Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soulful style

With a career spanning six decades, Aretha Franklin -- the Queen of Soul -- saw her share of fashion trends.

From her empire waist dresses and bouffant hair in the 1960s when her career first started, to the gray felt hat at the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, Franklin has made an important mark on the fashion world.

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In a 2003 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Franklin shared that her friend, the late singer Luther Vandross had designed two of the gowns on her tour.

“Oh, Luther is an absolutely fabulous designer! He designs all of his singers' gowns. When I was admiring theirs, he said he would design some for me. And believe me, he is as good with that as he is with his voice. So you know it's the bomb,” Franklin said.

Here is a look at some of her rock steady fashion choices.

1960's style: Franklin's early looks included bouffant style hair and empire waist gowns.

Crochet: By the mid-70's, Franklin was rocking out hippie style in a pantsuit with a crochet poncho, as she did during a 1976 appearance on Soul Train.

Furs: Franklin loved a good fur -- from cropped to full-length -- in a range of colors and styles, like the white fur jacket she wore over her gown at the 1990 Grammy Awards.

Credit: Time Life Pictures

Credit: Time Life Pictures

Fishtails and turbans: In 2008, Franklin wore this black beaded and tulle fishtail style gown with a black turban when she was honored as MusiCares person of the year in Los Angeles, California.

Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Pearls: Franklin often accessorized her outfits with a single strand of pearls as she did during a 2012 performance in Atlanta.

Credit: Rick Diamond

Credit: Rick Diamond

The other lemonade: Franklin knew the power of a yellow dress long before Beyonce. She wore this lemony number to the 30th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in 2007.

Credit: Nancy Ostertag

Credit: Nancy Ostertag

Shimmer and shine: Franklin often chose to wear sequins and iridescent fabrics which she sometimes paired with feather wraps and boas. She is pictured here in 2010 during her induction into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame.

Credit: Jemal Countess

Credit: Jemal Countess

All in the hat: Franklin wore lots of hats but this one threatened to upstage the President. When Franklin wore a gray felt cloche adorned with a bow and rhinestones by Detroit-based milliner, Luke Song, it received the ultimate respect -- a place in the Smithsonian. It will reportedly end up in the Barack Obama Presidential Library upon its completion in 2021.

Credit: Alex Wong

Credit: Alex Wong

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