Friday, April 29, 2011
Royal Wedding: Pulling an All-Nighter for It
Well, it's 2:15 am and Royal Wedding coverage starts in 45 minutes on some channels. I'm camped out at my friend's house on her couch waiting for it to start; we decided to make an all-nighter of it. I'll try my best to update as I watch the ceremony.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Top 8 Ways the Royal Wedding is Breaking Tradition
8. The family baker isn't making the cake
For almost forty years, the royal family baker, Andrew Davidson, has made the cakes for the weddings of all of the Queen's four children. However, that tradition will stop with Prince William and Kate. It is still not known who is baking the cake, but there will be two of them. A traditional fruit cake will be served as well as a chocolate cookie cake as requested by Prince William.
7. Kate will arrive by car
Instead of the usual glass coach taking her to Westminster Abbey, Kate has opted to arrive by Rolls-Royce. This purple car was given to the Queen in 1977 and has more than $1.7 million worth of security that includes reinforced steel doors, toughened glass and it can continue driving even if it has a flat tire.
6. The couple will have a best man and a maid of honor
Traditionally, the groom doesn't have a best man, he has a "supporter" but Prince Harry will serve as the best man. The bride doesn't usually have a maid of honor, but Kate will have her sister Pippa filling that role. Also, the bridesmaids are usually teens or toddlers.
5. A smaller guest list
Since Prince William is second in line to the throne, the wedding isn't considered an official state occasion. This means the couple doesn't have to invite foreign heads of state. President Obama and the first lady were left off the guest list! Only 1,900 of Prince William and Kate's closest friends, family, charity workers, celebrities and ordinary citizens were invited. (I'm sure my invite just got lost in the mail!)
4. They won't have any servants after the wedding
Once the couple settles into their new home in all their wedded bliss, they won't have any servants except for a few body guards. They are trying to live as normal of a life as possible meaning no cooks, butlers or maids. They even plan to do their own grocery shopping! This is far from the 149 servants Prince Charles had.
3. No gifts, please
Prince Charles and Princess Dianna received more than 6,000 wedding presents, but in lieu of any presents you might want to send Prince William and Kate, they have asked that money you would have spent on gifts be sent to the Royal Wedding Charity Fund. The money raised will then be distributed to 26 different charities worldwide.
2. Get ready to serve yourself at the reception
Instead of an extravagant wedding reception, Prince William and Kate have chosen a buffet-style luncheon. Later that evening, Prince Charles is hosting a private dinner for 200-300 of their friends and family. Having two receptions is also another break in tradition.
1. Kate is a commoner
Whoever said you can't grow up to be a princess is wrong. Kate Middleton is a commoner. Her parents are a former pilot and stewardess who then opened a successful party supply company. This is the first time a non-aristocrat is marrying into the Royal Family, so there's still hope for all us girls crossing our fingers for Prince Harry! Also breaking tradition is the fact that she is college-educated, she and the Prince have lived together and her family is helping pay for the wedding.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Royal Wedding Week: Princess Diana's Dress
Even 30 years after the wedding, Princess Diana's wedding dress is one of the most famous dresses in the world. The dress is silk taffeta and lace with a fitted bodice and a curved neckline embellished with a ruffled collar and a bow in the center. The sleeves were large puff sleeves with ribbons on them. The dress really set the style for weddings in the 1980s. With the fullness of the skirt and the fitted bodice, the dress style became known as meringue. As soon as Princess Diana stepped out of the carriage, designers all over the world started making sketches to make a knock-off.
Princess Di's train is the longest train ever seen at a royal wedding, measuring in at 25 feet; however, it was detachable. Six different fabrics went into making the dress designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel including: 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of tulle crinoline and 150 yards of netting for her veil. The dress is an off-white ivory and features 10,000 pearls and sequins. Even with all of the material, the dress was very light weighing in at maybe two pounds. In following the something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue tradition, the lace was old, the silk was new, the tiara was borrowed from her family line and as for the blue, Princess Di had a horseshoe sewn inside the dress with a blue ribbon. When the dress was made and purchased in the 1980s, it combined with the bridesmaid dresses cost $1,700! Today, though, it's priceless.
