- In the dress: 50 meters of off white silk duchess, 80 meters of silk organza, and 2,500 hours of work.
- In the embroidery down the front, the skirt, and the center of the train: 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 mother of pearl teardrops, 30,000 gold stones all in a floral pattern with platinum-coated thread completed in 700 hours.
- In the veil: 20 meters of off white silk tulle, plus more embroidery.
The larger train extended from the back of the crossed shoulder detail and was removable, while the slim skirt had a smaller train of its own underneath. Charlene is all too often compared to the blonde mother-in-law she never met, Princess Grace, and her gown seemed carefully designed to avoid further comparisons to one of the most famous gowns in royal wedding history.
Her hair was pulled back and ornamented with en tremblant diamond floral pieces dating from the 19th century which belonged to Albert’s grandmother Princess Charlotte and were borrowed from Princess Caroline for the occasion. Despite the fact that I am 100% on Team Tiara when it comes to royal weddings, this is one of my all time favorite royal wedding hairstyles – it’s delicate and perfect, and she looked lovely.
Directly after the wedding, there were some divided opinions on the dress. But apparently a year has calmed quibbles with dart placement on the front and the slightly odd double train arrangement and the loveliness won out, claiming the gown the #8 spot on your royal wedding dress countdown. (As a side note, I’d really like to ask Charlene herself what she thinks of her gown, since it’s so curious to me that she’s basically broken up with Armani entirely since the wedding, but I digress.)
What puts this gown in the Top 10 for you?
Click here to read my original post on Charlene's gown.
Photos: Getty Images/AOP/Vogue