Random Tidbits: Another Diana Dress Auction

Since we had our weekly wedding chat on Monday, we have a little something different to chat about today: Diana.

In 1997, not long before her death, the Princess of Wales auctioned a selection of her dresses for charity. The dresses have lived on, sometimes appearing on exhibit, and sometimes coming up for auction again. That's the case right now, as some of Diana's dresses bought by a now-bankrupt American businesswoman and socialite will be auctioned this month. This group of dresses is a good representation of Diana's style through the years, as rendered by her favorite designers. Many have a single famous outing, but most were worn multiple times.

A black velvet Bruce Oldfield and two deep red velvet Catherine Walker numbers - one extra famous for being the time Diana attempted a string of pearls down the back and then discovered it was a horribly uncomfortable look when one has to sit through a film premiere. The burgundy tailcoat number in the center above was inspired by a dress from imperial Russia, and was originally meant to have an ivory dress underneath. It was Diana's idea to have it all in burgundy.

White chiffon from Zandra Rhodes and two embellished pink gowns from Catherine Walker, one of which reminds me just how good a bolero jacket can look. The asymmetrical number was commissioned for an official visit to Brazil just after they lost the World Cup to Argentina, and so the design instructions included avoiding the colors of Brazil's team (green, yellow, blue), and most of all to avoid Argentina's colors (blue and white).

Sparkle ahoy! These are both from Catherine Walker. The black one was also famously captured by Mario Testino, and is what Walker termed the first "sexy" dress she made for the Princess, commissioned for an event at Versailles in 1994. It's the best representation of Diana's later style in this group of gowns.

And finally - this imidnight blue Victor Edelstein is the auction headliner, and was the high dollar winner back in 1997 too. Twirling with John Travolta at the White House was an iconic princess moment indeed (and I object to 95% of the uses of "iconic").

The auction is to be held on March 19; more info and the auction catalog is available by clicking here for the auction's site.

Is your favorite Diana gown here?

(Mine's not.)

Photos: Getty Images/Regan Library

Readers' Top 10 Wedding Gowns: #2. Princess Grace of Monaco

Movie stars wear costumes, even when they marry princes. Grace Kelly was under contract with MGM when she met and became engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco, and MGM’s designers provided wedding gowns for their stars as part of their publicity machine. And so Grace headed to Monaco for her April 19, 1956 wedding with a costume from MGM’s Helen Rose in tow, the dress that would turn her from movie star into a princess.

Actually, it’s not a dress at all, at least not in the way we typically define the garment type. It’s actually multiple separate pieces which come together for a dress effect. The first piece is the bodice, created from rose point lace with small buttons down the front. This piece also includes the first layer required to structurally support the skirt’s distinctive bell shape.

The next piece, separate from the top, is the bottom: the skirt and its three levels of attached petticoats (talk about engineering – this bell shape is no joke). The skirt is made of taffeta, and the layers underneath are Valenciennes lace. Separately, a lace train insert is added to the back of the skirt which creates a modest length train. The insert is rose point lace just like the bodice. Another piece is the pleated taffeta cummerbund, added to create a transition between the top and skirt while emphasizing the bride's waist and the shape at the top of the skirt. Finally, the intricately adorned Juliet cap and veil (finished in more rose point lace) were added on finish it off.

Helen Rose knew her audience, as any good costume designer should. The dress was designed to play well on camera, of course, since photographs and film of the wedding would be spread around the world. But she didn’t forsake the audience in attendance at the wedding either; the lace insert was added to give some interest to the back of the gown for the guests with a mostly back view of the bride. And the whole effect is perhaps overly modest and covered, even with a matching prayer book to carry – just the thing to convert someone from Hollywood to Proper Princess.

She hit her mark astonishingly well. Every individual piece of this dress has become a Grace trademark, from the lace top to the cummerbund to the bell skirt, and countless gowns have been compared to Grace’s no matter how sketchy the connection (see: our discussion on the Duchess of Cambridge’s gown). I’m terribly picky about the use of the word “iconic”, which is thrown around far too often these days, but I would indeed say this is iconic. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that it grabbed only the #2 spot on your countdown. (It was #2 on my countdown too, mostly because I like a dose of the unexpected. Perhaps you do too.)

