Thursday, Apr. 07, 2011
No British Silk
It was nice while it lasted. Throughout the 20th century, Lullingstone Castle — which included Britain's only silk farm — supplied the royal family with all the silk it needed to craft coronation and wedding couture. The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana all walked down the aisle in gowns woven from silk produced there. The farmers took their responsibilities so seriously that every season began with a traditional silkworm blessing ceremony at the local St. Botolph's Church. But all those prayers couldn't save the farm, which shut down in 2004. If Kate wants a gown made in Britain with British materials, she needs to remove silk from the equation entirely. Distressed leather and rayon, anyone?