GET THE LOOK: A Wallis Simpson Ensemble in Madonna's New Movie, W.E.
When the very-married Wallis took up with Edward, Prince of Wales, tongues wagged. When she divorced her second husband - two years after Edward ascended to the throne of England - he proposed, igniting a scandal worthy of his much-married royal ancestor, Henry VIII. Marrying a woman with not one but two living ex-husbands threatened to cause a constitutional crisis, which prompted the King to step down in December 1936 in order to marry "the woman I love". And six months later, the Duke of Windsor married his sweetie, the newly-minted Duchess (but not "Her Royal Highness").
Or so the popular story goes.
Yes, the affair cost the king his crown, but what about the cost to the former Mrs. Simpson? "He used me to escape his prison, only to incarcerate me in my own," notes the latest movie incarnation of Simpson, the glamorous Andrea Riseborough who portrays the Duchess in the new film - named for the lovebirds' initials "M.E." and directed by Madonna. Yes, Simpson lived a fabled life o' luxe, draped in the finest fashions and bedecked in sumptous (real) jewels, but all that glitters can sometimes actually turn out to be paste. "Poor old Mrs Simpson would have been happier if she could have shaken cocktails for His majesty while remaining married to second husband Ernest Simpson," writes the reviewer for the Mail Online. "She would have been happier, too, if she could have thrown a few of those cocktails over the Queen Mother, who went around calling her a trollop." (image: source)
GET THE LOOK: Trollop or no, Simpson's fashion-sense was undeniably fabulous. So why not steal one of the movie's looks created by the movie's costumer, Andrea Liebermann: a graphic black-and-white print. The movie is a period piece, but you aren't - so the trick is to steal what makes it work, while leaving anything too dated. Probably the most modern way to rock the mid-calf length of this particular Simpson/Liebermann look is a cropped jumpsuit - unexpected, and insanely cool! Pair with a bold white vintage jacket trimmed with black to deliver the same overall impact as the movie costume. Of course, women in those days were G-R-O-O-M-E-D, so be sure to step out in fabulous footwear, a chic clutch tucked under your arm, and a perfect pout (deep red, of course). Consider yourself ready for the Royal Treatment!
SHOP THE LOOK: "Barras" DVF wrap-jumpsuit, vintage Chanel jacket & Gareth Pugh envelope clutch - all from farfetch.com; Eugenia Kim feathered "Claudia" headband, Annina Vogel diamond-stud earrings, Mulberry leather gloves & YSL "Palais" peep-toe pumps - NET-A-PORTER.com;
Lorac Matte Lips lipstick, Givenchy Parad'Eyes fluid eyeliner & Guerlain Meteorites pressed powder - Sephora.com
- Lesley Scott
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