Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, who died on Thursday, remained adamant about her political leanings during her time on the throne, given her role in the constitutional monarchy of the country has been specified. However, an indelible part of her legacy – along with her unwavering dedication to her country, tradition and the symbolism of the crown – is to create the prototype for a kind of power women’s clothing. only in the second half of the 20th century.
The Queen famously said: “I must be seen to be believed, and from the moment she became sovereign in 1952, at the age of 25, she has dressed herself for that purpose.
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Due to being limited, for the most part, to funs and pantomimes (also participating in about 300 public events a year), she understands deeply that visuals can speak anyway. mass – and that she not only dressed her people but also for posterity. More than the sparkly evening gowns she wore as a young queen, a bit dusty and post-World War II fairy glamor but one piece with pre-existing royal fantasies. That was her only contribution. Her skill is to create a new ground while convincing the world that she is taking her job seriously, keeping the tradition alive.
She is an adept and dedicated practitioner of fashion diplomacy, paving the way for Michelle Obama and Duchess of Cambridge (among other women whose roles require proficiency in political semiotics) to work with designers and brands to open the arms of friendship across borders. She used her position to illuminate the local industry before Brigitte Macron or Jill Biden.
And she’s a master of dressing for the media: initiating (and spreading) the habit of wearing a light-colored suit as a way to blend in with the establishment and stand out from the crowd, thus providing provided a strategic template for the likes of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Angela Merkel, and Nancy Pelosi.
Queen Elizabeth II smiles brightly in pastel blue dress. (Source: Instagram / The Royal Family)
A long time ago Kim Kardashian appear in 2021 Met Gala in a full-body black jumpsuit, emphasizing the fact that she is such a ubiquitous presence of pop culture that she can be recognized simply by her lines, queen, a small woman in a hat with a handbag hanging from her arm, can be identified only from her silhouette. That’s why no matter which actress is playing Her Majesty (Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton), she can easily see the part.
Although Elizabeth has gone through many trends as prime minister (15) and president of the United States (14), including the eras of mods, punk, Teddy Boys and Sloane Rangers, she has never followed them. . She set it for herself. And though she’s often depicted as hiding in her style, she’s way ahead of the curve in her approach.
The consistency of her dress is a sign of credibility in the face of global change, a physical manifestation of her work as a living history icon and a tool of recognition. used with predictable accuracy. After all, she learned to appreciate the use of uniforms very early, when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945.
Her strategic defense began in 1953 with a crowning gown, ivory satin embroidered with selected kingdom flora – including English rose, Scottish thistle, native leek Wales, Irish shamrocks, Canadian maple leaves, New Zealand silver ferns, Pakistani wheat, Australian wrenches and South African rallies – kickstarts to what will be seen as diplomatic symbols for decades. So much so that Daniel Conway, a lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Westminster, told CBC in 2016 that it has become an important part of “British foreign policy”.
Queen Elizabeth II never followed trends, she set out for herself. (Source: Instagram / The Royal Family)
The Queen wore a green and white maple leaf dress at a state dinner in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1957; a white dress decorated with orange California poppies for a Hollywood dinner with Ronald and Nancy Reagan in 1983; A pink dress embroidered with peony, China’s national flower, ate with Deng Xiaoping in 1986. She arrived in Dublin in 2011 in a bright green dress and coat when she became the first British monarch. first visit to the Republic of Ireland.
But her intentions are not limited to her trips abroad; She is also acutely aware of her place on the domestic agenda.
She decided on her tone-on-tone look from hats to suits or dresses and coats to 2-inch pumps, to make herself recognizable to her subject, and she’s been faithful. with it for many years, a lighthouse in periwinkles, roses, jade, lilac and grapes. “I could never wear beige because no one would know who I am,” she once admitted to Robert Hardman, the royal biographer. On her 90th birthday, her lime green suit was so bright it had the hashtags #: #neonat90. Indeed, her use of color inspired Sali Hughes’ book, “Our Rainbow Queen,” one of at least seven books on the queen’s style. (Repetition, when necessary also acts as armor against the arrows and arrows of public opinion.)
Norman Hartnell (who made the queen’s wedding gown and coronation) and Hardy Amies are her original local tailors, followed in recent years by Stewart Parvin and Angela Kelly, costume experts whose her seniority of over two decades (and author of two books on royal style). The queen’s famous boxy handbags (she has more than 200) are from Launer London, given her royal command in 1968; Her cotton shirts are from Grosvenor Shirts Ltd. on Jermyn Street.
Weekends and holidays at Balmoral in Scotland have allowed her to shine in Scottish t-shirts and English tweed. In 2018, she sat in the front row at London Fashion Week to inaugurate Queen Elizabeth II The award for British Design, is given to a young designer, thus extending her patronage far beyond what she can wear on her own.
Her political savvy extends to recycling the garments and fabrics that have been in her wardrobe since before becoming part of the celebrity sustainability drive. And, in response to changing public sentiment, she elected in 2019 to stop wearing real fur (unless it’s already in her wardrobe).
That she did all this while somehow being seen as unfashionable, using the security of frugal and boring conformity to disguise her choices. how tactical he is, a master at going in the wrong direction. And as those gowns and suits move from her wardrobe into museums and royal archives, to be preserved for future study, they should be remembered not only as relics of a dynasty, but also as instruments of a different, special kind of modern reality.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