What puts this gown in the Top 10 for you? 

Photos: Corbis/Rex

Flashback Friday: A Few of Diana's Sapphires

The end of this month marks the 15th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. And since you know I like to do my commemorating in frivolous fashion, I thought a look at the late princess' signature stone was in order. Sapphires and Diana are inseparable in my mind - not only did she have a magnificent collection of them, she had the eyes to bring them out. These are just a few of my favorites from her sapphire stash.

Obviously, we must being with The Ring.

Diana's engagement ring was not a bespoke piece, oddly enough for a royal engagement ring, but rather available from the Garrard catalog to anyone (anyone that could afford it, of course). With its enormous sapphire and surrounding diamonds, it's far from a unique design but yet it's instantly recognizable. Prince William chose to give Kate Middleton his mother's trademark ring to mark their engagement in 2010.

Diana's wedding yielded one of her most impressive sets of jewels, a sapphire suite from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. The Asprey set included a massive sapphire pendant in a diamond sunray frame suspended from a diamond necklace, a watch with a sapphire and diamond band, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a ring. Diana eventually had the watch and the ring reset into new jewels, including another pair of earrings and a choker she famously used as a headband.

She had other pairs of sapphire and diamond earrings in addition to those from the Saudi set. It's been reported that the Duchess of Cambridge's sapphire and diamond earrings are a modified pair from Diana's collection.

The choker seen above is yet another piece out of Diana's sapphire collection, but none will ever quite hold a candle to The Choker to End All Chokers, if you ask me.

Bliss. This egg of a sapphire surrounded by diamonds was a brooch given to Diana by the Queen Mother as a wedding present. Though she wore it a couple times as a proper brooch, she soon performed some jewelry magic and stuck it in the center of seven strands of pearls. Of all Diana's jewels - even the tiaras - I honestly think this is the piece I'd most like to see in use again today. Et toi? What are you hoping to see again?

Photos: Getty Images/Tim Graham/Suzy Menkes/Corbis

Flashback Friday: Extreme Dress Makeovers

Way back in January, Crown Princess Mary turned up at the annual New Year's Courts in two old dresses recut, restyled, and repurposed.

In red in 2007 and 2012; in blue in 2006 and 2012

Mary's craftiness naturally started me thinking about other royals that have sent their clothes in for some sartorial surgery - it doesn't take a royal fashion encyclopedia to guess that Mary's far from the first to try it. In fact, this isn't even the first time Mary's tried this thrifty strategy for a new look.

In blue lace in 2004 and 2009; draped in 2010 and 2011

Fancy (and pricey) blue lace from an early gown was recut into a new shape for a trip to Vietnam in 2009, and just last year in Australia she debuted a remake of the Jesper Høvring gown she wore to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's wedding. Like many, I wondered at the time of the wedding if the original lace of the gown wasn't just a temporary solution to cover her shoulders for the church - after all, it did seem a bit of an odd match. But the extra over the shoulder touch in the finished product was a wonderful surprise outcome.

If Mary has the redesign flair, it's easy to trace it back to a possible source: none other than her mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe. Not at all surprising from such a creative mind, right?

In pink at Frederik and Mary's wedding in 2004 and the New Year's Court 2012; in the original blue and the end dress on display

Queen Margrethe's wonderful ensemble for Mary and Frederik's wedding lives on, though not in exactly the same amount of wonderfulness as the fuchsia coat has been recut into a regular frock. And one of the dresses included in the jubilee exhibit of her gala gowns has been redone several times: first made by Eric Mortensen for Balmain in 1990, Margrethe later had her trusty couturier Jørgen Bender alter the neckline and sleeves twice before adding on the dramatic lace overlay.

In 2004, 2005, and 2009

Another example we've seen before comes from Spain and the always budget conscious Princess Letizia. Her pre-wedding dinner dress came from Spanish royal favorite Lorenzo Caprile, and Caprile was called upon to change it up for a state visit the year after the wedding. But at some point, Letizia went totally off of Caprile and switched to Felipe Varela for reasons unknown. The third alteration of the dress, in 2009, was not Caprile's work...a fact which I think is quite evident. Important note about dress redos: quit while you're ahead.

