Belle of the Ball: Kate Middleton

I know, I know, where have I been?! I haven't found the time to post in the past week due to finishing work for university, then finishing uni for the year, coming down with girl flu (the ladies alternative to man flu), seeing The Saturdays (SO GOOD), my mothers 60th birthday surprise and I also lost my voice completely...  With all that behind me I've finally been able to come back to my blog and I've missed you all so much! 

Last night was The Sun's 'Millies' aka The Military Awards which was a star studded event to celebrate the British soldiers and all that they do for us.  There were many a star including Amy Childs, Peter Andre, Little Mix and Lydia with her Beau Arg from TOWIE.  As well as all of the celebrities, the soldiers being honoured were rubbing shoulders with Prince Harry, Prince William and of course Kate Middleton who wore a velvet noir fishtail number by McQueen.  

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I've become smitten with our Duchess and her British style.  I thought she looked stunning, the dress hugged her (ever fading) figure, her hair was tousled as per and her make up seemed to be slightly softer than her usual hard liner.  Kate accessorised her dress with a matching black velvet clutch, ruby and white diamond necklace and bracelet combo as well as her mother-in-laws engagement ring.  

This has certainly been her year and I wonder whether our obsession with Wills and Kate will continue in 2012.  What do you think of her look?  You can watch The Sun's Military Awards tomorrow night (Wednesday 21st) on ITV1 at 8.30pm.  

The Frock Factor

You all know me by now, I'm a bit of a Royalist, especially when William and Catherine come in to play.  My obsession (although, I feel that's too strong a word...) has gotten so bad that Team Push have begun calling me Kate and claiming that I should don the Dressrail.com Erdem look alike and get a Royal Blow Dry.  I'm very tempted by this, but think I could settle on seeing the dress that declared Kate a British fashion icon. 

Buckingham Palace will be unveiling their Royal Wedding display tomorrow (23rd July), which will include the dress, complete with veil, tiara, shoes, earrings and even the Royal Wedding Cake (probably not the McVities one though, Wills has most definitely polished that one off).  Along with the dress will be a 5 minute video featuring an interview with Sarah Burton who talks through the ins and outs of the dress - a definite must see for any fashion lover or journalist.  The dress will be on display until the 3rd of October, and I've already told my best friend (who, I should probably start referring to as Pippa?) that we are going.

Are you going to pop to the Palace and see the dress, or are you sick to death of all this Middleton chatter?

Princess and McQueen

The love affair began with the most perfect wedding dress Middleton could have dreamt of, then the newly titled Duchess chose a second McQueen for her reception dress.  Catherine has been supporting British fashion on her Royal tour with husband Wills, but i've come to notice that the Duchess is having an affair with one fashion house in particular....

If you know me (or my tweets...) well enough, you'll know I have a serious style crush on our Duchess of Cambridge.  So serious, that I will call her Kate, cause Duchess or Catherine feels too formal for my liking.  McQueen has been her designer of choice quite a lot recently and it feels like a match made in heaven.

That dress.  There are no words except *wow*

The bride let her hair down and slipped into something a little easier to move in for her reception party at Buckingham Palace.  

On the Royal tour of Canada, Kate chose a knitted McQueen number, something slightly different to her usual attire, but a good different.  

Whilst they attended the BAFTA's in Los Angeles, amongst J Lo and Nicole Kidman to name a few, Catherine chose another McQueen.  This elegant piece fits both her body and personality just right.  I love how she's come back to the belted detail, seen on her reception dress.  She chose Jimmy Choo's over her usual LK Bennett choice.  

Enough of the Kate gushing now.  I've heard they want to keep a 'low profile' now they're home for the next year.  Are you lusting after the Catherine's style or have you got your own Fashion Princess?

Bella Swan's a secret fashionista.

