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Review – The Royal Wardrobe

Posted in Book Blogger

The Royal Wardrobe: A Very Fashionable History of the Monarchy

by Rosie Harte

Book Cover: The Royal Wardrobe

Genres: Non Fiction, Fashion, Royalty, United Kingdom
Release Date: June 8, 2023
Pages: 400
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Peek into the wardrobes of history’s most fashionable royals

Why did women wear such heavy and uncomfortable skirts in the Elizabethan era?
What the hell happened to Charles II’s pubic hair wig?
How did Princess Diana’s revenge dress become so iconic?

Fashion for the royal family has long been one of their most powerful weapons. Every item of their clothing is imbued with meaning, history and majesty, telling a complex tale of the individuals who wore them and the houses they represented.

From the draping of a fabric to the arrangements of jewels, the clothing worn by royals is anything but coincidental. King at just nine years old, Edward VI’s clothes were padded to make him seem stronger and more manly; and the ever-conscious Elizabeth II insisted her coronation gown include all the representative flora of the commonwealth nations, and not just that of the United Kingdom. Yet reigning monarchs are not the only ones whose fashion sensibilities could mean make or break for the crown.

Original and enlightening, Rosie Harte’s complete history delicately weaves together the fashion faux pas and Vogue-worthy triumphs that chart the history of our royals from the Tudors to the Victorians right through to King Charles III and our twenty-first-century royal family. Travelling far beyond the bounds of the court, The Royal Wardrobe reveals the economic, social and political consequences of royal apparel, be it breeches, tiara, wig or waistcoat.

Each stitch has a story, you just need to know how to read them


Review

Generally, when I read a non-fiction history book, the focus is on a person/family or the socio-political happenings of the era(s). The Royal Wardrobe (TRW) is focused on clothing, specifically how royal families in the UK have used it.

Rosie Harte writes in the introduction, “Satisfying people’s expectations of what a powerful ruler looked like was key to the survival of royal power.” While people perceptions of a powerful ruler have certainly changed, I feel like the statement still holds some truth. Along the same vein, most monarchs kept a close eye on the uniforms and/or accepted clothing of their courtiers. Doing so helped “[establish] a level of control over the conduct of those around her.” After all, “rebelling against a monarch by pushing the boundaries of formal clothing was a slippery slope to defying their authority in other, more important political matters.”

While it may no longer be true that, “Showmanship was an essential quality for the monarchy to have, as a man who was not seen as a king could never even dream of being respected as one,” Ms. Harte makes some good points about the continued importance of clothing, even for modern royals.

I learned a lot of interesting tidbits throughout TRW. Some of my favorites include:

  • In the time of King Henry VII — late 1400s to 1500s — “displays of wealth came from the cost of the colour of fabric… the colour black, which required expensive quantities of madder red dye to achieve, was effective in communicating the wearer’s wealth.”
  • Queen Elizabeth I emphasized her virginal, unmarried state by often leaving her hair “free around her shoulders” and “her bosom… uncovered, as all the English ladies have it, till they marry.”
  • The masculine 3-piece suit evolved from a court uniform that King Charles II implemented “to teach the nobility thrift.”
  • Queen Anne (1702-1707), if not started, at least mastered the royal policy of “refusing to discuss important political topics casually whilst hosting.”
  • Queen Charlotte — wife of King George III — was a driving force behind the fashion of the royal court existing outside of the timeline of fashionable trends and fads.
  • Christian Dior credited royal dressmaker Norman Hartnell’s 1938 wardrobe for Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as his inspiration for his 1939 white wardrobe.

Beyond those, it was interesting learning about the excesses in fashion that, alone, could have caused serious discontent among the populace. For example, in 1627, Charles I spent the modern-day equivalent of £57,770,000 on clothing in just 6 months. While that was just a drop in the ocean of reasons that led to the English civil war, it’s certainly eye opening.

And while I’m discussing money, I never knew how “monetized” formal mourning was.

In 1860… The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette… attempted to lay down the rules regarding mourning dress. For deep mourning, the first and most profound stage… acceptable fabrics included bombazine, Parramatta cloth, delaine, barege or merino, all in black and deemed appropriate on account of their dull appearance. Surface embellishment was limited to a single fold of crepe fabric, though after a few months, lace, a white collar or a bow on a bonnet was permissible. Half-mourning was the next stage, and… the introduction of silk dresses, on the condition that the particular silk used had no lustrous qualities, was now acceptable. In this phase, a few new colours were approved: ‘lead-colour, purple, lavender, and white’ were worn for the remainder of the mourning period, though some women chose to remain in this stage for the rest of their lives.

The Royal Wardrobe, page 200

I also found it interesting how “page time” for the various monarchs is allotted. Monarchs that, in typical history books, may have multiple chapters dedicated to their reign/rule — Elizabeth I, Charles II — don’t even make the top 5 in TRW in terms of page count.

In any case, this has been my long winded way of saying TRW is a fascinating and different — for me — look through UK royal history. I definitely recommend it.


About the Author

Rosie Harte is a fashion historian and TikTok creator. During lockdown, she began to transfer he knowledge of art and fashion history into bitesize content for TikTok and now runs a hugely successful account (theroyalwardrobe) with a worldwide following. She has worked with museums across the country to bring their collections to a new audience and contributed to documentaries on royal life and fashion. She loves to explore the unconventional, the scandalous and the untold, introducing her viewers to the royal family’s rich and fashionable history.

Author links: Website | Goodreads | Instagram | TikTok


NOTE: This review is based on an eBook I purchased from Amazon on July 21, 2023.

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