In 2006 and 2011

Stepping out of the gown realm for a quick second, Kate Middleton made a thrifty pre-wedding splash by chopping some serious inches off of an old Katherine Hooker coat. It would not surprise me at all if she ends up with quite a string of clever reworks to her name as her royal years add up.

In 1989 and 1992

Perhaps she'll one day take a page out of Diana's book and cut any whiff of outdated flair right out of a look. The full skirt on this Catherine Walker gown gave way to a much sleeker sheath dress, all while keeping the intricate top.

In 1984 and 2001

Last but not least, look at this: even the Queen of Thrifty Royals, Princess Anne, isn't opposed to hacking up a 1980s monstrosity. Which leaves me with but one question...why doesn't she do it more often?!

These are by no means the only examples out there of royal dress makeovers, so let me ask you this:

What's your favorite dress redo?

And for bonus points:

Which current royal dress would you like to see go under the scissors?

Photos: Daylife/Mirror/Scanpix/PPE/Colourpress

Flashback Friday: The Fabulous Princess Margaret

In her life, Princess Margaret knew every kind of fabulous, from that which captivates the world around you to that which turns the tide against you and ultimately drowns you. I've always had a great affection for the late princess (then again, I've always had a high tolerance for fabulousness).  But she's unpopular in many eyes - it's far easier to take shots at her than to try and understand this complex woman who was perpetually caught somewhere between the trappings and expectations of old school royalty and the world of modern royal celebrity.

Princess Margaret Rose was born in 1930, the younger daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York who were destined by the twist of fate that was King Edward VIII's abdication to become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. As the younger sister of the steadfast future queen, Princess Elizabeth, Margaret was bound to be saddled with the stereotypical opposite characterization. As it happened, she was particularly well suited for it. Elizabeth was careful; Margaret came prepared to charm her way out of any punishment that might dare come her way. Elizabeth was dutiful, but Margaret was vivacious, and this naturally caught the attention of the British public. Her style in particular was trendsetting right from the beginning. She loved fashion and cared about the image she presented to the world, and girls watched and copied. She's even credited with helping usher Dior's full-skirted New Look into Britain.

But it wasn't just her style that people were eating up - it was her whole life, including her loves. And on that front, Margaret delivered years worth of gossip. Devastated by her father's early death, Margaret sought comfort in his former equerry, Group Captain Peter Townsend. Townsend proposed marriage, but he was divorced. The country watched and waited as she decided if she would accept his proposal; both the government and the church were adamantly against a marriage. Finally, a statement was issued: Margaret had chosen duty over love.

L to R: Margaret and Townsend, Margaret around the time she announced their relationship was over, and Margaret and Armstrong-Jones engaged and married

Public fascination with Margaret grew with this new tragic angle. Her life grew ever more fabulous - she partied and smoked and drank unabashedly. She was a reckless young royal just like we have today, complete with paparazzi problems (Italian snappers caught the princess in - gasp! - a two-piece bathing suit, absolutely unthinkable for a royal). She surprised the lot with her engagement to photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960 - announced not long after Townsend announced his own engagement to a Belgian girl - and their marriage in Westminster Abbey kicked off a new decade fabulousness for Margaret.

With Armstrong-Jones (soon to become the Earl of Snowdon) by her side, Margaret was a 1960s idol. The creative couple had fancy friends and fit right in with celebrity culture. As ever, her mixing of trends and princess traditions made her a style icon.

But what goes up must come down, and Margaret began to experience backlash from her fabulous heyday. A new crop of young royals popped up with a new round of exploits, and Margaret's antics began to be seen in a particularly frivolous light. Her marriage collapsed around her, ending in a bitter split and divorce in 1978. She appeared to be carrying on with a man 17 years her junior, Roddy Llewellyn. Her frequent vacations to her home in Mustique began to be seen as intolerable excess, particularly when compared with her sister's sensible Balmoral holidays. She dropped from one of the most popular royals in the family to one of the least.

Descriptions of Margaret range from friends that recall her humor and her loyalty to those that found her rude and detached. To me, it has always seemed that her main issue was being caught between two royal worlds - that of the old school, wherein you're always above all others, and the new, down-to-earth, school.

