She has become a picture of elegant restraint – never overdone and at once familiar (her Hugh Green-groomed Farrah Fawcett flick has endured). There’s a nuanced diplomacy to her signature silhouette from a small oeuvre of trusted couturiers: Dior, Bruce Oldfield, Anna Valentine, Fiona Clare or Roy Allenand, and she’s not tarred with being profligate but is applauded for wardrobe repeats. Her style has evolved, noticeably shifting up a gear with her 2005 wedding outfits by Robinson Valentine (now Anna Valentine) – an elegant cream outfit for the civil ceremony, followed by an embellished damask dress coat (inspired by a piece of her mother’s jewellery), a chiffon dress and a halo of Philip Treacy feathers. ‘The last fitting was at her house in Wiltshire. We sat down and had a snack lunch at the kitchen table,’ recalls Valentine.
Evening presence comes naturally to Camilla, who stands tall at 5ft 8in, and she is often robed in djellaba redux or a streamlined ornate evening coat. There are notable social coups – Camilla gives great guest – like the lemon flamenco ruffles for the 2016 wedding of Lady Charlotte Wellesley and Alejandro Santo Domingo, which hinted at the ceremony’s Andalusian setting. On official days, she favours simplicity, and prints make occassional appearances (perhaps her first job as an assistant at Colefax & Fowler left its mark). Her understated outfits are often a foil for magisterial accessorising: head-turning chapeaux; the unexpected Risky Business Ray-Ban Wayfarers; grand pearl chokers with various decorative clasps (even pre-Duchy, power jewels defined her).
Complementary tartan – and smiles – at the Braemar Gathering, 2006Getty Images
This once lambasted ‘country Camilla’ actually embodies some supreme style moments. In the ostentatious Eighties, she managed (in hindsight) to avoid some of the thrills and furbelows of that era, and now those fisherman knits and tweedy skirts could be hanging in Cutter Brooks. What’s so alluring about the old photographs is her lack of primness. Hints of her free-spirited nature are still present, as seen recently kicking off her shoes, walking along Derrynane Beach in County Kerry with Prince Charles.
So, what to expect next from the Duchess’s wardrobe and into her 75th year? More subtle power dressing. Whether emerging from a parliament building or meeting a Commonwealth leader, she’ll be perfectly framed as a national figurehead – in a crème or gelato shade, grounded in cap-toe Chanel pumps, with both heirloom jewels and eyes twinkling.
