Dress
Notes on
In designing our wedding, we wanted to create something very personal that reflected us. Our vision for our wedding's vibe was an amalgam of things - we wanted to celebrate queer joy, we wanted to feel empowered and free to be ourselves, and we wanted to feel classy, regal, and theatrical. Hence, our Royal Queer Met Gala aesthetic was born!
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A huge part of embracing this aesthetic for us was through style. J in particular is a huge believer in self-empowerment through style - expressing yourself, feeling comfortable, and being true to what you love in what you wear. For us, this meant being able to design our dream looks - complementary bespoke suits, a crown for K, a cape for J, a lot of fun accessories! It's been such a fun exploration and we can't wait to debut in these looks.
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We also invited our Wedding Court to each design their own look as well, based on their own tastes, what they were excited to where, what they felt comfortable and awesome in. We only asked that they work with our palette - deep jewel tone reds and blues + gold accents - and take inspiration from our themes. Other than that, total freedom! Thankfully, our amazing Court was totally up for this and they've blown us away with their creativity, range of ideas, and just how damn good they look! Truly no slicker looking faux-royal wedding squad in the land.
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AESTHETIC & THEMES
Like we said, we're all about style self-empowerment! We do ask that you come to our celebration in "dressy" wear, but we're flexible on how you interpret that. Would you look at your outfit and say "yes, this is a dressed up, elevated version of me, I've stepped up my regular game"? Awesome! Would you think "geez this is stiff and uncomfortable, I hate dresses/suits, this is so stuffy"? No need to do that to yourself for us.
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We understand not everyone gets as excited about style or specifically dress wear. We'd like to encourage you to find a way to "dressy" that feels true to you. There are plenty ways to do special occasion looks that aren't what you might typically think of! If you'd like some help exploring that, we've included some thoughts, tips, and inspo for you below!
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And, if you're feeling it, we encourage you use this opportunity to wear fun stuff you might normally not get to wear by dressing to our themes! It's totally optional, but we're having a lot of fun with it personally and if you want to join in on getting fancy - a regal brooch, a cape, a flower crown, a fancy hat, whatever - we enthusiastically welcome it.
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Below, we've put together some quick guides if you need some help thinking about your look! You can also check out our Pinterest boards:
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What about guests?
Beyond suits & dresses
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If you're into classic 2 or 3 piece suits or cocktail or evening dresses, you can absolutely wear that!
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You can also play around with color, adding or subtracting elements, or even wearing something completely different like a rad jumpsuit or traditional clothing that reflects your personal heritage.
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Color & pattern
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An oft-overlooked opportunity to punch up your look's personality is to just step outside the rigid event-appropriate color standards. Mandatory navy, charcoal, and black for dressy events was a lie.
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If you'd like, consider brightening those blues and lightening those greys, or designing around pastels, bold jewel tones, florals, geometric patterns, whatever.
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If you're curious about ways to mix things up and try out something new, check out these examples of different base outfit and color combos you could try!
 floral-sleeveless-wide-slacks |  african-print-suits |
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 blue-turtleneck-gold-shoes |  pink-double-breasted |
 leather-suspenders-vest |  teal-blue-print-shirt |
 yellow-belted-pantsuit |  asos-leopard-outfit |
 black-white-wrap-cape-blazer |  micro-floral-shirt |
 red-top-black-tutu |  red-navy-asian-suit |
 pink-sequin-top-trousers |  black-lapels-jumpsuit |
 eggplant-jacket-brown-vest-ascot |  classy-white-blouse-black-pant |
 blue-asos-floral |  esther-quek |
 blue-and-gold |  goth-vest |
 burgundy-blouse-camel-trouser |  breezy-floral-jumpsuit |
 satin-blazer-cardigan |  woman-barong-cane |
 sheer-woven-tunic-belted |  lees-double-vest |
 mustard-top-pattern-skirt |  green-cape-jumpsuit |
 gold-embroidered-shoulders-suit |  white-sheer-blouse |
 suspenders-over-vest |  jodhpuri-suit |
 floral-blazer-round-glasses |  jazzmyne-floral-suit |
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 red-lace-shirt |  wood-bowtie |
 trans-femme-ruffle-suit |  harry-shiny-blue-blouse |
 floral-esther |  janelle-bw-checkered |
 silver-hair-collar-pins |  harry-pink-blouse |
 runway-grey-blazer-skirt |  dapper-athletes |
 black-cape-red-lip |  runway-white-sweater-pleated-skirt |
 jvn-black-sheer |  fluid-plus-size-suit |
 suit-skirt-boots |  purple-suit |
 black-lace-button-up |  tux-skirt |
 buzzfeed-suits |  black-lace-tee-gaultier |
 black-yellow-pattern-suit |
Non-binary & fluid style
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We are not about enforcing binary gender-norm fashion rules. If you are a cis woman who feels foreign in dresses, a cis man who feels limited in suits, or someone of any gender who's uncomfortable with what you're traditionally expected to wear to formal events: please disregard those expectations and wear whatever feels right for you at our wedding! It's a joyful occasion.
