Grace Kelly Inspiration: Lacy Wedding Dress

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Grace Kelly isn’t as iconized as Audrey Hepburn, but to me her patrician beauty and sense of style is just as unforgettable. She made her film debut in 1951 when she was just 21 and was a public figure for five years when, at the age of 26, we was unexpectedly engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco.


MGM’s costume designer Helen Rose has designed and sewn costumes and clothes of celebrities for over 90 films (four of which were Grace Kelly’s), and she was given the task of creating Grace Kelly’s wedding dress. Her starting point was one of the ball gowns she wore in a movie and MGM studios gave Helen Rose all the resources to create it. It took six weeks to create and 35 MGM craftspeople. In the end, Grace Kelly’s long-sleeved lace and satin wedding dress was a masterpiece.

Long-sleeved wedding dresses are a little tricky to pull; if designed wrongly, you could end up with too much lace and beadwork. The best long-sleeved wedding dresses either keep embellishments and detail within the sleeves and bust area, while placing as minimal detail on the skirt and train, or spread out the details uniformly throughout the wedding dress. Check out the dresses below for inspiration on how to wear a long-sleeved wedding dress.

Doesn’t the off-shoulder v-shaped corset top remind you of the dress worn by Aurora in Sleeping Beauty? This wedding dress by Demetrios evokes the same royal elegance as Grace Kelly’s, but the ruched skirt detail updates the look to suit 20th century tastes.

This ruffled confection is also by Demetrios and features a lace corset with a tulle bolero jacket. If it’s too warm to wear long sleeves throughout the wedding ceremony and reception, a bolero jacket is an excellent alternative. That way, you can achieve the look of a princess bride and be comfortable when you want to.

The beaded lace chapel train on this dress from David’s Bridal is nothing less than regal. Like the dress above, it also comes with a lace jacket that can easily be removed when the temperature becomes too warm.

Continue reading here: Honeysuckle: Wedding Color of the Year

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