The Duchess of Cambridge's Daytime Fashion Part 1: May 2011 - June 2011


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Kate wore exactly the same kind of dresses all princesses wears at the moment, Victoria and Mary, for exemple. Maxima wears a lot this beige colour. Is she safe, boring and predictable for this reason? I dont think so. It's just the begining for Kate. Of course she is safe now, as was mary at the begining, and do you remember Mette Marit at her debut? just check the photos to see what she looked like... This dress is beautiful and this colour suits to kate very well and complement her tanned skin; this beige is THE spring colour in Paris at the moment with the purple. So no it's not boring.

IMO Catherine is in the enviable position of not needing to make statements or be especially bold with her clothing choices. She's young, good looking and has has the kind of physique that wears classic and elegant very well.
 
But isn't that dress really a take or a variation of the sheath dress?

Sheath dresses will never go out of style.
 
Actually one of the reason Catherine's choice go so well if the public is that a) they're not from expansive brands. b) usually fit different sizes and shapes.

You don't buy the dress just because she wore it, you buy cause it's for your liking and it suits you, as Zonk said. She is not the first and won't be the last to influence people fashion choices. Better that than Kesha, I say!
 
Kate wore exactly the same kind of dresses all princesses wears at the moment, Victoria and Mary, for exemple. Maxima wears a lot this beige colour. Is she safe, boring and predictable for this reason? I dont think so. It's just the begining for Kate. Of course she is safe now, as was mary at the begining, and do you remember Mette Marit at her debut? just check the photos to see what she looked like... This dress is beautiful and this colour suits to kate very well and complement her tanned skin; this beige is THE spring colour in Paris at the moment with the purple. So no it's not boring.

Very true. Diana is another example. In the beginning her choices were pretty bad, but she really came into her own during the later years. Her fashion choices became bolder and she really began to understand what worked on her body type.

I think Kate's style will get better as she becomes more comfortable in her role. In fact, I see a slight change now. Her current style seems a bit more polished than her pre-marriage style.
 
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So true...I was reading an old book book about Diana (maybe Royal Style Wars) and her earlier choices were slighty horrofic or just dated. Compare it to Diana from 1992 on and you might wonder if it was the same person.

This is the same concept that I would expect that many of us might experienced if we looked a pictures when we were younger. Not everyone is as fortunate as a Grace Kelly, Jackie Onasiss, Audrey Hepburn who in my opinions were somewhat stylish in their younger years but perhaps thats an unfair comparison since two of them were products of the studio system. Jackie O had style at a young age but that might as a result of her social circle.

It takes a while to determine what you are comfortable in, what suits your body style, your favorite colors, etc.

I wouldn't say Kate's dress style has changed that much from two weeks ago, but I definitely think in a year or two we will be able to pinpoint the difference. Kate recognizes that she works best in tailored outfits, solid colours. I could be wrong but have we seen anything frilly or flowerly on her?
 
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I'd seen that dress on the Reiss site and liked it, but I agree with other posters that the color is rather "blah". I think it would work nicely in red, and the Duchess wears red well.

i agree with you. what i see is that she prefers neutral colors: black, white, beige, ivory... but she looks fabulous when she wears bright colors. what i believe is that catherine didn't wanted to take risks on her first official event as duchess of cambrige. i liked it. and the design of the dress was correct for the occasion.
 
Zonk said:
.I wouldn't say Kate's dress style has changed that much from two weeks ago, but I definitely think in a year or two we will be able to pinpoint the difference. Kate recognizes that she works best in tailored outfits, solid colours.

True and if you compare her style now to pictures of her from years ago you can readily see the difference- more chic and grown up. So she'll grow for sure. I for one like her safe, predictible sleek grownup style as it's like my own which some have called boring but I like to think of as classic :)
 
So true...I was reading an old book book about Diana (maybe Royal Style Wars) and her earlier choices were slighty horrofic or just dated. Compare it to Diana from 1992 on and you might wonder if it was the same person.

This is the same concept that I would expect that many of us might experienced if we looked a pictures when we were younger. Not everyone is as fortunate as a Grace Kelly, Jackie Onasiss, Audrey Hepburn who in my opinions were somewhat stylish in their younger years but perhaps thats an unfair comparison since two of them were products of the studio system. Jackie O had style at a young age but that might as a result of her social circle.

It takes a while to determine what you are comfortable in, what suits your body style, your favorite colors, etc.

I wouldn't say Kate's dress style has changed that much from two weeks ago, but I definitely think in a year or two we will be able to pinpoint the difference. Kate recognizes that she works best in tailored outfits, solid colours. I could be wrong but have we seen anything frilly or flowerly on her?

It is amazing to see Diana's style transformation. The clothes seemed to get better as her confidence grew. That book sounds interesting, I'll have to see if I can find it.

