A Graceful Nod to Royalty

The world stood still and took notice this morning when the long-awaited moment arrived...

Catherine Middleton took the first step out of her chauffeured vintage Rolls Royce Phantom and into fashion history, revealing her sumptuous yet timeless wedding dress.

According to Tim Gunn, "The dress in my view is beyond anyone's imagination. Kate could not look more princessly or queenly."

How apropos.

Ideal for her new role as the Duchess of Cambridge, the flawless and elegant ivory satin gazar and lace sleeved wedding gown by Sarah Burton of the late designer Alexandre McQueen fitted the poised and classy bride to perfection and was by all estimation exquisitely breathtaking.  

Many young girls while away their afternoons dreaming of their wedding day, envisioning each detail with careful precision. No element receives quite so much attention as the wedding dress, however. The choice of dress holds pride of place in her mind; it seems to encapsulate a sense of power, the ticket to a fantasy romantic fairy-tale ending that is so often the subject of little girl dreams.  For one middle-class "commoner", she seems to have gotten her wish.  On her father's arm, walking up the aisle flanked by such guests as David and Victoria Beckham, Elton John and the Prime Minister, Catherine met her Prince: "You look absolutely beautiful", he whispered.

And yet, the pleasant afternoons of imagination may have come to include a note of gravity as Catherine's wedding day approached. For Catherine, the dress was not only a delightful selection made while surrounded by family and friends, but a iconic symbol of royalty and a reflection of great cultural and even political significance.  As someone marrying into a royal family, she will be projecting an image and embodying a persona that is of no small importance. While the royal lineage has largely lost its political influence, nevertheless, there still remains a sense of prestige they possess; their opinion may effect how others perceive standards of beauty. In this case, I couldn't be more pleased.

Catherine has been the object of attention in recent months for her simple and chic fashion sense, and yet she is far from boring. On the contrary, she knows that in many cases, less is more, and brought her strong interest in fashion design to work closely with the designers in the crafting of her unique dress. Interwoven into the design, from the fabric choice, the silhouette, the careful hand-embroidery and French chantilly appliqued lace was a history of ideas and social significance.

Its... emphasis on 'best of British' materials, recalled Queen Victoria's decision in 1840 that her bridal gown should promote the nation's skills, while the classic and graceful lines could have been inspired by both the modernist Princess Margaret, who in 1960 also married in Westminster Abbey, and the more romantic style of Princess Grace, whose wedding had taken place four years earlier. The latter reference could be also be seen as a very sensitive and sympathetic homage to Diana, Princess of Wales, who had had an instant rapport with the former Hollywood film star and saw her as a style icon. -- Fashion Telegraph, UK

from nydailynews

Another "commoner" who married into royalty, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco went on to become a style icon for her timeless elegance. With her dress, Catherine gave a graceful nod to the past and a confident gesture to the future. This dress will likely influence the fashion industry for decades to come and future brides will have the delightful experience of ascending the altar to hear their prince say those words: "You look absolutely beautiful."

Canon in D-light

A thing of beauty is a joy forever:

                                                         Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep 

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep 

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing. 

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing 

A flowery band to bind us to the earth, 

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth 

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, 

Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkened ways 

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all, 

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall 

From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon, 

Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon 

For simple sheep; and such are daffodils 

With the green world they live in; and clear rills 

That for themselves a cooling covert make 

'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake, 

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms: 

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms 

We have imagined for the mighty dead; 

All lovely tales that we have heard or read: 

An endless fountain of immortal drink, 

Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink...

Nor do we merely feel these essences 

For one short hour; no, even as the trees 

That whisper round a temple become soon

Dear as the temple's self, so does the moon,

The passion poesy, glories infinite,

Haunt us till they become a cheering light

Unto our souls, and bound to us so fast

That, whether there be shine or gloom o'ercast,

They always must be with us, or we die...

Therefore, 'tis with full happiness that I 

Will trace the story of Endymion.

The very music of the name has gone

Into my being, and each pleasant scene

Is growing fresh before me as the green

Of our own valleys: so I will begin

Now while I cannot hear the city's din;

Now while the early budders are just new,

And run in mazes of the youngest hue

About old forests; while the willow trails

Its delicate amber; and the dairy pails

Bring home increase of milk. And, as the year

Grows lush in juicy stalks, I'll smoothly steer

My little boat, for many quiet hours,

With streams that deepen freshly into bowers...

Many and many a verse I hope to write, 

Before the daisies, vermeil rimmed and white,

Hide in deep herbage; and ere yet the bees

Hum about globes of clover and sweet peas,

I must be near the middle of my story.

O may no wintry season, bare and hoary,

See it half finished: but let Autumn bold,

With universal tinge of sober gold,

Be all about me when I make an end!

And now at once, adventuresome, I send

My herald thought into a wilderness:

There let its trumpet blow, and quickly dress

My uncertain path with green, that I may speed

Easily onward, thorough flowers and weed.

~John Keats 

These photos are the fruit of my delightful travels during the height of springtime 

accompanied by my trusty Canon.  

C'est marveilleux!