Wedding Dress Moment Catherine Middleton

 

Catherine’s Royal Wedding dress was inspired by the dress worn by Grace Kelly for her wedding to Prince Ranier in 1956.
The ivory white satin silk gown was created by Sarah Burton, Head Designer at the House of Alexander McQueen.  Burton signed a confidentiality agreement and was not permitted to speak about the commission.  The dress remained a secret until the moment Catherine stepped out of the wedding car with her father.
The structure of the dress, which is a mix of Victorian detailing and contemporary styling, is designed around a traditional corset, with nipped in waist, padded hips, and 58 organza covered buttons.
The delicate bodice is fashioned from a mix of English lace and French Chantilly lace.  Hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework, the lace applique includes flowers to represent each area of the British Isles – roses for England, thistles for Scotland, daffodils for Wales and shamrocks for Ireland.
The veil is made from layers of ivory silk tulle and finished with hand sewn flowers and, the modest yet beautifully embroidered train measures just over 8ft.  Princess Diana’s train, in comparison, was 25ft long.
Catherine wore her hair partly down and partly up, held in place by a tiara lent to her by the Queen.  The ‘halo’ tiara was designed by Cartier in 1936 and was originally a gift to Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, from her husband – later King George VI.
The diamond earrings were a gift to Catherine by her parents on her wedding day and featured oak leaves and acorns, to match the Middleton’s new coat of arms.
The myrtle flowers in Catherine’s bouquet, cut from a sprig planted in 1845 by Queen Victoria, symbolised love.
Image: Catherine Middleton as she arrives at Westminster Abbey, with her sister, Maid of Honour, Pippa Middleton.

Kate Middleton: Five Fun Facts

NAME Kate Middleton
DATE OF BIRTH January 09, 1982
BIRTH PLACE Berkshire, England

Royal insiders have called Kate Middleton, with her grace and sporty elegance, "a natural" as Prince William's wife.

The captivating brunette may not come from royalty, but she does have good breeding – her father is a self-made millionaire and she attended the prestigious and pricey private boarding school Marlborough College. After excelling at field hockey and cross-country running, Kate Middleton studied art history at University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she took William off the market in 2002.

After an eight-year fairy tale romance, William proposed to Middleton with his late mother's engagement ring. The couple wed in London on April 29, 2011, ennobling Middleton as the Duchess of Cambridge.

Kate Middleton: Five Fun Facts

1. Kate Middleton, who worked as an accessories buyer for British fashion chain Jigsaw, once had her sights on launching her own kids' clothing line.
2. After months of grueling training, Kate Middleton was forced to drop out of a charity rowing race across the English Channel. "It's a safety thing," Emma Sayle, captain of Middleton's ex-team, told PEOPLE. "The boats aren't designed for the sea. It's dangerous enough as it is without the world's paparazzi [chasing] us."
3. In March 2002, Prince William paid $200 to sit front row and watch a bikini-clad Kate Middleton walk down the runway of a student-run charity fashion show at University of St. Andrews.
4. In 2006, Woolworths created commemorative plates and mugs with Kate Middleton and Prince William's likenesses, amid engagement rumors that turned out to be false at the time.
5. As Kate Middleton prepared to celebrate her 25th birthday in 2007, a group of Kate aficionados launched the Unofficial Kate Middleton Fan Club. Their first announced meeting was held outside one of Middleton's favorite nightclubs, Boujis. (original article from: people.com)

Natasha Crook wins Best Bikini Body Award

Natasha Crook is a beautiful model from Highbury, London and she has recently won the award of best beach wear, bikini body at Miss UniverseGB2011 finals. Natasha narrowly lost out to the top spot of Miss Universe GB2011 to Chloe-Beth Morgan but she did instead come away from the competition with the coveted bikini body award as judged by Naomi John CEO and Managing Director of Sandstorm Boutique.

Sandstorm Boutique are for the 2nd year the official swimwear sponsors for the event. This year all the girls were given a narrow choice of specific swimwear to wear during the cruicial swimwear round.

"The swimwear round really does show the judges who is able to compete on the world stage at the International Finals. We are delighted to give the award to Natasha. She is a lovely person and she has a great physique". commented Naomi.

