A nod to tradition, a touch of unexpected cool (and a pair of oddly matched earrings!) Yes, Gen Z's newest style icon is… 76-year-old Queen Camilla
My 18-year-old sister texted last week with a question I thought she would never ask.
'Where can I buy a knitted cardigan similar to Queen Camilla's???'
Eh?!
Yes, it's official. Queen Camilla is a Gen Z style icon.
Camilla wore a khaki green sweater vest with a white Peter Pan collar poking out from above. Casual, comfortable, yet smart and interesting
Queen Camilla leaves the London Clinic where husband King Charles III was treated for an enlarged prostate
Camilla's new Heinz Baked Bean clutch is an early example of the Queen's playful fashion
This sweater vest was spotted on the Queen last week as she drove to meet the King at the London Clinic hospital.
Khaki green, a white shirt with a Peter Pan collar peeked out from the top. Casual, comfortable, yet smart and interesting.
It looked great on her at 76 and would look just as great on my five-year-old mother and my teenage sister.
Therein lies the key to Camilla's style: it is always appropriate for the occasion, but also shows a touch of daring.
Look at the details of her seemingly safe appearance and you'll discover an unexpected element of cool.
This is not surprising as her husband is, in my opinion and that of many others, possibly the most stylish man in the world.
Royal protocol dictates a certain style of dress (Camilla's favorite coat dresses strike the perfect balance between tradition and modern elegance), but accessories are an area in which she can express her individuality.
The way she uses them shows that she knows fashion.
The Heinz bag of baked beans she carried in 2015 is an early example. It added a contemporary, playful touch to an otherwise classic Camilla ensemble of blue dress, white jacket and pearls.
Fashion crowd favorite Demellier London is one of Camilla's favorite bag brands (also loved by the Duchess of Sussex and Princess of Wales).
Demellier's quality is comparable to designer names, but at a much more accessible price point of under £400.
Camilla wore a stylish navy blazer and jeans combination to the Braemar Literary Festival last year
The Queen arrives at Wimbledon in a Fiona Clare dress and a Bottega Veneta bag. There were no logos, but the outfit still screamed quiet luxury
Queen Camilla stacks thin bracelets from Parisian jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels – and a Gen Z favorite – as if they were from Accessorize. In fact they cost £4,000 each
Camilla wore their £355 midi Venice bag in October last year, alongside slim-fit jeans and a blue blazer.
How many other 76-year-olds wear slim-fit jeans?
Then there's that Bottega Veneta bag she wore to Wimbledon last year.
Paired with a white dress from favorite designer Fiona Clare, the look exuded quiet luxury.
It was a rare move for Camilla to choose such a clearly designer piece (Bottega's 'intrecciato' method of weaving makes their bags instantly recognizable – fans of royal style quickly found the bag online for £2,200).
But designer or not, the bag isn't dripping with logos or hardware. It remained elegant enough for a queen.
Bottega has a cult following among twenty-somethings – and the Millennials applauded.
Jewelry is another way Camilla shows that her approach to fashion is decidedly modern. It also suggests that she is more into luxury fashion than we might think given her boots and jeans image.
She stacks thin bracelets from Parisian jeweler (and yes, you guessed it) Van Cleef & Arpels as if they were from Accessorize.
Only these come closer to the £4,000 mark.
Like Bottega's woven bags, the iconic Alhambra symbol (inspired by a four-leaf clover) is instantly recognizable — and a favorite of Gen Z, by the way (that is, those born between the mid-nineties and 2012 or 13).
But again, it's about the hi-low combination, combining a current brand with classic clothing.
Just enough courage for Camilla to say: 'Don't underestimate me, I know fashion'.
There was another unexpected style triumph earlier this month when Camilla stepped out to visit a jeweler wearing mismatched earrings.
I'm still not sure if this was a deliberate move or an accident.
(She has to have someone check her appearance before she leaves, so I find it hard to believe it was an accident).
Anyway, she took it. The mismatched earrings added an element of playfulness to a classic Anna Valentine camel coat that she has worn several times before.
There have been a few times lately where Camilla has shown us what an underrated royal fashionista she really is, not just through accessories, but through some knockout looks from head to toe.
The Queen is attending a state banquet in Nairobi, Kenya, and last year wore Van Cleef & Arpels earrings with three of the Magical Alhambra motifs
Was that intentional? Camilla leaves an engagement in Swindon with strange earrings. Intentional or not, it's a favorite Gen Z trend
The Queen's showpiece was this Dior dress in Paris – by far her best style moment yet
The Dior couture cape dress she wore to a state banquet in Paris last September was, in my opinion, her best style moment ever. Dramatic, modern, yet classic.
There is a place for Dubarry and a place for Dior.
Camilla knows this and navigates both with ease, injecting seemingly classic looks with just enough modernity to keep them interesting.
Put it this way: there are few people who can beat Bottega as well as Barbour. Camille is one of them.