Sara Parker Bowles presented Queen Elizabeth with two grandchildren, Lola and Freddy, and she has commended Camilla, Princess of Wales’ mother, Carole Middleton, for her sense of style, stating: “She carries the outfits, rather than being overwhelmed by them.”
For over ten years, Sara Parker Bowles was primarily recognized as
Queen Camilla’s
But prior to becoming a daughter-in-law, she worked as a fashion journalist, attending all the key runway shows in Paris, Milan, and New York, according to Tempus Magazine.
Currently, at the age of 50, she manages her own fashion firm called Wardrobe Revivals.
Here’s how she got there.
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She developed her passion for fashion at a young age.
Sara Buys spent her childhood in London’s Hampstead, an area famous for its blend of scholars, artists, and individuals from the media industry. She recounts how her father, who worked as a financial advisor, “pampered me excessively during my youth, which led to me being spoiled rather than learning valuable lessons about handling finances wisely.”
Armed with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Leeds, she initially joined Vogue as a features assistant. She later transitioned to Harper’s Bazaar, eventually taking on the role of features director, focusing on areas such as art, celebrity profiles, and fashion journalism.
Around that time she met Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla’s son, through mutual friends, according to Hello! magazine. Both working as journalists,
Tom in food writing
, they quickly hit it off. After five years of dating they married in 2005 before 450 guests, including Prince William, Prince Harry, Hugh Grant and Mick Jagger.
In 2007, they celebrated the birth of their daughter, Lola, and in 2011, their son, Frederick.
She was married to Tom Parker Bowles for 13 years
Following 13 years of marriage, Tom and Sara Parker Bowles went their separate ways.
“Getting divorced is terrible. Ending a relationship with someone you love can be extremely difficult,” Sara shared with the Daily Mail in 2023. “It’s agonizing to ponder how much blame lies with me and whether I’ve ruined everything.” She continued, “There were moments when things seemed incredibly bleak.”
Sara also mentioned feeling remorseful about potentially causing her children pain: “Naturally, you feel responsible anytime your actions affect them; that guilt will persist forever. Ideally, we should have remained united as a family unit.” However, she has come to accept some realities: “Fortunately, I now understand that such events sometimes occur beyond our control.”
She concluded, reflecting fondly on happier times, saying, “Our union started off joyfully but eventually fell apart. Nonetheless, I’ll cherish those loving memories forever.”
Once the relationship concluded, Sara focused on an issue she had observed: numerous options coupled with rapid-fire social media shifts made many women feel daunted by style.
She has become a stylist now.
She explained to Tempus Magazine that her inspiration came from acknowledging her wealth of stylistic knowledge combined with listening to her acquaintances complain about ‘not having anything to wear’—even though she was aware they each owned ample clothing—prompting her to launch her personal styling service called Wardrobe Revivals.
Ever since, she has assisted her clientele in clearing out clutter, reviewing their wardrobe choices, and assembling essential outfits, consistently promoting thoughtful purchasing.
In an interview with The Dura Society, she mentioned that her involvement with clothing has become much more direct. Rather than participating in photo shoots and runway events, her current schedule includes home visits where she assists clients with styling, organizing their wardrobes, conducting research, drafting reports, and engaging in individual shopping trips around London, be it for routine outfit planning or prepping someone for vacation.
In September last year, she launched Wrapp10, an innovative shopping platform that employs sophisticated machine learning techniques to link users with premier stylists and provide personalized fashion suggestions.
Sara, who is said to have maintained amicable relations with Queen Camilla, continues to occasionaly share her thoughts on the royal family to whom she was once closely linked, though now from a professional standpoint.
“There’s a kind of freedom and an easiness to her dressing,” she said of the look chosen by Carole Middleton – mother of the
Princess of Wales
– for her 70th birthday in January, as quoted by the Daily Telegraph. “She wears the clothes, they don’t wear her.”
Sara lives in London with her children and dog
Sara resides in West London along with her daughter Lola—who is said to play Wordle daily with her grandmother, Queen Camilla—and her son Freddy, who served as a page of honor during King Charles’s coronation in 2023. She also shares her home with their Lucas terrier named Snoopy.
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The article initially appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), which serves as the premier source for news coverage of China and Asia.
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