Thread by @PaganTrelawney

Some1 critcised Meghan recently 4 not bringing enough “old-world glamour” 2 her looks. The idea being that royals dress with the past in mind.
As people have a tendency 2 rewrite history in order 2 pile on Meghan, thght we’d look at a little Royal history, our subject- The Queen

The Queen is in her 20’s here. She’s dressed in the classic 40’s style. An hourglass silhouette with feminine details, contrasted by pronounced almost masculine shoulders. The look says (in the parlance of the time), that she’s a swell gal, but she means business😜

It’s the 1950’s & QE2 is in her 30’s. The war is behind her & the nation craves luxury after years of rationing. Woman have left the factories & are back in the home. The masculine shoulders have been replaced by the smooth décolleté, & voluptuous femininity is the look du jour.

The 60’s brought the “youthquake”, the Queen was in her 40’s but she wasn’t left behind. Designers produced simple shapes in shorter lengths, abandoning the voluminous abundance of the 50’s for simple shifts that suited, flat chests & girlish figures. Couture also made way 4 RTW

By the 70’s QE2 was in her 50’s, like many women her age she ddnt adopt every new trend that appeared, but stuck with old favorites. However a few evening looks did reflect the times.Flowing caftan dresses brought hints of the “ethnic” details that carried over frm the hippie era

Up until middle age the queens style represented the women of the age. She never wore clothes that harkened back to the previous centuries cos she didn’t need to, as she had crowns, carriages and castles that always remind people of her position and it’s history.

Ffw 2 today, most Britons have only ever known one monarch. Her appearance is our easiest point of reference, so of course if a person wanted to remind people she was preparing 4 a similar role, it would be smart to use the aesthetics that are already in place...

But that doesn’t mean it’s a requirement. Take Princess Margaret, a royal who always liked her fashion with a capital F.
Her sister might have been the Queen of England but Margaret was the undisputed style queen & she never let her sisters more staid taste hamper her own flair

The most recent royal icon was Princess Diana. She loved fashion & the people that created it. Like any woman with a platform, she knew her look cld be a tool 2 spread her message. 1 of her most iconic outfits, turned a sweatshirt from 1 of her patronages into a fashion must have

Some royals build their wardrobes on their ability to closely follow rules, (both real & imaginary), while others have a message to convey or want to show their personality within the confines of an institution with an elderly matriarch. Both approaches are acceptable...

Meghan isn’t a royal of yesteryear, she’s a royal 4 today with similar concerns, to today’s woman. With her fashion choices, she asks questions that a lot of us ask...Is it comfortable? Is the fabric sustainable? Was it ethically made? Does it come in black?...

I’ll finish up by saying the monarchy is an institution that has survived Civil war, mental illness, loss of an empire, abdication, adultery & divorce, to name a few disasters...

Denim will not be its downfall.