While the dress technically belongs to Princes William and Harry, every summer it is displayed at the Spencer Family's Althorp Estate in England. During the year it travels the world as part of an exhibit to honor her life. The dress travels on a mannequin and even has its own security -- it takes half of a day to pack the dress correctly! I can't wait to see what Kate's dress looks like. Will it be as influential as Princess Di's? We'll find out Friday!
Princess Di's train is the longest train ever seen at a royal wedding, measuring in at 25 feet; however, it was detachable. Six different fabrics went into making the dress designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel including: 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of tulle crinoline and 150 yards of netting for her veil. The dress is an off-white ivory and features 10,000 pearls and sequins. Even with all of the material, the dress was very light weighing in at maybe two pounds. In following the something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue tradition, the lace was old, the silk was new, the tiara was borrowed from her family line and as for the blue, Princess Di had a horseshoe sewn inside the dress with a blue ribbon. When the dress was made and purchased in the 1980s, it combined with the bridesmaid dresses cost $1,700! Today, though, it's priceless.
While the dress technically belongs to Princes William and Harry, every summer it is displayed at the Spencer Family's Althorp Estate in England. During the year it travels the world as part of an exhibit to honor her life. The dress travels on a mannequin and even has its own security -- it takes half of a day to pack the dress correctly! I can't wait to see what Kate's dress looks like. Will it be as influential as Princess Di's? We'll find out Friday!
Sketch of the dress
The dress on display
Princess Di in the dress
Carefully unpacking the dress
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Royal Wedding Week
This week is all about the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton. I can't wait for Friday morning when we get to see Kate's wedding dress. I love Kate's fashion sense; she's gorgeous! I didn't realize that she was an assistant jewelry buyer for the British retailer Jigsaw.
Kate has a very classic, British-prep style. She is often seen in fitted blazers, riding boots, country tweed, discreet jewelry and, of course, her headpieces. Whatever Kate wears, she always looks extremely lady-like; even if it's clothes from her reported favorite store TK Maxx which is the British version of TJ Maxx. Being in the royal spotlight, Kate's clothes are always conservative, but figure-hugging. Since 2006, Kate has become quite the fashion icon for not only British women, but for American women as well. After announcing her engagement to Prince William in a blue silk ISSA dress, the dress sold out within hours and it wasn't long before all kinds of knock-offs were made and those too were sold out.
While you may envy Kate for becoming a real-life princess, now you don't have to envy her wardrobe. Here are some of her looks at a cheaper price.
Blue ISSA Engagement Dress
White Burberry Trench Coat
Kate has a very classic, British-prep style. She is often seen in fitted blazers, riding boots, country tweed, discreet jewelry and, of course, her headpieces. Whatever Kate wears, she always looks extremely lady-like; even if it's clothes from her reported favorite store TK Maxx which is the British version of TJ Maxx. Being in the royal spotlight, Kate's clothes are always conservative, but figure-hugging. Since 2006, Kate has become quite the fashion icon for not only British women, but for American women as well. After announcing her engagement to Prince William in a blue silk ISSA dress, the dress sold out within hours and it wasn't long before all kinds of knock-offs were made and those too were sold out.
While you may envy Kate for becoming a real-life princess, now you don't have to envy her wardrobe. Here are some of her looks at a cheaper price.
Blue ISSA Engagement Dress
$48 - urbanoutfitters.com
fashionista.com
Blend Tiered hem trench
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Time is Now Fashion Show
Last night I had the privilege of attending the Kent State Senior Fashion Show. I was able to see some of the dress rehearsal when I covered it for the news (you can go here and click on TV2 News 4-15-11 to watch, it's about 2 and a half minutes in.) but didn't have a ticket for the actual show until my friend Kelly, read all about her here, called me three hours before the show saying she had an extra.
After seeing the different collections, it is no surprise that Kent is ranked 3rd in the country and 13th in the world for fashion schools. Not only was I impressed by the designs, I was impressed by the professionalism of the student-run show.
Along with the 37 senior collections, there was a luxury cotton portion where designers created jackets as well as an individual submission portion with around 30 designs. While the senior collections were extraordinary, almost all of them were in the same color scheme. My friend's mom and I both caught on to this and thought it might have been part of the theme but it wasn't. We would have liked to see more differentiation of the colors. They were all neutrals. This really made the few collections with bright colors stand out even more. One of my favorite collections of the night was inspired by 1940s swimsuits and they were adorable! Another collection that stood out was maternity wear. It had bright colors and was extremely cute. The show closed with a collection of three wedding dresses that were stunning.
