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Remembering Aretha Franklin’s elegantly over-the-top personal style

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

August 16, 2018

Aretha Franklin died today in her Detroit home at 76 years old. She forever changed the landscape of music, and her influence will continue for years to come. Like her voice, her personal style was also powerful and full of life, from the beginning of her career right up to the very end — feather boas, elegant coats, and colors as vivid as her presence. Aretha was real, always wearing and doing whatever the hell she wanted (like carrying her purses with her on red carpets or even on stage) and speaking her truth if anyone dared to limit her. That's how we'll remember the Queen of Soul.

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Simple elegance
Statement headpieces

Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images
Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Luxurious coats
Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Colorful gowns and kaftans

Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for The Fox Theatre
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Pristine whites
Purse sidekick

Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images
Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Showstopping stolls
Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images
Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)