Today we bring you the third guest blog from our Senior Sales Executive Ben Allen. Ben has been as busy as ever on the road this past month, so thanks Ben for taking the time to write us such a wonderful blog about your views on the influence of Catherine Middleton’s wedding style. Enjoy!

Hello everyone!

Another month has passed so quickly, with two big shows just around the corner!

The first of these is MODA, where we will be exhibiting our exciting new collection of Boutique hats and fascinators on Stand G14. It’s now less than one month away so look out for blogs and sneak peaks into the new collection over the coming weeks! Then, just a little further off (11 – 13 September), is BBEH where we will be on our usual stand M33.

However for now I’d like to talk about the impact that the royal wedding between Catherine Middleton and Prince William has had on the industry. The wedding itself was such a magnificent occasion. My family and I all admired her outfit, the beauty of the Cathedral, and of course her elegant accessories. These have influenced our beautiful Royal wedding inspired collection of tiaras and veils, which you can see here. The state occasion seemed to give the whole country a boost, and the interest in bridal wear increased sharply over the royal wedding weekend. Our sales certainly suddenly increased following the wedding, and I am sure shops will have seen the same increased level of interest.

As you can see we have created several tiaras and veils, although I have found these two to be the best selling across the whole of the UK

Large Crown Shape Tiara TR1344A

Fine French Lace Wedding Veil C353C

I believe that this is because they are the closest likeness to Catherine’s traditional shaped Cartier diamond tiara and soft silk lace wedding veil. There is a strong feeling across the whole of the UK that in the short term brides will be looking to emulate her style, if not seek inspiration from her entire look. As talk of the royal wedding continues in current bridal magazines and websites we can see that this is the case, but I think that it is too soon to tell whether her style of accessories will have a long lasting effect on the buying patterns of brides. Perhaps we will see the full effect of Catherine’s influence in next year’s brides. What do you think?

Although it is too early to tell whether brides will aspire to dress as Catherine did on her wedding day, I feel that she has given us two important points to note. Firstly she has given the already re-surging lace dress a massive boost by combining it with a full skirt, cinched in waist and long lace sleeved shrug (a style that we haven’t seen for a few years!). This has brought this style much further into the public’s consciousness. Secondly, and of much greater importance, it has given us a new style icon. She is clearly a very confident young woman with an understated elegance that so many people can identify with, which is bound to influence both the fashion and the wedding industry for many years to come.

I have really enjoyed the past month on the road, especially discussing Catherine’s influence with the customers I’ve visited. If you have any thoughts regarding this I would love to hear from you, just leave a comment below. In my next blog I will be giving feedback on the most popular styles from MODA.

I look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming BBEH, where you will be able to see something new from Richard Designs, using strong influences taken from Catherine’s style.

Thanks for reading,

Ben
Senior Sales Executive

To see Ben’s other blogs, click here