Dress inspo from the royal wedding's best-dressed
Check our roundup and you're bound to win "who wore it best"
The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was one for the style history books, complete with surprise celebrity scene stealers and the instant transformation of Canadian stylist and BFF of the bride, Jessica Mulroney, to international style icon. If you're moved to mimic the style spotted at the wedding event of wedding season, we've done some scouring to find accessible looks that embody some of the day's biggest trends.
The Jessica dress
The statuesque figure struck by Montreal-born Jessica Mulroney on the steps of the church is earning her the title of the "new Pippa Middleton" — though we've long known she is much more than that. She's been a leading voice in fashion, and specifically bridal fashion, in Canada for many years now. Fun fact: She styled The Goods host and CBC Life columnist Jessi Cruickshank's wedding. Of course, the shape and the button detail of her custom royal blue dress by Montreal-based Di Carlo Couture is reminiscent of what Pippa wore. And you can now order The Jessica Dress, designed for Jessica for the royal wedding, for $1,495. Di Carlo Couture also has a halter and skirt set that looks a lot like what Meghan wore to her wedding lunch.
Amal Clooney
Hers was the most searched for dress from the royal wedding, also inspiring a 1500% increase in the number of worldwide searches for "yellow dresses". Made by Stella McCartney, who calls it a "honey yellow midi dress with side tie detail in silk Cady", it was paired with a honey straw hat with veiling and gold sequins by milliner, Stephen Jones, who also made Lady Sarah Chatto's lace straw hat and the para-sisal beret with a petersham bow for the mother of the bride, Dora Ragland. Though you may be hard-pressed to find ready-to-wear options with this structure, the colour's the thing to nail here. And no, a "yellow dress" is not the same, so refine your searches and check out these options.
After Six Dress in Marigold, $263, Dessy.com
Hattie Dress, $218, Reformation
Textured Weave Lace Dress, $45.90, Zara
Pleated Dress with Shoulder Pads, $39.90, Zara
Pretty pastels
To help Oprah narrowly avoid what she called "dressgate", the Stella McCartney team worked all night to create her blush, double tiered dress with lace trim made of sustainable viscose. She joined the many other guests who were pretty in spring pastels, including Priyanka Chopra in Vivienne Westwood and Serena Williams in Versace.
Because it is, after all, the top of wedding season, dresses in all shades of rose and lilac are in abundance. Our picks echo the more subdued and structured tea-time vibes of the royal wedding.
Sateen Dress, $49.90, Zara
Alice Lace Dress in Rose, $468, Tadashi Shoji
Acadia Sweater Dress, $168, Anthropologie
Shoshanna Antonella One Shoulder Dress, $550, Anthropologie
Lady Kitty Spencer
The royal wedding look of Princess Diana's niece, Lady Kitty Spencer, catapulted her to instant fashion "it girl" status, securing her a brand ambassadorship for Bulgari jewels (which she wore that day). She's already walked the catwalk for Dolce & Gabbana, who dressed her in the hand-painted green tea-length dress. While the dress was a little heavy-laden on the bottom for us, actually, the striking colour is certainly what had eyes around the world green with envy and admiration. Here are some styles to try, if you want to inspire the same feels.
Frankfort Dress, $218, Reformation
After Six Bridesmaid Style 1503, $148, Dessy.com
Ruiz Flutter-Sleeve Dress, $375, Anthropologie
Garden florals
There were the meritable ways that guests wore florals, and then there was the meme-worthy Arizona Green Iced Tea way. Cultivate your garden as you may, we were all over the all-over-embroidered floral looks of Carey Mulligan in Erdem Resort 2018 and Sofia Wellesley in Red Valentino, as well as Charlotte Riley's darker turn in the Forget Me Not Festival Dress from The Vampire's Wife. Our picks echo the artfully overgrown patterns of these romantic dresses.
Forsythia Dress, $795, BHLDN
Shoshanna Loveland Embroidered Dress, $650, Anthropologie
Ravi Floral Tea Length Dress, $508, Tadashi Shoji
Honourable mentions to everyone in navy, from Victoria Beckham to Fergie(!), and remember to do a Diet Prada-level cross-reference of your local convenience store for any unintentional can-copy-catting before stepping out in your special event dresses this summer.