Why Does the Princess Bride Trend Live On Through Generations?
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Princess brides have long been in fashion, influenced recently by royal weddings like Kate Middleton’s and Meghan Markle’s — but today’s brides are seeking alternative styles too.
While some brides are embracing strapless ballgowns, lace overlays and gowns with dropped waistlines and poufy underskirts, others are mixing and matching or going for midlength, more casual dresses.
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Designer Claire Pettibone said her brides tend to steer clear of the princess bride fantasy.
“That’s not really my bride. That’s not to say that she’s not super excited about her wedding. She is super excited and is super focused on all of the details, but that princess mentality? No. I see that more as a young girl’s fantasy,” Pettibone said. “Maybe that’s why ballgowns don’t resonate for me. But to each their own. If that’s what you dream of, you should have it. For me, it almost feels like playing dress-up.”
Pettibone prefers to play up womanly silhouettes that appeal to confident, multidimensional women who want to celebrate that on their wedding day.
For Katherine Tash, founder and creative director of her signature company, providing secondary looks as an alternative to a more traditional wedding gown is a high priority. The company’s midlength Bella gown has been “a big hit” with brides in search of sleekness for more casual settings like courthouses, or for intimate post-nuptial dinner parties.
The designer is seeing many brides reach out with custom bridal requests for pared-down versions of her current collection of gowns. They are reducing the trains or shortening the hem lengths to tea length. “I love that they are making the look their own,” she said.
As an added bonus, many Katherine Tash brides are adding a fun after party look — a style that Tash has always loved designing. She includes one or two after party pieces every season.
“Customers lean into this now in a way that feels surprising even to me. It’s especially true for brides who do feel they need to look traditional down the aisle but want something more personal ‘and true to them’ for the reception,” Tash said. “I love that they let loose in our party looks — that’s why I made them,” adding that the Chloe Mini — a beaded, fringe, open-back minidress, exemplifies that.
At Kleinfeld, a bridal destination in New York made famous on the reality show “Say Yes to the Dress,” ballgown and princess silhouettes are considered a classic option.
“Ballgown and princess silhouettes will never go out of style, and each season we see unique and modern modifications. This year, many of our available ballgowns include Basque waistlines and full skirts with high slits,” said Sheila Sciocchetti, Kleinfeld Bridal’s vice president of merchandising. She added that a wedding is one of the few opportunities when you have the chance to channel your inner princess.
“At Kleinfeld, we are experiencing an increase in formal styles for all the events leading up to the wedding such as the engagement party, rehearsal dinner, bridal shower and after party,” Sciocchetti said.
Younger customers are opting to expand their bridal wardrobe “to include multiple looks so they can express their style and unique bridal vibe,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of brides choose very fancy, beaded and ornate ‘bridal minis.’ But we are also seeing brides selecting a simple short dress for their bridal shower or after party and adding a twist to it by pairing it with a rhinestone denim jacket and boots. This may seem like a casual choice but the dress styles they are choosing from are formal and sometimes accessorized in a more casual fashion.”
Park & Fifth’s co-owner and founder Zoe Tisshaw said the retailer has an exciting six months ahead, with wedding celebrations in full swing and warm weather inviting brides to mix more dresses into seasonal wardrobes. The company has just launched a concept store at the Well in downtown Toronto, with an emphasis on styles for guests and social occasion styles in a curated shopping experience. A timeless linen-blend collection is launching this spring with dresses geared for vacation or dressed-up for special events and weddings.
Park & Fifth also continues to innovate and introduce unexpectedly stylish bridesmaid dresses for bridesmaids and brides alike. “We absolutely love the bridesmaid trend of individuality and bright colors as we launch spring dresses that can be part of a mixed bridesmaid palette and later be styled as the best-dressed guest,” Tisshaw said.
While many couples have departed from very traditional wedding events and embraced their individuality, Tisshaw said princess gowns endure because of the element of femininity. Women can simultaneously be empowered in their relationships and their bridal style with looks that make them feel like their most beautiful and powerful selves, whether it’s a chic slipdress, a princess-like ballgown style, or a two-piece suit, she said.
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