After over 60 years on the throne, we take style cues from Elizabeth Windsor herself and get a little inspiration from her stylishly colourful wardrobe.
After more than 60 years in the role, Queen Elizabeth II has couture down pat. From the unchanged hairstyle to her flawless colour choices, this royal knows what looks good on her and wears it well. Images of her in her younger years effuse a certain grace and elegance, showing well-tailored dresses and jackets teamed with classic heels. These days, she’s hardly snapped without a chic coat and an age-appropriate colour-blocking outfit.
But some have claimed that the Queen has never been interested in fashion. From her childhood governess to other sources, some have argued that she’s a country girl at heart with no care for the whims of high fashion. In fact, during the war she’s said to have worn her mother’s hand-me-downs and she has since incorporated many ready-to-wear pieces into her wardrobe. But then there are other sources who have said that while she may not have ever cared for the on-trend fashion of the runways, she’s extremely particular about her own clothing and what she’s photographed in.
As the legend has it, she packed up more than 100 specially made new outfits when she first toured the Commonwealth in 1953. As a young royal, Elizabeth had a lean figure and narrow waist, and she complemented this with stiff satin dresses, beautifully embellished gowns and two-piece skirted suits with impeccably tailored jackets.
The Queen experiments with colour as much today as she did in her youth. From shimmery gold to a muted lemon, as a young royal her full skirts and elegant dresses were always chic and fitting for the occasion. She combined couture outfits with ready-to-wear dresses and more often than not had a massive impact on women’s fashion trends across England. Colours would be recreated, styles would be copied and similar-looking outfits would sell out in a day.
These days, as a woman in her 80s, Queen Elizabeth II still has fun with her colour choices and loves to dress head to toe in a particular shade. Not one to stick to the safe neutral colours favoured by many her age, Her Majesty often opts for playful brights like gorgeous fuchsias, lime green, purples, reds and turquoise. She’ll match entire outfits accordingly, from her sensible shoes to her dress, coat and hat. She also loves soft pastels like powder blue, rose pink, peach and lilac.
Her favourite colours are often teamed with glittering jewellery (particularly in her younger days) and shimmering embellishments like gold buttons or a touch of fur to keep out the English chill.
One of her most publicised appearances of late — the wedding of her grandson Prince William to Kate Middleton last year — saw her in a beautiful, age-appropriate canary yellow, from dress to matching coat and hat.
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