Monday, May 23, 2011

Fascinating!


All I can say is that I've had this all planned...all along...really!

It's funny because I keep up with all my current celeb gossip because of my free lifetime subscription to People magazine. I do look forward to getting it in the mail to catch up on all that frivolous fun stuff that I don't pay much attention to other than that. Hard to believe that I used to not only read People, but at work had subscriptions to US Weekly, had stapled gossip packets that included stuff from the NY Post, Page Six, The Daily News, etc. And I used to watch shows like Entertainment Tonight and Extra! I don't know the last time I watched either of those programs. At my house, it seems to always to be tuned to ESPN Sports Center.

Art imitates life. Or in this case it may seem like life imitates art.

Being a woman in her 40s, I've been searching for a "wedding dress" that is not sleeveless and definitely not strapless. Let's just say it's close to impossible to find any evening dress that is not sleeveless and/or strapless, let alone something to wear to one's own wedding! It's amazing how many brides choose strapless. I've never quite understood the fascination as it doesn't look particularly great on anyone and the dresses are usually less interesting in my opinion.

When Ivanka Trump got married, I loved that her dress had sleeves. I loved the ever-so-slight high neck collar line. I loved the lace and illusion netting, which normally I am not a fan of at all. But this dress was so refreshing, classic and elegant. And yes, many compared her Vera Wang wedding dress to that of a certain Princess.

And then there's another Princess who also adopted her wedding look to that of Grace Kelly. It may be "attributed" to Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, but let's face it, there's nothing the House of Alexander McQueen about it whatsoever. Lots of people thought it was a big snooze-fest. To me, it was just an updated Grace Kelly dress and I liked it. But not as much as Ivanka Trump's dress.

Now, of course, everyone and their mother is churning out sleeved wedding dresses. While I can say I'm happy that perhaps this will create a new trend to offering some pretty sleeved versions, I'm not happy that it will seem like I'm copying a trend by wearing a sleeved wedding dress! I swear I was interested in this silhouette before Kate got married!

And then let's talk about veils. While Kate wore a traditional veil, it was the ubiquity of fascinators at the royal nuptials that really made heads turn...and headlines. Again, bucking tradition I had already decided to skip a veil and instead have some sort of headpiece with netting referred to as a "birdcage" veil. No, not like something that Beatrice wore on her head!
We are talking about something simpler, romantic, chic. Something close to this headpiece from etsy. Thank goodness for the internet. I thought I would have to have something made but lo and behold I think I found the perfect veil for my wedding day and I didn't have to leave my house! All these years, I had no idea that what I wanted was called a fascinator. Seriously, having been an accessories editor for so many years you'd think I know what it was called! (But to be fair, it hadn't really been a U.S. or celeb trend in the years I was an editor...)
Lastly, I decided to have no bridesmaids because let's face it, pretty much all my friends who I was a bridesmaid for are now married with children. Being a bridesmaid is fun in your 20s. In your 30s, it's a bit tired. But in your 40s? Forget it. Who in their right mind wants to subject your close friends to wearing matching dresses, or dresses in matching colors? I decided to ask my closest friends who have daughters to have them be flower girls instead. That way they can be a part of the wedding too by having their daughters be a part of the ceremony. Win-win situation. Little girl is thrilled to wear a dress; mom is happy to sit out and watch from the comfort of her chair, and more importantly, in a dress of her choice!

Apparently Reese Witherspoon also had the same idea. Damn, you celebs stealing all my ideas! And Reese also did long farm tables and simple flowers in short vases. I'm starting to think I might have....trend-making ideas. Fascinating!


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