Many that met her said she was intelligent and intellectually curious and some have posited that were she allowed to go to actual school, rather than being taught at home by a governess who focuses on manners first, and university (as the new school of royalty would encourage) she might have found fulfillment. But her mother (old school) didn't see the point. And so she ended up bored, I think, with the royal rota. And she didn't necessarily mask that boredom. And she also had a sharp tongue, a combo which marked her as the Rude Princess.

For all her partying and scandals - definitely a mark of the new royal world - she clung to the some of the formality of the royal world of her youth, insisting even friends call her Ma'am, which seemed hopelessly out of touch in her last decades. She also, it seems, clung to the idea that she was above others and beyond reproach. It's a notion that makes it easy to drudge up hypocritical examples from the Margaret archives, like the time she wrote a scathing letter reprimanding the Duchess of York for daring to send her flowers when she hadn't even apologized for the scandal her behavior and her divorce had brought on the family. Rich indeed, coming from a woman whose love life had provided headline gold for decades.

In the end, all that fabulousness turned right around and swallowed her whole. The years of hard partying, drinking and smoking did exactly what it does, and she spent the last part of her life struggling with health issues. Princess Margaret died on February 9, 2002, after the last of a series of devastating strokes. Her last public appearances bore almost no resemblance to her stylish, elegant, and stunningly beautiful youth, a fact which makes it ever more appropriate to honor her by remembering when she was at her most fabulous.

Flashback Friday: The Ghosts of Maternity Fashion Past

Crown Princess Victoria's apparent struggles with maternity fashion (struggles to us that care about clothes and the like, mind you, maybe not struggles to her) have given birth to a bunch of requests for a look back at pregnancy fashion from years past. How did the previous generation(s) do it? Some of you think it was better back then, and would love for our pregnant princesses of today to take a page from this book. I'm not so sure that's the way to go myself, but I shall present the evidence and let you be the judge:

Queen Elizabeth

One thing is true: when you get far enough back in time, maternity fashion just wasn't an issue. Often, pregnant royal ladies virtually disappeared from public life. Perhaps a vaguely worded statement about reducing royal duties might be issued, and then the next thing you knew, there was an announcement about a joyous birth and maybe a nicely posed picture with the new babe. This is the case for Queen Elizabeth, who had her first two children before becoming queen and her last two some years after. I still find it strange to see pictures of her pregnant.

Princess Grace

There more pictures available of Princess Grace pregnant, in which you can see that the maternity fashion of the time was really not "maternity fashion" - just certain pieces made a little bigger. Nothing to write home about, and not anything I can say would be well-recommended today.

Left to Right: Queen Beatrix (2 pictures), Queen Anne-Marie (1), Queen Margrethe (3)

Now, in my opinion, by the time we get to the late 1960s and the early 1970s, we really get rolling. But then, that's probably my opinion on a lot of the fashion at that time - not just maternity. Perhaps the styles of the day just lent themselves particularly well to the maternity spectrum.

L to R: Queen Sonja (3), Queen Silvia (3)

Also, by this time pregnancy had ceased to be a reason to hole yourself up for months on end. Every time I see that picture of Sonja in the yellow, with her giant tiara, I suspect she might be longing for those hidden days of yore. Poor love.

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana is the one that I see a lot of you specifically pointing to as a great maternity wear example. I...don't know that I agree. On the color spectrum, sure. It's just become clear that I don't have the same perspective on the fashions of the 1980s as some of you do. I'm not sure I'd recommend a whole return to that.

Sarah, Duchess of York

It's a slippery slope, is all I'm saying.

Any tips here you wish pregnant ladies would carry on today?

 Photos: The Illustrated London News/Corbis/The Royal Forums/Polfoto/ANP/Svenskdam

Flashback Friday: National Day, the Princess Grace Way

It's time for National Day in Monaco, and for the first time in 30 years there will be a Princess of Monaco by the sovereign's side. Charlene made her first official appearance at National Day while engaged last year, and she certainly made a splash. It seems appropriate now to take a look back at what Charlene's predecessor, that epitome of elegance Princess Grace, brought to the occasion and what Charlene might be able to bring back. Because trust me here, friends, the sartorial side of National Day has changed in the years that Princesses Caroline and Stephanie have been in charge.

1950s

Obviously any return to the ladylike days of yore is always welcome; in that respect, Charlene did quite well last year. Maybe we could live without the return of the snowball hat, though.

