The Lace Legacy

Sunday Styles:
Fashion trend #2

The Legacy of Lace

Princess Katherine's lace Alexander McQueen

This trend really isn't a trend.  Lace has been around, especially for royals, since the 19th century.  The intricate details and workmanship of handmade lace created a fabric that only the elite could afford.  Hence, the reason lace is so often a staple of a royal wedding gown. (and what you're paying for when you fall in love with the quality of a Jim Hjelm, Monique Lhuillier, or other high end designer)  From Queen Elizabeth, to Grace Kelly, to Kate, lace has been around for a long time in the wedding world.  Check out this Pinterest page for a really cool history of gowns!

So if it's been around for so long what did Kate's dress do to bring it back so big?  While lace has always been around it had become an accessory to the silhouette of wedding gown. Being featured as trim, accents, appliques, and in veils and trains.  As we mentioned in an earlier post, 3/4 of wedding dresses are strapless.  The lace sleeves of Kate's Alexander McQueen gown combined the perfect amount of demure and dramatic. This was the start of an off-shoot trend of lace and illusion sleeved gowns that became popular this year.
After the royal wedding, we saw an influx of long, 3/4, cap and short sleeve gowns.  The bolero even returned as way to create the look on a small scale.

Pronovias

Pronovias

Jim Hjelm

It wasn't just the sleeves on Kate's dress that were important.  The sleeves were just the window to reminding us how lace can be as sexy as it is sweet.  The beauty of lace is that it covers just as much as it reveals.  This is what brought lace back in big way.  Lace re-entered the scene as an overlay to all styles of gowns.  When combined with sexy silhouettes like mermaid, sheath and trumpet styles you get a va-va-voom vintage look.  You have to love Allure Bridals for making this available and affordable to us all!

Like in all the years past, lace will stick around in bridal gowns.  The question is how will it appear in 2013?  So will you be layered in lace, or will it be a sexy subtle accent to your gown?   See you on Christmas Day!

TTFN
Rachel