Princess Charlotte exists, so it’s only a few years until we can begin scrutinizing her wardrobe choices.
British princesses dress differently than you
and I, and not just, to paraphrase Hemingway, because they have more
money. They, in fact, dress very differently than their fellow
celebrities who have much more money. Most celebrities, especially
female ones, dress to hold the public’s attention. There are a lot of
ways to do that. You can wear a dress held together with safety pins like Elizabeth Hurley, or $18 million Oscar outfits like Cate Blanchett, or opera gloves and pearls and nothing else like Kim Kardashian.
Royals can’t do any of that. They have to dress not in a way that
merits attention, but rather their countrymen’s approval—or, at least,
doesn't merit their countrymen's disapproval. Because that’s
kind of the whole point of being in the English monarchy, if we are to
believe Queen Elizabeth II who, at 21, explained her role like this: "It
is simple. I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be
long or short, shall be devoted to your service."
Queen Elizabeth II, age 21, alongside her corgi. Photo: Getty Images
Since monarchs are always supposed to be pleasing their
subjects, they can’t wear opera gloves and nothing else, even if they
wanted to. They have to dress how you would if you were meeting your
significant other’s parents or going to an office party. They are role
models for dressing for situations where you will be judged.
They must adhere to what society deems acceptable, and for much of
history, what society wanted was women whose clothing played up either
the fact that they were virgins or eternally devoted to one man.
Queen Elizabeth the First wore tons of pearls because they
represented chastity. She also wore her coronation ring on her left ring
finger because, according to Allison Weir in The Life Of Elizabeth I, it symbolically wedded her to her people. Queen Victoria wore black mourning attire
for decades after the death of her husband Albert. In both of their
lifetimes, a woman showing her sexuality would be shamed, and Elizabeth
and Victoria found interesting means to avoid that.
Elizabeth I wore lots and lots of pearls, while Queen Victoria wore black for decades. Photos: Getty Images
The first female royal who managed to adopt an openly sexy
style was Princess Diana. When she and Prince Charles married in 1981,
Diana was supposed to be as much a virgin bride as any other royal, and
for a long time she dressed to reflect that. When you think of early
Diana, you think of pearl necklaces (they still symbolize chastity!) and
schoolgirlish Peter Pan collars.
Princess Diana in her "revenge dress." Photo: Getty Images
For years she avoided dressing at all provocatively; when Christina
Stambolian designed a dress for her in 1991, she refused to wear it
because it was too sexy. However, she did wear it three years
later in 1994, on the same day Charles admitted to an affair with
Camilla Parker Bowles. It became known as the "revenge dress" and people
loved it.
Kerry
Taylor, who auctioned off many of Diana’s clothes in 2013 said, "Her
influence meant that royals didn’t have to be dowdy. You didn’t have to
wear pastel colors, a massive handbag, and hat. You could love fashion
and look good." That view was very much in keeping with the times. Sex and the City would debut a mere four years after.
But there are other British royals for whom being deliberately
unstylish was just as important. In the 1930s, Wallis Simpson—Prince
Edward’s divorcee mistress for whom he abdicated the throne, claiming he
could not fulfill his duties as king without the support of the woman
he loved—was probably the most well-dressed woman in the world. She
swanned around in Schiaparelli evening gowns with prints personally
designed by Salvador Dali. It was bananas how good she looked. Just spend a minute Googling her outfits, they’re pretty much all great.
Wallis Simpson's style was particularly admired. Photo: Getty Images
But, cool fact, she and Edward were also horrible people. In spite of what Madonna’s W.E. movie tries to tell you, they were almost certainly Nazi sympathizers. Wallis supposedly had an affair with von Ribbentrop.
She and her husband would have traded away England for a well-made
martini. Winston Churchill once said that a statue of Wallis should be
erected in every town in England because she saved the country from
Edward.
After Edward stepped down, George VI became king and his wife
Elizabeth became queen. She very pointedly dressed in what would be
considered '40s normcore. She was deliberately dowdy. People who loved
Wallis Simpson criticized her for this endlessly, but no one, then or
today, would be able to compete with Wallis on the style front.
By dressing in fairly shapeless dresses and frumpy hats, she reminded
the people that the monarchy wasn’t really about looking great, it was
about service to the people. Plus, when she went to visit citizens who
had been bombed in the Blitz, it would have been incredibly insensitive
to show up in a Schiaparelli evening gown. That’s not to say she dressed
poorly—her clothes could be described as generally serviceable and
appropriate—but no one would describe her as fashion-forward. This
actually made her more likeable.
Kate Middleton likes matching suits and hats, just like her mother-in-law. Photo: Getty Images
This is also a legacy that extended onward to her daughter Queen
Elizabeth II, who dresses not all that differently from her mother,
though she’s added some brighter, peppier colors, like the bright pink
she wore after the birth of baby Charlotte was announced.
Kate Middleton seems like she’s managed to land somewhere in between
dressing in the practical manner of the Queen and Queen Mother and
Diana’s bombshell style. It appears to be working out pretty well, too;
as of 2013, confidence in the British monarchy was at an all-time high.
And her daughter? Princess Charlotte was last seen wearing
an admirable white cap and white blanket, which no one can disapprove of
just yet.
Princess Charlotte, all in white. Photo: Getty Images
Jennifer Wright is the author of It Ended Badly: The 13 Worst Break-Ups in History, due out fall 2015. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
I hated that house 400yrs ago and I still hate England some 400yrs later.
That is simply another vice in life, that serves no purpose and to which there is no solution to it or the problems it causes.
There are 2 Comments.
Show speed reading tips and settingsThat is simply another vice in life, that serves no purpose and to which there is no solution to it or the problems it causes.
Something to say? Log in or sign up