The Other Side of the Coin is the second book written by Angela Kelly that describes her 25 year close working relationship with the Queen.
Angela was first employed as an Assistant Dresser, and worked her way up through the ranks and is now Personal Assistant, Advisor and Curator (Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe). Angela describes all the considerations that need to be made when choosing and designing clothing and accessories for the Queen – the weather, walking up stairs, getting in and out of vehicles, multiple changes in a day, backdrop, audience, previous visits, country to be visited – all while looking modern and not a crease in sight.
I first listened to this as an audio book read by the author. It really gave an essence of Angela and her great respect and admiration for the Queen. Then by chance a friend showed me her library copy of the book and some photos within it. I had no idea there were photos as well so I surely knew there was more to be seen. I went and borrowed the hard copy from the library and devoured the story again and all the accompanying photos.
If you want to see how a sleeve should go into a jacket then take a look at the high definition photos in this book. Or even how to put together a look including hat and gloves.
It is a fascinating read on what goes on to “Dress the Queen” even if you aren’t a royalist, that I would highly recommend getting your hands on either as an audio book or hard copy or both.
Angela’s other book is Dressing the Queen, documenting the Queen’s Jubilee year, which is worth a look too.
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