KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Royal wedding dresses have had a direct impact on the fashion industry for centuries.
Princess Margaret wore a non-traditional sleek dress made from silk organza when she married Lord Snowdon in 1960.
Photo courtesy Getty Images
It was the first royal wedding ever televised and millions of people watched. The sleek style and clean look were mimicked by brides globally in the years following the wedding.
In 1956, American actress Grace Kelly wore an unforgettable gown.
Photo courtesy NBC
Many authors say the elegant lace dress, which consisted of a bodice with an attached under-bodice and skirt support, had a major influence on women.
Princess Diana wore an ivory taffeta gown with sequins, frilled lace, and pearls. The heavy dress was the focal point of the 1981 royal wedding.
Photo courtesy NBC
The large sleeves became iconic and the detail was found on many bridal gowns in the following years.
The most recent royal wedding in 2011 is still impacting the bridal industry today.
Kate Middleton wore a lace gown with long sleeves. Designers and bridal store staff said they still have women coming in asking for gowns that look like Middleton’s.
"I saw a lot of inspiration from Kate Middleton's dress. As you recall, it was a long sleeve, lace gown with an A-line shape to it,” said Kate Nickols, owner of Kathryn Lee Bridal.
Nickols designs custom bridal gowns in Kansas City. She said as soon as Middleton walked out in her dress, her clients’ demands altered.
"So from that point on, I've been seeing a lot of long sleeves and a lot of lace,” said Nickols.
Bridal stores were also impacted by Middleton’s dress choice.
“Of course, after Kate's wedding, the long sleeve trend came in, so brides came in requesting a lot of those details and even years after,” said Andy Schank, manager of Belle Vogue Bridal.
"We have so many people that will come in and still show the Kate Middleton picture,” said Whitney Welsh, owner of Bridal Extraordinaire.
But soon, brides will likely be showing another picture — one of Meghan Markle in her wedding gown.
RELATED | How to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's ceremony
Right now, local shops are preparing for the trends that will come as a result of the royal wedding on May 19.
"I think that's the million-dollar question now -- so what is she going to wear?" said Schank.
Staff members at Belle Vogue are taking their best guess on what Markle will wear to the ceremony.
"Of course, we all have our personal trends of what we think she's going to wear, whether we think it's going to be clean, sleek, modern... which I think the majority of people tend to think. Or is she going to go a little more traditional with lace details kind of like what Kate wore when she got married?” said Schank.
The manager at Bridal Extraordinaire has started pulling her top designs on point with her own predictions.
"I would say with the royal family you know that there is going to be a conservative aspect to the gown,” said Welsh.
They’re also coming up with a game plan following the global event.
"After the wedding, I think what we're going to do is go through and take inventory of the gowns the designer already has in the collection and then turn around and pull gowns that maybe fit the look that she ends up going with,” said Schank.
Shop owners said some brides are waiting until after the royal wedding to nail down their look.
"It's happened before, so it's going to happen again. So, brides are going to come in wanting that very classic look and be represented and feel as beautiful as she was portrayed on the TV,” said Schank.
Of course, a dangerous part of the royal wedding dress trend is online scammers.
Welsh said a bride came into her shop last week after purchasing a dress online.
"Came in completely different than what she expected it to look like, so we ended up having to sell her a couple sample dresses just to get her a dress in time for the wedding,” said Welsh.
She said brides hoping to mimic Markle’s look need to be aware that if a dress seems too good to be true, it probably is.
"So you just have to be careful on that. You're kind of worrying about your quality of your dress, and you could get something completely different than what you are ordering online,” said Welsh.
---
