Princess Royal, Princess Anne

[Martyn]

Bosh and oysters!

The majority of women of 55 who are in the public eye like her have at least one eye/facelift behind them or a truckload of botox anyway!

Yes, the Duchess of Kent is beautifully groomed but, frankly, does not look young in the face.  The others are okay but credit where it's due, Martyn, credit where it's due...

She looks "well preserved" (!) for someone who's probably never even slapped on a bit of moisturiser!!  

Right back at you!

On the recent TV programme that deals with the Queen's household Cavalry, she was interviewed in uniform.  It was quite apparent that the ravages of time and weather have made inroads on her complexion, so well-preserved is not applicable in that instance!

I wasn't talking about women in the public eye, but those of my acquaintance, and that certainly have had no recourse to surgery.....

The Duchess of Kent is 72, seventeen years older than Anne, and may be excused for having more wrinkles.  In terms of style, wrinkles or no,  the duchess has always understood full well the concept of presenting herself immaculately when in public, something that Anne has less grasp of.......

So don't talk to me about credit, and where it is due.....

[Grace]

Right back at you!

On the recent TV programme that deals with the Queen's household Cavalry, she was interviewed in uniform.  It was quite apparent that the ravages of time and weather have made inroads on her complexion, so well-preserved is not applicable in that instance!

I wasn't talking about women in the public eye, but those of my acquaintance, and that certainly have had no recourse to surgery.....

The Duchess of Kent is 72, seventeen years older than Anne, and may be excused for having more wrinkles.  In terms of style, wrinkles or no,  the duchess has always understood full well the concept of presenting herself immaculately when in public, something that Anne has less grasp of.......

So don't talk to me about credit, and where it is due.....

Of course the Duchess of Kent is excused for having a few wrinkles.  That's my point - we all should be as we age - it's normal.

It's Anne's personal style we're critical of here - not her physical looks which, as I still maintain, are very good for her years.

[Martyn]

I don't care about her complexion.......wrinkles are not an issue for me....

Her style is rubbish - pure and simple, and you and I will never agree about this......

[TampaBay]

I don't care about her complexion.......wrinkles are not an issue for me....

Her style is rubbish - pure and simple, and you and I will never agree about this......

I do not think her style is rubbish, it is old money style which is boring and reminds me of Shabby Gentilism of the Old South in the USA.  What is rubbish is her grooming for "official public events".  Her hair is all wrong as is her makeup. Anne does nothing to play up her good features which are many.

TampaBay

[Martyn]

Well good for you.....

I do think that she looks rubbish, but that is my personal opinion.....

[Margarita Markovna]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b390/selrahc4/edabe710.jpg

I like this one a lot. She seems so natural here.

[Alicky1872]

Let's face it...the Queen hasn't exactly been a source of fashion inspiration over the years. Elizabeth was gorgeous when she was younger, but when she hit about 30,  she seemed to fall into a fashion rut, and let's talk about where Anne got her 'same hair-do for over 30 years' from...






Her Majesty has set a record--the same hairstyle (give or take the 'greying temples' look she had in the early 80's   and a poodle like poof at the sides which she wears now) for OVER 50 YEARS. Oh sure, it's acceptable now, because it is the hairstyle most of us remember our grandmother's having...but it was not the fashion in the 60's...70's...80's...
If Anne inherited her temper and ability to put her foot in her mouth from her father, it's painfully obvious where she inherited her sense of style from...

If you ask me, we all have QUEEN MARY to blame for this! It's something in the genes or the Balmoral water supply, because May's fashion 'sense' prooved to be such an...inspiration  , daughter in law Cookie decided to carry the fashion frock-up torch for her generation. She in turn passed it onto Lilibet, who, so thankfully for all of us here on the forum (Martyn especially!) passed it down to ANNE!  

[TampaBay]

Well good for you.....

I do think that she looks rubbish, but that is my personal opinion.....

HRH, The Style Guru,

Anne look likes rubbish I agree.  What I was trying to say is this:  If your hair is correct, your make up is correct and your clothes fit any person can look good, even Anne Mountabbtten Windsor Glucksburg Laurence.

