The Youthquake Years
The 60s were a decade of incredible innovation, from the breakthroughs in science and technology that brought us Concorde and space travel, to a fashion revolution. Social barriers were breaking down, while the “youthquake” movement saw young people setting their own agenda in music and fashion. London played a pivotal part in the emerging scene, while The Beatles revolutionised music and designers like Mar y Quant took a fresh, youthful approach to fashion as the lines between formal and informal blurred and new developments in fabric technology made anything possible.
While mini-skirts and space-age fabrics were not practical options for regal life, the Queen’s wardrobe did reflect trends of the time, including simpler shapes such as shifts and column dresses. As Bethan Holt observes in TheQueen:70 Years of Majestic Style, the Queen is not averse to taking fashion risks. “Her gown for a State Dinner at the British Embassy in Tehran in March 1961 exhibited a finger on the pulse of evolving fashion. Instead of the usual fair ytale gowns, the Queen wore a chic, minimal, column-style dress that looked light and effortless. It was a look that seemed to show the sovereign had an eye on the fashion pages.”
If her dresses had to follow a more conservative take on 60s trends, the Queen’s hats had fewer restrictions. Her choice of hat is one item where she can freely make a statement or indulge her playful streak. Along with her handbag and gloves, hats are an essential part of the royal look and should always be distinctive and bright enough to ensure she is visible in a crowd – in her own words, “people want to see me”. From feather and petal-strewn creations to Simone Mirman’s 1965 noodle-like number jokingly dubbed the “spaghetti” hat, the Queen fearlessly adopted some outré
60s hat trends.
“Hats are an essential part of the royal look and should always be distinctive”