CORNELIA POWELL
Wedding/Cultural Folklorist, Fashion Historian,
Writer and Guest Speaker
Writer and Guest Speaker
As
a writer and popular guest speaker, Cornelia Powell shares captivating stories of
goddess legends and bridal mythology, royal ceremonies and rituals of the heart,
costume history, women’s history and creative self-expression—all combined with
a hint of cosmic mystery. Her latest book, The End of the Fairy-Tale
Bride: For Better or Worse, How Princess Diana Rescued the Great White Wedding,
spotlights the archetypal princess’ influence on the world of weddings and the lingering effects of the “princess myth” in popular
culture. (She is also the author of Amazon
bestseller The Bride’s Ritual Guide: Look Inside to Find Yourself and The Handkerchief Has Been Thrown! Something
Old & Something New for Same-Sex Couples.)
Cornelia
is at work on a new book, tentatively titled, The Spiritual Mission of a Princess: Diana and the Return of the Heart, which explores how
the life and death of a heart-centered princess affects the changing consciousness of women today, yet also reflects the lives of women in our historical past.
Ms. Powell has been the keynote speaker at the prestigious
Winterthur Museum in Delaware; on Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina;
at the Goodwood Museum in Tallahassee, Florida; Stephens College in Missouri, and
at other venues around the country. Whether the focus of her talks and
PowerPoint presentations—full of charming commentary and stunning images—is Downton Abbey, American Heiresses and
the London Season, Princess Brides, the Coronations and Weddings of Queens,
Gilded Glamour Aboard the Titanic, the
costume of ‘revolution and protests’, or how corsets shaped women’s bodies as
well as their minds, her audiences love the ‘fashionably’ historical journey
she takes them on.
King Louis XIV of France said that “fashion is the mirror of
history.” And in the imagination of a good storyteller with a bit of costume
savvy, the most entertaining “history lessons” are told through this “Who-Wore-What-When-and-Why”
mirror! In addition, Cornelia’s magazine
articles and blog posts also become intimate views into these distinctive woman-centric
moments in history.
Ms.
Powell first made headlines in the world of weddings with her nationally
celebrated bridal art-to-wear shop in Atlanta, Georgia, in the 1980s and ‘90s. Opened
on the glittering wave following the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady
Diana Spencer—and in recognition of the emerging “modern woman”—her store
helped reshape the bridal design industry. During this time both Ms. Powell and
her shop were featured in numerous magazines and books including Hearst
Publication’s The Business of Bliss: How
to Profit from Doing What You Love, introducing women entrepreneurs as presented
in Victoria magazine.
Cornelia Powell is a former associate fashion editor
at Vogue magazine (“the hardest work
and the best training ever”) and served for years as a member of the Costume
Society of America’s Board of Directors. After 30 years in Atlanta, Cornelia moved to
the Western North Carolina Mountains in 2008 and now looks out at the world and
its ever-inspiring landscape from her writing loft nestled on a steep, green
mountain ridge. She claims growing up on a farm in south Alabama,
including visits “up the road” with two extraordinary grandmothers, gave her a
“wondering” quality about finding beauty in the everyday of Mother Nature. ~
Email Cornelia Powell for more information.
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