The judges for this year's competition were Leanne Marshall, 2008 winner of "Project Runway"; Jeff Mahshie, senior designer for Lord & Taylor; and Jeff Bergus, a designer for JCPenny and IZOD. Each of the judges selected their own favorite and then together they selected a best in show. This year, best in show went to Abigail Drake for her menswear collection. Even though he wasn't a judge, former "Project Runway" contestant and Kent State grad Suede was at the show.
I can't wait to see what the future has in store in store for these designers. I look forward to one day buying their clothes and being able to say I went to school with them.
After seeing the different collections, it is no surprise that Kent is ranked 3rd in the country and 13th in the world for fashion schools. Not only was I impressed by the designs, I was impressed by the professionalism of the student-run show.
Along with the 37 senior collections, there was a luxury cotton portion where designers created jackets as well as an individual submission portion with around 30 designs. While the senior collections were extraordinary, almost all of them were in the same color scheme. My friend's mom and I both caught on to this and thought it might have been part of the theme but it wasn't. We would have liked to see more differentiation of the colors. They were all neutrals. This really made the few collections with bright colors stand out even more. One of my favorite collections of the night was inspired by 1940s swimsuits and they were adorable! Another collection that stood out was maternity wear. It had bright colors and was extremely cute. The show closed with a collection of three wedding dresses that were stunning.
The judges for this year's competition were Leanne Marshall, 2008 winner of "Project Runway"; Jeff Mahshie, senior designer for Lord & Taylor; and Jeff Bergus, a designer for JCPenny and IZOD. Each of the judges selected their own favorite and then together they selected a best in show. This year, best in show went to Abigail Drake for her menswear collection. Even though he wasn't a judge, former "Project Runway" contestant and Kent State grad Suede was at the show.
I can't wait to see what the future has in store in store for these designers. I look forward to one day buying their clothes and being able to say I went to school with them.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
What did you learn today?
I love rediscovering old clothes from my wardrobe that I haven't thought of in a while. While I was home over spring break, I found some cute outfits I hadn't worn for quite some time. I hadn't been home for ten weeks and it was like I was seeing a new closet. That's when I found a shirt I had bought during high school and fell in love with it all over again.
I got this shirt from Wet Seal when I was mad at a boy. It's a Heather Grey, slouchy, off-the-shoulder top. It says "What did you learn today? Science, History, P.E., Math, English" all of which are crossed out and at the top of the list it says "Boys Suck". I laughed when I bought it and laughed again when I pulled it out of my closet. I used to wear a hot pink cami underneath it but decided since I was older, to try something a little different. This time all I wore under it was my hot pink sports bra and I loved it! It even got the 'Mom Seal of Approval'!
When the weather so rudely tricked us into thinking the warmth was here to stay after two days of 70+ degree weather earlier this week, I pulled this outfit out--giggling of course--and decided to wear it around campus.
I got this shirt from Wet Seal when I was mad at a boy. It's a Heather Grey, slouchy, off-the-shoulder top. It says "What did you learn today? Science, History, P.E., Math, English" all of which are crossed out and at the top of the list it says "Boys Suck". I laughed when I bought it and laughed again when I pulled it out of my closet. I used to wear a hot pink cami underneath it but decided since I was older, to try something a little different. This time all I wore under it was my hot pink sports bra and I loved it! It even got the 'Mom Seal of Approval'!
When the weather so rudely tricked us into thinking the warmth was here to stay after two days of 70+ degree weather earlier this week, I pulled this outfit out--giggling of course--and decided to wear it around campus.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Nude Pumps
One thing I have seen everywhere lately and I can't wait to get my hands on -- or should I say feet in -- is nude pumps. These shoes work for every season and match everything. They are super flattering because they elongate the leg and they also slenderize them.
When looking for the perfect pair of nude pumps, go for a color similar to your skin color but don't match it exactly.
I put together a few of my favorite nude pumps. I tried to keep them affordable, but I HAD to throw in a pair of Louboutins. A girl can dream, right?
When looking for the perfect pair of nude pumps, go for a color similar to your skin color but don't match it exactly.
I put together a few of my favorite nude pumps. I tried to keep them affordable, but I HAD to throw in a pair of Louboutins. A girl can dream, right?
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