Ziggy's style, hair and makeup have inspired dozens of runway designs and fashion magazine shoots. Here are some of them ...

Daphne Guinness

Balmain

Julien Fournier Couture

Givenchy

Jean Paul Gaultier

Proenza Schouler

Net.Net

2012-02-28T21:50:00.010-05:00

There's been a tendency recently in ready-to-wear to both reveal and conceal: cold-shoulders on a long-sleeved high-necked dress for instance. Or think about Angelina Jolie at the recent Oscars wearing a sober black gown with a provocative split-up-to-there slit.

It has also spawned a fascination with net-like fabrics from several of the designers. Some have given it an athletic spin, while others favor something more attuned to the Helmut Newton-esque dominatrix that seemingly lurks inside so many of us. Here are a few examples.

It all began a year ago with the Jil Sander hat with a facial net. I love it because it manages to be a sporty beanie AND a vintage 1940s lady-like creation all in one. In this Vogue.com photograph, model Hanne Gaby Odiele successfully negotiates eating an ice cream cone whilst wearing it.

Here is the marvelously iconic Anna Dello Russo in a pale blue version of the same hat.

From Dolce & Gabbana SS12

For his FW12 Collection, Alexander Wang showed fishnet turtlenecks pulled up over models' faces. Style.com's reviewer thought the turtlenecks "recalled surgical 'flu masks" He also showed fishnet socks.

At Versace for FW12 models strutted the runway wearing outrageous "fishnet" leather and sparkly boots. The NY Times featured them on their fabulous footwear blog, The Daily Shoe

Hot off the Paris runway, from Rick Owens, a face net with a homey touch, knitted from yarn.

Candid Couture

2012-02-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

Giambattista Valli

Thanks to Vogue.com for posting these backstage photographs from The Spring 2012 Couture Shows. Photographed by Kevin Tachman

Armani Privé

Giambattista Valli

Armani Privé

Dior


Giambattista Valli

Armani Privé

Givenchy

Dior

Valentino


Versace

McQueen Springs Forward

2012-02-02T18:53:00.003-05:00

Having shot the Fall 2011 ads for Alexander McQueen on Raquel Zimmermann, David Sims follows up with the Spring 12 campaign featuring Zuzanna Bijoch. Breathtaking...

China Chic

2012-01-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year 2012! A strong trend is emerging in both fashion and interior design as once again Asia acts as inspiration, specifically chinoiserie prints, silk materials and kimono shapes. Several designers, including Zac Posen, have shown Asian-themed prints and materials for Pre-Fall 2012.

Elizabeth Taylor in Iran

2011-12-25T14:14:00.000-05:00

According to Vanity Fair, Elizabeth Taylor took her first and only trip to Iran in 1976 with the photographer Firooz Zahedi in tow. The trip resulted in a series of captivating, exotically colorful pictures. In the photograph above, Taylor donned an ensemble that Zahedi says is typical of those worn by tribal women. the actress added coordinating hot-pink lipstick.

Elizabeth Taylor takes a tourist’s snapshot in Persepolis.

The actress beams upward at the sunlight in the city of Shiraz at the tomb of Hafez, the controversial 14th-century poet.

Taylor appears covered outside the Shah Chirag Shrine in Shiraz, top left, in this assemblage of four black-and-white photos.

A close-up outside the Shah Chirag Shrine. “Note that there is a man and a woman entering the mosque together,” Zahedi says of the photo. “[That is] no longer possible under the Islamic regime—women have to enter through a separate door and sit in a separate section.”

In profile in front of dazzling mosaic and tile work, Taylor stands by the tomb of the poet Sa’di.

A set of four black-and-whites, this time at another mosque in Shiraz.

A close-up of Taylor outside a Shiraz mosque, framed by architectural elements.

Covered by a scarf, Taylor takes tea in an old teahouse in Isfahan, a designated World Heritage Site and once the capital of Persia.

At the teahouse, a close-up of Taylor with downcast eyes.

While in Isfahan, Taylor stayed at the Shah Abbas hotel, a converted royal palace. Here, Zahedi contrasts photos of the palace’s soaring ceilings with those of Taylor applying makeup.