Natasha is one of the top models used by the brands GHD and Laura Gellar on the shopping channel QVC. She is also a showroom model for DKNY underwear and Dynasty Dresses. Additionally she is a regular model at exibitions such as Pure and at the Birmingham NEC.

Who Would Boo Beyonce and Jay-Z?

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have made so few musical missteps in their respective superstar careers, chances are they haven't heard the stinging sound of boos in a long, long time. But last night at the Costume Institute's "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the couple got a verbal smackdown from piqued paparazzi who were angry the pair didn't pause longer for photographs.

New York magazine's fashion blog the Cut was the first to report Beyoncé Boogate, tweeting from the red carpet, "OMG Beyonce and Jay-Z are being BOOED at the #MetGala for not posing for pictures! Yes, boo!" The site's correspondent quickly explained, "Beyonce's Pucci dress was so tight she could barely walk up the stairs as she failed to stop for the photographers."

Camera-phone footage confirms B struggled to take even a few steps in her slinky black-and-gold gown -- she even required assistance from Jay-Z and another fella for the walk up the stairs -- which is a little ironic since she just released a fitness song called "Move Your Body."

Keep in mind, these were pushy photogs rather than persnickety music critics showering the duo in boos -- nobody yelled, "Where's Watch the Throne?" or "Why'd you sample Major Lazer?" at the pair -- but the effect was pretty harsh. Hopefully Beyoncé and Jay returned to their TriBeCa pad right next to De Niro and blasted Of Montreal's "Suffer for Fashion."

The dress itself wasn't exempt from some virtual booing, either: The Prophet blog described the garish, fishtail frock as a "vinyl dress that looked like a Tina Knowles Dereon special straight off the rack at Sears."(S)

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Sana Zara Upcoming Young Fashion Designer / Stylist

 Fashion Industry is expanding day by day and many new faces are coming up with lots of new ideas with full passion of a Fashion Designing Styling. They are producing the great work. Sana Zara is a young and an aspiring fashion designer born in the beautiful city of Kashmir, and raised in Belgium and currently based in London. Since childhood she was very artistic and participated in extracurricular activities. She developed her interest in fashion designing when she was in high school and there she studied mode/fashion at l’Institut Bischoffsheim in Brussels. After completing her high school she moved to London for further education in the field of fashion at London College of Fashion. She is currently in her last year of university.

Coming from multicultural background she is fluent in many languages such as French, Dutch, English and Urdu.

Her creativity has no boundaries, being a student she has created high quality designs.

Sana Zara mainly creates western wear, and specializing in women's wear. She has great sense of styling.

 

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

I've never fancied myself an Alexander McQueen fan but after viewing the new Savage Beauty exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art honoring the late designer, I will be one for life. It is one of the best Costume Institute shows that I have ever seen.  Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton have not only assembled a gorgeous collection of clothing but have created a venue that perfectly complement their often eccentric designs. “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind” was a Shakespeeare quote that Alexander McQueen had inked on his arm that was the inspiration for the show. Andrew Bolton explained that in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the line is said by Helena, someone who believed that love could transform something grotesque into something beautiful, a theme you see in much of McQueen's work.

New York Times fashion critic commented after viewing the Alexander McQueen exhibit that "what I couldn't get over was that he had done all this work by the time he was 40."  It's clear that his apprenticeships with Savile Row tailors and his education at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design served as an amazing training ground.  He is quoted in the show as saying, "I spent a lot of time learning how to construct clothes, which is important to do before you can deconstruct them."

Alexander McQueen committed suicide right before New York fashion week in 2010 and there is haunting quality of death in much of his work and even the exhibition catalog cover. "The Victorian era greatly influenced me: the austerity, the severity, the melancholy," he said. Many people at the preview were moved to tears and the show is a very moving tribute to this incredibly gifted designer.  His friend Stella McCartney who spoke at the preview said, "When you see the show, you remember all of them instantly. You're surprised by the amount of incredible shows that he had." We can only image what he might have done had he not left the world of fashion so early but Savage Beauty is wonderful tribute and definitely worth a visit.

Look who else was at the preview! It's Bill Cunningham!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic except #1 courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art