1960s

What I'd really like to see a return of is color. In the past couple of years, Caroline and Stephanie have stuck with black and gray - a mourning palette. So much so that people docked Charlene last year for the exuberance of her beige outfit...and you know something's wrong when beige and exuberance end up in the same sentence. But color isn't foreign to National Day if you look at years past, not even when it comes to Caroline and Stephanie themselves. So let's have it!


1970s and 1980s

Maybe not have it in the form of electric blue feathers smushed atop the head...though that would be entertaining. Yes, it definitely takes the panache of Grace to pull that one off (ditto for anything in the realm where "striped" and "fur" cross paths).


Gala appearances at the Opera

You already know which Grace trend I most want Charlene to bring back, don't you? Tiaras for the evening gala! Grace made it the fanciest night of the year in Monaco every year (here using mostly her Small Diamond Tiara, though the one with the blue wrap is one of her unknown tiaras), while Caroline has gradually taken the formality down a notch, never wearing a tiara and even in the past couple years going without her Order of St. Charles sash.

But while we wait to see if Charlene will do it her own way or do it her sister-in-law's way, at least we have Grace. I may hope that Charlene will bring back a bit of Grace's sense of occasion - that's a movie star for you, always knowing how to make things memorable  - but there's a lot here she couldn't, shouldn't even, bring back. There's only one Grace, after all. My hope? Charlene will do it her own way...just so long as that way happens to include a tiara.

Do you have a favorite Grace moment from National Day?

and

What do you hope Charlene will bring to the occasion?

Photos: The Royal Forums/Corbis/Rue des Archives/Scanpix/Hola/Getty Images

Flashback Friday: Charles and Diana's Wedding Guests

Today marks 30 years since the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. I've already had my say on Diana's infamous wedding gown. Instead, let's mark the occasion with some glorious 1980s fashions from a selection of their royal guests!

Princess Anne debuted the yellow-flowered wonder - topped with a steaming vat of boiling nacho cheese, by the looks of it - that she would repeat 27 years later to win her a place on my list of the Top 10 Worst Dressed Royal Wedding Guests. Princess Margaret appears to have some sort of one-shouldered cape in place, which must have been nothing but pure fun to wear. The Queen's in blue, but the real story of course is the magnificent and ultra-sparkly Williamson brooch on her shoulder. (Drool.)

Continuing the drooling, the best of the royals for the day simply must be the Queen Mother, and not just because of that hunk of diamonds on her shoulder.

It's like a mint green ostrich ran straight into her, full speed, and spontaneously combusted. Amazing.

Plenty of other royals were in attendance for the big day. Anybody up for a rousing game of Pin the Tail on the HRH?

Sadly, not that many good photos of the foreign royals are still around today (if they even existed in the first place). Most royal families were in attendance with the biggest exception being Spain, who objected to Charles and Diana boarding the royal yacht at Gibraltar for their honeymoon.

If you squint real hard, you'll see:

1. Queen Fabiola of the Belgians, awfully elegant in her print.
2. Crown Princess Sonja of Norway (now Queen), overdosing on her print.
3. Queen Silvia of Sweden, sticking out of the crowd in lime green.
4. Queen Margrethe of Denmark, completely tasteful in baby blue.
5. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, partially in hiding but looking terribly typical.
6. Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg, another elegant lady in blue.
7. Princess Grace of Monaco, rather chic in her giant hat.
8. Princess Georgina of Liechtenstein, utterly appropriate for an English floral wedding.

Just in case you're feeling nostalgic, the entire wedding can be viewed on the internets. You didn't have anything better to do with your Friday, did you? Here's Part 1:

Photos: Corbis

Flashback Friday: The Elvis Gown

Today would have been Diana, Princess of Wales' 50th birthday. (Doesn't seem possible, does it?) I thought one of the best ways to pay tribute to this true style icon would be to remember her finest moments. So today, I'm talking about my favorite Diana look of all time: the Elvis gown.

The nickname, used by the Princess herself, is the stuff of pure cheese - a nod to Elvis and his sequin jumpsuits, long past his prime - but the look is pure regal elegance.

