The Queens of colour! How Kate has adopted Her Majesty’s winning style formula

‘Imagine never doing it wrong. Always. Stylistically, every day of your life, nailing it.

That was the verdict of Vogue, looking back on the Queen’s 70 years of dressing up during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The reason why her Majesty managed to nail it every day? She loved to dress in color.

Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blue. She wore them all and more, from head to toe. She ‘appeared’ on all the balconies and brightened up the saddest day.

As Stewart Parvin, the designer who made most of Her Majesty’s outfits later in life, recalls: “For William and Catherine’s wedding, I gave Her Majesty a choice between two outfits that I thought were perfect. But not.

It’s heartening to see that, as she grows in confidence and status, the Princess of Wales is choosing to follow in the Queen’s tailoring footsteps, donning a myriad of outfits from head to toe in a kaleidoscope of colours.

Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blue. He used them all and more, from head to toe.

At 5-foot-9, Kate may not need a bright color to help her stand out as much as the Queen, but she knows it’s her job now to cheer the nation up.

‘The Queen looked out the window and said: ‘Not the brightest day, I want to be in yellow.’ She felt that the weather was boring and she wanted to cheer up the crowd.

Her majesty famously said ‘I have to be seen to believe’, and thanks to her rainbow outfit, you could never miss her, rain or shine. A pattern can look too ornate when you add a sash, jewelry, or insignia.

But a color block works every time. She knew that wearing colored clothing was not only flashy, or even diplomatic (cloverleaf green for Ireland, for example, or canary yellow for Jamaica), but could convey optimism and stability.

This was vital when she came to the throne, and it is now for her successors.

So it’s encouraging to see that, as she grows in confidence and status, the Princess of Wales is choosing to follow in the Queen’s tailoring footsteps, donning a myriad of outfits from head to toe in a kaleidoscope of colours.

At 5-foot-9 (plus heels), she may not need a bright color to help her stand out as much as the Queen did at 5-foot-3. But she knows that while she may prefer browns, jeans, navy polka dots and Barbours when she’s not on duty, now it’s her job to cheer up the nation.

Over the past year, Kate has stood out with her event color choices.

The Princess of Wales’s color choices can occasionally be too literal: red for Christmas carols; a bright green Solace London rental used for the Earthshot Prize ceremony last month (left)

By choosing to embrace a playful color scheme, the Princess of Wales has shown that she and the Queen share the ability to bring sparkle wherever they go.

Unlike Meghan, who has confessed that she eschewed color during her royal tenure to ensure she didn’t clash with the leading royal ladies, Kate knows viewers want an outfit that speaks to a sense of fun, rather than conjuring up the Nurse Ratched.

During her years in the spotlight, Kate has learned through trial and error not to be indifferent or fearful of color. Looking back, I’m sure she realizes that the McQueen wrap dress she wore to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, which was supposed to be a pale lemon color, looked too pale in the photographs. .

Her late Majesty, professional as she was, was dressed in lime silk tweed that day, complete with a purple sinamay hat and thus managed to look perky without stealing the show.

His Majesty was also clairvoyant with his love of colour; this season, Prada has introduced orange shoes, Fendi sent lime boots, and I’d love to see Kate in Ralph Lauren’s bright orange silk taffeta dress.

Queens of colour: Kate wore pale blue for an Easter service in 2022. The Queen wore a similar hue for an event to mark her official birthday in 2020

Unlike Meghan, who has confessed that she avoided color during her royal tenure to ensure she didn’t clash with the leading royal ladies, Kate knows viewers want an outfit that speaks to a sense of fun.

Kate was jolly in purple in Londonderry in 2021. The Queen wore an almost identical hue to open the Royal National ENT and Eastman Hospit

The Queen knew that wearing colors was not only flashy, or even diplomatic (cloverleaf green for Ireland, for example, or canary yellow for Jamaica), but could also convey optimism and stability.

In pink: Kate in June 2022 and the Queen on a royal visit to Sandringham in December 2019

But the Princess of Wales’s color choices can occasionally be too literal: red for Christmas carols; a bright green rental from Solace London used for the Earthshot Award ceremony last month.

And you also need to learn that if you use a bright color, the fabric should be discreet and elegant. The bottle-green Vampire’s Wife sagging gown used for her first official portrait of herself painted with William, unveiled last summer, was in a fabric that to me screamed Quality Street wrapping.

Over the past year, Kate has made it her own. The pink suit of hers from Alexander McQueen. That blue Catherine Walker ensemble with a matching pillbox hat. Emilia Wickstead’s magenta wrap dress with burgundy courts, worn for the South African state visit in November, was an outfit fit for Her Majesty Herself.

The Princess of Wales might not have Her Majesty’s ice cream complexion, as famous photographer Cecil Beaton remarked. However, by choosing to adopt a playful color scheme, he has shown that she and the Queen share the ability to bring sparkle wherever they go.