Jackie, Audrey and Grace definitely had an innate sense of style and what looked good on them. You're right though, the latter two might have been helped by Hollywood stylists. Didn't Grace have her entire Monaco wardrobe designed by MGM?

I don't expect Kate to be a style icon, but I'm definitely interested to see how her style evolves in the next few years. She will of course have her hits and misses, but I imagine she'll find what works for her.

Kate's worn a few flowery or frilly outfits, but she usually sticks with solid (neutral) colors. I would love to see her branch out a bit though.

Kate Middleton's $1 Million Tell-All | kate middleont floral print dress 01 - Photo Gallery | Just Jared

Kate Middleton Looks Pretty In Florals At Yet Another Polo Match, July 2006 | Look

Prince William & Kate Middleton: It's Back On! | kate middleton big bag 01 - Photo Gallery | Just Jared
 
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Thanks soapstar! I love the last two for some reason I am not a general fan of her shoes but that's just me. I don't think we will see Kate in a halter top like the 2nd picture ever again unless she is photographed on vacation.

Yes, if you can you should try to get a copy of Royal Style Wars...its VERY VERY old...its about Sarah and Diana so it ends about 1992, so no pics of the FABULOUS Diana outfits that she wore around her divorce.

Also, if you can get a copy of The Windsor Style (Fantastic book about the style of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor) written by Suzy Menkes.

I can't wait to see what Kate wears on the Canada trip. But before that...the Trooping of the Colour and Phillip's birthday.
 
Gosh, I remember when Diana Spencer first came on the scene and thinking that her outfits were the HEIGHT of fashion and good taste!:ohmy:

We were the same height and body type, and I was roughly the same age. I went out and bought those long Laura Ashley skirts, ruffled blouses and cardigans, low heels...I thought it couldn't be any more fashionable. :whistling:

Now I look back at those photos and I want to disappear..yikes!

Women like Jackie, Grace and Audrey rarely if ever went wrong because no matter how fashionable something was, they did not wear it if it didn't suit them.

I think that is the key..know what suits your body and style and never copy someone else.

I think the new Duchess of Cambridge is wonderful because despite people complaining that she is not "daring" enough, she is faithful to her own style and innate sense of what works for her. Good for her!
 
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You're welcome, Zonk. Thanks for the book titles. I'm on the lookout for them.

That halter dress is one of my favorites. It's too bad we won't see her in that style again. Is it possibe that she would be able to wear a halter type evening dress, or is the BRF a little more conservative than the other royal houses?

I'm too am looking forward to seeing her outfits for the upcoming trips/events - she's also supposed to be at William and Harry's polo match.

Moonmaiden, I do agree that it's about knowing what suits your body.
 
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:previous: Check out used book websites.

I can't imagine her wearing a strapless dress. The BRF is pretty conservative and the British press would have a field day IMO.
 
But if memory serves, Diana wore a gorgeous pastel pink/blue strapless ballgown during a State visit to Australia while she was Princess of Wales.

One of my favorite memories of her and Charles is Charles whirling her around the dance floor. :whistling:

Her shoulders were bare and she looked STUNNING. :whistling: As usual.

Zonk, do you mean that they don't wear strapless gowns to State visits while they are in Britain?
 
Honestly, I can't recall anyone other than Diana wearing dresses like that. Can anyone recall anyone other than Diana. Certainly not Anne....I think the most you will get is what Camilla wore to the State dinner...slightly off shoulder but thats about it.

And I can't imagine Kate wearing anything like that...talk about the attention that would get.....other members of the BRF might as well not be there.
 
Honestly, I can't recall anyone other than Diana wearing dresses like that. Can anyone recall anyone other than Diana. Certainly not Anne....I think the most you will get is what Camilla wore to the State dinner...slightly off shoulder but thats about it.

And I can't imagine Kate wearing anything like that...talk about the attention that would get.....other members of the BRF might as well not be there.

I agree, we will probably not see the Duchess of Cambridge wearing anything strapless soon, if ever.

It doesn't seem to be her "thing".

But at the ball on the night of her wedding, wasn't that white belted gown she wore strapless, with an angora bolero covering her shoulders?

I wonder if she removed it for dancing?
 
I have to laugh at the comments about Diana's fashion in the 80's. I was just out of university when Diana and Charles married, seriously interested in fashion, and I was appalled by her clothes: ruffles, bows, cutesy Laura Ashley prints and novelty sweaters, white tights. She dressed in clothes that were either far too young for her (that included the wedding dress) or far too old -- stiff suits and hats. It took a decade for her to hit her stride, and by then, she was nearly divorced.

