Fashion Fridays: Royal Style

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Footwear Webdesk
Fashion Fridays
April 29, 2011

Fit for a Queen
Glass slippers may be Cinderella’s cup of tea, but these real royals have a style all their own.
—Angela Velasquez

Princess Catherine
A style icon in training, Princess Catherine’s classic and simple fashion choices reflect her own modern fairytale: bright dresses befitting of a princess worn with neutral stilettos, but expect to see more fashion-forward looks from the new royal as designers are at her beckon call. After all, Kate’s influence has already proven to boost sales: the Burberry trench she wore during an official visit in March sold out in a day; the velvet Libelula coat worn in January has a wait list; and Aquatalia by Marvin K.’s press coverage has spiked since Kate wore the footwear brand two days in a row. Undoubtedly, brides-to-be will be inspired by her timeless Sarah Burton-designed
wedding gown.

Love (Luv)

noun, verb

1. A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another

2. Enamored of

3. To need

4. A feeling of warm personal attachment

5. Penny loves Kenny

www.pennyloveskenny.com

Clockwise from top left: gown designed by Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton; leading the fascinator hat trend; Aquatalia by Marvin K boots.

Princess Diana
Who needed royal insiders to speculate when a shoe closet said it all? At a statuesque 5’10”, Princess Diana wore flats on her wedding day to accommodate her slightly shorter prince. During the whirlwind ’80s, she mixed quirky socks with kitten heels, wore head-to-toe prints and favored two-tone pumps for official visits—perfect fashion fodder that fueled the media frenzy surrounding her. By the ’90s, a newly single Diana found her own stride enlisting the likes of Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik for sophisticated stilettos to wear with her growing collection of sleek Versace gowns.

Clockwise from top left: wedding shoes designed by Clive Shilton; bold fashion statements in the 80s; wearing Christina Stambolian’s “revenge dress” in 1994.

Queen Elizabeth II

Prim, proper and every bit an English aristocrat, Queen Elizabeth II pledged herself to the United Kingdom and to a lifetime of fanciful hats during her 1953 coronation. As one of the youngest and longest-reigning monarchs—2012 will mark her Diamond Jubilee—Elizabeth has coined a signature, almost caricature style: monochromatic colors that pop in a crowd, sensible loafers for walking tours and traditional wellies for the countryside. Although she dresses for function over fashion, the Queen has turned out some stylish looks during her reign. The lace dress and peep-toe shoes worn on her 1954 tour of Australia may go down in history as one of the Queen’s most glamorous looks.

Clockwise from top left: the Queen saved ration coupons to purchase the material for her wedding gown; braving the elements; a chic dress in Australia.