{"id":181791,"date":"2026-04-01T04:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/181791\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T04:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:55:24","slug":"queen-elizabeths-style-was-questionable-in-the-90s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/181791\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Elizabeth’s Style Was “Questionable” in the ’90s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queen Elizabeth was known for her rainbow-colored coats<\/a> and creative hats<\/a> in her later decades, but in the \u201890s and early 2000s, her style<\/a> was a bit more \u201cfrumpy,\u201d according to royal biographer Hugo Vickers<\/a>. In his new biography of the late Queen, which is serialized in the Daily Mail<\/a> this week, Vickers wrote that Queen Elizabeth \u201cseemed determined to look like a pensioner\u201d once she turned 65\u2014but when a key royal figure died, her wardrobe shifted.<\/p>\n

Writing that the late Queen started \u201csporting a frumpy-looking hairstyle\u201d in the \u201890s, Vickers said that he felt Queen Elizabeth\u2019s \u201cfashion choices <\/a>were questionable.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that it \u201cwasn\u2019t until after the death of the Queen Mother<\/a>\u201d in 2002 that Queen Elizabeth \u201cblossomed, allowing her clothes to become brighter.\u201d The change was so noticeable that Vickers mentioned to someone, \u201cDid we have to wait until the Queen Mother died before the Queen began to dress well?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Queen\n<\/p>\n

Queen Elizabeth wears a Hardy Amies suit in 1995.<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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\"Queen\n<\/p>\n

Queen Elizabeth attends Richard Quinn’s London Fashion Week show in 2018 with her trusted assistant, Angela Kelly (far right), and Anna Wintour (second from right).<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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\"Queen\n<\/p>\n

The late Queen is pictured in a bright pink outfit in 2016. <\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cBack came the reply: \u2018No, you had to wait until Hardy Amies died,\u201d Vickers wrote, referring the late fashion designer who dressed Queen Elizabeth for decades and passed away in 2003.<\/p>\n

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Queen Elizabeth\u2019s longtime dresser and personal assistant, Angela Kelly<\/a>, started walking for the palace in 1994, and Vickers pointed out that it was Kelly who \u201crevolutionized the Queen\u2019s late-life style.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a new interview with Vanity Fair<\/a> published March 30, Kelly discussed how she encouraged the late Queen to experiment with brighter colors and shorter hemlines. \u201cI told her, \u2018Your Majesty, you have good legs. Let\u2019s show them off\u2019,\u201d Kelly told the magazine. \u201cNeedless to say the hems on the clothes were raised.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, Kelly said that Queen Elizabeth wasn’t necessarily focused on fashion, but Her Majesty enjoyed the process. \u201cThe Queen loved seeing the clothes being made from the beginning to the end, seeing the material,\u201d she said, adding that Queen Elizabeth \u201cliked the pastel and deep colors but she preferred people to focus on her speeches rather than her clothes.\u201d Sounds a lot like Princess Kate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.<\/p>\n

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\nQueen Elizabeth II
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