Queen Elizabeth II: 9 Decades of Royal Style

With her legacy of era-defining looks, Queen Elizabeth II is indisputably a style icon. As a young princess, the royal wore floral tea dresses and pleated frocks typical of the 1930s and 1940s, graduating to skirt suits and ball gowns as she stepped up to stately dressing. In 1947, she married in a dress fit for a future queen — designed by couturier Norman Hartnell, it featured delicate pearl and crystal embroidery and a dramatic 13ft train. Hartnell became one of her official dressmakers when she succeeded her father to the throne in 1952, keeping the Queen in elegant tulle gowns for state banquets and receptions overseas. For her day-to-day wardrobe, the Queen enlisted designer Hardy Amies (until 1990); while milliner Freddie Fox was among those entrusted with creating her vast array of hats, until his retirement in 2002.

Today, the monarch turns to dressmakers Stewart Parvin and Angela Kelly for her colorful skirt suits which, according to daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, she wears to ensure crowds can see her. As well as her bright ensembles, the Queen is rarely without her trademark Launer handbag and Anello & Davide loafers, which she has worn for the last 50 years. When off duty at the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, she’s often seen in tweed and her signature printed headscarves, sourced from the likes of Burberry and Hermès (as seen when she travelled to Norfolk for Christmas 2019).

To celebrate her life, Vogue looks back at the Queen’s style highlights from the last nine decades.