IF there’s one question on the lips of the nation’s women about the Royal Wedding, it’s “what will the dress be like?”

For as any woman knows, what the bride wears is, without doubt, the most important part of any wedding – let alone one where the bride in question is marrying the future King.

As speculation mounts about the style Kate Middleton chooses for her big day, one designer’s name is certainly out of the running.

At the launch of her latest collection – aptly described as .Royal Family meets Alice in Wonderland’ – at London Fashion Week, Dame Vivienne Westwood declared Kate was not stylish enough for her.

The 70-year-old said: “I’d have loved to have dressed Kate Middleton, but I have to wait until she kind of catches up a bit somewhere with style.”

While Westwood’s eclectic designs may not be quite up Kate’s street – she favours more classic styles – she will certainly need something spectacular if she is to stand out among the 1,900 rumoured guests including Elton John, Victoria Beckham and Kanye West.

And let’s not forget the eyes of the world will be on her as she says “I do”, with designers and fashionistas waiting with baited breath to copy her style.

It’s been rumoured the dress is currently being made inside Buckingham Palace by a little-known British designer, but bookies Paddy Power closed the books on veteran designer Bruce Oldfield, a favourite of Princess Diana, being the chosen one when the odds were slashed to 3-1.

British designer Phillipa Lepley, who created gowns for Ulrika Jonsson and Davina McCall, is also said to be in the running.

But according to Sandy Mair, owner of Brides of Bournemouth in Yelverton Road, Kate will have had both the designer, and the style of dress picked out long before the engagement was even announced.

“She’ll go for something very traditional,” she predicted.

“I think she’s going to have lace. A classic lace dress, beautiful pure lace with an underlay of silk. I think it will be very classic and I think she will be covered. I don’t know if she will be allowed to have sleeveless, you always see her with long sleeves.

“And I’m going to say she’ll go for a full skirt.”

Sandy’s colleague Sue Osborne added: “I can imagine she’ll be going for something elegant and I don’t see her in something too full. I think a longer bodice but full in the bottom, perhaps with long, elegant sleeves.

“I think she’ll go for ivory, because white is very stark and you’ve got to have the right colouring because it will wash you out a bit.

“It does have an influence. Once we’ve found out what it’s going to be, people will come in asking for that.”

People on the streets of Bournemouth agreed Kate would stick to something classy.

Cinzia Imbrenda, 23, said: “Kate will go for something feminine, but not too fluffy. Because her waist is so tiny she doesn't need all the petticoats to make her look smaller.”

Katie Akerman, 22, thought the bride would go for lace, with a modern twist, while Kylie Barr, 22, said: “I'd love to see her try something a bit different - maybe wear her hair up because we always see it down.”

Annalie Ryan, 22, added: “I reckon she will choose silk for the main body, lace for the sleeves, and a veil down to the floor.”