Elizabeth, the queen of the quilted jacket

But where do you go if you don’t have a quilt? This is definitely the most played fashion refrain for the current season, a catchphrase destined to survive at least until next spring. The immortal quilted jacket, which for the sake of hashtags is now called quilted jacket, after mixed fortunes she returned to the limelight becoming the boss Nevermore without both in its contemporary declination and in a vintage key. And, read in this way, the queen (in name and in fact) of this trend can only be her: Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

The accessory that the sovereign always wears with a quilted jacket or vest is the smile. Usually immortalized in the countryside or at some horse race, Elisabetta associates padded rhombuses of various sizes with free time. There quilted jacket as we know it, it dates back to the 60s but the origin is much older. The word quilt it is derived from the Latin lying which in fact means “mattress” or “pillow” and, in this meaning, we have the first traces of it in the 12th century in Europe and even earlier in India and the East.

Initially used as blanket for the night, the custom of sewing two strips of fabric and padding them with an insulating function is used under the armor with the dual function of making the metal more tolerable on the skin and obviously to heat. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, on the other hand, the quilt is stripped of its military significance and enters the living rooms through vests for men and petticoats for women, and then reappears on the battlefield during the Second World War as a weapon against the cold under the uniform of soldiers.

The winning mix of practicality and style, with a notable time jump, was captured in 1965 by Steve Guylas and his wife Edna. It must not have been a coincidence that Gulyas came precisely from the military world. Former colonel of the American Air Force, discharged due to a health problem, he moved from Pennsylvania to Suffolk where he set up a business by starting to produce quilted polyester vests very comfortable for hunting and horseback riding with the brand Husky.

An intuition that greatly pleased the aristocrats who spent their time in the countryside struggling with the uncertain British weather, consecrated when one of those jackets also arrived in the wardrobe of the Royal family. The queen’s attachment is more to the model than to the brand. Green or blue, patterned paisley in or out, Elisabetta’s look includes several jackets and vests that represent more than anything else a variation on the theme.

The queen is not afraid of the courses and recourses of fashion and, thanks to the constant loyalty to herself demonstrated over the years, she always offers style ideas that can be taken and made current thanks to the quilted trend. It is up to us to play, after having sifted through the online shops as well as in the flea markets or shops. Just mix the ingredients that are a jacket or a sleeveless to use outerwear or as visible padding, a nice scarf to put on the neck and, why not, on the head and tweed or tartan as required. Queen Elizabeth is an inspiration that never sets and the fashion of the quilted jacket proves it.

Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:

– Teddy Quilted Jacket: the quilted jacket that has become a craze
– Diamond is better: the golden moment of the quilted jacket
– Everyone likes the quilted jacket (even Kate Middleton)