Pics, or it didn't happen

Considering that Prince William and (the former) Kate Middleton’s wedding was one of the biggest media events in recent memory, how do you take advantage of lingering royal interest? If you’re Newsweek, you raise the dead – in this case, Princess Diana, mother of the groom.

Supposedly in commemoration of what would be her 50th birthday, Tina Brown pens a royal fan fiction piece in the current issue of Newsweek that imagines relationships with everyone from Dominique Strauss Kahn to a Pakistani military general.

“Always so professional herself, she would have soon grown exasperated with Dodi Al-Fayedâ€s hopeless unreliability. After the breakup I see her moving to her favorite city, New York, spending a few cocooned years safely married to a super-rich hedge-fund guy who could provide her with what she called “all the toys”: the plane, the private island, the security detail. Gliding sleekly into her 40s, her romantic taste would have moved to men of power over boys of play. Sheâ€d have tired of the hedge-fund guy and drifted into undercover trysts with someone more exciting—a high-mindedly horny late-night talk-show host, or a globe-trotting French finance wizard destined for the Élysée Palace. I suspect she would have retained a weakness for men in uniform, and a yen for dashing Muslim men. (A two-year fling with a Pakistani general, rumored to have links to the ISI, would have been a particular headache to the Foreign Office and the State Department.)” {Newsweek}

Well then, with her love life settled, how would Diana have received Duchess Catherine?

“The rising public adoration of Kate would have afforded Diana some tricky moments. Pleased, yes. But, like Frances Shand Kydd—who, days before Dianaâ€s wedding, suddenly burst out, “I have good long legs, like my daughter”—Diana would have had to adjust to a broadening of the limelight. Her edge over Kate, of course, was her own epic of princessly suffering, which would always make Dianaâ€s story more interesting. (“Happily ever after” will never have the same allure to the press as “It all went horribly wrong.”) Diana, rejoicing in her flawless Spencer pedigree, would have positioned herself as a firm defender of the Middletons against the palace snobs and ostentatiously made Carole Middleton, Kateâ€s dynamic mother, her new BFF.”

While “what would have Diana thought” was a common question around the time of the royal marriage, detailing her hypothetical love life and besties, and raising her from the dead (Photoshop is getting really advanced these days) for the cover of a magazine is a bit… uncomfortable, considering the circumstances surrounding the reason Princess Diana isn’t around for magazine covers or interviews.

Photo credit: Getty

OMG! The First Lady and Kate Middleton (the Duchess of Cambridge, if we’re using her proper title) were in the same room! Wearing clothes! Now we know why the Rapture was postponed.

Earlier today Michelle Obama chatted with the Duchess at Buckingham Palace in a blue floral Barbara Tfank dress and contrasting pink bolero jackets. The newlywed stuck to her classic high street (British translation: you don’t have to be royalty to afford it) style in a $340 dress from Reiss that’s already sold out online. {Fashionista}

If history repeats itself, Reiss could be on track to sell as many of those dresses as they can get in stock: the white dress Middleton wore in her engagement photos reportedly sold at a rate of one per minute after being identified.

We think Prince William and President Obama were wearing clothes too, but no one has noticed so we can’t be sure.

As we speak, Michelle Obama is enjoying a state dinner at Buckingham Palace, where she and the President will stay for two nights – in the same suite that Prince William and Kate Middleton used after they were married (we’ll let you draw your own connections there). There aren’t pictures available yet, but the First Lady looked positively stunning in a white halter neck gown, and we’re sure Duchess Catherine won’t disappoint either.

Update: the photos are in! View the white Tom Ford gown Michelle Obama wore to the state dinner at Buckingham Palace and the items we found that will let you steal the style.

Sarah Burton in a dress of her own design at the Met Costume Institute Gala

According to WWD, a well deserved vacation.

The royal wedding dressmaker is in New York, and appeared at the Met Gala honoring Alexander McQueen in a simple, flattering dress of her own design (ahem, Stella), but stuck around for a meet and greet at Saks Fifth Avenue. Though customers were advised not to ask about the royal wedding, it’s hard to overstate how much of an effect it had on raising her public profile among a non-fashion industry audience, so naturally someone asked.

Burton reportedly said Kate Middleton and her sister Pippa were “really nice and down to earth,” and that Duchess Catherine “couldn’t have been more lovely” as they collaborated on the dress. Not that we’d imagine Burton spilling the beans if Kate Middleton were a bridezilla.

