For those of you who want to know more about the designer Hartnell here are some facts.
Norman Hartnell was born in London on June 12, 1901. His parents owned a pub, the Crown & Sceptre, but he never much talked about that as an adult—pubs weren't exactly popular among his well-to-do clients. He caught the fashion bug while studying at Cambridge, first creating costumes for the Footlights Dramatic Club.
Having found his calling, he dropped out of university to pursue it, leveraging the connections he made at the elite university to find upper-class clients. At the beginning of his career, he quickly found his footing as a society designer. It wasn't long before he'd found international success, catering to both silver screen stars and high-society ladies.
In 1935, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester asked Hartnell to create her wedding dress, as well as looks for her bridesmaids. Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were among those bridesmaids, and their mother took a particular liking to Hartnell's designs. From then on, Hartnell would be a favorite of the Queen Mother's; she awarded him a Royal warrant in 1940, signifying his importance.
The Queen chose Hartnell two create the two most memorable designs she's ever worn, in 1947 and her 1953 coronation gown. In 1957, he was awarded his second Royal Warrant, this time as a dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth.
Hartnell didn't just design dresses for the monarch's biggest moments; he created many of the garments she wore to the more ordinary formal events on her royal calendar. The dress that Princess Beatrice would eventually wear to her own wedding has been worn by the Queen on at least three occasions, ending in the mid-1960s: a state dinner in Rome, the premiere of Lawrence of Arabia, and the 1966 State Opening of Parliament.
The Queen wasn't the only Windsor besides the Queen Mother who became a devoted client. Princess Margaret enlisted him to design, her royal wedding dress too.
Below are some photos of him at work and his designs.
I think my favourite part of the story is that years later Beatrice decided to re vape the dress.
My understanding is that the designer Stewart Parvin and the Queens dressmaker Angela Kelly restyled the dress for Beatrice. You can see in this last photo that a band of satin was used to make it longer. They added organza sleeves for Beatrices look on her special day. For me the sentiment means more than anything. What are your views on her
choice of dress?
