Vintage wedding dresses in demand after Princess Beatrice’s 1962 taffeta bridal gown – what to look for, and look out for

Search engine Lyst reported a 297 per cent increase in searches for ‘vintage wedding dress’ after Princess Beatrice wed in a gown lent by Queen Elizabeth

Sellers of vintage fashion point to the quality of its craftsmanship, and to the sustainability of wearing it, as well as what to beware of when buying vintage

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More brides are turning to vintage wedding dresses than ever before, and it isn’t just because of the photos of Princess Beatrice on her wedding day. Photo: AP

Published: 7:15am, 10 Aug 2020Updated: 5:20pm, 11 Aug 2020

Call it the Princess Beatrice effect: following the release of images of the private wedding of Beatrice, a member of the British royal family, to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, global fashion search engine Lyst reported a 297 per cent increase in searches for “vintage wedding dress”.

The princess’ dress, a gown by Norman Hartnell on loan from Queen Elizabeth, was a dreamy concoction of peau de soie taffeta and organza, trimmed with duchess satin and encrusted with diamanté. In 1962, the queen wore it to the London premiere of the David Lean film Lawrence of Arabia . The queen’s dressmakers Angela Kelly and Stewart Parvin adjusted the dress to the princess’ measurements, added puff sleeves and de-puffed the skirt.

In a time when sustainability and specialness have never been more valued, this old dress felt particularly modern.

While most of us can’t borrow a dress from a ruling monarch, there are possibilities for brides who want to ditch the traditional white meringue in favour of something unique.

Princess Beatrice (second right) wore a dress owned by Britain's Queen Elizabeth (second left) when she married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Photo: EPA

Tokyo-born, Australia-based Miho Arai, founder of vintage-inspired swimwear label Myriam, always knew she wanted to wear a vintage dress on her wedding day.

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