Who'da thought that Bella Swan (aka KStew) would be so fashion concious.  The Breaking Dawn trailer was released last Sunday and it caused mass hysteria for the Twihards (yeah, I classify as one of those).  The majority of comments were on Edward and Bellas lurve making clip (it looks as funny as the scene is to read in the book) but I was all about the wedding dress - who designed it?! It's the most anticipated wedding dress since, well, April when Kate stepped out in McQueen.  Well ladies, the designer of the soon to be Cullens dress is Carolina Herrera.

I wonder if she'll do her own make up, like the Duchess...

Unfortunately, until November 18th we wont know what the dress looks like, but if the trailer is anything to go by, it will be gorgeous.  The only question I have now is; how will they make Bella more beautiful than she looks on her wedding day, when Edward changes her to a vamp. 

For all of you who haven't seen the trailer (weirdo's) here it is:



I Spy! A right royal commoner to style icon.

The Middletons have been centre of attention for the past week and a bit thanks to Kate and Wills Royal knees up, but it wasn't just Kate making headlines.  Pippa, the younger sister to the new Duchess, has certainly been turning heads since the Royal nuptials, even getting a website dedicated to her mighty derriere (if you don't believe me, click here).  Of course I am far more interested to the garment covering her modesty than what is underneath and Vogue seem to think she's fashion worthy, giving her, her very own style file.  

Looking a bit drab.  

Gorgeous in chiffon.

Similar to Kate, Pippa's style has dramatically changed from country bumpkin to princess (Harry wishes) chic.  Although Kate's style is more tailored to be appropriate for Royalty, Pippa seems to keep on trend, opting for a colour block dress the day before her sisters wedding.  

An heir and her not-so-spare.

And of course, I would be a failure of a trainee fashion journalist if I didn't mention Pippa's most iconic look to date.  That gorgeous Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress.  

So what do you think of Pippa's style, Yay or Nay? I certainly think it's enviable and screams 'classy' without looking too arrogant.  I give it a yay, also if any of you know the girls brother, please pass my email on...

To check out more of Pippa's style, go to Vogue.com

 

A Right Royal Souvenir.

If you have ever been to a big white wedding, you'll know your typical souvenirs are the sugar coated almonds, in a pretty little bag or (if you're the psycho 'I will be the bride not always the bridesmaid' type) the Brides bouquet. 

 An amusing evening of flicking through Vogue.com, showed me the many a souvenir you can buy to commemorate the Royal Wedding.  Don't get me wrong, I am slightly excited about it (i'm a sucker for a wedding and, indeed, a romance) but do we really need a 'Barbie' doll Kate?  Yes you heard me.  A doll.  

I guess they are banking on the girls who couldn't get the 'engagement' dress in shops and would therefore purchase a doll to remind them of how elegant she looked.  At a non festive $195 I do think they are going overboard...

You can also buy many other items...

Even children retailers are getting involved.  I have to admit this is pretty sweet and my nearly two year old niece would probably love this... £15

Of course, you get the extremely stupid and then you get the 'okay that could look kinda cool'.  

These pumps are pretty cute and remind me of Vivienne Westwood's Prince Charming stuff.  You can get them on the day for £98

When I first saw this I thought, Vogue.com have you gone mad?  I then realised it said 'Kate' and 'Will' on it.  I think it's quite a nice idea to get the younger generation involved.  This comes in at £25 from Selfridges.  

And here are some humorous ones I saw...

£17; John Lewis

£29.95; www.notonthehighstreet.com

£30; Harvey Nichols (don't worry this includes afternoon tea too...)

Will you be buying into the wedding?  I think I'll just stick to my special Royal Wedding edition of Vogue, after all I'm only a student, not a princess.

Theres to be a Royal Wedding!

The news broke this morning that Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged to be married, something that has been long awaited by the British nation.  Although the news has brought a great amount of joy throughout the day, there has also been a lot of speculation as to what dress Kate will don on the day.


There are many options available for the bride-to-be, but with her fashion forward mind, there has been speculation to whether she will go for a Vivienne Westwood to a Stella McCartney garment.  Time will tell, and I wish a happy and successful marriage to both, even if I was supposed to marry him.