Случайна знахідка в коморі стала головною прикрасою образу королеви Єлизавети II на Аскоті

Creating outfits for Queen Elizabeth II demanded not only impeccable taste and meticulous attention to detail but also considerable ingenuity. On one occasion, a completely unexpected find became the finishing touch to the Queen’s ensemble.

Angela Kelly, the Queen’s stylist, personal assistant, and senior dresser, shared one such instance in her book, “The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe.”

In 2017, Kelly and her team were preparing an outfit for Queen Elizabeth II for the renowned Royal Ascot horse races. For the dress, she found a beautiful silk fabric with a floral pattern. Initially, Kelly believed the flowers depicted on the fabric were tulips, but later discovered they were actually Fritillaria meleagris. It was the pinkish-red hue of these flowers that inspired the color for the coat and hat intended to complement the Queen’s dress.

Queen Elizabeth II, 2017 / © Getty Images

According to Kelly, a gold color for the coat would have been inappropriate for a daytime event, as the outfit might have appeared overly festive. Instead, a pink shade was chosen to create a more harmonious look. Once the dress and coat were nearly complete, the challenge was to decide how to embellish the hat, the focal point of the ensemble. Kelly initially considered cutting out flowers from the same silk fabric used for the dress to create an appliqué, but this idea struck her as insufficiently engaging.

The solution came about quite by chance. Kelly entered Her Majesty’s storeroom one day while looking for a palace staff member. There, she spotted a small pot containing artificial silk Fritillaria – precisely the same color as the outfit she was preparing for Queen Elizabeth II. The find proved to be perfect; the flowers were simply dusted off and used to adorn the hat. According to Kelly, it was this small detail that helped unify the entire look.