How the Queen became a style icon

How the Queen became a style icon Getty Images From ballgowns to Barbours, why Her Majesty's evolving dress sense is a masterclass in royal image making. "At first glance, it's a beautiful, very traditional ball gown, which is what you'd expect at a big gala performance," Bethan Holt, author of newly published book The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style, tells BBC Culture. The monarch's brand of rural chic has been so widely emulated over the years that it now boasts an almost kitsch appeal Getty Images The Queen's enduring off-duty look, shown here at the 1988 Royal Windsor Horse Show, has been much copied by fashionistas 1980s Taken at The Royal Windsor Horse Show in 1988, this image finds the Queen in her enduring and timeless off-duty uniform – no 80s puff-sleeves here. Getty Images The sequinned "Harlequin dress" was worn at the Royal Variety Performance in 1999 – it was an experimental choice, perfect for the occasion 1990s The 1990s got off to a bad start for the Windsors, with the Queen proclaiming 1992 an "annus horribilis" on account of royal marriage breakdowns and a devastating fire at Windsor Castle. "What's been very clever about how the Queen has used fashion since the late 50s is that it has come to represent the Royal Family as an anchor in a crazy, ever-changing world," says Holt.