A Royal Victory: Alexander McQueen hits a home run

It is ten to five in the morning and I have just finished watching several hours of live footage of what can fairly be called the wedding of this generation.  Hailed as the "resurgence of the British monarchy", the events of this morning, April 29th, have reached a rumoured audience of two billion people around the world.  The pageantry, music, and setting combined to create an undeniably moving spectacle that drew upon hundreds of years of tradition and history.

One of the best moments must have been the long waited for reveal of Catherine Middleton's (now the Duchess of Cambridge) wedding gown.  As it turned out the rumour mill correctly guessed the dress's designer: it was created by Alexander McQueen's new Creative Director Sarah Burton.  I can hardly imagine being happier with the design Kate ultimately settled on: the cut, fabric, and design were perfection.  The dress balanced taste, romance, and modesty in an artful blend, invoking both a Grace Kelly-like aura and a pleasing modernity.  It wisely excluded overtly trendy features which might date it (like Diana's or Sarah Ferguson's).  Having watched my fair share of Say Yes To the Dress I was so delighted to see long sleeves - which I feel have been tragically overlooked in favour of strapless designs - and a higher collar.  Hopefully this will encourage further innovation and variation in wedding apparel.

I would say more, but I've been awake for almost a solid 24 hours now and am having trouble stringing together coherent sentences.  So, without further adieu here are some photos of what you all want to see most - the dress.  Once I've had some sleep (and the photos are finally up!) I'll do another post on the fashions sported by wedding guests (Victoria Beckham's outfit was so glamorous!).

 

 

Update: Photos are now circulating of Kate Middleton's reception dress (a more modest gown for the after parties) which also happens to be designed by Alexander McQueen.  While I think the dress is pretty (rather simple), I absolutely HATE that shrug she's wearing.  It looks like those terrible furry sweaters that seemed to enjoy a short-lived popularity around the early 2000s.  Of all the cover ups she could have picked that has to be the worst.  Cringe.