April 21--Queen Elizabeth II turns 90 Thursday, and the celebrations range from lighting bonfires across Britain to a royal walkabout to greetings from schoolchildren (my favorite, reported in the Eastern Daily Press, came from 4-year-old Ellie, who wrote, "I love your shoes, have a happy birthday!") to a birthday lunch Friday with President and Mrs. Obama at Windsor Castle. Even Dairy Queen is in on the act, introducing the Royal Blizzard line of desserts. (Flavors include Royal New York Cheese and Royal Rocky Road Brownie, and prices range from $3.49 for a mini to $5.19 for a large.)
You, too, can join in the party. While you can wash down that Royal Blizzard with a glass of gin and Dubonnet, said to be one of H.M.'s favorite tipples, you can also add some royally glam accessories to your wardrobe if you act fast and have a credit card handy.
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Start with "The Queen's Jewels," a new collection from Miu Miu inspired by, according to a company press release, "memories of a world long gone and a journey through royal salons and jewelry boxes" featuring tiaras, pendant earrings, a bracelet and a ring, all featuring pearls and crystals with polished stainless steel.
"As always, tradition mixes with modernity, creativity with innovation and a certain irony: if the Miu Miu girl is a princess she is rebellious with an idiosyncratic sense of style and a distinctly mischievous charm," the Miu Miu press release declares.
And, if the "woman who wears them is queen of a highly contemporary universe," she doesn't have to have huge mounds of old-fashioned cash to buy these items. Prices start at $240 for a ring and rise to $1,260 for a tiara festooned with graduated arches and mounted pearls.
The queen, of course, is a rich woman, with a personal fortune estimated at $425 million in 2015. She also has a formidable collection of jewelry, much of the more important pieces acquired by her grandmother, Queen Mary. The diamonds alone provided fodder for two glossy books back in 2012, "The Queen's Diamonds" and "Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration."
Ironically, her wardrobe hasn't gotten the cred her rocks always have.
Elizabeth II, who is both the longest living and longest reigning British sovereign, has been subject to both praise and scorn over the decades as her sartorial profile has remained largely unchanged by the vicissitudes of fashion since she ascended the throne in 1952. The queen was inducted into the International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame in 1958, but the honor seemed long-forgotten by the 1970s and 1980s when fashionistas hooted at her Technicolor dresses, matching hats and sensible shoes -- yet these very same shoes were recently described by one British website as "this season's must haves."
"Her trusty shoes have been a staple for decades, usually in sensible goes-with-everything black," wrote Alexia Dellner for Good Living. "Although the Queen's shoes are always 'walked in' by Palace staff, these practical heels are ridiculously comfortable even without your very own shoe wearer to break them in."
The shoes, whose design hasn't changed in nearly 50 years according to the Daily Mail, are made by Anello Davide of Kensington and cost, according to the newspaper's 2014 story, about 1,000 pounds (about $1,400) a pair.
But if you crave a blingier pair of royal shoes, consider the Union Jack wedges issued in a very limited edition by Aruna Seth, the London-based shoe designer. The handcrafted shoe, of which there are only 10 pairs in existence, is covered with almost 3,000 Swarovski crystals, according to a company press release. The cost is $2,500 and must be ordered directly from Aruna Seth, according to Ella Weinberg, the company's public relations and marketing manager. Email: info@arunaseth.com. This design is a re-release of a 2012 shoe issued to commemorate the queen's Diamond Jubilee or 60 years on the throne.
wdaley@chicagotribune.com
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