Prior to the royal wedding, Burton was known as the designer of the (beautiful and completely appropriate, in our opinion) red dress that landed Michelle Obama in the center of controversy with American designers; and as those of you who do follow fashion know, before that it was as the designer who everyone was counting on to keep the house of McQueen thriving in a way that would retain the design genius and skill of its late founder, while moving forward in a direction that’s more tribute than replica.

Needless to say, in spite of the increased responsibility Burton seems to be doing exactly that amazingly well. Enjoy your vacation, Ms. Burton.

It’s official! Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen designed the wedding gown fit for a princess.

Well, a duchess for now, as Kate Middleton and Prince William won’t take the titles of prince and princess until Prince Charles becomes king. The official Royal Wedding website puts to rest months of speculation on who would design one of the most visible wedding dresses of the year. Burton was also responsible for the dress of Pippa Middleton, Kate’s sister and maid of honor. The v-neck is something of a signature for the future princess, but we also saw similarities to the wedding dress of Princess Grace of Monaco. In other words, bravo! to Sarah Burton for a gown that’s unique to the bride, but timeless enough to have its place in history, and pay tribute to Alexander McQueen’s legacy in a way the late designer likely never imagined.

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (that’s Prince William and Kate Middleton if you missed it), Sarah Burton and one of the late, great kings of fashion.

From the website:

The Wedding Dress

Miss Catherine Middletonâ€s Wedding Dress has been designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.

Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing.  Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueenâ€s work.  Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress.

The dress epitomises timeless British craftsmanship by drawing together talented and skilled workmanship from across the United Kingdom.  The dress design pays tribute to the Arts and Crafts tradition, which advocated truth to materials and traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often Romantic styles of decoration.  Ms Burtonâ€s design draws on this heritage, additionally giving the cut and the intricate embellishment a distinctive, contemporary and feminine character.

The design

The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace.  The lace design was hand-engineered (appliquéd) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s.  Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.

Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim.  With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour.  The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms Burton and her team.

The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar.  The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats.  The train measures two metres 70 centimetres.  The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueenâ€s designs.  The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops.  The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace.

The Fabrics

French Chantilly lace was combined with English Cluny lace to be hand-worked in the Irish Carrickmacross needlework tradition.

All other fabrics used in the creation of the dress were sourced from and supplied by British companies.  The choice of fabrics followed extensive research by Sarah Burton and her team.

The Royal School of Needlework

The Royal School of Needlework (RSN), based at Hampton Court Palace, assisted the Alexander McQueen team in accurately cutting out the delicate motifs from the lace fabrics and positioning the lace motifs with precision into the new design.  The lace motifs were pinned, ‘framed up†and applied with stab stitching every two to three millimetres around each lace motif.  The workers washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean.

The RSN workers included existing staff, former staff, tutors, graduates and students, with the youngest aged 19.

The RSNâ€s work was used primarily for the train and skirt of the Brideâ€s dress, the bodice and sleeves, the Brideâ€s shoes and the Brideâ€s veil.

Veil and Jewellery

The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.  The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo†tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen.  The ‘halo†tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by The Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King.  The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.

The Brideâ€s earrings, by Robinson Pelham, are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre.  Inspiration for the design comes from the Middleton family’s new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves.  The earrings were made to echo the tiara.  The earrings were a personal gift to the Bride from her parents for her Wedding Day.

Robinson Pelham have also designed and made a pair of diamond earrings for Miss Philippa Middleton.  These earrings are more floral in nature to compliment the headpiece worn by Miss Philippa Middleton during the Service.

A tourmaline and diamond pendant and matching earrings have been designed and made for Mrs. Carole Middleton.  Two gold stick pins, one with a single gold acorn at the head and the other with an oak leaf, are also worn respectively by the Father of the Bride, Mr. Michael Middleton, and the Bride’s brother, Mr. James Middleton.

Wedding Shoes

The wedding shoes have made hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen and are made of ivory duchesse satin with lace hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.

Screenshot of Kate Middleton’s wedding dress via the Huffington Post

Seriously.

