It was the largest gathering of royals outside of a major coronation: the wedding of Hussein, the Crown Prince of Jordan, to Rajwa Al Saif. It was also a striking demonstration of the power of modest fashion, as guests including Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess Beatrice of Great Britain and several others in attendance wore long dresses with airy capes that fluttered or draped over their shoulders. , fluted sleeves, in recognition of Jordanian customs.
Queen Rania wore a high-necked black Dior dress with gold embroidery on the back and at the wrists and neck. Catherine, Princess of Wales, accompanied by her husband Prince William, wore a similar style in blush pink, with embroidery on the bodice, by Lebanese designer Elie Saab.
Mr. Saab also made the bride’s wedding gown, a stately pencil skirt with an asymmetrical neckline, a draped bodice and what looked like an acre-long overskirt, the grandeur of which was slightly undermined by the fact that Mrs. Al Saif wore flats.
Apartments! That’s modern monarchy for you (everything is relative). The shoes made the most unexpected statement of the event, followed only by the dress worn by the first lady, Jill Biden: a pale mauve column with a pearl-trimmed keyhole neckline by Lebanese designer Reem Acra that may have looked surprisingly familiar to some. .
After all, it was the same dress that Dr. Biden had worn just over a month earlier to host the South Korean state dinner. Even for a public figure who has made a habit of re-wearing her clothes – and though the choice of designer and style was diplomatically perfect (more so than at the state dinner) – to appear in the dress twice as closely at two major public events that guaranteed a photo to go around the world was a pretty radical move.
And one not to be missed. At least she has pledged her allegiance.