Photo: Getty
HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon’s pioneering style paved the way for Diana, Princess of Wales to don the candy-colored confections of tweed twin sets we know and love. The perfect recipe of elegance, grace and high octane glamour has allowed the younger generation of royals rules to follow in her footsteps of fashion. The ‘Margaret look’ has always been on-the-nose of modern design.
It was Margaret who bought couturier Christian Dior into the forefront of the press, thanks to the decadent dress she wore on her 21st birthday, carefully selected from a private show for the Queen Mother and sister, the then Princess Elizabeth. Captured by Cecil Beaton in his signature lavish elan, the frothy layered tulle cream ballgown has since become an emblem of Dior, couture and sovereign style worldwide with countless references still rife on the runways decades later.
Her petite frame lent perfectly to the mod riffs of the swinging Sixties as mini skirts and A-line dresses became all the rage. In the Seventies, her penchant for swirling prints became a masterclass in how to wear patterns, and the frou-frou fabulousness of puffed shoulders and scintillating satins during the Eighties had never looked so good as when the princess presented them. This keen attention to current trends led many to laud her as the most fashion-intellectual royal of all time.
While being the younger sister may have meant she missed out on becoming Queen, Margaret certainly ruled the social scene. Always impeccably dressed alongside the likes of Sophia Loren, The Beatles and society’s most stunning starlets, Margaret’s discerning and trend-focused tastes always celebrated the finest fashions of the moment. Even into her later years, suffering from multiple health issues, the Princess donned informed and inspiring style choices.
An angel of Ascot, a red carpet maven, and a style icon in the highest regard; long live the fashion reign of Princess Margaret.
Portrait by Cecil Beaton, 1944. Photo: Getty
At Buckingham Palace on her 17th Birthday, 1947. Photo: Getty
Portrait by Cecil Beaton, 1949. Photo: Getty
Portrait by Cecil Beaton, 1951. Photo: Getty
At a garden party during her African tour, 1956. Photo: Getty
Inspecting a guard of honour at an Agricultural Show in Moshi, Tanganyika, 1956. Photo: Getty
At the Equestian Olympics in Stockholm, 1956. Photo: Getty
At The Alamo premiere, 1960. Photo: Getty
At a wedding at Westminster Abbey, 1962. Photo: Getty
Waving to crowds during a dance display at Williamsfield in Jamaica, 1962. Photo: Getty
With the Earl of Snowdon in the Bahamas, 1967. Photo: Getty
With Princess Anne and Queen Elizabeth II at the investiture of Prince Charles, 1969
At Royal Ascot, 1969. Photo: Getty
At a royal function, circa 1970. Photo: Getty
With the Earl of Snowdon, 1970. Photo: Getty
At Royal Ascot, 1979. Photo: Getty
At the Royal Opera House, 1986. Photo: Getty
With Queen Elizabeth II, 1988. Photo: Getty
With the Queen Mother at Trooping the Colour, 1993. Photo: Getty
At a performance of Three Tall Women, 1994. Photo: Getty
Originally published in Tatler.com