After purchasing bolts of beautifully colored fabric and scarves at the bazaar, Taylor and Zahedi covered the wood-paneled walls and mid-century Danish furniture of her Tehran Hilton hotel room, Zahedi says. Taylor poses with a single flower.

Matchy Matchy

2011-12-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

Proenza Schouler

As the Pre- Fall shows for 2012 continue a new KEY ITEM emerges, the matching two piece suit, often with a boxy jacket and short skirt or skinny pant.

Diane von Furstenberg


Oscar de la Renta

Pringle of Scotland

Reed Krakoff

Carolina Herrera

Head Start Part Two

2011-12-07T21:24:00.001-05:00

As I've often said, I am rather obsessed with head coverings. I found this wonderful editorial story from the Carine Roitfeld-era of February 2010 French Vogue. Vogue-À-Porter was shot in Morocco by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin.

Another great fashion editorial featuring headscarves.

On the new reality TV show, All American Muslim, which follows the lives of Islamic families living in Deerborn, Michigan, three sisters have different opinions about the necessity of wearing the hajib.

On a recent trip to Dubai another reality star, Kim Kardashian tried on the traditional Muslim garb!

Walt Kuhn's Show Folk

2011-12-04T10:36:00.001-05:00

I just visited the Brooklyn Museum's current show, Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties and was struck by one of the paintings on display, Dressing Room by Walt Kuhn (see below), so I did some research and here is what I found.

According to art blog, Tartuffe's Folly, Walt Kuhn (1877–1949) was an American painter best known for his poignant and slightly eerie portraits of circus and vaudeville performers, reminiscent of the commedia dell'arte actor portraits once popularized by the French masters. The magic and intrigue of the circus fueled his imagination and directed his career.

His figures and use of color are so wonderfully bold and brash, imagine the impact they would have had on early twentieth century audiences.

Kuhn was also one of the principal organizers of the landmark Armory Show of 1913, which introduced the American public to avant-garde European art and helped change the course of painting and sculpture in the United States.
Scroll down to see more examples of early American modernism at its finest.

Mecca Stars

2011-12-03T10:56:00.000-05:00

Recently I've been obsessed with the Middle East and with the style of Muslim women who manage to be stylish and yet "sharia-compliant."

Although this editorial story from Marie-Claire was staged, it was set in Dubai and the models were all of Middle Eastern or Asian descent.

The juxtaposition between the black abayas and head coverings with the exotic beauty of the models and their luxurious accessories is remarkable. Even though the shoot was back in 2006 it looks completely current and relevant.

Models: Narsis, originally from Iran, Navine Khalil from Lebanon, Jenai Kavarana born in Mumbai and half-Palestinian, half-Armenian Samar Breitem from Dubai

Photographer: Neil Kirk, Fashion editor: Eric Nicholson.

Originally published in US Marie Claire December 2006

Florence by Karl

2011-11-13T18:27:00.001-05:00

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Florence Welch, the flame-haired lovely who fronts Florence and the Machine is having her moment.
As reported by The Daily Telegraph Florence and the Machine's second album Ceremonials stormed to the top of the U.K charts with sales of over 90,000 in its first week knocking Coldplay's latest LP 'Mylo Xyloto' down to Number 2, according to the Official Charts Company.
Florence simply tweeted: "Aaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!" Welch and co previously hit the top spot in January 2010 when their debut LP Lungs climbed to the summit having entered at Number 2 on its release in July 2009. Now, Chanel creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, has captured the Florence and the Machine singer for the limited-edition vinyl cover of the band's new single, Shake it Out.

My Little China Girl

2011-09-06T07:55:00.000-04:00

In a recent Forbes.com article, journalist Blue Carreon conjectures that the 2011 advertising campaign of luxury retailer Lane Crawford proves that Chinese models are finally coming into their own. "The campaign features a stunning all-Chinese cast wearing the latest threads from New York, Milan, London and Paris. Headlining the lineup is Estee Lauder’s first-ever Asian model Liu Wen. She is joined by her compatriots FeiFei Sun, Ming Xi, Shu Pei and Xiao Wen Ju . This is a great follow-up to the Givenchy Spring/Summer 2011 haute couture show that only had Asian models."

