Wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer

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Wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer
Diana wearing her bridal gown = David and Elizabeth Emanuel
Year1981 (1981)
TypeIvory silk taffeta and antique lace gown
MaterialSilk, taffeta, lace

Lady Diana Spencer's bridal gown was an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, with a 25-foot (7.6 m) train and a 153 yards (140 m) tulle veil, valued then at £9,000 (equivalent to $36,700 in 2021).[1][2] It was worn at Diana's wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales in 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. It became one of the most famous dresses in the world,[3] and was considered one of the most closely guarded secrets in fashion history.[4]

Design

The bridal gown was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who described it as a dress that "had to be something that was going to go down in history, but also something that Diana loved," and which would be "suitably dramatic in order to make an impression."[5][6] Diana personally selected the designers to make her wedding dress because she was fond of a chiffon blouse they designed for her formal photo session with Lord Snowdon.[7]

The woven silk

Prince William, Diana's elder son, incorporated motifs cut from machine-made lace appliquéd to silk net.[11] The dress featured "lace flounces adorning neckline and sleeves".[8]

A replica of the dress at West Edmonton Mall, in Edmonton, Canada, in 2013

Fittings of the dress posed difficulties because Diana had developed

bulimia and dropped from a size 14 to a size 10 in the months leading up to the wedding. Even the seamstress was concerned about her weight loss and feared the dress might not fit as it should.[12]

The twenty-five-foot train posed problems. According to writer Andrew Morton, in Diana: Her True Story, the gown's designers realized too late that they had forgotten to allow for the train's length in relation to the size of the glass coach Diana and her father rode in to the ceremony. They found it difficult to fit inside the glass coach, and the train was badly crushed despite Diana's efforts. This accounted for the visible wrinkles in the wedding gown when she arrived at the cathedral.[13]

The Emanuels also created a parasol in a matching taffeta to be used by Diana in case the wedding day turned out to be rainy.[14] Diana also had a spare wedding dress, which would have acted as a stand-in if the dress' design was revealed before the wedding day.[15] The spare dress had tiny pearls sewn on the bodice and was made out of "pale ivory silk taffeta with embroidered scalloped details on the hem and sleeves." It shared some features with Diana's main wedding dress, including a V-neck, three-quarter sleeves and a wide skirt.[16]

Reception and influence

The dress set wedding fashion trends after the wedding. Large puffed sleeves, a full skirt and "soft touch fabrics" became popular requests.[17] Copies by other dressmakers were available "within hours" of the 1981 wedding.[18]

Many bridal experts considered the dress a "gold standard" in wedding fashion in the years after the wedding.[19] Continued appreciation for the dress was not universal. One 2004 bridal magazine listed it as "too much dress, too little princess."[20] Nevertheless, Elizabeth Emanuel noted in 2011 that she still received requests for replicas of Diana's dress.

In his 2003 memoir, A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell wrote that Diana had wanted the dress to be part of the fashion collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.[21]

The dress toured for many years with the exhibition "Diana: A Celebration", though generally it stayed for only part of the exhibit.

Prince Harry.[24][25]

In 2018, the dress was chosen as one of the "Most Influential British Royal Wedding Dresses of All Time" by Time magazine.[26] In 2021, it went on display at Kensington Palace as a part of the "Royal Style in the Making" exhibition.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ "On this day:1981: Charles and Diana marry". BBC. 29 July 1981. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8386-4023-4
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84788-592-0
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  4. ^ Johnson, Maureen. "Designed of Lady Diana's wedding dress revealed". The Press-Courier. Oxnard CA. Associated Press. p. 11. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  5. ISBN 978-0-7407-6792-0
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84513-200-2
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  7. ISBN 978-0-8092-3948-1
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Royal Wedding Dresses throughout history". The Royal Family. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  9. ^ Derschowitz, Jessica (16 November 2010). "Prince William Engagement: A Look Back at His Parents' Wedding". CBS News. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  10. ^ Vargas, Chanel (7 March 2018). "Every Detail About Princess Diana's Iconic Wedding Dress". Town & Country. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  11. ^ Alexander, Hilary. "Kate Middleton wedding dress is Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 May 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  12. ISBN 978-1-60413-463-6
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  13. ISBN 978-1-119-97030-9
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  14. ^ Goldberg, Carrie (16 October 2020). "Everything You Need to Know About Princess Diana's Wedding Gown". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  15. ^ Peiffer, Kimberly (28 March 2011). "Princess Diana's Spare Wedding Dress Revealed". People. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  16. ^ Murphy, Nichola (5 August 2023). "Princess Diana's 'spare' wedding dress that was never pictured unveiled by designer". Hello!. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  17. Orange Coast Magazine
    . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  18. ^ "Kate's wedding dress recreated in just five hours". The Herald Sun. AFP. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  19. ^ Nixon-Knight, Lynnell (January 2007). "Natural Evolution". Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  20. ^ Armstrong, Colleen (Winter 2004). "Top 10 perks for 21st century brides". Cincinnati Wedding. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  21. ISBN 978-0-14-101828-7
    .
  22. ^ "Kensington Palace - FAQs". Historic Royal Palaces. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  23. ^ "Princess Diana Wedding Dress Going Home". Hello Magazine. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  24. ^ "What will Prince Harry and Prince William inherit from Princess Diana?". The Daily Telegraph. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  25. ^ Picheta, Rob (27 April 2021). "Princess Diana's wedding dress to go on display after William and Harry agree to loan". CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  26. ^ Lang, Cady (1 May 2018). "The 12 Most Influential British Royal Wedding Dresses of All Time". Time. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  27. ^ Turner, Lauren (2 June 2021). "Princess Diana's wedding dress going on display at Kensington Palace". BBC. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

Further reading

External links
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