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Woman & Home
Lifestyle
Madeline Merinuk

Princess Margaret’s birthday prompted us to return to one of her best fashion looks - these MASSIVE alien-like white sunglasses

princess margaret

In honour of Princess Margaret's birthday, we're taking a look back at one of her best fashion moments, which included a pair of these really massive, aline-like white sunglasses - which are surprisingly still on-trend today.

Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, was a fashion inspiration to many while she was still alive - and her legacy still continues even over a decade after she passed. The Queen's sister, who was born on August 21, left a huge impact in many facets, but in honour of her birthday that just passed, we're taking a look back at one of her most iconic fashion looks. And, as is typical for many royal fashion ensembles of the days of yore, it still holds up as being quite en vogue in 2023.

In August of 1967, while on holiday in Sardinia, Italy on the Aga Khan's yacht, she sported a pair of super futuristic-looking sunglasses while basking in the sun - and they almost look akin to the type of sunnies a high fashion brand like Bottega Veneta would sell today.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

These really futuristic sunnies certainly did the job of protection Margaret from the sun's strong rays in the Italian summer - and this pair specifically was quite ahead of the time, only further proving just how much of a fashion influence the royals, but specifically Princess Margaret, had on sartorial culture. 

With her large, alien-like sunnies, she also has on what appears to be a sleeveless, floral shirt. 

Aside from Princess Margaret's ahead-of-her-time taste in fashion, she also was quite the rebel, especially when compared to her sister, Queen Elizabeth. Margaret had quite the extravagant lifestyle. Her honeymoon, for example, lasted six whole weeks on the Queen’s Royal Yacht Britannia after she married Antony Armstrong-Jones.

She and Lord Snowdon visited Antigua, Trinidad and Mustique on the Royal Yacht Britannia - the same vessel that the Queen used throughout her reign, including for her Commonwealth Tour with Prince Philip in 1953-1954.

Also, back in 1970, The New York Times reported that Princess Margaret sometimes would request to be escorted by motorcycle - or even a helicopter - for a relatively quick journey. Oh, to be Princess Margaret. 

(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/WireImage)

Although some had raised an eyebrow at the Princess' opulent lifestyle, others regarded her as a breath of fresh air, admiring her party-loving and fun outlook on life. 

In fact, one of the Princess' most well-known and rather hilarious facts is that she had quite the decadent morning routine, which consisted of "breakfast in bed, followed by two hours in bed listening to the radio, reading the newspapers ('which she invariably left scattered over the floor') and chain-smoking," according to Craig Brown's book, Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret.

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