Several of the Chinese models in Lane Crawford’s Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott-photographed campaign, also star in Vogue China’s September issue. They are joined by pioneering Chinese supermodel Du Juan and relative newcomer Sui He, all of them in different jewel tone Gucci frocks. This is Vogue China’s sixth anniversary issue. Its debut cover featured then girl-of-the-moment Gemma Ward flanked by five Chinese models. In hindsight, that cover may have been a precursor of things to come. It could have been the signal of the start of a fashion revolution: the Chinese are going to take over the world.

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Romantic Naturalism and The McQueen Effect

2011-08-29T18:26:00.005-04:00

“I have always loved the mechanics of nature and to a greater or lesser extent my work is always informed by that.”

—Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has now closed. With a total of 661,509 visitors, it's the most visited fashion exhibition in the museum’s history.

McQueen’s runway shows were well known for their sense of Victorian theatrical drama with sets that included birdcages, butterflies, feathered wings and antlers. The exhibition, under the direction of curator, Andrew Bolton, successfully captured this spirit of Gothic splendor with its combination of horror and romance.

Nature was the greatest, or at least the most enduring, influence upon McQueen. It was also a central theme, if not the central theme of nineteenth century Romanticism.

Many artists of the Romantic Movement presented nature itself as a work of art. McQueen both shared and promoted this view in his collections, which often included fashions that took their forms and raw materials from the natural world. For McQueen, as it was for the Romantics, nature was also a focus for ideas and concepts. That is most clearly reflected in Plato’s Atlantis ( spring/summer 2010), the last fully realized runway collection the designer presented before his death in February 2010.

(Taken from Metropolitan Museum of Art)

I was recently asked to give an opinion about future trends in visual display/retail and I think we need look no further than this seminal event.

During the Victorian Era, taxidermy was a favorite form of decoration. London-based Alex Randall is a supremely talented lighting designer who creates environmental displays for a variety of clients including hoteliers and retailers. She began incorporating taxidermy into her work in 2008.

"I believe a large part of the reason taxidermy has become so popular is due to the backlash against minimalist interiors. Because of that there is a trend to rebel against flat-pack furniture and white walls and to create something richer and more textural."

Her first piece was created for London retailer, Ted Baker. For retailers looking for something a little less "authentic", Sydney-based Anna-Wili Highfield uses cotton paper and copper pipe to create sculptures of birds in flight and other animals. She has used them to great effect in the windows of Hermés.

Another Australian, paper engineer, Benja Harney, has also created wonderful window displays for them too.

Finally, if by chance you should be seeking a live mannequin for your windows, look no further than Daphne Guinness, erstwhile friend and muse to McQueen. Daphne chose to dress for the Met Ball this year in celebration of the late designer in the windows of Barneys wearing one of his feathered creations.

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Amy Winehouse in Fred Perry

2011-08-23T21:14:00.001-04:00

"After much consideration and with the blessing of Amy's family, we have decided to release the AW11 Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry Collection. Amy was passionate and dedicated to the collaboration and her signature style is clearly stamped across each piece. In such circumstances the usual royalties and fees from the collection will be donated to the soon-to-be-established Amy Winehouse Foundation."

Zara Phillips Gets Married

2011-08-06T15:01:00.002-04:00

There's a chance you might not even know who she is but Zara Philips is technically a British princess is in fact 13th in line to the throne. Grand-daughter of The Queen, first cousin of William and Harry, she's spirited, athletic and very attractive. On July 30th in Scotland, she married another sporty-type, the former English rugby captain, Mike Tindall. Arriving on the arm of her father, Captain Mark Phillips, Zara wore a cap-sleeved, ivory silk gown designed by one of her grandmother's favorite couturiers, Stewart Parvin. The chevron-pleated bodice ended in dramatic inverted pleats on a dropped waist, designed to create a bell-shaped silhouette, while the concealed constructed corset had delicate fabric-covered buttons decorating the center back of the gown, running from the neckline to the hem.

