For those of you who are like me and just watch events like Royal Weddings to just sit with a cup of coffee and judge the fashion, Cara Delevingne’s Top Hat and Tails is everything I never knew I needed in life. But that’s not what we’re here to discuss.
Delevingne’s unusual and bomb outfit choice wasn’t the biggest statement of the day. Instead, it was Princess Eugenie’s wedding dress, and her choice to showcase her Scoliosis Scars.
Did this move to me to tears? Yes, I bawled in fact.
For those who don’t really know what Scoliosis is, well you’re in for a treat. As the founder and chair of the world’s first university run Scoliosis society, and also a long-time sufferer of Scoliosis, I got all the tea.
Scoliosis is basically the curvature of the spine. Scoliosis is mainly associated with teenage girls, but can affect all age groups. Curves can remain stable throughout life, but for some of us it continues to grow larger, which can result in some severe health defects if not treated properly. Scoliosis can be treated in many ways, such as physiotherapy or the use of a brace. For some of us, including Princess Eugenie and myself, we must undergo a serious surgery to get titanium rods inserted along the spine with numerous screws inserted also.
Many people around the world are conscious of scars and stretch marks, but Eugenie has shown that they are beautiful, and we should embrace them.
The princess’s dress was designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos. The dress, a long-sleeved ivory gown, with a folded shoulder and a low back, reveals scars from her Scoliosis surgery, which she underwent at the age of twelve. Eugenie accessorized with the Greville Emerald tiara, with no veil, drawing more attention to her scars. The fabric was designed by the pair in their studio in East London. It includes a number of symbols that are meaningful to Princess Eugenie as motifs, including a Thistle for Scotland, The Shamrock for Ireland, The York Rose for England and The Ivy representing the couple’s home.
Eugenie spoke about the design of her dress on ITV days before the wedding, where she spoke about the importance of changing people’s ideas and understanding of beauty.
“I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that,” she said.
Eugenie is also a patron of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, where she had her own surgery as a child. Many reps from the hospital and charity were invited to attend the wedding.
Princess Eugenie strives to show the world what beauty really is. We all have scars and marks on our bodies, and we should all learn to love and embrace them. They’re not flaws or negative marks. These scars, marks or stretch marks are just milestones in our lives. They’re part of your story and journey through life. We are all stronger because of them.