“As expected, the royal wedding has really captured the U.K.â€s imagination and it was no surprise that a William and Kate commemorative fridge was a popular choice,” said David Garden, Commercial Director for GE at GDHA. “It certainly wipes the floor with your usual commemorative tea towels and mugs and is most definitely one of the most novel royal wedding products we have seen.” {Today Show via Jezebel}

Garden hopes that “die-hard fans” or the father of the groom will decide it’s a good wedding gift. We like the idea of charitable donations as royal wedding gifts a lot more, but we do have a few questions.

1. What’s Tina Fey’s involvement with this? We refuse to believe the jokes on 30 Rock write themselves, but this refrigerator is making us rethink that.

2. Do you really want a picture of anyone staring back at you when you go for a midnight snack? Much less, royals. How can you feel comfortable drinking orange juice straight from the carton with a prince and princess staring back at you? It could only be more awkward if it were a picture of your mom.

3. We’re almost sure there will be commemorative magnets, but would that be too much royal memorabilia for one refrigerator or a necessary accessory.

4. Before this, the strangest memorabilia we knew about was a royal wedding condom. We never would have put this on the list of possibilities, but now that it is, what completely random royal wedding commemorative item will strip the refrigerator of it’s leading position in the “why?” category?

The royal wedding gift that keeps giving

What do you get the couple who has everything? You could always dip something in gold and add a few diamonds, but fortunately Prince William and Kate Middleton are going even classier than that.

In lieu of the cockatoos and barbecue set requested by William’s parents, the couple is exclusively requesting charitable donations to a variety of causes. {Huffington Post via Styleite}

While an anonymous spokesperson for Prince William said that he was “shocked and saddened” by the numerous catastrophes that have recenlty struck Japan, there aren’t any Japanese relief organizations on the list because it was finalized in advance of recent events and focused on countries he has visited.

Given the quality of memorabilia surrounding the Royal Wedding that’s emerged so far, we have to say a donation will not only make you feel better but will probably be something you don’t regret buying in a few years. Should you decide to forgo the cheesy coins and odd looking plates and cups, you’ll have a choice of 26 charities across five categories.

Organizations targeted by the Royal Wedding Charity Fund include charities focused on providing services in the arts and sport, animal and environmental conservation, military personnel charities (including one that would benefit volunteers helping to rebuild after the recent New Zealand earthquake), children’s charities and a myriad of smaller British charities.

All of the donations will be handled through the existing Prince William and Prince Harry Foundation.

Kors thinks the future British royal shares style similarities with American royalty

We already predicted that Kate Middleton would inspire the same type of retail adoration that Michelle Obama commands since both are known for mixing mall/high street brands with high fashion and it seems that pre-fall name-hater Michael Kors has similar sentiments.

“When I designed the outfit for the Michelle’s first official portrait no one thought she would wear matte jersey but she did. Past women in the same position had always worn a tailored suit. When I look at Kate I see a changing of the guard in what is considered elegant. She is likes to look easy but chic. I would liken her to Obama and Carla Bruni in that way. All these women are in situations where they shaking off the formal suits of their predecessors,” says Kors. {Vogue UK via the Cut}

Mrs. Obama has a few decades of life and accomplishment in general on Middleton and we’re not sure about the Carla Bruni comparison, but the future princess is certainly on her way towards becoming a modern style icon. Style may not be the best judge of someone’s personality, but Middleton’s refusal to let tradition and expectations dictate her clothing choices suggests that she may retain some of the experiences that allow her to relate to a larger public instead of getting caught up in the trappings of a title.

If that doesn’t pan out, at least on some items you’ll still be able to shop like a princess and retailers will surely try to get you to relate to that.

One photo shows the couple warmly embracing each other, while another includes a more stately pose with portraits and other decorations from St. James’s Palace more clearly displayed in the background.

The Cut has identified Kate’s dress in the second photo as a year-old design from Reiss, a British retailer that sells moderately priced clothes, and the embroidered blouse in the close-up photo as one from UK retailer Whistles. Imagine the excitement everyone had when Michelle Obama started appearing in J.Crew as well as more established (and higher priced) labels, put a posh accent on it, and you basically understand the enthusiasm over the latest photos.

No word on what the retail response has been thus far, but the $500 dark blue Issa dress that the future princess wore to the engagement press conference sold out not long after Middleton wore it, and her engagement ring (which was once Princess Diana’s) has driven a resurgence in knockoffs as well.

There hasn’t been any confirmation on who will design her wedding dress, but gamblers in the UK are betting on Bruce Oldfield. {the Cut} We’re betting that an “inspired by gown” will make its way into stores not long after.