Tea at Trianon: Grace Kelly’s Wedding Dress

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Grace Kelly’s Wedding Dress

From Fame10:

The material used to craft the dress was a delicate rose point Brussels lace. The gown featured sheer long sleeves made entirely of the lace and an elegant high neckline. The most shocking part, however, is that the antique lace was over 125 years old and still looked impeccable. Additionally, the full skirt was made of silk and the bride also switched between three different petticoats throughout the evening to change up her look.

Not only was the antique Brussels lace over 125 years old, but it was also carefully stitched together with intense detail. The seamstresses re-embroidered the lace on the bodice to ensure there were no visible seams. They also added hundreds of seed pearls throughout to further hide any stitching and to make the look even more embellished and detailed. (Read more.)