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It's 2019 folks, women can wear suits, men can wear skirts. It's all fabric we put on our bodies and we should all feel dope about what we freely choose to clothe ourselves in.
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We ourselves are not sticking to traditional binary style, and we know several friends and family who plan to go for some fluidity in their style. If you want inspo, here are some fabulous examples to peruse!
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And please, if non-traditional and genderfluid style is not your tea, respect how everyone chooses to present themselves. At this party, we're looking good, feeling good, and spreading love.
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Your friend: accessories
Whatever base outfit you go with, accessories and styling are easy ways to add glam and personality to your look.
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We've thrown in some fun types of accessories here to give you some ideas. Boutonnieres, statement necklaces, collar pins, tie tacks, vintage brooches.
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Accessories are small details with big impact. Find them anywhere (we love Etsy) or even make them yourself (Pinterest and Youtube tutorials are great for this).
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It helps to consider a palette of 2-3 colors you'd like to work with + any aspects of your personality you may want to convey.
See what sticks out to you!
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 deer-tie-pin |  collar-brooch |
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 blue-statement-earrings |  lion-collar-pins |
 velvet-smoking-slilppers |  yellow-stripe-scarf |
 velvet-green-suspender-bowtie |  tulle-capelet |
 red-statement-necklace |  jeweled-glasses-chain |
 scarf-double-breasted-suit |  dice-boutonniere |
 gold-oxfords |  laurels-collar-pins |
 origami-flowers-boutonniere |  black-gold-chains-brooch |
 hands-collar-pins |  feathers-boutonniere |
 fancy-white-hat |  red-silk-scarf |
 gold-collar-necklace |  book-paper-rose-boutonniere |
 bolo-tie |  blue-clear-costume-necklace |
 bolo-tie-rose |  fur-collar |
 pink-blazer-draped-scarf |
 white-organza-cape |  black-embroidered-cutaway-jacket |
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 gold-leaf-crown |  janelle-monae-mj-inspired-offbeat |
 velvet-lace-gloves |  gold-scale-pauldrons-chain |
 tall-brown-boots |  military-decorated-balmain-jacket |
 iridescent-crystal-crown |  runway-villain |
 red-sheer-cape |  gold-brocade-long-sleeveless-coat |
 red-gems-lapel-pin |  red-cape-runway |
 red-gold-necklace-earrings |  pink-lace-gloves |
 one-shoulder-gold-chain |  red-sheer-tassels-cape |
 harry-jacket |  vampire-red-vest |
 gold-spikes-gloves |  gold-scales-wrist |
 fab-five |  equestrian |
 blue-white-flower-crown |  cube-body-chain-blush-top |
 crystal-heel |  crow-feathers-man |
 collar-spikes-necklace |  chadwick-boseman-2018-met-gala |
 blush-shoulder-capelet-dress |  camel-suit-cape-hat |
 blue-hair-flowers |  womens-military-jacket |
 bi-pride-studded-tassel-epaulettes |  black-coat-cape-runway |
Take it to the next level
If the words "Royal Queer Met Gala" had you pumped and you enjoy the idea of putting together an outfit that makes you feel regal and dramatique - we'd LOVE to see what you bring to our lineup of dazzling looks!
Even if you've never tried outfit-planning this ambitious before, we fully encourage you to give it a go if you're interested. It's less intimidating than you might think.
If we've learned anything from the wedding planning itself, it's that you can actually just do what you want. If you have an idea, even if it's unorthodox, do some research or ask for help and you can likely find a way to make it work.
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For creating a look like we and our Court have done, we'd recommend thinking about a vibe, persona, or inspiration you want to work with. Do you want to feel like a 40s starlet? A modern day knight? A royal florist? Go from there.
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Or, you could totally just decide "hey I've always wanted a swishy cape" and then go get or make one. Dreams really do come true. Plenty of inspo available!
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