Saturday, April 23, 2011

Stylish brides through history

Stylish brides through history
From Elizabeth Taylor, to Mia Farrow, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly - we've rounded up the most stylish brides of all time. Find out who made the biggest fashion statement as they walked down the aisle...

Elizabeth Taylor's first marriage to Richard Burton in 1964.

Elizabeth wore a chiffon gown in daffodil yellow, finishing the look with an emerald and diamond brooch presented to her by her husband. In her hair, she wore lilies of the valley and white hyacinths.

Marilyn Monroe marries Joe DiMaggio, 1954

For her wedding to baseball player Joe DiMaggio, Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe chose an unconventional brown suit with a white mink-collar. The suit sold for $33,350 at a Sotheby's auction in New York in 1998.

Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco, 1956

Grace Kelly also chose gown by Helen Rose who had dressed her in 'High Society' and 'The Swan'. The gown was the most expensive dress that Rose had ever made and consisted of a rounded collar, full skirt of ivory peau de soie, and a fitted bodice made from Brussels lace embroidered with seed pearls. The lace was over a century old and had flower designs in it. 25 yards of silk taffeta and 100 yards of silk net were used in the construction of the dress. Under her wedding gown, Grace's petticoats had tiny blue satin bows.
Priscilla Beaulieu marries Elvis Presley, 1967.

Priscilla wore a floor-length wedding gown of her own design: white silk chiffon, with beaded yoke, trimmed in seed pearls and topped with a three-foot tulle veil secured by a rhinestone crown.

Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles, 1981

Diana chose David and Elizabeth Emanuel to create her enormous wedding dress, with big puffed sleeves and a frilly neckline. The dress was made of silk taffeta, decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls, and had a 25-foot train.

Princess Margaret marries Earl of Snowdon Anthony Armstrong-Jones, 1961

Princess Margaret's wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, was made from silk organza with 30 metres of fabric in the skirt alone. The embellishment was minimal to suit Margaret's delicate frame.

Cilla Black marries Bobby Willis, 1968

Popular Sixties designer John Bates created the red velvet wedding dress that Cilla Black wore to marry Bobby Willis.

Sara Buys marries Tom Parker-Bowles, 2005

Fashion writer Buys chose a strapless ivory Alexander McQueen fishtail dress.

Pattie Boyd marries George Harrison in 1966

"I bought a Mary Quant pinky-red shot-silk dress, which came to just above the knee, and I wore it with creamy stockings and pointy red shoes. On top, because it was January and cold, I wore a red fox-fur coat, also by Mary Quant, that George gave me." Pattie made George a black Mongolian lamb coat.

Jacqueline Bouvier marries John F Kennedy, 1953

Jacqueline Bouvier's wedding dress was designed by African-American fashion designer Ann Lowe. It was a ball gown of ivory silk taffeta with a huge round skirt which required 50 yards of ivory silk taffeta.

The wedding gown took 2 months to complete. The full bouffant skirt had interwoven tucking bands and tiny wax flowers. Her grandmother's heirloom rose point lace veil was attached to her hair with orange blossoms amid a tiara of lace. The evening before the wedding she was given a diamond bracelet by John Kennedy and a diamond pin by the Kennedy parents.

Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias marries Mick Jagger, 1971

Possibly the most iconic wedding outfit ever, Bianca decided against a traditional wedding dress for her marriage to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, opting instead for a white Le Smoking jacket by Yves Saint Laurent with nothing underneath, and a long white skirt. She topped the look off with a large white floppy '70s hat, with a plain white veil over, and a floral corsage on her left wrist. .

Joan Crawford in film 'The Bride Wore Red', 1937

Hollywood actress Joan Crawford wore a sparkling scarlett beaded gown with coordinating diamante clasp cape by Adrian.

Katy England marries Bobby Gillespie, 2006

Fashion stylist Katy England married Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie in a bespoke gown by Alexander McQueen with diagonal pink candy stripes.

Princess Elizabeth marries Prince Philip, 1947

Norman Hartnell was chosen to design Princess Elizabeth's ivory satin wedding dress which was covered with pearl embroidery in a floral design.He cited as his inspiration Botticelli's painting of Primavera. The rich dress of duchesse satin contrasts with the white seed pearls, imported from America, silver thread, sparkling crystal and transparent appliqué tulle embroidery. Attached at the shoulders was a magnificent 13-foot silk tulle full court train, embroidered in pearl, crystal and appliqué duchesse satin. The ensemble was completed by a silk tulle veil and ivory duchesse satin high-heeled sandals, trimmed with silver and seed pearl buckles, made by Edward Rayne.

Sharon Tate marries Roman Polanski, 1968

Sharon Tate chose a very '60s pearl trimmed satin minidress with puff-sleeves and a turtle neck for her marriage to film director Roman Polanski. She accessoriesed with flowers in her hair.

Wallis Simpson marries Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor,1937

Wallis Simpson wore a simple and beautifully chic Mainboucher dress in pale blue silk. The colour was custom made and named 'Wallis blue'.

Kristen McMenamy marries Miles Aldridge, 1999

Top model Kristen McMenamy walked up the aisle with German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in a one-shoulder draped chiffon dress Lagerfeld had designed for her (in a fabric dyed to match her pale skin) and a feather headdress by Philip Treacy.
Rita Hayworth marries Fred Astaire in film 'You'll Never Get Rich', 1941

Hollywood beauty Hayworth looked ravishing in her wedding dress with beaded fishnet sleeves in the 1941 film 'You'll Never Get Rich' in which she married Fred Astaire....

Audrey Hepburn marries fred Astaire in 'Funny Face', 1957

Astaire was the luckiest man in Hollywood, also getting to marry Audrey Hepburn in the film 'Funny Face'. Audrey wore Givenchy couture.

Mia Farrow marries Frank Sinatra, 1966

Sixties style icon, actress Mia Farrow, chose a chic and moddish mini skirt suit to complement her elfin crop for her 'quickie' marriage to Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas.

Yoko Ono marries John Lennon, 1969

Yoko Ono married Beatles musician John Lennon in a short shift dress with knee-high boots.

Emily Mortimer marries Alessandro Nivola, 2003

Actress Emily Mortimer married 'Coco Before Chanel' star Alessandro Nivola in a vintage cream wedding gown.

Stella Tennant marries David Lasnet, 1999

Top model and society girl Stella Tennant married photographer David Lasnet in a short dress with sheer layers by Helmut Lang.

Elizabeth Taylor marries Nicky Hilton, 1950.

Elizabeth wore a creation by MGM studio designer Helen Rose - a white satin confection embellished with seed pearls and beading which had taken a number of workers two months to complete. A three-quarter length veil was attached to a cap trimmed with pearls combined with a pearl tiara. To complete the all-white motif, the bride carried a bouquet of white orchids.