Often viewed today as an old grandmother who wears nothing but an endless parade of coats, the Queen was actually quite the fashion icon in her heyday. It is amazing how she has always kept in fashion with styles suitably to the era and her age. This is one of her most striking gowns HM wore as a young Queen. At the time, she was noted for appearing in a full-blown gown with one of her amazing tiaras at evening occasions. She didn't fail to do so here, and the embroidered dress with the Vladimir Tiara proved to be an outfit truly fit for a Queen. Of course, it was included in the sequence of the lovely, whimsical gowns designed by Normal Hartnell, her chief designer at the time. Worn on a state visit to Paris in 1957, the dress includes white, silver and gold beaded embroidery in the forms of flowers, wheat and bess. It is interesting to note that Elizabeth dress includes symbolic features, such as the bees which were in fact the emblem of Napoleon.
The lovely embroidery, in which you can see the beautiful, detailed bees and wheat. And look at those flowers!
Sadly, there are not many photographs of her state visit to Paris, and the ones found are not that flattering to the dress, but I think it is amazing to see all that beautiful embroidery on someone who is head of state- you just don't see that kind of regality any more.
Below: The Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara set with Queen Mary's Cambridge Emeralds
Pictures: romanbendikhanson, madameguillotine
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