70 Years of Fashion Excellence by The Queen
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at her home in Balmoral in Scotland at age 96. The Queen was Britain's longest reigning monarch and will forever be a cultural and historical icon.
Throughout her 70 years of reign, she ascended to the throne at the age of 25, served her country and people from all around the world really admired and loved her. She saw history unravel and witnessed history’s most relevant events. The Queen remains and was a quintessential British iconic symbol.
Since her passing many will remember her as a monarch that presented the world through her imagery and actions as a beacon of stability, hope, confidence and composure. Others see the harsh and unbearing reality of colonialism and its effects brought by the monarchy and its government.
The role of the monarchy can be put into question as well as its importance and accountability. The truth is that a monarchy in a modern democratic driven world still holds power and one way it does so is through fashion.
The Queen's fashion is one that will prevail leaving behind a lifelong legacy that demonstrates how elegance, integrity, identity, strength are communicated through how a political figure uses fashion. She is a political/diplomatic symbol, and her fashion represents and speaks to this, like when she went to Ireland and wore a specific shade of green or when she turned to Parliament to deliver The Queen's speech wearing a blue and yellow skirt suit that got people specializing if she was alluding to the colors of the EU flag.
Favoring regal elegance, her wardrobe truly represented her role as a leading British monarch. The Queen managed to maintain a completely inimitable style that never subjected to trends, always keeping a sense of consistency that speaks volumes to how the world perceives her nation.
Fashion is political no matter who wears it and when The Queen married Phillip Mountbatten in 1947, shortly after the end of the war, she showed The Commonwealth and the people of Britain how in touch with reality she was. She purchased the tulle and chiffon of her wedding dress with ration coupons she had saved and which were gifted to her later. For her nation she showed her patriotism by wearing a white satin gown made by Hartnell with embroidered floral emblems.
She favored classic, clean lines, elegant and conservative looks. But kept things upbeat by using bright colors, vivacious prints and accessories. It is said that she wears such colors so that people can spot her and see her more easily.
The way she approached dressing for her duties followed a specific formula; patent pumps, top handle handbags, monochromatic looks, skirt suits and brimmed hats. In a world of men, she always relied on her strong hat femmenine style to communicate her strength.
Her fashion legacy started with her father, King George VI, when he commissioned couturier Norman Hartnell to design gowns for his wife and children. In an attempt to highlight the values of tradition and stability after his brother abdicated from the crown.
After that Her Majesty’s style adhered to traditional wear but did experiment and incorporated some of the decade's biggest trends. During the 50’s her gowns and evening wear had nipped in waists, during the 60’s her hemlines went shorter and during the 70’s turbantes were her headpiece of choice. Giving the royal treatment to mainstream fashion.
The Queen had to change up to 5 times a day and every single outfit was carefully designed and planned, nothing was left to chance, not even the wind as they would add weights to her hemlines so that everything stayed in place.
It might come as a shock, it did to me, to find out who her stylist is. One might think it would be some royal couturier with years of experience in tailoring but no. Surprisingly the woman genius behind The Queen's look and her personal confidant was a housekeeper with no previous fashion training. Angela Kelly has designed some of The Queen's most iconic looks, creating a worldwide example and inspiration on career formal wear. Not an easy task, Angela is in charge of designing, of fabric selection and overseeing and taking care of the subtle details that hint to political symbolism. She designed the pale yellow ensemble Her Majesty wore at William and Kate’s wedding as well as the light mint green ensemble she wore at the Diamond Jubilee celebration.
A very important part in any proper British attire are hats. Not just any hats, I mean look at these designs.
For years The Crown has favored hat designer Rachel Trevor Morgan. The Queen has sported her designs in countless weddings, diplomatic trips, derbies, dinners etc. All of which are handmade by her group of talented artisans who oversee everything from the stretching of the fabric, sewing, molding and sculpting. They also have to coordinate the colors, patterns and motifs to the Queens outfits. Making hats the perfect accessory to tie the whole look together.
Besides hats, jewelry and tiaras might be my personal favorite accessory the Queen wears. Jewelry is kept in the family when it comes to the Royals as it is passed down, some of the jewelry she wears were first worn by Queen Mary or even Queen Victoria. Her first piece of custom made jewelry was a tiara she wore for her fathers coronation which would be the first of many. One piece that stands out in her collection is the Delhi Durbar necklace, a piece that hosts the largest diamond ever found and nine emeralds. The impressive necklace was originally owned by Queen Mary, her grandmother.
Queen Mary’s Lovers Knot Tiara was created in 1913 and passed down to Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, worn later by Princess Diana and by Kate in 2015. Surely Princess Charlotte and Princess Lilibet will be inheriting some beautiful pieces.
During London’s Fashion Week in 2018, The Queen showed her support to British designers when she presented Richard Quinn with an award for British design, she even sta front row next to Anna Wintour.
Like all of us she also dressed casually, while maybe not in pants her casual style paid homage to quintessential English leisure wear like Wellington boots, quilted outerwear, headscarves, plaid, wool and checks.
Imagine having a different outfit every day and never ever getting it wrong. Having perfectly tailored, crease-free ensembles made specifically for you. The Queen’s style is divinely inimitable and so simplistic yet perfectly calculated. We will always remember her colors that made her petite frame stand out in a sea of people. A once in a lifetime figure that’s legacy leaves through her deep elegance and perfectly polished and strong womanhood.