Olivia Culpo and NFL star husband defend ‘unsexy’ wedding dress
A former pageant queen and her new husband have lashed out at those who criticised her “full coverage” wedding gown, labelling them “evil”.
Marriage
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A bride whose wedding has copped an avalanche of criticism has defended her lavish nuptials, labelling those who disliked her modest wedding dress “evil”.
Olivia Culpo, an American beauty pageant queen turned influencer, married NFL star Christian McCaffrey in an affluent coastal town in the US state of Rhode Island, last weekend.
The elaborate wedding, attended by several high-profile celebrities including a string of the groom’s fellow San Francisco 49ers, appeared to go without a hitch.
However, as photos from the wedding began to hit social media, people began to weigh-in on the bride’s decision to wear a modest gown.
Culpo, who has appeared in swimwear campaigns, wore a “classic” Dolce & Gabbana custom gown during the ceremony, telling Vogue she deliberately chose a full-coverage design.
“I didn’t want it to exude sex in any way, shape or form,” she explained.
“I wanted it to feel effortless and as if it’s complementing me, not overpowering me. There’s so much beauty and simplicity.
“When I think about Christian and what he loves and the moments that he thinks that I’m most beautiful, it’s absolutely in something like this: timeless, covered and elegant.”
It’s these remarks that sparked uproar after they caught the attention of fashion stylist Kennedy Bingham who claimed it “pushed” a misogynistic message about how “all brides should look”.
Ms Bingham, who posts under the handle @gowneyedgirl, explained that if she were just looking at the dress, “I would see a beautiful bride and a beautiful, simple, elegant dress”.
However, she said when taking into account her comments made in Vogue, her opinion of the dress changed.
“It’s the stuff surrounding the dress that leaves kind of a bitter after taste,” she said.
“There is nothing wrong with wanting a modest wedding dress, or just modest attire in general.
“But the way that she was talking about this went beyond wanting something modest for herself.”
Ms Bingham went on to state a bride “could get married in her underwear and be taking her wedding vows seriously”, adding: “What you wear on your wedding day has almost nothing to do with whether or not you’re going to have a long and happy marriage.”
She also said she “took issue” with Culpo’s comments about “not wanting to exude sex”, stating it felt “weird” how the model “talks about coverage, especially as someone in her day-to-day life is someone who is not exactly a modest dresser”.
“She even says her husband thinks she’s the most beautiful when she is timeless, covered and elegant,” she added.
“I just think the usage of the word ‘covered’ is so icky because you are not covered in day-to-day life.
“And also why is he thinking that you are the most beautiful when you are covered? That’s just such an odd thing.”
The video quickly garnered millions of views, with many agreeing the comments were “outdated” and “reeked of misogyny” – especially considering Culpo changed into a very revealing dress for her wedding “after party”.
“Wait her after party dress is like a literal bathing suit with a skirt over it,” one scoffed.
Her comment that she wanted to be completely unsexy for her wedding and then goes over the top for the after party, come on girl,” another agreed.
As another lamented: “All she needed to say was she was looking for something simple and modest but she had to make it all righteous.”
Others noted she also wore a white bikini to her bachelorette party.
However not everyone agreed with the video including Culpo and her new husband.
“What an evil thing to post online. I hope you can find joy and peace in the world, the way my beautiful wife does,” McCaffrey, 28, commented on the clip in defence of his new bride.
“Wow what an absolutely evil person you are. I hope no one ever tears you apart in this way because it’s extremely hurtful. I love this dress and it was everything I ever wanted and more,” Culpo added.
This prompted Ms Bingham to double down on her thoughts, stressing she had “pointed out the internalised misogyny” behind Culpo’s reasoning, but had never made any comments about her appearance.
“Like I said, the dress is beautiful, you looked stunning,” she replied. “It’s everything surrounding it I didn’t agree with.”
Since then, another content creator, named Jess Weslie, has come out slamming Culpo’s wedding makeup, which she said was “pared back” and featured no mascara, eyebrow pencil or lip liner.
Ms Weslie labelled the magazine’s coverage of her makeup as “weird”, prompting Culpo to clap back, commenting: “It was an interview….. they asked me what my makeup was...”
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