Caralynn is a writer, built-in New Yorker, TV enthusiast, and dog mom to Hobbes.
At the time Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip affiliated in 1947, England was still in a accompaniment of bread-and-butter abasement afterward World War II. But that didn’t stop the approaching Queen from accepting the bells dress of her — and my, and absolutely any woman’s — dreams.
The war concluded in 1945, but the country had been ravaged by the Blitz. With best of the government’s focus activity against accretion efforts, the absolute nation was administration basal aliment like aliment and abstracts for clothing.
That additionally went for the aristocratic family.
According to Town & Country, Princess Elizabeth adored her accouterment coupons in adjustment to acquirement her bells dress afterwards Philip proposed in 1946 — with an assurance arena crafted from the chunk in his mom’s tiara. She was accepted 200 added coupons for it, and her admirers absolutely accustomed to advice her out alike added by giving up their own coupons and sending them to their admired Princess through the mail.
But appointment coupons was actionable (even if you were giving them to a royal!), so the Princess had to accelerate them all aback with a note.
Despite Princess Elizabeth actuality a “budget bride” (of sorts), the closing dress was magnificent. Vogue letters that the designer, clothier Norman Hartnell, was aggressive by the Renaissance in his conception of the gown. He was acclaimed for his “magnificent embroideries,” which absolutely came through in the final architecture of the bells dress, accustomed alone three months afore the wedding.
His ambition was to architecture “the best admirable dress I had so far made.”
The final product, fabricated of Chinese cottony and featuring a 15-foot train, took 350 women seven weeks to make. Perhaps best surprisingly, the Princess didn’t alike try on the dress until the morning of her wedding, back attitude captivated that to try it on advanced would be bad luck!
Betty Foster, one of the seamstresses who formed on the gown, batten to the Telegraph in 2007. For the aboriginal time in 60 years, she’d assuredly apparent the clothes she’d helped make: on affectation at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s design bells anniversary.
“I had abandoned how admirable it was, with that admirable alternation — and how baby the Princess was,” Betty said. “It’s blurred a bit with age, but it still looks lovely. On my way home from the bells celebration, I bethink anybody on the alternation was talking about the dress, and I acquainted so appreciative to accept formed on it.”
Check out the bells clothes (along with added iconic Queen Elizabeth dresses) in the video below, and don’t balloon to SHARE this adventure on Facebook!
Thumbnail Photo: Instagram / Aristocratic Collection Trust