Anne is known for being cheap and thrifty.  I can accept this character flaw.  Go Ahead! Wear designer clothes that are 20+ years old.  No problem!  However, you must update your hair and make-up!  Anne looks like rubbish not because of her clothes but because of her hair & makeup.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have Sofa Wessex who looks like rubbish because of her clothes and needing to lose 2 stone in weight (USA 20 Ibs).

Julia Roberts proved my point when she wore a 20+ year old Valentino gown to the Academy Awards a couple of years ago.  She updated her "hair do".  The dress and Julia Roberts would have look ridiculus with a late 70's early 1980's "feather bang" hair do from the period when the gown was originally designed

TampaBay

[Kimberly]

Not wishing to upset the applecart or anything, but what is with this "lose 20 lbs" business :-/ Sofa is hardly a great blimp or am I being thick here?

[TampaBay]

Not wishing to upset the applecart or anything, but what is with this "lose 20 lbs" business :-/ Sofa is hardly a great blimp or am I being thick here?

Kimberly,

It appears to me in most of the pictures of Sofa that she has a couple of "luv handles".  This may be excess baby weight she never lost after having her lovely daughter, Lady Louise.

When a person is on the short side (under 5'6") extra weight tends to make them look "smurffy".  Clothes become harder to wear becuase it is almost impossible to get a long lean look.  It becomes easy to look matronly in the type of formal clothes for Royal work Sofa must wear.

For Sofa's height she probably does not need to lose 20 pounds.

Go back to the picture of Sofa is then red Zandra Rodes dress and you can see what I mean by "smurf" look.

Then again if Edaward is happy and likes her just as she is, she should just give all of us the "internationl hand gesture" in the way only a Royal Countess or Mrs. Timothy Laurence could do.

TampaBay

Footnote:  I am unupsettable and unoffendable!  

[Kimberly]

Then my reply to that TB, is she needs to trot off to some designer who can conceal those "love handles" I can't imagine that we want to see her with her ribs showing a la some of the so called "celebs" we have. I have several love handles on each side and on top of one another, I know how to dress and " conceal" 'em to some extent...Heels help Hehehe Lurve handles
Ahh, the "hurly-burly of the chaise longue"

[Ssyentz]

It's in the attitude!  "Fat Mary" looked terrific because she found the most appropriate styles available to her, picked the right accessories (so nice to have a little wardrobe of glitters from which to chose!), and stood straight and tall, as full of dignity as anyone could.

So, in the long run, at helps of having lots of terrific stones with which to cover all those extra stones!

[Alicky1872]

Why are we talking about Sophie in the Anne thread? I'll just say this--any real woman who doesn't miraculously zip back to a size 2 or whatever, after the birth of her baby, has my utmost respect! Criticising her choice of clothing is one thing, but I don't see the point of making comments about her weight--it's small minded and hurtful. I for one can tell you that having a baby does a number of things to one--and not just physical. It changes your whole life, your outlook on things, and often can lead to depression as much as you love your child. I think we all 'comfort eat' to some extent. While I'm no terrific fan of Sophie, let's think for a moment how we (any mothers out there) would feel if someone was criticising our body image after having our little ones...

[grandduchessella]

Not wishing to upset the applecart or anything, but what is with this "lose 20 lbs" business :-/ Sofa is hardly a great blimp or am I being thick here?

I wish we'd lay off Sophie's extra weight.

TB--one of your favorite's, Oprah, carried around extra weight for years and, apart from some unfortunate 80s outfits, looked well-turned out at public events.

It's not the weight--and I think Sophie looks perfectly normal really--it's the styling. She can look really nice--I posted a photo of her on the Royal Fashion thread--that shows this. Plus that's really where this discussion belongs.

[Grace]

I don't care about her complexion.......wrinkles are not an issue for me....

Her style is rubbish - pure and simple, and you and I will never agree about this......

Martyn?  Aren't you getting enough sleep or something?

Yes, her style is rubbish!  No one has slammed her fashions and her look more on these threads than me!

What I'm saying is that she is a woman who has all the basics to just look soo good.  

She has a slim, well proportioned figure, a pleasant face and looks good age-wise for 55 years old.  

We know she'll never update in any way but it's fun to imagine what she'd be like if she did.