The groom wore a morning suit from Saville Row tailor, Cad and the Dandy

The bride wore the exquisite Greek Key tiara loaned to her by her mother, Princess Anne. It was once owned by Princess Alice of Battenburg, the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and great-grandmother of the bride.

"Shoe of the Day" was most definitely a nude pump (court shoe) made popular of late by The Duchess of Cambridge who favors the LK Bennett "Andie" (currently sold out on their website and only available on ebay.) The Queen, the Duchess of Cornwall, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, plus numerous guests, wore nude colored shoes. Kate recycled a coat from 2006 but splashed out on a new hat.

The Duchess of Diplomacy

2011-07-08T15:10:00.000-04:00

Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian has pointed out that The Duchess of Cambridge has made some diplomatic fashion choices during her trip to Canada with husband Prince William.

For example, the Princess has twice worn dresses designed by ErdemMoralioglu, a Canadian-born London designer, definitely an appropriate choice. I'd even go a step further and say that the Kate's wardrobe is wrought with symbolism.

On Canada Day, she wore her cream Reiss "Nannette" dress, the same one she wore in her formal engagement portraits taken by Mario Testino. Her red maple-leaf fascinator was reminiscent of a hat worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, when she and Prince Charles toured Canada in 1983.

A final touch was the Queen's Maple Leaf brooch which is on loan to the Duchess. The Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, wore the brooch on her first visit to Canada in 1951. Katherine wore the pin to decorate a stunning purple Issa dress.

We'll never know how William's mother and his bride would've taken to each other but Katherine clearly wants to be seen to be cognizant of the comparisons, and respectful of her memory. Another nod to the late Princess came on the occasion of what would have been Diana's 50th birthday, July 1, 2011.

William and Kate planted an Eastern Hemlock tree as a symbol of love and marriage, next to the oak tree William's parents Prince Charles and Princess Diana planted on their son's first birthday. Katherine wore a relatively somber grey, V-back "Kensington" dress, designed by one of the Duchess of Wales's favorite designers, Catherine Walker.

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Finally, on the way to Prince Edward Isle, the Princess donned a naval-inspired Alexander McQueen number, sending a message perhaps that amongst the High Street labels she loves, McQueen by Sarah Burton, who designed her wedding dress, will be her go-to designer label.

The Duchess of Cambridge in Issa

The Duchess of Cambridge in Catherine Walker

The Duchess of Cambridge in Alexander Mcqueen

Kate Moss Weds in Galliano

2011-07-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

Kate Moss wore a dress designed by long-time friend John Galliano on Friday for her wedding to Jamie Hince. The groom wore a suit by Yves Saint Laurent. The ceremony took place at St. Peter’s Church in Southrop, England, followed by a reception to be held at Moss’ estate in the Cotswolds. According to industry sources, the wedding dress that Galliano designed for Moss was inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald, whose engagement ring she is wearing. He did the final fitting for the dress earlier this week in Europe, while in care. “Kate is his biggest muse and he was never, ever going to let his friend down,” said one source. “He did Kate’s 21st birthday dress, her 30th birthday dress, and Galliano’s show was the first she ever walked for. So this wedding day ties up a lot of things beautifully.” Also, Moss wore Manolo Blahnik shoes for the ceremony.

The slinky Galliano number Moss chose for the ceremony was only the tip of the model’s sartorial iceberg. Stella McCartney designed a series of outfits for the great Moss wedding weekend, including the model’s first-dance dress which is in oyster silk chiffon with a diamond-shape, chain embroidered bodice and cut-out back. McCartney also designed her party dress — which Moss will wear after the first dance tonight. That dress is a mini with micro bugle beads and a plunging back. McCartney even created the going-away outfit, a three-piece suit with a single-breasted, grosgrain peak lapel jacket and a wide-leg trouser. The suit is made from alabaster off-white wool.

And if all that wasn’t keeping McCartney and her team up at night, the designer also whipped up three of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Two were in oyster-colored washed silk chiffon, bias cut with a soft ruffle at the shoulders while the third came in dusty antique blue. From WWD