{"id":210478,"date":"2026-04-26T19:45:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/210478\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T19:45:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:45:36","slug":"queen-elizabeth-iis-off-duty-wardrobe-goes-on-view-at-buckingham-palace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/210478\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s Off-Duty Wardrobe Goes on View at Buckingham Palace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest serving British monarch, showed her nature as a sartorial strategist<\/a> from the very beginning of her reign: At her coronation in 1953, she wore a gown featuring embroidered motifs that nodded to places throughout the British Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth\u2019s rule, which ended in 2022 when she died at 96<\/a>, coincided with the ascendance of the British fashion industry. She was loyal to homegrown brands and, in 2018, her patronage was immortalized with the creation of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, a distinction since given annually to a rising British designer.<\/p>\n

In her later decades on the throne, Elizabeth was known to favor bright, monochromatic ensembles that she accessorized with hats, brooches and a black handbag at the crook of her arm. Something of a uniform, the queen\u2019s colorful attire seemingly reflected a philosophy that she once told a biographer: \u201cI have to be seen to be believed.\u201d<\/p>\n

But just as indelible as Elizabeth\u2019s rainbow attire<\/a> was her selection of understated rubber boots, barn coats, head scarves and tartan skirts, items she often wore on trips to Balmoral Castle, her family\u2019s private estate in the rural Scottish Highlands. Many of those pieces, along with others from her expansive wardrobe, are featured in a new exhibition, \u201cQueen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style,\u201d that opened at Buckingham Palace in London this month, timed to coincide with what would have been Elizabeth\u2019s 100th birthday on April 21.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth\u2019s casual wear typically featured neutral shades that blended in with the bucolic environments where she wore it, and it was more relaxed than the finery that she sported for public appearances. For many people, seeing how she dressed in laid-back settings held a unique allure, explained Elizabeth Holmes, the author of \u201cHRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose choices feel less about how they play in public or for the photographers, and more representative of who that person is and what their style preferences are,\u201d Ms. Holmes said.<\/p>\n

The queen\u2019s country attire also underscored her deep commitment to British fashion, said Caroline de Guitaut, the curator of the new exhibition. \u201cIt\u2019s so British, and it\u2019s so quintessentially the essence of some of the best clothing produced in this country,\u201d Ms. de Guitaut said.<\/p>\n

She added that the queen\u2019s \u201coff-duty\u201d wardrobe was practical and inspired by her countryside pursuits \u2014 horseback riding, hunting and hiking. It included suede jackets from Simpson, Balmoral tartan skirts, Burberry capes, Barbour waxed jackets and Herm\u00e8s handkerchief scarves (the rare item from a brand outside Britain).<\/p>\n

The new exhibition showcases many of these garments, several of which Elizabeth routinely had repaired or altered because of frequent use, Ms. de Guitaut said. \u201cThat also goes back to the fact that she grew up during the Second World War,\u201d she added, \u201cwhere, of course, there was clothes rationing; there were shortages of things; and there was a lot of what we call the, kind of, \u2018make do and mend\u2019 philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth\u2019s off-duty style has influenced designers in Britain and beyond. The English designer Richard Quinn \u2014 the first person to receive the queen\u2019s namesake fashion award<\/a> \u2014 said that her scarves were an inspiration for a coat in his spring 2018 collection. The Italian designers Miuccia Prada and Alessandro Michele have also nodded to the look: Mrs. Prada\u2019s 2024 Balmoral collection for Miu Miu included tweed handbags and chore jackets, while a 2017 collection designed by Mr. Michele for Gucci featured tartan skirts and head scarves.<\/p>\n

As part of the just-opened exhibition of Elizabeth\u2019s fashion at Buckingham Palace, several British labels were tapped by its organizers to produce promotional merchandise.<\/p>\n

It includes a Burberry trench coat with a dark green version of the brand\u2019s signature check print, a homage to a style of tartan favored by the queen (2,190 pounds, or about $2,957); gloves made in collaboration with the leather-goods brand Dents (about $128); and tartan socks made in partnership with Corgi (about $24), a knitwear label that shares its name with Elizabeth\u2019s preferred canine breed.<\/p>\n

Though the queen\u2019s casual wear incorporated luxury brands like Burberry, the fact that a person could walk into a store and buy the same boots or barn jacket owned by Elizabeth created a \u201cpersonal connection to what she was wearing in a way that was accessible,\u201d said Ms. Holmes, the author. \u201cA lot of her other moments, especially the more glamorous ones, are not.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Yola Mzizi<\/p>\n

Fashion reporter<\/p>\n

Queen Elizabeth II always knew the power of an image, from her televised coronation to her use of her garments as a tool of fashion diplomacy. She famously sought to stand out in crowds as a way to bolster trust — which makes it all the more interesting that the moments she tried to lay low and blend in are the ones now inspiring the fashion world.<\/p>\n

D<\/p>\n

Daniel<\/p>\n

A green state in the middle<\/p>\n

My husband\u2019s great uncle was Sir Norman Hartnell who created her wedding and coronation gowns. He was the first \u201ccreative\u201d to be knighted by Elizabeth II.<\/p>\n

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

Shoe<\/p>\n

Mid-Atlantic<\/p>\n

Well, now I have a new way to support my choice to mend clothes.”Mending clothes was good enough for Queen Elizabeth II, it’s good enough for us.”I was born in the early 60s, and lived a life of plenty. But if I bothered to buy an article of clothing, of course I would mend it, if possible. Shopping for clothes is a boring waste of time. One need not be queen to feel that way.<\/p>\n

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