Inspiration: A Princess Bride

I'm not usually the kind of person who gets swept up in the media mania of the minute.  As a pre-teen, I was one of the few girls I knew not completely in love with one or all of the New Kids on the Block.  I was too busy being in love with Patrick Swayze.

But since I love just about every facet of weddings - from the paper items announcing the engagements and ceremonies to the delicate stitches of flower girl dresses - I absolutely could NOT miss the wedding this morning of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

I had stayed up insanely late working on a dress for myself for once - which will be another post, naturally - and had decided I would just wake up whenever I happened to wake up and watch anything I missed on replay.

So my eyes popped open precisely at 4:57am.

I went straight to the sofa to watch the coverage, waiting - like most every other woman watching - to see Kate's dress.

I was so totally not disappointed.

I just love how classic the dress is, and how simple.  I'm a big fan of clean and classic and simple everything, so this dress is right up my ally.  I especially am in love with the neckline - she needs no jewelry except the earrings that were gifts from her parents and her wedding band.  I'd love to know the significance in the designs of the lace - And oh my heavens - how about that petite little bouquet!

There are already designers creating knock-off versions of the dress, so I doubt it will be very long before you can wear your very own modern princess dress at your wedding, but I did a quick search to see what patterns exist that are close and found only this one from Vogue

This dress is quite beautiful, but is much heavier than Kate's dress.  In fact, because of the opaqueness of the lace and the more collar-like neckline, this dress is actually far more reminiscent of another princess bride, Grace Kelly.

I just love this return to class.  Less is more.

I can't wait to see how Kate's dress inspires all of formal wear fashion, and I'm considering a couple of projects definitely inspired by the Princess' classic choice.