Developing her
After critics accused her of being conservative, the Queen found a style that was glamorous but never flashy, writes Kerry Parnell
As the years passed, fashion and the Queen inevitably changed – and fans of The Crown will remember the 1961 presidential visit of the Kennedys, and how the First Lady Jackie was disparaging about what she called the “dowdiness” of the Queen.
Photographer Cecil Beaton wrote in his diaries that Jackie, in a chic Chez Ninon blue silk shantung shift, had been unimpressed by the Queen’s blue Norman Hartnell ball gown, her reserved hairstyle, and the tired and ageing interiors of Buckingham Palace.
Whether the First Lady truly called the then 35-year-old Queen “middle-aged” we will never know, but she certainly updated her look.
Hardy Amies, famous for designing the Queen’s beaded pink gown that she wore for her silver jubilee in 1977, took the Queen into the middle years of her reign, presenting a more modern and streamlined silhouette.
Through the 1980s, the Queen settled into a combination of coat dresses, hats and Launer handbags, and even her dresser and, later, designer Angela Kelly said the Queen was in danger of looking dowdy by the late 1990s.
“I could not help thinking that the Queen’s style needed to change quickly before she was made to look older than she was,” Kelly wrote in her memoir The Other Side of the Coin, explaining that by 2001 she began making the Queen’s clothes, as well as dressing her.
“Before long, Her Majesty’s wardrobe was being revitalised, as, piece by piece, vibrant colours and stylish cuts made their way onto the rails,” Kelly wrote.
Throughout it all, the Queen never underestimated the power of her clothes. Royal fashion exhibitions continue to be big draws around the world – including the Queen’s 90th birthday retrospective, Fashioning a Reign, and the 2021 Royal Style in the Making exhibition at Kensington Palace. The designs were “instrumental in shaping the visual identity of the royal family”, explained curator Matthew Storey.
But despite all the formal events, state occasions and grand affairs, it was the Queen’s off-duty look that endured, embodying the woman behind the crown. Our lasting memory of the Queen is the headscarf-wearing, tartan-clad woman in waxed jacket and boots. She was never more comfortable than in her country clothes and, as Caroline Rush said, made that look iconic.
The Queen’s Balmoral style inspired Max Mara’s 70th anniversary collection in 2021.
“It shows a woman who’s completely at home in what she’s wearing. I wanted to channel the feeling,” creative director Ian Griffiths said.
“Although the Queen doesn’t consider herself to be a fashion icon, I am very aware that many people do,” Angela Kelly wrote in her book.
“It is her job to look the part, and fashion helps,” she added.