Dressed to Impress: Queen Elizabeth I and the Art of Fashioning Power by Sylvia Barbara Soberton

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

For Elizabeth I, fashion was never simply about looking beautiful—it was a language of power.

From dazzling jewels and pearls to elaborate gowns, ruffs, and sumptuous fabrics, every detail of the Queen’s appearance helped shape the image she presented to her subjects, courtiers, and foreign ambassadors. Dressed to Impress explores how Elizabeth used clothing, jewellery, and portraiture to communicate authority, wealth, femininity, chastity, and majesty.

Discover the woman behind the spectacular costumes—and the remarkable ways in which England’s Virgin Queen transformed fashion into one of the most powerful tools of her reign.

Elizabeth I did not simply wear fashion. She fashioned power.

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About the Author

Sylvia Barbara Soberton is a writer and researcher specialising in the history of the Tudors. She is best known for The Forgotten Tudor Women book series, which concentrates on shifting the perspective from famous figures like Henry VIII’s six wives to the lesser-known, but no less influential, women of the Tudor court. Sylvia has written ten books to date, and her newest titles include The Forgotten Years of Anne Boleyn: The Habsburg & Valois Courts, Ladies-in-Waiting: Women Who Served Anne Boleyn and Medical Downfall of the Tudors: Sex, Reproduction & Succession. Her ground-breaking paper on Anne Boleyn and the accusation of witchcraft was published in the Royal Studies Journal in 2023.  You can find Sylvia on Facebook,  Goodreads, Twitter @SylviaBSo and Bluesky @sylviabso.bsky.social