ALTHOUGH Kate Middleton has remained tight-lipped about her wedding dress, British women are more forthright about the frock they’d choose for the future Queen of England.

If they have their way, the royal bride-to-be will be gliding up the aisle tomorrow in something old rather than something new.

Classic bridal gowns were favoured over more contemporary icons, according to Debenhams wedding list customers.

Jackie Onassis’s Anne Lowe wedding dress was top of the frocks while Pamela Anderson’s outfit – a white bikini and sailor’s hat – was voted the worst.

Former royal dressmaker Alison Pordum of Bournemouth, who used to work for the Queen, says if she’d been given the job of designing Kate’s dress she would aim for a timeless classic.

“It would be sophisticated, modest and elegant but still with that wow factor! There has been a real revival in vintage designs.

“I have recently designed a 1930s style wedding dress with long sleeves and satin backed crepe.”

For her own wedding Alison created a black and white panelled art-deco style dress.

It is this demand for bridal gowns of yesteryear that prompted Annabelle Chisholm and her sister Katy Marsh to open One White Dress in Westbourne which specialises in secondhand vintage bridal gowns.

“People are looking back at the old iconic dresses like the worn by Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.

“I would like to see Kate in something that is classic and elegant but suits her style – nothing too modern. Whatever she chooses though designers will be copying it next season. “ Ed Watson, spokesperson for Debenhams says it demonstrates Britain’s ongoing love affair with tradition.

“Clearly the more recent styles like Jordan’s pink meringue and Jodie Marsh’s red dress push the boundaries too far.”

The Kate Middleton brand is already worth millions. The blue silk Issa dress she wore to announce her engagement last November catapulted Brazilian designer Daniella Helayel to global fame.

Ed Watson adds: “It is broadly assumed that wearing the colour white was intended to symbolise virginity – but in actual fact, blue was the colour originally connected to purity.

“The colour became associated with sexual innocence only after wearing white become ‘en vogue’ after Queen Victoria wore it at her wedding in 1840.”

Philippa of England (Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway from 1406 to 1430) was actually the first documented princess in history to wear a white wedding gown during a royal wedding ceremony.

White did not become a popular until Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840. Victoria wore a white gown so she could incorporate some lace she owned.

The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published and many other brides opted for a similar dress .

The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any colour, black being especially popular in Scandinavia.

Today, the white dress is normally understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.