The fashion verdict on Monaco's royal wedding

Princess Beatrice might not have been in attendance, but that didn't stop Europe's other royals and their friends from putting their own spin on the fashion faux pas at Monaco's royal wedding.

From a princess in a sun hat and strappy sandals to a guest in white flowing gown, it wasn't just the paternity test raising eyebrows.

Naomi Campbell played by the rules at the ceremony in a green floral dress, but come reception time, all bets were off.

Breaking the unwritten rule that guests shouldn't wear white or black to a wedding, she changed into a white dress with a plunging neckline, side cut-outs and green beading.

So was this a fashion faux pas or fashion forward? The wedding dress designers contacted by Life & Style were split in their assessment.

Karen Willis Holmes says it's a matter of good manners to wear a different colour to the bride.

White is emerging as a trend in bridesmaid dresses, bolstered by Pippa Middleton's outfit in Britain's recent royal wedding, but that's at the bride's discretion. What a guest wears is not, and therein lies the problem.

Particularly when it's a supermodel.

"I think you could wear white but this is long and it has a train," she says.

"If it was a very un-wedding gown it is OK but this is borderline.

"I love the [concept of the bridesmaid wearing the] same colour as the bride I think it looks good visually in photos, I think it is stunning but then the bride has okayed it which is different to a guest doing it."

But Henry Roth says it's time we threw out these 'rules' and gave the thumbs up to Campbell.

"I think that it's time the world grew up and we got rid of some of the unnecessary taboos created in fashion, not to liberate women but to control their style and sense of confidence," he says.

"We don't have these rules for men."

The now Princess Charlene of Monaco wore two Giorgio Armani gowns - one at the religious ceremony and the other at the reception - and a powder blue outfit she designed in collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld to the civil ceremony.

Simple, elegant and traditional was the verdict of both Willis Holmes and Roth regarding the off-the-shoulder, boat neck gown worn at the church. Although the latter believes there's more to this dress than meets the eye - sometimes a wedding dress will reflect what is going in in the brides' heart and mind.

"She really embraced tradition, which is not a bad thing, but in the context of what's happening one can just imagine why she was grabbing at the traditions of yesteryear," he says.

"If the rumours are even 20 per cent true...it's not looking as bright as one might hope [for their future together]."

As for the reception dress with the tiered column skirt, Willis Holmes described it as "pretty" but "low key".

"They [both dresses] all look older than she does," she says.

"If she was 50 that would look pretty as well."

While there was no outrageous hat to spawn headlines, Facebook pages and a charity auction, an honourable mention goes to the groom's sister Princess Caroline for wearing a sun hat and strappy sandals to a civil wedding ceremony.

"It looked a little bit more like she was overdressed for the beach," says Willis Holmes.

"The dress is quite formal but if she had a smaller hat and high heels it would look more dressy."

Although she does get points for sun sense and comfort.

What's your verdict on the fashion at the royal wedding? Should we ditch the no-white at weddings rule for guests? Comment below.

Prince Albert, bride go EV in topless Royal Wedding Lexus

After Prince Albert II of Monaco, 53, tied the knot today with former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, 33, he and the newly minted Princess toured their tiny realm in an interesting, one-off, topless Lexus hybrid.


In a product-placement coup, Lexus provided the Prince with a custom, bubble-top LS 600h L Landaulet hybrid for the event attended by royalty, heads of state and a glut of celebrities. (A landaulet is a convertible from the driver back.).

The official Royal Wedding cruiser was, according to Lexus, one of seven LS 600h L hybrid flagships provided the Royal Family as the exclusive green fleet for the wedding at the Grimaldi dynasty's Italian Renaissance palace in Monaco.

If the Prince gets to keep it, he could put it in his museum, one of the world's notable car museums housing a collection started by his father, the late Prince Rainier III, who was married to Hollywood star Grace Kelly.


CAPTIONBy Lexus
The Lexus LS 600h L has an EV mode that lets it operate on the electric motor alone, without the 5.0 liter V-8 kicking in. Lexus said the green Prince and his bride's official post-ceremony parade through streets of Monaco -- where its Grand Prix also runs -- will be "not less than 85%" on electric power alone.

Said Andy Pfeiffenberger, VP of Lexus Europe. "Our commitment to innovation and sustainable mobility at Lexus matches well with His Serene Highness' keen interest in promoting sustainable development and environmental protection.'

It's a good thing Monaco is small, though. The EV mode is low-speed only and has a range, according to spec, of about a half-mile, unless Lexus swapped out the standard battery pack behind the rear seat for one with more juice.

Lexus said nothing about that, but provided details of the car's meticulous conversion:

While sunshine let the couple leave the top off, the limo has a one-piece removable transparent top that covers everything from the front row back. A French supplier of canopies for helicopters and jet fights made the polycarbonate, which is a single shell a bit more than a quarter-inch thick and weighing less than 58 pounds.

The conversion was done by Belgian coachbuilders Carat Duchatelet, working with Lexus engineers based in Brussels. It took over 2000 hours to complete.
(500 hours LESS, says the Associated Press, than it took to make the bride's Giorgio Armani gown with 88 yards of silk and 40,000 Swarovski crystals. )

"We have 40 years experience in making armoured and extended vehicles for Heads of State, Royal Families and VIPs around the world'," Benoit Ceulemans, an executive of the coachbuilder said in a statement. 'However ... it is the first time we are publicly associated to such a prestigious project and memorable event.'

The fundamental objective with the conversion, says Lexus, was to retain the quality and drivability of its LS 600h L base. It says the conversion began with extensive computer-aided design. Then the car was completely dismantled, stripping out some 20,000 mechanical and electronic parts and interior features and upholstery.

To maintain chassis stiffness and torsional rigidity, the convertible was given lightweight body reinforcement using carbon fiber and Kevlar honeycomb structures. Since carbon fiber requires high-temp curing and Lexus says these pieces "were literally 'cooked' onto the bare chassis in a specially prepared oven."

The car was then painted Midnight Blue with eco-friendly water-based paint and re-assembled in two weeks by 10 people with Lexus engineers over their shoulders.