For Wallis Simpson’s wedding to King Edward VIII on June 3, 1937, the Duchess of Windsor broke royal convention and wore a blue wedding dress.
The wedding took place at the Château de Candé, where Sir Edward Metcalfe served as the Duke of Windsor’s best man since none of his family attended.
King Edward had abdicated the throne only six months before the wedding, and relations between the couple and the Royal Family were quite tense according to reports.
A civil marriage was performed by the Mayor of Monts before the couple had a religious ceremony.
Rima Barakah, the deputy editor of Hitched spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk to analyse the Duchess of Windsor’s bridal gown.
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She said: “Wallis Simpson’s 1937 wedding dress was designed by an American designer Mainbocher, who, as well as designing for the Duchess, is also famous for establishing timeless silhouettes such as the short evening gown, the sheath and the strapless dress.
“At the time of manufacturing, it’s said that Wallis’ wedding dress cost £250, which is equivalent to around £5,267 today.
“Unlike traditional royal brides, Wallis Simpson did in fact wear a blue wedding dress instead of a white or ivory gown.
“The piece was originally crafted in a soft pastel blue shade, dubbed as ‘Wallis blue’, which was said to be her favourite colour and also matched her eyes.
“The gown is still in great condition and is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but due to the instability of the dye, the blue hue is now faded and the gown appears ivory in colour.”
The expert explained how Wallis was “ahead of her time” when it came to her choice of a “figure-hugging” bridal gown.
Rima commented: “It’s not known whether or not Wallis Simpson wanted to accentuate her smaller frame with a figure-hugging dress, but we do know that she was slightly ahead of her time when it came to the style of the dress.
“The cropped jacket, high petal neckline and long sleeves were all synonymous with 1930s fashion, but corset waists and figure-accentuating wedding dresses weren’t widely worn until the 1940s.
“In terms of accessories, Wallis kept things effortlessly chic. She matched her blue wedding dress with wrist-length blue silk crepe gloves which were specifically designed to accommodate her emerald diamond engagement ring.
“Continuing with the blue theme, she wore diamond earrings embellished with a total of eight sapphires, along with a diamond bracelet and a sapphire and diamond brooch which was pinned to the petal neckline of her gown.”
Royal women are famous for wearing sparkling tiaras at their weddings, usually taken from the royal collection and loaned to the bride.
However, the expert explained why this was not the case for Wallis: “It’s been confirmed that there were no official royal tiaras in Wallis Simpson’s impressive collection. She wasn’t gifted one by the Royal Family ahead of her wedding, nor did the Duke of Windsor ever buy her one.
“To complete her wedding look, instead, Wallis wore a blue halo straw hat, made by Parisian milliner Caroline Reboux, which had blue silk tulle edging.”
Megan Watkins, the Head Stylist of online fashion destination SilkFred also shared her thoughts on Wallis Simpson’s wedding accessories exclusively with Express.co.uk.
She said: “Once described by her husband as ‘dripping in rubies’, there was no gem that King Edward VIII wouldn’t have bought for her. However, for her wedding, instead of a tiara she wore a ‘Wallis blue’ straw hat which many say looked like a ‘halo’.
“Although it is said that she may have worn tiaras later on when she became the Duchess of Windsor, there is no photographic evidence to support this.”
