Dueling red dresses, attention-grabbing suits, and a suggestive church outfit. On more than a few occasions, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has caused a stir with her eyebrow-raising fashion choices.
Category
đŸ˜¹
FunTranscript
00:00dueling red dresses, attention-grabbing suits, and a suggestive church outfit. On more than
00:06a few occasions, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has caused a stir with her eyebrow-raising
00:11fashion choices.
00:13On January 6, 1999, Prince Edward announced that he was going to marry Sophie Rhys-Jones.
00:19For many Brits, this engagement was particularly significant, as Sophie was poised to be one
00:24of the few middle-class women to ever marry into the British royal family. When fans ran
00:29to their televisions to catch a glimpse of the relatable royal, however, they were in
00:33for a shock. Rather than wearing something glam and joyful, Sophie sported a gray suit
00:38that seemed more fit for corporate London. Looking back at this event, Roberta Fiorito
00:43of the Royally Obsessed podcast commented on how inappropriate this outfit really was,
00:48saying,
00:49"[Sophie is wearing a dark grey skirt suit with dark grey pearl embellishments which
00:53I just feel like when I close my eyes that is the professional working woman of 1999."
00:59Hierarchy is an essential part of the British royal family, so royals are expected to draw
01:04differing levels of attention to themselves depending on their position within the family.
01:09This means lower-ranking members must avoid wearing colors that are brighter than those
01:13worn by higher-ranking members.
01:15Most of the time that I was in the UK, I rarely wore color."
01:21At the 2001 Royal Ascot, however, Sophie wore a colorful suit dress that featured an orange,
01:27green, purple, and blue jacket. The piece was extremely attention-grabbing, definitely
01:32not the sort of thing that should have been worn by a high-profile royal. The Daily Mail
01:36later called the outfit a non-starter, and in many ways, it was.
01:41In 2020, Sophie arrived at a Buckingham Palace banquet in a vivid red Alaia dress. As luck
01:47would have it, Princess Catherine also arrived in a crimson dress. Whether it was intentional
01:52or not, Sophie's bold fashion choice gave the impression that she was trying to upstage
01:55the princess. Sophie's dress could have easily turned into a public fashion blunder. However,
02:01Catherine saved the moment by gracefully greeting Sophie with a kiss on both cheeks. The situation
02:05was likely helped by the fact that Catherine and Sophie have always had a good relationship.
02:09Plus, Catherine's shimmering gown was impossible to miss.
02:14On Easter in 2013, Sophie caused quite a scandal when she showed up at St. George's Chapel
02:19in a tight blue skirt suit. The outfit did an incredible job of showing off Sophie's
02:24curves, with a Daily Mail critic remarking on how fabulous she looked. But seeing as
02:29Easter Sunday is a church event, many of Sophie's more traditional fans felt that her outfit
02:34wasn't appropriate for the occasion.
02:36With a visible zipper trailing all the way down Sophie's behind, the skirt was critiqued
02:41for being a bit too suggestive. Additionally, the electric blue color of Sophie's dress
02:46fueled rumors that she was trying to stand out among her higher-ranking relatives. As
02:50Jan Moore wrote for the Daily Mail,
02:52First, ask yourself this. If Sophie's Easter outfit could speak, what would it be saying?
02:57It would be screaming, look at me. It would be shouting, move over, Kate.
03:02Throughout her life in the spotlight, Sophie has never shied away from rolling up her sleeves
03:06and getting her hands dirty. Year after year, she's been spotted digging holes at schools
03:11and horticultural societies. She's even planted trees in foreign countries. The only problem
03:16with this custom? Sophie is almost never dressed for the occasion. As a member of
03:20the royal family, she can't exactly show up to these tree-planting ceremonies wearing
03:25slacks and a T-shirt. Instead, she must follow protocol and opt for a long, flowing dress
03:30or an ankle-length skirt. She's also expected to wear heels in the garden.
03:35Luckily, the duchess has a sense of humor and hasn't been afraid to call out her own
03:38ridiculous attire. In 2018, she appeared on This Morning and admitted that she doesn't
03:43always dress correctly for these occasions.
03:46I am always inappropriately dressed, but normally I sink teetering across in high-heeled
03:51shoes wearing something very, very not geared up for gardening.
03:55Clearly, she takes the digs about her gardening attire in stride.