The Women Of The British Royal Family Showed Us How To Express Opinions Through Their Fashion And Jewelry Choices Over The Years

Aug 16, 2019 by apost team

Fashion is an expression of your creativity and of your personality. Each choice you make in your outfit is a decision to say something to the world. The same goes for the women of the British royal family, but their clothing choices are scrutinized by the entire planet. There have been several ways duchesses, princesses, and even the queen have decided to communicate their inner thoughts through their attire. It’s time for us to take a look at what it all means.

You might think that the most important dress in a girl’s life would be her wedding dress. Princess Diana had a huge fairytale wedding and wore a stunning princess dress, but it was the one she wore at the edge of her official divorce that turned out to be the one she’s most remembered for.

In 1994 Prince Charles publicly admitted he was having an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, his now-wife. It was the scandal of the decade, but Diana refused to play the role of the spurned woman. Instead, the very same night Charles made his confession, Diana expressed herself, bucked royal tradition, and showed her husband what he was losing all by wearing one simple LBD.

It was a Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery, and Diana showed up in an off-the-shoulder Christina Stambolian dress that violated the royal dress code. It was short, had an open back, and a plunging neckline. Kerry Taylor, head of the auction that sold off some of her wardrobe, told the press why it was dubbed the “revenge dress.”

“...some would have been like “I can’t face it this evening” Diana went out in that dress looking drop dead gorgeous,” she told Woman Magazine. “She made a big statement right there.”

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The young princess Kate, the wife of Prince William, has a beautiful classic style that is timeless and often demure. However, she sometimes likes to play with the template like in a fashion moment when she kept her style but broke the royal dress code was a recent high-profile event: Her nephew Archie’s christening.

She wore a short pink Stella McCartney dress that cut just above the knee. According to the Standard’s outline of the royal dress code, the Queen prefers the dress be cut just below or at the knee. Whatever the matriarch of the family says, goes.

The pearl drop earrings that Kate wore on the day were also the center of controversy. They were reported by Harper’s Bazaar as being the same Collingwood earrings that Princess Di wore to Harry’s christening. It may have been considered a sweet nod to Archie’s grandmother and a way to include her on the day, but Cosmopolitan reports that many social media users are not happy with the way the move potentially upstaged Meghan Markle.

Prince Andrew’s daughter Princess Eugenie recently got married to her beau Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. It was a lavish affair and the Princess looked stunning in a custom gown made by Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos. She had approached the designers with a special request: The dress must have a low back.

The very specific request had a lot of weight behind it. Princess Eugenie had to undergo a lengthy 8-hour operation in 2012 to correct the curvature of her spine due to scoliosis. She wanted to set an example for people with scars on their body that they are a marker of something that they’ve experienced and shouldn’t be covered up.

“Part of it was showing my scar and I believe scars tell a story about your past and your future, and it’s a way of getting rid of a taboo,” she is quoted as saying in The Independent.

It was a classy and sweet way to use her platform as a royal family member to call attention to a serious topic just by using a different cut on her dress.

In a moving moment in history, Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip in the aftermath of the Second World War. The year was 1947 and the country that the new Queen was leading, was going through a difficult period of rebuilding. She was also a bride-to-be and hand plenty on her mind.

Rations were still in place and even the Queen’s use of fabric was under a national quota. In a move of solidarity, citizens sent their ration cards in to the palace in preparation for the couple’s marriage reports Town and Country. She politely declined as rations were non-transferable but she was granted extra coupons and made it work instead. As a result, her stunning wedding dress was able to come to fruition in the vision of the designer, Norman Hartnell.

The train had dozens of intricate garlands of jasmine, roses, and crops that danced behind her as she walked down the aisle. The Telegraph reports that she also wore her mother’s tiara, but it broke in her hands two hours before the ceremony! Her consort was able to find a jeweler to fix it, and in the end, everything came together for her to look absolutely beautiful. The obstacles that the Queen overcame that day were a symbol for her people to look up to, knowing that she could bring them through hard times.

Although Prince Charles is the next in line for the monarchy, his high status didn’t warrant a lavish second wedding. He married Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005 in a very private ceremony that did not have the pomp and circumstance of most royal weddings reports People. Therefore, Camilla the bride did not wear an over-the-top wedding gown that may call attention to herself.

Because it was an unpopular union in front of a public that loved Charles’ ex, Princess Diana, the couple wanted a subtle event. Camilla wore a barely blue-gray dress and an overcoat with intricate but subdued embroidery. The public photos would be released and the newlyweds knew they had to be discreet in every way they could, including clothing.

On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in her coronation ceremony in London’s Westminster Abbey. Her gown had to be a show-stopper and so she knew she could count on her wedding dress designer Norman Hartnell. Hartnell pulled out all the stops an even included a secret message within the finished dress.

The enormous gown was embroidered with botanical motifs that weren’t just beautiful but were also laden with meaning. According to the National Gallery of Australia, each flower or plant was a representative of the British commonwealth countries: The Tudor rose of England, the Scots thistle, the Welsh leek, the wattle of Australia, the maple leaf of Canada,South Africa’s protea, a pearly lotus flower for India,  another lotus flower for Sri Lanka, the New Zealand fern, and for Pakistan, wheat, cotton and jute.

It was Hartnell’s little good luck extra four-leaf clover that came in addition to Ireland’s shamrocks that he wanted the Queen to have for the big day. A sweet gesture for his most important client and future monarch.

On a rainy day in 2017, Princess Kate joined her husband Prince William and his brother Harry for an appearance at the Buckingham Palace memory garden. It was a special visit on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s passing. In an act of remembrance, she wore a Prada dress printed with a beautiful print of green with orange poppies, which are symbols of memory.

Over the generations of royal family women, it's proven that they are strong, individual, and smart ladies that aren't just there as arm candy for their significant others. What do you think about their communicative fashion choices? Have you ever worn anything as a statement? Let us know and show your favorite royal fans.