When Naomi Biden, the president’s 28-year-old granddaughter, wore custom Ralph Lauren for a rare White House wedding, a weather-appropriate detail stood out: her long lace sleeves.
It looked like a nod to the buttoned-up bodice on the gown Grace Kelly wore to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Despite the vanguard of current bridal designers producing more experimental silhouettes—jumpsuits, separates and nearly nude dresses—Ms. Kelly’s classic 1956 look keeps coming back. Among the brides who have emulated her style are Kate Middleton, actresses Lily Collins and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, socialite sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton, and model Jasmine Tookes, as well as legions of less-starry women who associate a high neck and covered arms with timeless glamour.
“It’s minimalism in the most opulent way,” said Bailey Moon, Ms. Biden’s stylist, who helped with her gown’s design process.
Ms. Kelly’s dress was a gift from her studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, designed by in-house costumer Helen Rose, who sought to mimic the “new look” popularized by Christian Dior in Europe in the late 1940s. The gown satisfied a desire for old-Hollywood glamor after World War II, said Su Ku, chair of the fashion department at the Fashion Institute of Technology. What could be more chic than a screen queen becoming bona fide?
“It was a celebratory dress, and brought back prosperous feelings of good times,” said Ms. Ku. “It was what people dreamed of as beautiful.”
A few months after she wore the gown, Ms. Kelly gave it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where it remains on display and continues to fuel fantasies of a ceremony fit for a princess.
“It embodies a spirit of a girl entering royalty,” said Marissa Rubinetti, the chief operating officer of Kleinfeld Bridal, a boutique in Manhattan.
Ms. Rubinetti said a high neck and lace sleeves have long been a popular style combination at the store, as other trends have bubbled up and fizzled out. She believes the look resonates with women who don’t want their wedding dress to feel overtly sexy.
“Brides are opting for higher necklines to draw attention to their face,” Ms. Rubinetti said. “There’s strong symbolism in covering up and just letting the public focus on the woman.”
Lily Collins, Kate Middleton and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Grace Kelly-inspired wedding dresses with modern twists: a cape, an open neck and sheer fabric, respectively. Cedar & Pines Photography; Paul Hackett/Getty Images; Jose Villa
Miami clothing designer Carolina Neuman, 27, knew she wanted a Grace Kelly-inspired dress for her wedding this past January in Cartagena, Colombia. She found one from Monique Lhuillier that reminded her of her grandmother’s dress from the 1950s. She said the style felt appropriate for a cathedral ceremony and was also flattering.
“My neck is my favorite thing about me so I wanted to accentuate it,” Ms. Neuman said.
Cat Crandall Friedberg, a 29-year-old communications professional in Brooklyn, said she initially envisioned herself wearing something form-fitting to her August wedding. After she tried on a Grace Kelly-inspired dress, also from Monique Lhuillier, she immediately changed her mind. “It screamed ‘princess’ to me,” she said.
Ms. Crandall Friedberg has friends who have opted for trendier mermaid and off-the-shoulder styles for their own weddings, but she’s happy with the dress she chose.
“I like that when you look back on my pictures, you won’t know what year I got married or where I’m from, because the dress feels timeless,” Ms. Crandall Friedberg said.
Mr. Moon said that Ms. Kelly’s dress has continued to feel modern thanks to small tweaks. For Ms. Biden, for example, he worked with the Ralph Lauren team to take off some embroidered lace so the back of the dress revealed skin. Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton gave the then-Duchess of Cambridge’s dress an open neck. For Ms. Collins, the “Emily in Paris” star, Ralph Lauren added a hooded cape, giving the look a fantasy spin.
Small tweaks, like the semi-sheer back on Naomi Biden’s dress, help the Grace Kelly look stay modern.
Photo:
Corbin Gurkin
“It’s iconic because you can take one reference and come up with many different forms of the dress,” Mr. Moon said.
Demure Grace Kelly-inspired dresses stood in contrast to the trendy so-called “naked dress”—a runway look that has been showing up on the walk down the aisle.
Tish Weinstock, 32, a beauty editor in the UK, chose a sheer vintage John Galliano dress during her Halloween-themed wedding last month. Ms. Weinstock had the liner removed from the dress’s previous owner and went braless for the big day. She wore her hair long and loose to cover her exposed chest, after her mother raised the subject.
Tish Weinstock in her sheer vintage John Galliano dress.
Photo:
Courtesy of Tish Weinstock
“I liked that it was a whisper of a dress,” said Ms. Weinstock.
She said diaphanous clothes help her express her femininity but acknowledged that they aren’t for everyone.
“Wearing a sheer dress to one’s wedding will raise some eyebrows, but do what makes you feel comfortable,” she said.
Some brides may think they want a slinky dress until they start trying on different styles. Samantha Espinoza, a 32-year-old former ballerina in Washington, DC, said she initially wanted a slip dress but ended up going for a full-lace Reem Acra gown with a high neck.
“I knew I wanted to wear my hair back in a bun, and didn’t want to go crazy with jewelry or makeup,” Ms. Espinoza said. “The dress just spoke for itself.”
Write to Chavie Lieber at Chavie.Lieber@WSJ.com
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