The Countess of Wessex held her own on the red carpet alongside the likes of Sienna Miller and Nicole Kidman on Tuesday night. The stylish royal looked glamorous in a £2,375 Mary Katrantzou dress at the Harper's Bazaar Woman of the Year awards at Claridges in London.
The 50-year-old ensured she was dressed for the occasion in the striking dress, which featured a lace top and jacquard midi skirt. Sophie accessorised the design with black pointed courts and a satin bag, and had styled her hair into a low chignon bun.
Sophie Wessex looked glamorous in a Mary Katrantzou dress
It was another style success for the royal, who previously said that she tried to resist wearing designer clothes because she didn't want her outfits to overshadow her charity work.
"It's still not about me, it's about my charities. But I recognise that I'm on display," Sophie told The Sunday Express, adding that a chat with someone made her realise that fashion was something to be taken seriously.
"I wrestled with that one for a little while and caved in at the end of the day," she said.
Sophie presented Mary Katrantzou with the Designer of the Year award
The Countess has since transformed her image without the help of a stylist. Her fashion-forward outfits helped Sophie to land her a spot on Vanity Fair's 2015 Best Dressed List – which proved a shock to the down-to-earth royal.
"I kept on reading the names, thinking, are they sure they're not thinking of someone else?" Sophie explained.
The mother of two is now a Patron of the London College of Fashion, a role which she takes seriously, championing the British fashion industry and supporting the college's initiatives on sustainable fashion.
"From the outside, it's very easy to look at fashion and be slightly dismissive of it," she told Harper's Bazaar. "But it is a huge bonus to our economy that is often underestimated."
