Thursday 9 April 2015

Camilla's wedding dresses

Before her big day she wasn't known for her fashion choices. So the decision of how to dress as a bride was a hard one for Camilla Parker Bowles. She was famously a second time bride whose wedding had been controversial to say the least. There's perhaps never been as much pressure on a royal wife in waiting to pull a stunning wedding ensemble out of the bag. And even her harshest critics would admit that on the day she became a royal, Camilla managed it.


And the bride wore blue and gold...Camilla of Cornwall on April 9th 2005

The first sight of the lady known to history until then as Mrs Parker Bowles came early in the day as she stood outside the Guildhall in Windsor following the civil ceremony that had turned her into HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla wore a cream coloured dress and coat by Robinson Valentine with a wide brimmed hat from Philip Treacy and LK Bennett shoes.


But was it white or cream?  It was bright and set against the darker stone of the buildings behind her it had more of a hint of ivory than cream. But it was elegant and won fans almost as soon as Camilla stepped ou of the car. It was discreet, elegant and set the bar high for the blessing which was to follow.

 
The new duchess arrived at St George's Chapel at Windsor for a blessing of her marriage to the Prince of Wales in a blue Valentine Robinson coat covered in gold embroidery over a matching chiffon dress. It was striking, formal without being overly bridal and matched the setting to perfection. Camilla, the royal bride, could relax.

 

The headwear for the blessing had been a trickier one. In the end, Camilla settled for a spray of gold feathers which gave the impression of a royal tiara without actually being one. It divided opinion as did her flowers, a small posy of spring like blooms which seemed almost too small just as the headdress seemed too big.

 
The wedding outfits of the Duchess of Cornwall were her first big royal fashion test and they helped change her image to a certain degree, starting her new life as a duchess in a striking, elegant and timeless way - a style which has continued throughout the past ten years. As Camilla enters her second decade as a royal, those outfits still stand out as the ones that defined the style of a duchess.

 

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