The Next Bride-to-be: Zara Phillips

"They call it the ‘girls in pearls’ page. And while the young aristocratic women who grace Country Life’s ‘posh page three’ don’t wear many pearls these days, they certainly tend to dress up.

Zara Phillips, however, is not one for conformity.

When she agreed to pose for a photograph to formally announce her engagement to England rugby star Mike Tindall, tradition flew out of the window.

The Queen’s granddaughter chose to wear jeans and a casual fleece standing beside her black labrador, Storm. The magazine confirmed that Zara selected her own outfit to fit her ‘comfortable’ and ‘natural’ lifestyle as an equestrian champion.

But on close inspection, the 29-year-old’s choice of attire may not have been as spontaneous as it first appears. The eventing rider, who is a shrewd businesswoman making hundreds of thousands through commercial tie-ups, did not miss the chance to plug her sponsors.

Zara is wearing a £60 microfleece from her own Musto fashion range – with the label’s name and the fabric make Polartec clearly on display. A £6,000 watch by Rolex – one of her sponsors – is on her wrist.
And with her sleeve pulled up it gets a more prominent show than her diamond engagement ring.

 

Well-bred:The latest edition of Country Life, which features Zara Phillips' portrait

Unlike in December when Zara posed for her first engagement photos in jeans, cap and bodywarmer, she appears to have scrubbed the dirt from beneath her finger nails.
The caption underneath the picture reads: ‘Zara, daughter of the Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips, is engaged to be married to Michael Tindall, younger son of Mr and Mrs Philip Tindall of the West Riding, Yorkshire. ‘They will be married on July 30 at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.’

The ‘girls in pearls’ frontispiece was established by Country Life in 1897 and has boasted a line of royals including Zara’s mother Princess Anne. Instead of engagement announcements, single girls increasingly feature these days. Their pictures often appear alongside a resume of their public school education and wishes for the future – making a discreet CV for potential suitors.

A magazine spokesman said Zara was not the first to wear jeans for the page, but said the decision was ‘very rare’. He added: ‘She hasn’t got to prove anything and that comes across.’"


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1385723/Forget-girls-pearls--Zaras-thoroughly-modern-bride-follows-mother-poses-country-life.html#ixzz1M0Kj5dTc