NEW YORK -- Queen Elizabeth II just might have the hardest working wardrobe on the planet.
"Every outfit worn in public is carefully calibrated to inspire or remind, to signal gratitude or respect, to convey a sense of power or familiarity," wrote The Mail on Sunday in 2015. "Her Majesty neither sets trends nor follows them -- but while she is deaf to the siren call of fashion, she has her own singular style."
From her tiaras, hats and Hermes scarves to her Launer London handbags and even her umbrellas, the queen's style has been hyper-documented since her birth, young princess days, ascension to the throne and now, more than 70 years into her reign, as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee at age 96.
Now known for her bright coats (so as to be seen by huge crowds) with matching brimmed hats, the queen was a young, glamorous princess and monarch in earlier decades.
Some highlights of the queen's style through the years:
HER CHILDHOOD
Cotton or wool? The queen's very birth prompted style debate, writes Bethan Holt, fashion editor of The Telegraph and author of this year's "The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style."
Her wardrobe from the get-go was a topic of national fascination with a layette sewn by her mother and grandmother, and a little help from underprivileged women throughout Britain. Declaring that babies in wool looked like "little gnomes," Lilibet's mum, then the Duchess of York, opted for frilly cotton, rejecting anything too fussy.
When sister Margaret came along four years later, the princesses often twinned it, dressing alike into their teens. But the future queen as a girl "never cared a fig" about clothes, according to her former governess, Marion Crawford.
"She wore what she was told without argument, apart from a long, drab mackintosh that she loathed," Crawford wrote in her controversial memoir, "The Little Princesses."
THE YOUNG HEIRESS
With the tumultuous abdication of her uncle and the rise of her father to become King George VI, Princess Elizabeth became heiress presumptive.
During World War II, 18-year-old Elizabeth began to make more public appearances, training as a mechanic in early 1945 toward the end of the war. It was the only time she routinely wore trousers (and boiler suits), according to Holt.
The queen was, and remains, a practical dresser when necessary, but also glamorous in sparkly gowns when the moment beckoned. And she often went short sleeved or with no sleeves at all, something that doesn't happen today. She stood for photos with Prince Philip in a simple, light-colored dress with sleeves above the elbow and peekaboo low heels on her size 4 (6 U.S.) feet shortly before their wedding in 1947.
"People want to see their royals looking like royals, but equally, they don't want to think that taxpayers' money is being blown away," said Nick Bullen, editor in chief of True Royalty TV.
FINDING A UNIFORM
The queen we know today wears sensible block heels or brogues, usually handmade by Anello & Davide, a custom Launer perched on her arm and a brooch on one shoulder. She goes with kilts and skirts in tartans and plaids as her country style. But the queen of the early 1950s charmed the world in nipped-in waists, pencil silhouettes and some floaty, full experiments as a post-war fashion quake took hold in the country.
"In the early years of her reign, she really embraced Dior's New Look aesthetic, and women looked to her outfits as a source of inspiration, much like people do with the Duchess of Cambridge today," said Kristin Contino, style reporter for Page Six.
There was a playful glamour in the 1970s, '80s and '90s, including a bold multicolored evening dress in 1999 for a Royal Variety Performance. Created by Karl-Ludwig Rehse, it featured a riotous sequin diamond-pattern bodice of bright yellow, blue, green and pink.
There were also some trouser days and a turban phase in the '60s and '70s amid a wide range of hat styles.
It was Margaret, the rebel, who was renowned as a fashion plate in Dior and other designers, and her influence on Elizabeth was tangible. Little sister helped the queen scout new British designers and introduced her to up-and-comers, such as milliner Simone Mirman, according to Holt. Mirman created some of the queen's standout hats, including her Tudor-style "medieval helmet," as Hartnell called it, in soft yellow, for the 1969 investiture of Prince Charles.
Usually sticking to British designers, the queen has a long-held fondness for silk scarves by the French fashion house Hermes. The brand has issued several special designs in her honor. It did so in 2016 with a horse-themed scarf to mark her 90th birthday.
MATCHY MATCHY
The queen loves to color coordinate, sticking to bright colors and pastels in coats and floral dresses today.
That goes for her signature clear, bird-cage umbrellas as well. They're made by Fulton Umbrellas and are attainable at $30 or less, though the queen's are custom made. She owns about 100 in a rainbow of colors.
Launer extends the straps of her leather bags to make it easier for her to hang them on her arm, and they make them lighter for her to carry. And what does she carry? Bullen said he's heard there's always a lipstick, a handkerchief and a photo of Prince Philip, who died last year at 99.
Irish designer Paul Costelloe, who dressed Princess Diana in the 1980s and '90s, told the AP of the queen's style: "She's a bit like a schoolteacher, a good schoolteacher. She never shocks. She gets it right."
FILE - Princess Elizabeth leaves a dentist appointment in the West End of London in October 1934. As a young princess and younger queen, her fashion choices have included nods to trends and a solid commitment to sensible dressing. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth appear with their daughters Princess Elizabeth, left and Princess Margaret, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, June 22, 1939. The princesses often dressed alike until their teens. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Princess Elizabeth, 14, right, appears with her sister Princess Margaret before giving her first radio broadcast in London on Oct. 13, 1940. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Princess Elizabeth, 16, center, appears with her mother, Queen Elizabeth, and her younger sister, Princess Margaret Rose, as they walk to the parade ground of Windsor Castle for a review of the Grenadier Guards on May 19, 1942 in Windsor. Queen Elizabeth II's style has been hyper-documented since her birth, young princess days, ascension to the throne and now, more than 70 years into her reign.(AP Photo, File)
FILE - Britain's Princess Elizabeth talks to an ambulance officer at a stand-down parade at Buckingham Palace in London, on Oct. 24, 1945. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Princess Elizabeth wears a new style of hat during a visit to the Yugo-Slav exhibition at Burlington House on Jan. 31, 1944 in London. Her new choice of hat has distinct military lines -- a small peak and high pleated crown. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Britain's Princess Elizabeth appears on the grounds of the Royal Lodge at Windsor, England, on Aug. 26, 1946. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Britain's Princess Elizabeth appears with Lieut. Philip Mountbatten, in London on July 10, 1947. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Britain's Princess Elizabeth leaves Westminster Abbey in London, with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, after their wedding ceremony on Nov. 20, 1947. (AP Photo, File)