There is no denying that Queen Elizabeth II was a fashion icon throughout her lifetime, with her 1950s fit-and-flare frocks setting trends and her colorblock coats becoming instantly-recognizable style symbols. The bold-colored coats and hats of Queen Elizabeth’s later years were the work of Angela Kelly, Queen Elizabeth’s personal assistant, dresser, and confidante. For over 30 years, Angela Kelly was the late Queen’s right-hand woman, helping her with a later-in-life style shift that included a somewhat risqué fashion choice.
“The other thing that Angela [Kelly] did for The Queen was she raised her hemlines,” journalist Paula Froelich told podcast listeners on an episode of The Afterparty. “Before her, The Queen’s hemlines had been almost all the way to the ground,” referring to the late Queen’s lengthy hemline styles of the 1980s and 1990s. “Angela apparently is the one that looked at her and said, ‘You’ve got great legs. Let’s show them off.’”
Queen Elizabeth opted for longer hemlines in the 1980s and 1990s.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II showed off shorter hemlines by 2000.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Angela Kelly
The Other Side of the Coin: the Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe
According to Froelich, Angela Kelly’s designs raised the hemlines “up, just below the knee,” joking that the late Queen preferred “Catholic school girl length.” This subtle shift in design “gave her a little bit more style” as The Queen entered her later years. Angela Kelly confirmed that the style update was her idea in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “Needless to say the hems on the clothes were raised,” Kelly joked.
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Angela Kelly spent 34 years as the late Queen’s closest confidante, spending nearly every day with the monarch. “Fittings were fun,” Kelly reminisced with journalist Katie Nicholl. Kelly was responsible for a heavy portion of The Queen’s fashion and styling, although Queen Elizabeth had an invested interest in her clothes, too. “The Queen loved seeing the clothes being made from the beginning to the end,” Kelly shared. “Though she was not fashion-led, she still knew she had to look the part.”