The strapless white silk gown is entirely covered with oyster pearls and sequins, as is the matching bolero jacket with popped collar and cropped sleeves. Catherine Walker was commissioned to make this ensemble for the Wales' 1989 trip to Hong Kong, but it ended up making its debut at the British Fashion Awards before departure. The original destination, though, served as the inspiration for the design: Walker later said that pearls had seemed appropriate for a visit to Asia. The gown's embroidery was completed by S. Lock Ltd.

As one of the gowns Diana chose to auction off for charity in 1997, the Elvis dress raised £81,203 (about $130,000 today). It was the second most expensive gown at the auction, bested only by the midnight blue Victor Edelstein gown that Diana wore while twirling with John Travolta at the White House.

The gown was originally purchased by the owners of souvenir company The Franklin Mint, who then proceeded to sell a Diana doll wearing a replica of the gown. The doll spurned an intense legal battle with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund over use of Diana's image. After the lawsuit was settled, the gown was donated to London's Victoria & Albert Museum, which still holds it today.

See the elegance in action in Hong Kong:

This has always epitomized princess style to me. It's fashionable, it makes an impression, but it does so while being demure and understated. Perfection!

Tell me: what is your all-time favorite Diana look?

Wedding Wednesday: Civil Wedding Dresses

You know, I wouldn't mind being a bride in one of those countries that requires a civil ceremony in addition to a religious one. Why? Two wedding dresses. (Did you even have to ask?)

In advance of Charlene Wittstock's upcoming two wedding dress affair, we're taking a look back at the other brides that have done the same: a separate wedding dress for a separate civil wedding. (Note: I'm excluding those that had the civil wedding in their religious wedding outfit, and those that had only a civil wedding.)

Left to Right: Sibilla Weiller weds Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg; Tessy Antony weds Prince Louis of Luxembourg

We'll kick things off with a few of the lovely ladies of Luxembourg that meet our requirements. Sibilla took an unexpectedly casual turn in 1994, while Tessy and Louis looked like a couple of 12-year-olds in 2006. I mean, they were a couple of 12-year-olds, basically (they were married at the age of 20 after becoming parents earlier that year), but those shoes on Tessy aren't helping. The rest of it is lovely, though!

L to R: Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz weds Prince Michael of Kent; Camilla Parker Bowles weds the Prince of Wales

The Brits don't usually do the civil wedding thing, but there are a few exceptions to the rule. Prince and Princess Michael had a civil wedding first in Austria, and a religious wedding a few years later. Camilla and Charles married at the Windsor Guildhall before heading for a religious blessing, which is enough cause for me to post another picture of her amazing wedding ensemble. Another Windsor with a double wedding under his belt is Lord Nicholas Windsor, who married Paola Doimi de Frankopan in London with a religious ceremony following in the Vatican. (Lord Nicholas, of course, is one of the Kent members of the family that has converted to Catholicism.)

Participants in our most recent religious royal wedding, Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Alexander Johannsmann, were civilly married last year with Nathalie pregnant with their first child. (Many many thanks to reader Caroline for sending this one in!) Nathalie wore the same pink outfit she wore earlier in the year to her aunt Queen Margrethe's birthday celebrations: elegant and classy maternity wear!

L to R: Grace Kelly weds Prince Rainier of Monaco, and a close up of her wedding outfit; Princess Caroline of Monaco weds Philippe Junot

Nobody does ladylike better than Grace, and this is pink perfection. Her daughter Caroline tried to recreate the demure magic later on, but the infiltration of the 1970s styles didn't result in quite as timeless a result. Tremendously unflattering hat there.

L to R: Marilène van den Broek weds Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau; Annette Sekrève weds Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau; Anita van Eijk weds Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau; Aimee Söhngen weds Prince Floris of Orange Nassau; Laurentien Brinkhorst weds Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands

If you want something done with some flair, get yourself a Dutch princess, I always say! Though some of our Dutch friends opted to have their civil ceremonies on the same day as their religious ones and in the same dress (Máxima and Mabel, for example), those that separated the two made up for the overly white nature of their religious gowns with waves of color. From Jackie O. imitations to hats that float about as if unattached to the head, no one holds a candle to dear Princess Anita. WOW. That is some...outfit. Sea life in coat form, with coral reef embellishments. And matching yellow print shoes. That's one way to keep the attention on the bride without the big white gown!

Who did civil wedding the best?

Photos: Corbis/Wort/ANP