The Windsor family's own Benjamin Button, the Countess of Wessex, turns 50 this month, and to mark her big birthday, she spoke with the UK edition of
Harper's Bazaar.
She's worn a fair few pieces from Peter Pilotto, and the label's signature bold style is well represented here. My favorite of the looks is the red number above, which was
also worn recently by Alyssa Milano on the red carpet. And Sophie wore it better, if you ask me.
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| Two Peter Pilotto dresses and a Nina Ricci coat |
I also like the play on patterns in the shot below. The look pairs a textured Nina Ricci coat and another Pilotto printed dress (which
the Countess of Wessex blog points out was already worn by Sophie earlier last year; the blog offers these identifications and more).
Of course one of her favorite designers, Emilia Wickstead, is also represented, in a dress modified from the retail version to remove the v-neck (I kind of miss the original neckline, though):
Wearing favorite brands and repeats gives this whole thing a bit of a different spin, I think. Features like this for the senior members of the royal family are not so common, and it feels appropriate that this isn't a version of Sophie we don't recognize, done up in cutting edge designs just for the sake of a photoshoot. Instead, she's portrayed in some of her favorite designers and is posed casually at her home, Bagshot Park. (Well, "casual" for a home that looks like it comes with its own dress code, that is.)
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| Emilia Wickstead dress, retail version |
It's a nice feature, but more than anything it's just nice to see the Countess get some attention for both her work and her style. (And it's nice to see those things without them falling under a headline about some fictional competition within the royal family, honestly.) You can
read the Harper's Bazaar feature here and in the February issue of the magazine.
Photos: Harper's Bazaar via Twitter; Lyst; Moda Operandi
