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What do Princess Anne and Larry David have in common? The making of an ‘accidental style icons’

From the Curb star’s smart-casual look to the royal’s trademark wraparound sunglasses, the concept comes up time and again – but is it a patronising assumption that their style is accidental?

There are plenty more examples: David Hockney, who for some is a style icon of the expected ilk, also sometimes gets labelled as accidentally cool in his yellow Crocs and bright suits, ditto the late Iris Apfel and Mark E Smith. Biden chose those shoes and those suits, or at the very least agreed to put them on; ditto Princess Anne, who has been using her Longchamp bag, currently lusted after by a new generation on Depop, for years and who knows the optical importance of the moment you land on the tarmac for a royal tour. It was the architecture behind the biggest sartorial mood of last year – the quietest of luxury is predicated on certain people – dare I venture, those that the wearer deems worthy of impressing – clocking that a garment is a $9,000 cashmere jumper by Loro Piana rather than a Uniqlo staple, despite no obvious logos signposting such.

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