I wasn't a Diana fan from the get-go, but to be fair, we were all coming out of a decade -- the 70's -- in which everyone had looked terrible (despite the efforts, in the US, of a few designers like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Diane von Furstenburg), and in the 80's, most people were floundering around, grasping at a renewed sense of style but uncertain how to achieve it. We were assailed, on the one hand, by notions of "professional dress" for the many newly professional women (remember all those stiff little skirt suits with bow ties?), and on the other by a concerted but not very well managed "return to glamour".

I think we can be grateful that style now is no longer a matter of following any particular trends, but rather of wearing what looks good, chosen from the wide variety of choices available. I recall that someone -- in the New York Times, I think -- commented perhaps a dozen years ago that good style in clothes, interior design, and so forth, is now available to everyone, at reasonable prices, whereas only 2 or 3 decades ago, you still needed a lot of money to achieve it, and even then you might not get it right, as Diana did not. I liked the fact that the Duchess of Cambridge, during the years before her engagement, usually looked good and stylish, often in clothes that didn't cost a great deal, and I liked the fact that I, too, could buy elegant, well-made clothes that didn't break my personal bank. Younger women may not realize how hard that was to do a few decades ago. You had to be very serious about scouting the possibilities; it helped if you had immediate access to shops in major cities (no online buying); and even then, you had to pay more than women in their 20's may have available to spend.

We are all far better off now than we were, and so are the royals. The reason that the Duchess of Cambridge can wear relatively inexpensive clothes and look great in them is that real style has trickled down to the mass market -- to her and to us. Genuinely stylish mass market clothes were very hard to find 30 years ago, and after the late 60's and the 70's, few people really had a sense of what "genuinely stylish" might mean. Now, we all can achieve it, if we have some taste.
 
I was looking around at photos and it does seem that Diana was the only one that wore a strapless dress (she's worn a number of them). Since it's not the norm, I imagine Kate won't go against the grain and wear something strapless.

I'll definitely check those out, Zonk.
 
I think it is quite clever of Kate to wear off-the-rack instead of always opting for designer labels. Doing that will provoke criticism in the end.
 
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Well IMO we won't need to worry about what she wears if she losses any more weight ....she'll simply fade away IMO
 
Wow....I didnt realize she was very skinny until I saw her at the state visit.I hope she does not lose anymore.
 
We really are not supposed to comment on weight issues here. As has been noted before, such remarks tend to devolve into argumentative exchanges. Let's try to stick to fashion, shall we?
 
Lets get back on topic , further Princess Diana posts & weight issues will be deleted without notice.

Thanks
 
It looks like Catherine may be well advised to eschew some of her much loved "High Street" designers.

Kate's dazzling dress is made in Romanian 'sweatshop' by women on just 99p an hour | Mail Online

It's not going to be much fun if every time she debuts a new outfit it is traced back to some poor women, or worse children, earning pennies. Unfortunately for Catherine this will probably mean she will have to move up-market and out of her current comfort zone to couture.

William and Catherine can afford it even with the initial large outlay for a starter basic royal "foreign visit" wardrobe.

I for one will not be moaning if there is no false economy and no more poverty trails involved.
 
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Who says she is knowingly sporting sweat shops.

Unfortunately, a lot of us purchase clothes at discounted prices and have no way of knowing who is making the clothes as well as the conditions (i.e. wages, working conditions, benefits, etc.) that the workers deal with.

But I agree with MARG, something like this might lead to Catherine purchasing more expensive clothes. Not that I didn't think that was going to be the case anyway.
 
I don't know about you bethaliz, but I don't ask the shop assistant where the material for my dress is sourced, who made it, who designed it and who sewed it up and, oh, how much they paid them and how much is pure profit.

I very much doubt the thought even entered her head, why should it. When you are buying a dress it is not the first thing the springs to mind and if it were not for the fact that Catherine, now Duchess of Cambridge, wore this dress we would all still be shopping in blissful ignorance.

I suppose this is just one of the first 'loss of innocence' incidents that will litter her life from here on out.
 
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Even high fashion designers clothing used sweatshops, so buying more expensive clothes would not necessarily fix the problems.

That's what I was thinking, too.

Who can say where our clothing comes from? Most people have no idea. The sweat shops have been around for centuries and aren't going anywhere!

Right now, Catherine is being sent all sorts of garments, in the hope that she'll wear something and it will spark huge sales!

It would be a full-time job for her to track down the origin of every item.
 
:previous: Why? Because she is who she is. Like it or not, deserved or not, she has become a fashion "icon" (how I hate that word) and a fashion nexus. What she wears everyone else wants to wear and she has to consider the ramifications of that knowledge coupled with the new knowledge that some of her beloved labels are not "Fair Trade".

Life is not fair and, to be honest, we should all be thanking God that it is not. Just imagine if you really deserved all the horrible things that happened in your life. Catherine is merely required to scratch a few labels from her wish list.

However, should she already have them in her wardrobe pre-wedding she will get a pass, if they are this season's collection she will not.

Such is life!
 
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