Royal Wedding

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Royal Wedding

Kate Middleton Who? Bridal Shows Not Feeling the Kate Effect (But Maybe the Kim Kardashian Effect)

After all the hub-bub over the royal wedding–and particularly, the wedding dress–we were sure we’d see a slew of Middleton-inspired looks this bridal season. But according to the Wall Street Journal, “bridal experts played down any Kate Middleton effect.”

Although Middleton’s gown attracted over 600,000 visitors when on display at the Buckingham palace, it hasn’t been as big a hit for civilian brides. “Other designers copied [Middleton's gown] and had it on the runway right away, but what we noticed though, is that nobody bought it,” designer Gregory Nato of Fancy New York bridal, told the Journal.

Indeed, bridal heavy-hitters like Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier and Carolina Herrera showed almost exclusively bare-armed looks and many of the silhouettes bore only a vague (if any) resemblance to the famous Sarah Burton for McQueen dress. However there was a familiar silhouette, perhaps thanks to another royal wedding of sorts: that mermaid/trumpet style Kim Kardashian chose for her big day was everywhere–on the runways of Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta and Monique Lhuillier. Could Kim K really have more selling power than Kate Middleton when it comes to wedding dresses? Hmm….

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Royal Wedding

Kate Middleton’s Wedding Dress Cost More Than $400,000; See It Up Close Starting Today

Are you going to be in the UK this summer? Well, it might be worth making a special trip there. Buckingham Palace is throwing open its doors (for a mere £17.50 per person) until October 3 so that commoners can file by and gawk at Kate Middleton’s wedding finery, from the tiara to the shoes to The Dress. The exhibit is called “The Royal Wedding Dress: A Story of Great British Design.” Tickets are selling out quickly, obviously.

While we showed you every single possible angle of the dress on royal wedding day, the British papers had a sneak peek at the exhibition before it opened yesterday and shared some pictures of the dress and accessories.

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Royal Wedding

10 Looks Kate Middleton Should Wear on Her Honeymoon

As you’ve probably already heard, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took off for their honeymoon today. According to the official Royal Wedding blog, the site of the newlywed’s honeymoon “which will be overseas, will not be disclosed in advance…the Couple have asked that their privacy be respected during the coming weekend and during their honeymoon.”

Oops! Secret’s out! The British tabs are reporting that Kate and Wills will be honeymooning on a private island in the Seychelles. And while Kate will most likely wear some of the sensible items she picked up on her high street shopping spree just days before her big day, we thought it would be more fun to pick out some pieces from resort and spring 2011 that we wish she would wear. Keeping her conservative tastes and penchant for those damn L.K. Bennett wedges in mind, of course. (Yes, we photoshopped them onto these looks.)

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Royal Wedding

Kate Middleton’s Hairdresser Practiced Her Wedding Day ‘Do Using a $10 Plastic Tiara From Claire’s Accessories

Kate Middleton’s long, shiny hair is one of her style trademarks, and she was universally praised for wearing it down on her wedding day instead of in some tortured updo. While it looked chic and almost effortless, a lot of practice actually went into that hairstyle.

The tool of choice? A plastic tiara that the team at the Richard Ward salon in London bought at Claire’s Accessories. It cost £6.50, which is about $10. According to the Telegraph, they picked up the tiara, taped up some windows in a back office so no one could spy on them, and practiced on a personal assistant.

The Middletons’ long-time hairdresser, James Pryce, also shared the secret for how they fastened the real tiara.

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Royal Wedding

Kate Middleton’s Favorite Wedges To Be Reissued in June and There’s Already a Wait List

You know those black patent espadrille wedges that Kate Middleton loves so much she was seen in them immediately before and after her wedding?

They’re by Brit label L.K. Bennett and the shoes are the latest in a string of items made golden by the Duchess of Cambridge. First it was that blue Issa dress she wore to her official engagement announcement, then it was the white ruffle Reiss dress she wore in her official engagement portraits shot by Mario Testino. And of course, her Sarah Burton for McQueen wedding dress has already spawned countless knockoffs.

Middleton’s stand-by L.K. Bennett Greta wedges (£150) are now being reissued and appropriately renamed ‘The Kate.’

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Royal Wedding

Pippa Middleton’s Dress Is the First Bridesmaid Dress That Anyone Ever Wanted to Knock Off

Being a bridesmaid is a rather thankless task that normally requires you to wear an unflattering dress that will never see the light of day again. But Pippa Middleton has singlehandedly raised the bar for bridesmaid fashion. (It also helps that she has a body built for sin and could probably make the dowdiest thing in existence look fabulous.)

