It was almost an impossible feat to rush home on a pay-day Friday but against all odds was able to get there just in time for
Prince William and
Kate Middleton's wedding! It's the 3rd
royal wedding I've watched on
TV, the first one being of William's parents,
Prince Charles and
Lady Diana in 1981 and the other the one of
Prince Andrew and
Sarah Ferguson in 1986.
Like most weddings, especially this wedding, the most awaited scene for us commoners is the fashion parade that goes with these events. The most anticipated and the extremely guarded highlight was of course the bride's wedding gown which was done by Sarah Burton of
Alexander McQueen! I gotta hand it to Buckingham's Press people, they were able to keep a lid on this up to the very last minute, only sending out a mass e-mail to the international media containing the details of the wedding gown when Kate alighted from the Bentley in front of
Westminster Abbey! The
CIA ain't got nothing on these guys!
Like every fashionista on the planet, I have my list of the best dressed people at the royal wedding and also the disappointing fashions (won't call them worst as there were real DISASTERS in that wedding, they're not even worth mentioning at all!). But before I share them with you, let me tell you first my categories in judging them...
HATS, HATS, HATS! AND FASCINATORS
Britons are known for donning hats or fascinators to formal occasions---frequently in weddings---so like many of us who are not used to this kind of traditional wear might not be impressed with the swarm of whimsical head coverings or worse mistake them for fashion mishaps!
COLOR
Ok, so you're not supposed to outshine the bride on her wedding day but that doesn't mean you have to disappear into the interior with that color your wearing!
ELEGANCE
I don't care what label you're wearing but if you don't carry that ensemble with elegance and confidence---especially in a royal wedding where all the paparazzi from the north to the south pole are taking pictures of you---you're ending up on my cutting room floor!
So here goes my list:
THE DISAPPOINTING LIST
3. CHELSEA DAVY
So you're invited to your ex's brother's wedding, it's time to shine (just bright enough to not overwhelm the bride) and look your best but Chelsea chose a dowdy color and an unflattering shape for her outfit instead and even topped that by salvaging Grandma's circa 1950s cocktail hat. Last night's partying didn't help at all with those under-eye circles...tsk, tsk.
2. SAMANTHA CAMERON
I know Britain is on an economic slump that even this royal wedding was known to cost conservatively but being the wife of the British Prime Minister doesn't give you the right to make a political statement now at this solemn occasion by thrifting on your get-up! Honestly, did she have to restyle her 80's prom dress and wear it here? She makes the same mistake with that color and worse, added shutters, I mean pleats! And please, open-toed beige platforms to Westminster Abbey? Paging, Ms. Emily Post!
1. VICTORIA BECKHAM
"You must be mad, mad, MAD! I tell you!" I could just hear a wave of moans from thousands of fashionistas around the world but please if you really are fashion-smart, you would admit that Mrs. Beckham really played it safe here, so unlikely of her! Even that Philip Treacy hat is too blah for the woman behind Rock and Republic and to be first-known as POSH spice! Where's the posh and the spice here? Come on, I know you weren't planning on holding back on being chic at all with those towering Loubotins!
THE BEST-DRESSED LIST
3. SOPHIE, COUNTESS OF WESSEX
Ah, in a word: ELEGANCE! The color choice of the Countess was indeed neutral but the rest of her ensemble is nothing less than ordinary! This Bruce Oldfield design is polished, finely-cut and the details are simply beautiful. Her outfit is dignified but that fascinator is appropriately dramatic!
2. PRINCESS BEATRICE
Okay, read somewhere that the York sisters particularly Princess Beatrice's get-up earned a lot of disLIKEs at facebook, mostly because of that Philip Treacy hat. But I beg to disagree! These sisters ARE the REAL fashionistas in the family. Beatrice's blush Valentino number perfectly complemented her fascinator and both are definitely fashion-forward! She took a risk and it worked here. The sisters are known for their notorious fashion choices and if we don't applaud these risks, where would Lady Gaga be?
AND THE BEST OF THEM ALL IS...
