Where classic style reigns

Far from being a passive dresser, The Queen pays close attention to what she wears and what those clothes convey. She has left a lasting impression on the fashion industry, believes Justine Picardie

- Justine Picardie

AS The Queen has said of herself, 'I have to be seen to be believed', which is why the iconography of what she wears is such an integral element of her enduring success. Her Majesty's distinctive wardrobe has performed a vital role in conveying a powerful visual message, making her instantly recognisable during a lifetime of constant public scrutiny. In doing so, The Queen has never followed fashion, but has created her own unique style, embodying majesty, modesty, mystery and myth.

All this has taken place during a tumultuous era, over which the representation of royalty evolved from highly controlled portraiture to instantaneous digital imagery, capable of being shared around the world in a split second. Yet from the moment the then Princess Elizabeth became heir to the throne, at the time of her uncle's abdication in 1936, it was clear that her parents understood the importance of re-establishing a pictorial sense of stability and consistency.

Following Edward VIII's momentous decision to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, the new King and Queen would evoke a more traditional era in their sartorial choices, both for themselves and their daughters. In contrast to the hard-edged Modernist chic of Simpson's attire by Schiaparelli and other fashionable Paris couturiers, the young princesses and their mother wore matching outfits in gentle, feminine colours. Indeed, George VI specifically asked The Queen's favoured designer, Norman Hartnell, to evoke the decorative dresses in the royal portraits by 19th-century Court artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter. 'His Majesty made it clear in his quiet way that I should attempt to capture this picturesque grace,' wrote Hartnell in his memoir, recalling his tour of Buckingham Palace with the King.