Last chance to see Catherine’s……….Dress (for a while)

The news that Buckingham Palace will be removing THE wedding dress for the foreseeable future (well until next year, I imagine) means there has been a late surge of interest in viewing it. The Palace announced that only 1000 tickets were available. Pre booked tickets are sold out but I understand you can still queue on the day. The interest in THE Royal Wedding has seen a hefty increase in people visiting the Royal Collection. Visitors are up 20% on last year and will top 500,000 for the first time since the Palace opened in 1994. The great benefit of this is the financial windfall for the Royal Collection which this year should receive £9 million and keep the attraction in tip top order. Though this was the year of THE wedding I believe that the Olympics in 2012 will bring even more visitors to the Palace and of course the great sites of London and UK in general. So we will be saying farewell to the beautiful dress, Cartier Hal tiara, the wedding shoes, the diamond earrings and the bouquet (understandably a replica !).  This image below captures the beautiful ensemble in all its glory…………….

THE Alexander McQueen dress designed by Sarah Burton

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23991576-late-rush-to-see-royal-wedding-dress.do

As I have mentioned, before you rush to get the last tickets or wait until THE dress has another appearance, you can continue to enjoy this beautiful creation. The esteemed British company Compton and Woodhouse has created a limited edition figurine which captures all the glory and detail of the wedding dress worn by the now Duchess of Cornwall. The image gives you an idea of its style and craftsmanship………

Finished Catherine The Royal Bride Figurine

Another topic that seems to have caused a little bit of excitement in the press revolves around the possibility of Catherine appearing on the front of US Vogue. I mentioned this in my previous piece and said that Catherine seems more about style than fashion. I will include the link to a strong piece by Cristina Odone shortly but it highlights the pitfalls that the fashion world might hold for her. She mentions Princess Diana as being an example of fashion over duty but from what we have seen so far, Catherine, is a different person, living in different times. Diana was a person who seemed isolated in her later years and whether by choice was not surrounded by the support that Catherine seems to have whether personal or professional.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/cristinaodone/100107413/the-duchess-of-cambridge-should-avoid-anna-wintour-and-us-vogue-like-the-plague/

Style and common sense as practised by the Duchess of Cornwall, take note Kelly Osbourne !

http://cocoperez.com/2011-06-13-kate-middleton-wears-the-same-dress-years-apart

Princess Diana working that 80′s look

http://laceandladders.blogspot.com/2011/04/princess-diana-v-kate-middleton.html

So keep enjoying the weather and we will wait to see whether Catherine will grace the cover of Vogue or keep her style more for herself. That said whatever your views on this, her style certainly sells in the high street, probably because it’s more affordable than Diana’s !