The Bizarre Fashion Rule That Doesn't Let British Royal Women Wear Diamonds Before 6 PM

If you fancy the royal life, you may as well accept the royal rules regardless of how bizarre they may sound. For instance, according to a royal fashion rule, the women of The Firm aren't allowed to wear diamonds until the sun goes down. An etiquette expert, Myka Meier, told news.com.au the reason for it and explained the list of do's and don't of the quintessential royal fashion. 

Among other rules, the daytime diamond ban comes as a surprise to fans who find it absurd to prevent royal women, in possession of the world's finest diamond jewelry, from flashing the big rocks before 6 pm. However, there's a reason behind it as Meier explained, "Other jewels are worn pre-6 pm. Before 6 pm, you'll see metallics, gemstones, pearls, and sapphires. At night, you'll see the diamonds come out, and that's in order to not come across as flashy in your appearance." 

The Monarchy follows a strict fashion protocol when it comes to royal woman's public appearances, beginning from their outfits to jewelry to how to act and interact. Meier revealed, "They have a team who know what is appropriate for the event they're attending," including the new non-royal member Meghan Markle, who "especially would be given a lot of advice on (what to choose)." 

Another crucial rule that royal women cannot defy is to always dress modestly- that means no shoulders showing off and no cleavage peeking. "At formal engagements, we typically always see the shoulders covered," Meier noted. "So if (working royals) are going to a charity event or a walk through a hospital or museum, it's expected shoulders will be covered," also "Cleavage is something that is not practiced, especially during the day." 

The conservative dressing extends to extremely low-cut slits and hemlines to prevent the leg show, "(Women in the palace are expected) to have modest hemlines and slits that are only for function," the etiquette expert said, citing, "For their formal daywear, we're not going to see Angelina Jolie-style slits. Slits are for function, not for style during the day." 

Since the fashion rules are so deeply embedded in the royal women's minds, fans would often catch them dressed in almost identical styles because there's little scope for change. On a number of occasions, we'd see them out, dare we say, almost copying each other due to "strict" etiquette rules. 

Royal fashion expert Miranda Holder explained to Express, "The ladies of the Royal Family have been reinventing and re-wearing similar outfits for years, and this is due to several reasons. The royals have to adhere to a strict sartorial etiquette when it comes to dressing for public occasions and this heavily restricts the range of garments that they can actually wear." 

Also, as we discussed prior, necklines and hemlines are carefully checked "to ensure they are modest enough, coats must not be removed in public, hence the popularity of the coat dress, and even their accessories are restricted," referring to the daytime diamond ban.