Ajay the tailor speaks about the flower girl dresses

[Orangefir]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11620179/Tailor-centre-Meghan-Kates-bridesmaid-dress-row-speaks-out.html

No surprises here. Days before the wedding the dresses didn’t fit. Couture gowns, made by Givenchy from measurements sent in. This tailor worked day and night but they had all six dresses to fix. It’s obvious they couldn’t get it all done. They really needed remade.

I think we can see why Kate was upset and why Charlottes dress and some of the other younger flower girls dresses looked awful.

I assumed the difference in understanding was because Kate had her daughter in the dress in front of her and could see how bad it was.

I also thought Kate only sought advice after 24 hours of silence from Meghan - literally days before the wedding - so less rude but perhaps trying to get across how big a job it was.

But the weirdest part is that Givenchy didn’t manage the whole process correctly in the first place, and that Meghan and Kate were discussing this at all – where was CWK, where was the wedding planner, where were the fittings?

This strikes me as well.

I keep reading Kate had staff being 3 weeks post birth and thus running around for someone else wedding was fine - but surely Meghan should have had staff or very least Harry could have done more - where was everyone else in this.

But fixing it herself is so presumptuous! The tailor was on standby; it wasn’t up to Kate to decide that wasn’t good enough. Otherwise what else might she decide to take charge of? She had her day; let Meghan have hers, wonky hemlines and bare legs and all.

pelargoniums · Today 09:42

@Sugarfree23 Didn’t Meghan consult and organise the tailor? Kate asked Sarah Burton for her verdict. Which to me is the big no-no: those were Givenchy dresses and Meghan was the bride; Kate, a guest, asking a rival designer, was rude. But the weirdest part is that Givenchy didn’t manage the whole process correctly in the first place, and that Meghan and Kate were discussing this at all – where was CWK, where was the wedding planner, where were the fittings?

spot on @pelargoniums

Agree. She comes across really badly. Of course, this is just a snapshot of one terse exchange - there may be many other nice ones, and maybe she was just having a bad day. But seen as a standalone exchange she comes across as being rude and terse.

Bare in mind we only have Harry's half arsed version of this and we don't know how long it was between Kate telling Meghan and her first replying that the tailor was on standby. No indication that she knew anything about the tailor before she tried to get help.

Might be Meghan's day, but it's Kate's daughter. She's not a doll

Kate had her daughter in the dress in front of her and could see how bad it was
that didn't cross my mind - I guess Meghan wouldn't have realised .
I wonder if Ivy Rooney (bridesmaid where the dress did seem to fit better ) had hers altered already ?
I can imagine doing that .Daughter's bridesmaid dress bit too big ,I'd make arrangements for it to be altered .Though I'd need access to a skilled dressmaker experienced in working with silk .

I can't believe how many people have been taken in b the DM et al sticking this in a natty phone graphic. It's not real, nobody has seen the messages, they don't know what was actually said

This is:

• a ghostwriter
• retelling what he was told by Prince Harry
• Who is in turn relating what he was told by Meghan
• about a discussion which was a mix of text and actual conversation
• which took place 5 years ago
• and which they no longer have the messages from (if they told the truth in court)
• in a book that's designed to make them look as good as possible
• By a man who has said this, in the same book

How on earth can anyone think they have enough info to judge anyone's tone given that?

No ill disagree, it's her 3yo who was going to be wearing it, somebody needed to stand up for her.

Can you imagine a MN saga,
my DD is to be flower girl on Saturday, big flash wedding, except the dress is miles too big, SIL doesn't seem to see the issue and is blanking me. I don't want DD being made fun of, or her having a tantrum because it's massive and not comfy.
Do I pull DD out and cause endless friction?
Or see if I can get it sorted?

Kate has a wardrobe stuffed full of made to measure couture from McQueen and other designers. She also from time to time wears pieces silly credited to a “private dressmaker”. So its far ore than one wedding dress. She must be very used to firing sessions with designers, discussions over toiles, amendments tot he pattern being agreed etc.

I don’t think her Jigsaw experience would have any thing to do with this by the way. She was an accessories buyer, not working in design or design technology.

This this this. How difficult is it to accept that both women were probably quite emotional (wedding day for M; post-partum for Kate - those of us who have had children REALLY would understand how tired/stressful it is the months after birth) but Kate APOLOGIES. Right?

I think Lizzie's recollections may vary covers it all 😂

I though Kate took advice because Meghan wasn't taking on board how bad the dresses were - and frankly it clear there are issues after alterations.

I don't think given what Meghan had going on her not getting how bad the dresses were reflects badly on her or her skills - she had every right to have expected a better result.