The New York Times‘ Stephanie Clifford is reporting that Pippa’s Sarah Burton for McQueen dress is the first famous bridesmaid dress that fast fashion bridal manufacturers are trying to get into production as fast as the bride’s. So not only are they trying to make TWO princess wedding gowns, they’re also scrambling to churn out a slinky bridesmaid’s number. And in this era of immediate gratification, manufacturers need to get the gowns to market in about 12 weeks to satisfy the demand for all three gowns.

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Royal Wedding

Kate Middleton’s Dress-Making Team at McQueen Thought They Were Working on a Movie Costume

Just because Kate Middleton‘s wedding dress and its designer have been revealed, doesn’t mean it’s time to stop obsessing over it.

There are still so many questions! The foremost being, how in the world was the dress kept a secret?!

There have been rumors of secret meetings behind locked doors, and that the dress was created in pieces.

The latest scoop, reported by Us Weekly, says that the lace-makers were told that they were working on a dress for a British costume drama. Seamstresses at Alexander McQueen also thought that the gown was for a film (no wonder why no one blabbed). All senior staffers at McQueen were instructed to lie if asked whether Burton was the ‘chosen one.’

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Royal Wedding

Report: Kate Middleton and Sarah Burton Collaborated “50/50″ On the Dress

Sarah Burton continued one of the most triumphant weeks in her career with a stop at Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship in NYC yesterday where she did a meet-and-greet in the McQueen shop there. Despite being told not to ask her about the royal wedding, human nature got the best of people.

One attendee spoke to Burton and told WWD afterward of the conversation, “She said the princess was one of the most lovely women she has ever met and she was really low maintenance. She said the palace called her and the collaboration between her and Kate was 50-50.”

After that, Burton tried to avoid the topic, with mixed success.

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Beauty

Kate Middleton Smelled Like White Gardenia Petals on Her Wedding Day

Why has no one been talking about Kate Middleton’s wedding perfume? A scent can be the ultimate accessory (though obviously it’s difficult to take a picture of someone’s smell). If you want to be very thorough in knocking off Kate’s wedding, one must know these details.

Basenotes, a very comprehensive and brainy fragrance blog, broke the news that Kate wore White Gardenia Petals by Illuminum. Never heard of Illuminum? The line’s English founder, Michael Boadi, is a former celebrity and runway hair stylist. He launched a first line of perfumes (with the questionable name of Boadicea the Victorious), which currently has 35 fragrances. Michelle Obama purchased three of them back in 2009.

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Royal Wedding

The First Kate Middleton Knockoff Wedding Gowns and Accessories Hit Stores; Here Are the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Mere minutes after Kate Middleton’s now-famous Sarah Burton for McQueen wedding gown was revealed, wedding dress “designers” scurried to see who could copy be inspired by it the quickest. “Simple” is one of the words that has been used most frequently to describe the gown, and though that hardly applies to the construction of the gown–lace workers washed their hands every 30 minutes and replaced their needles every three hours to ensure that the lace remained pure white–bridal companies and dress makers have nevertheless run with it to knock off the dress and get into the market ASAP.

Shala Moradi of Faviana, a bridal label frequently inspired by celebrities’ gowns, told E!, “It’s easier than what I was expecting, and we’re going to do it in a few days.” We’re sure Sarah Burton and her team of artisans would take some exception to that statement. Moradi told E! that a bride called before the royal wedding saying that no matter what the dress looked like, she wanted a copy. Everyone from David’s Bridal to Nordstrom is planning to carry the look-alike gowns, and stores started placing orders the day of the wedding.

Click through our biggest Adventures in Copyright to date to check out the items inspired by the royal wedding—from The Dress, to accessories, to Pippa’s gown.

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Royal Wedding

Kate Middleton Steps Out in an $89 Polyester Zara Dress the Day After the Wedding

Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and wearer of Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, went right back to her high street comfort zone as soon as the big day was over.

She was photographed on Saturday wearing a blue pleated Zara dress that retails for $89.90. And forget silk and hand-stitched lace–this dress is 100% polyester.

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Royal Wedding

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Official Royal Wedding Portraits Revealed

By Leah Chernikoff Sunday, May 1, 2011 / 5:20 PM

Flower girl Grace van Cutsem took her hands off her ears for the official royal wedding portraits of Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are now officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The portraits were shot by Hugo Burnand, who often photographs the royal family, in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace just after the ceremony on Friday.

Click through to see the rest of the official royal wedding portraits.
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