Queen Elizabeth II, who died Thursday at the age of 96 after reigning for more than 70 years, was definitely in uniform. Known for wearing fancy clothes. She wears clean-lined gowns and full skirts for formal events, and during the day she wears her suits and dresses with expertly tailored skirts, boldly plucking her neckline and her I was squeezing my waist. And her later years, of course, reflected her taste for understated, traditional elegance in what is now known as her usual public attire. The kingdom has evolved dramatically in her 20th century and her 21st century.

However, the Queen’s wardrobe was consistently imbued with deeper meaning and was seen as communicating support and affection for other nations and communities, as well as asserting power when necessary. Since Elizabeth’s reign began in 1952, an era before women were regularly seen at the highest levels of government in the Western world, she set the standard for women’s clothing adjacent to politics. contributed to

The public image of Queen Elizabeth was “generally smart, neat, and very 1950s, I think. No need to fuss,” said a fellow at the Institute of History in London, who said that the rulers were says Philip Mansel, author of Dressed to Rule, a book about how people have controlled their public image.

The Queen’s style at home was slightly different, says Mansell. People are “just like everyone’s aunts and mothers.”

But in public, especially in her later years, “I think she always wanted two things: security and recognition,” says Mansell. Being an instantly recognizable pillar of color was her way of “trying to put people at ease despite all the changes happening.”

Malcolm Barnard, author of Fashion as Communication, writes in an email to The Washington Post: For example, the desire for change, continuation, and continuation of a dominant position. ”

In fact, Queen Elizabeth famously insisted that the dress code for royal events be fairly formal. I blamed myself for not having. Mansell says the stylish but understated daytime dress code that the likes of Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Camilla Parker-Bowles have strictly adhered to as members of the royal family goes back to Elizabeth’s mother and her grandmother. To tell.

Mansell adds that it was Princess Diana who tried to break the mold. Her style, especially when she was married to the current King Charles III, deviated subtly from her royal formula, sometimes incorporating more masculine or more girlish touches. Double-breasted military-style jackets and occasional dropped-waisted dresses.

Nonetheless, Queen Elizabeth, who has been called “the link between the end of the empire and the beginning of cosmopolitan liberal democracy,” helped solidify the modern uniform for women in power and the throne. Boxy, mid-length skirt suits are still seen in US government buildings and in the women of Western politics. And Mansell points out that Britain’s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, “dressed somewhat like a queen and always carried a handbag.”

The Queen also helped maintain a strong tradition of ‘fashion diplomacy’. As Bethan Her Holt writes in her 2022 book The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style, her monarch takes great care to match the local culture when she travels. Known for During her Queen’s official visit to Ireland in 2011, Holt wrote: Eager to mend relations with her neighbor, she wore her coat of deep green wool crepe and her dress of matching green printed silk on her arrival at the state dinner. I attended the meeting. She wore her shamrock-adorned gown of more than 2,000 tiny silks.

at dinner at In Canada in 2010, the Queen wore a white lace gown with Swarovski crystal maple leaves glittering down her shoulders. She wore a gown embroidered with California poppies to meet President Ronald Reagan in 1983. When she visited in 1961, she wore an emerald and white train gown that resembled the Pakistani flag, showing her affection for her by wearing a costume in shades of heather and thistle. Scotland where the Scottish Parliament was formed in 1999.

And, as Mansell points out, she occasionally chose a color to assert her power. I wore red clothes to match my clothes.

The Queen’s peculiar habit of communicating through details has flourished in the world of politics. Princess Diana wore a red polka-dot dress in Japan in 1986, a clear homage to Japan’s rising sun flag. Madeleine Albright chose the pin strategically when she was serving as U.S. Secretary of State. And in the UK, Supreme Court Chief Justice Brenda Hale made headlines in 2019 when she delivered a verdict to suspend Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s parliament while wearing a spider-shaped brooch. Whose song, “Boris the Spider,” wrote Bernard, while others thought of Walter Scott’s “tangled web” of lies and deceit in his 1808 poem “Mermion.”

Madeleine Albright’s ‘Pin Diplomacy’ is in the State Department Museum

Of course, another tradition of fashion diplomacy flourished. It’s about wearing clothes designed by members of a particular community as a sign of respect and support. During a visit to India in 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama wore a cream strapless gown and skirt designed by Indian-American designers Naeem Khan and Rachel Roy respectively.UK 2019 On the visit, Ivanka Trump wore an ensemble by British designers including Safiya, Burberry and Alessandra Rich. It can be traced back to Mary Todd Lincoln.

In contrast, Queen Elizabeth almost always wore pieces from British designers. This is a tradition that goes back centuries to monarchs like Louis his XIV, and Mansell said: So he wore, above all, French silk, French embroidery, and French lace, and had the ladies of his court do so, to outdo his Venetian lace. ”

Thanks: Queen Elizabeth II did her job

After all, the Queen reigned at the pinnacle of a monarchy known for colonization and conquest, and her claim to British-made design can be seen as consistent with the history of the British Empire promoting its own hegemony. I made it.

Still, Mansell said the Queen’s clothes were not usually controversial. “A lot of French people liked her clothes,” says Mansell, for example, “because they weren’t French. They were different.” “They represented England.”