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The 1950s was the Queen's most trend-centric decade. As a 25-year-old, newly crowned monarch, she embraced the glamour of the post-war era, promoting British fashion and garnering her own style-icon status along the way, with help from her principal couturiers Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies. "She took to the global stage at a time when the world was largely run by men, and to see her hold on to her razzle-dazzle femininity was just delightful," says Holmes.

Just months after ascending the throne, Elizabeth II wore this sweeping black-and-white Norman Hartnell gown, paired with long white gloves and a dainty tiara, to a special film screening at Leicester Square's Empire Theatre, causing a particular stir. "At first glance, it's a beautiful, very traditional ball gown, which is what you'd expect at a big gala performance," Bethan Holt, author of newly published book The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style, tells BBC Culture. "But then you notice its menswear detailing – a tuxedo-lapel finish at the top. Hartnell and the Queen are showing they're not afraid to make a fashion statement." The next day the so-called "Magpie dress" was headline news, spawning multiple copies and DIY patterns.

From ballgowns to Barbours, why Her Majesty's evolving dress sense is a masterclass in royal image making. Daisy Woodward looks back at a fashion journey like no other.
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In her 70 years on the throne, the Queen has witnessed huge social change, previously unthinkable scientific and technological breakthroughs, and – inevitably – the emergence, decline and re-emergence of countless fashion trends. Some of these she has helped spark: it could be argued that Her Majesty pipped Billie Eilish to the post in the pioneering of neon green, popularised the Gucci horse-bit loafer, and set the ultimate standard for British countryside chic. Others, like the refined New Look of the 1950s championed by Christian Dior or the bold prints of the 1970s, she has wholeheartedly embraced. But, for the most part, she has carved out her own, singular visual identity, aided by a host of advisors, stylists and designers.

(bbc)