It started out with people saying Kate shouldn't have said anything and then people going and looking at dresses again and seeing the huge amount of problems -saying why wasn't something done - that is why the tailor spoke out about the huge amount of work they put in - but clearly there were still problems but people have only really noticed and given back and looked because Harry brought it up.

The whole thing is Harry - a man who admits his memory is poor - who has written a book with huge easily provable inconsistencies in has told a ghost writer about situations most of which he wasn't around for - so were second hand account to start with.

I think it's worth reflecting on why this story was put in at all - yes it shows Meghan feeling the pressure and clearly feeling very unsupported - and I don't think he realised that looks bad for him- but also implies criticism and puts focus on a then three year old child and his SIL and opens then up to criticism.

'apologised' rather!

It sounds like Kate probably offered her designer to make the new dresses but this detail was deliberately left out by H to make her look bad. If Kate were a meanie, she would not have said a word and let them all turn up looking like they had raided a dressing up box. However, she had to think of her daughter's princess status and was still trying to get along with M.

I think something else to bear in mind is that ‘four days before the wedding’ was only one day before H & M’s private vows ceremony in the garden, with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

I imagine that took at least a little bit of thought and organisation, to get the Archbish there, the vows written and ready, and some suitable clothes chosen.

So maybe H & M were not focusing on the ‘spectacle’ wedding to the necessary degree? Things lapsed? They weren’t contactable for a critical day or two? And/or had already got to the point of massive stress overload.

But again, as pp have said, where were ‘their people’ and the couture people and the wedding planners?

I'm absolutely gobsmacked that someone from Givenchy wasn't on hand to take control. The other thing that strikes me is just how oversized the dresses must have been before being altered. I get the impression it would be the equivalent of me buying a dress 3 sizes too big and asking a tailor to take it in a bit when it would clearly need taking apart and recutting to size. I'd love to hear from Givenchy how it all came about but I doubt they'll comment on it.

Still, and I go on about this, Kate apologised.

Also she had just given birth. Anyone who has given birth will know how completely mind / life changing that is.

Can understand M would be stressed too but why on earth are (a) those two dealing with it and (b) why were the fittings so close to the wedding and (c) why the rushed wedding at all?

I wonder if the lack of wedding planner and other organisation speaks to Charles’s reported reluctance to find Meghan as a working royal? Like, OK, you can have the big spectacle wedding and we’ll pay for the dress and reception, but you’ll have to do the admin.

Well surely she would have then paid for a wedding planner herself (thought I think the scenario as you outlined is unlikely)? @pelargoniums

Since she did not want the help of the experts provided to assist her by HMQ with adjusting to Royal life, is it not more likely that Meghan was project managing her own wedding?

Her wedding invitations were sent out from, and RSVPs were directed to the Royal Comptroller at Buckingham Palace so she definitely had some support. Harry talks of Prince Charles discussing music choices with her and his office approached the choir etc so I think your scenario is quite fanciful, pelargoniums.

It seems likely that Meghan made very unreasonable demands and they just did their best, after explaining that what she wanted was not possible in the time-frame allotted.

Haha, I thought what we were all doing here – not just this thread but the royal family board – was fanciful speculation! None of us are privy to any of the goings on, we’ve just got Harry’s book, the Netflix show, and the tabloids and blind gossip items to weigh up alongside our own prejudices and preferences. Then it comes down to how seriously you take any of it and why you’re on the board: in my case, zero seriousness, and idling away the hours on maternity leave. Though I do love to imagine Meghan solo planning this huge wedding from the “frat house” confines of shabby, low-ceilinged Nott Cott while batting away furiously pass agg texts from Kate, sent from her luxurious ice queen quarters.

AliceOlive
It seems likely that Meghan made very unreasonable demands and they just did their best, after explaining that what she wanted was not possible in the time-frame allotted.
Yes I agree, it must have been a nightmare to do in 4 days. I think the question that's baffling though is why they were still at almost the first stage of production by the sounds of it 4 days before the wedding. They should have only needed very minor tweaks by then. There's been no hint of a cock up with material or colour so 6 or 7 months for the dresses to be virtually finished surely is plenty. If M changed her mind late on it would have been on Givenchy to explain the dresses were underway and the time scale didn't allow for dramatic changes. Something major held up the finishing of those dresses imo and there clearly wasn't time ( or any enthusiasm by Givenchy it seems) for proper fitting sessions when they finally arrived. It's certainly odd.

Watch the body language guy on YouTube for his take on #flowergirldressgate when Charlotte walks past M and H at St George's Chapel. It's entertaining.