Sarah Ferguson wore a

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that co ...

made from ivory duchesse

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

and featuring heavy beading for her wedding to Prince Andrew, Duke of York (second son of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

) on 23 July 1986 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. Designed by

Lindka Cierach Lindka Rosalind Wanda Cierach is a British couturier and fashion designer. Notable clients include members of British and European Royal Families, Helen Mirren, Lady Victoria Hervey and Cherie Blair among others. Early life Cierach was bor ...

, the beadwork incorporated various symbols including hearts representing romance, anchors and waves representing Prince Andrew's sailing background and bumblebees and

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

s, which were taken from Sarah Ferguson's family heraldry. Copies of the dress, including the motifs specific to the royal family, went on sale in stores just hours after the end of the wedding. Influenced by the

wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer Lady Diana Spencer's wedding dress was an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, with a train and a tulle veil, valued then at £9,000 (). It was worn at Diana's wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales in 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. It became ...

, a notable feature of Sarah Ferguson's long train was the intertwined initials A and S sewn in silver beads. The headdress and bouquet, fabric rosettes or artificial silk flowers were used to adorn the gown itself. Ferguson was pleased with the dress, describing it in her 1997 memoir, ''My Story'', as "an exquisite creation I'd lost twenty-six pounds to fit into. Lindka was a genius; I knew she could make the most flattering gown ever, and she had. It was amazingly boned, like a corset." Hair stylist Denise McAdam and make-up artist Teresa Fairminer attended to the bride, while florist Jane Packer designed the bouquet. The ivory silk wedding dress became the season's most sought-after style.

References

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See also

References