Friday 29 April 2011

My Final Royal Dress Prediction

So with me now willing to put money on the fact that Sarah Burton is The Royal Wedding dress designer... here are 5 predictions of the Bride.

1. The colour - Off white/ivory, not only is the colour hugely popular in wedding dresses its also a big fashion trend for S/S 2011 and white is classed as very elegant which will suit kates style perfectly. Also by Kates previous wardrobe we know she can do bright white very well after the Reiss dress.


2. The dress will have some sort of sleeve, it is custom for royal wedding gowns to bare a sleeve, I think she may have a full length sleeve in a sheer fabric to update this rule slightly. She has been wearing the style for many of her dresses and jackets for recent events, showing she possibly prefers to cover the arm anyway. I think with both the length in her arms and legs would be suited to a long fitted sleeve anyway as it sticks to her tiny figure.


3. I think there will be some kind of embellishment on the dress, only very delicate and still very classy, but maybe crystals or stones of some description to add the princess touch. And if not crystals the dress will be embellished with some form of delicate embroidery or added texture or flowers into the fabric, this would especially be typical of a Mcqueen design.


4. Kate's hair will definitely be worn down and I think kept to her usual gentle curls. Especially after the comments made to her hairdresser, that she wanted William to still recognise her at the end of the aisle. She'll also be wearing some ind of crown/tiara , I think it will be a little for subtle and less heavy than the one worn my Diana though.


5. My final prediction is on the shape of Kates dress, I really do think she is going to go for something alot more slimline than expected from a royal wedding dress, I still think it will have some volume in the skirt (epically if it is McQueen) however no way near as big as that worn by Princess Diana, I'm also not 100% on if she will have a full veil as I don't know how this would suit Kate's style.

Thursday 28 April 2011

Sarah Burton

Looks like I may well be right !!!
Sarah Burton has just been seen leaving The Goring Hotel, where Kate Middleton is staying tonight !!!


So is Miss Middleton wearing a Mcqueen ! And even more excitingly is it a new design by Burton or could it be a vintage Mcqueen dress or even one taken from an old sketch.

Alexander Mcqueen had got connections with the Royal Family, apart from being awarded an CBE by the Queen he was famous for sewing rude messages in to Prince Charles' Jacket.



The Royal Countdown

In about 12 hours Kate Middleton will be on her way to Westminster Abbey to marry Prince William ... And I'am stupidly excited !


My last on post about the Royal Wedding was totally college related, however this is just me getting into the spirits of things before tomorrows Pimms-fest !

More than anything I can not wait to see Kate's dress, after all the rumours I really do hope it is a Sarah Burton design, as the wedding collection she has previously shown was beautiful. It would also mean giving a new quirky look to a Royal wedding dress.



The only thing that makes me doubt the rumours how simplistic and elegant Kate Middletons style has aways been in her Issa engagement dress and Amanda Wakeley suits.And that the quirkiness of the Burton designs are too out there for Kate. She has been noted for saying that she wants William to recognise its her at the end of the aisle, and therefore will she stick to a dress for fitted to her elegant sophisticated style.

What I am sure of, is the dress will be beautiful and look amazing on Kate ... I think she could probably make a bin bag work, as she is obviously just very naturally beautiful and has such a elegant and svelte figure.
I will be up at 6am in the morning, for the very start of the coverage, and by the time Kate Middleton emerges at Westminster Abbey at 11am I will be at my friend Julie's Royal Garden Party watching in awe as she walks down the aisle ... I hope her heels are a little higher than usual ...maybe Bridal Louboutins ???

Monday 18 April 2011

Solving my dress dilema.

A few weeks ago, I asked for some help finding a dress for one of my best friends 40th birthday bash. After no help what so ever i managed to find the perfect one ... Thank god I shop a lot !
Again it was a French Connection which seems to be a major trend running through my wardrobe. For £135 I found this Tunic dress with gold embroidery. It's also an off white colour which is one of the main colours for spring/summer. I love french connection dresses as they always seem to fit so well and always come to a perfect length. This one was a little see-through though and therefor had to be worn with a white silk slip underneath, but looked great with mink/bronze heels and off white and gold jewelery.
However as the zip goes from neck to bottom of the spine its not the easiest think to get off after 1o or more drinks !

Although I didn't get a good full length photo here are two to try and show the colour and style a little better.

Julies Birthday dress got top marks though as I mistook it for a McQueen or Lacroix, she actually found it in a designer boutique on The Wirral and obviously teaming it with her fabulous nude Louboutins made it look even more glam. Again it was an off white colour with light gold lace Croatia .... we obviously have fabulous taste in dress colours ;)

Then came the celebrity guests ... Olivia Newton John and John Travolta ... otherwise known as Julie and John. who surprised all their guests with a routine to "your the one that i want" from Grease. Their costumes were particularly good, however Julies Kate Cuba shoes were alot nicer than Newton-Johns.


So all in all if Kate Middleton wants her wedding to be the event of April if not the year, shes got some serious work to do !

Sunday 3 April 2011

The Royal Wedding

I am one of the sad ones who is getting rather excited about the royal wedding, with only 25 days left to go.
In our current brief we are asked to look at how events and cultures can influence fashion and the way it is communicated, and I thing The Royal Wedding is a great way to demonstrate this.

Everybody is taking advantage to cash in on The Royal Wedding, from Fashion Designers, foods brands, interiors (my mother included) and even toy makers !!!

This Happy-Land figurine set even includes a Corgi ! Its on my little sisters Easter list too !
I also was very impressed by the Royal Wedding theme running throughout Marks&Spencer this afternoon. With royal cushions, right the way through to egg cups and crown printed guest towels !!
The one Royal item I came across to really make me chuckle was from TopShop ...
Royal Knickers !!! I'm sure HRM will be sporting these under her Hermes suit !
My final royal finds are from Harvey Nichols, we have cakes, cups, biscuits, coasters and even tea bags ! As well as a special Royal Wedding themed Afternoon Tea is the restaurant.
My Favorite is the Keep Carm and Marry on Biscuit. The Keep Carm brand have become immensely popular over the last year, and I think its great to see they are even joining in on the royal action.
I'm looking forward to seeing Vogue magazine later in the week to see if they are also working with the royal theme as well as seeing if any shop windows get a royal makeover.

Friday 1 April 2011

Branding in Music Videos

Using branding in music videos has been a popular topic in the news recently, as apparently there is too much of it and it takes the attention away from the music you are meant to be listening too.

I decided to go way back to 1966, and look at a Frank Sinatra "fly me to the moon" video ( guilty pleasure) . Music videos then were very low key, and usually just consisted of a filming from a live recording or simple studio recording. No dancing around, or strobe lighting and not a brand name in site.


Compared to this I looked at Jennifer Lopez' new music video for "get on the floor". Which within the first thirty seconds of the video we get to brands clearly shown. I have snap-shot these to show how clearly obvious the brands are made to stand out.

By comparing the two music videos with over a 40 year time diffrence between, it is obvious how music videos are used in modern day. In the sixties they were used to promote the music and artist alone, however now with the rise of celebrity, music videos by big artists are used to promote as many brands as possible. This is because if a fan is made to think that the celebrity uses a certain brand, they will be enticed to purchase.

I wonder how Swarovski have done with takings this mothers day !!!