Kate Middleton- copying her clothes, srsly who does that?

[Evelight]

Disclaimer: Canadian here, but lived in UK for several years a while ago.

So flipping through tabloids, or net-surfing, I come across these articles absolutely raving over Kate Middleton's style. Apparently whoever makes whatever she wears immediately becomes inundated with orders, their websites crash, their shops are mobbed etc.

Seriously? Who does that? irl I have never met one woman who actually says- oh wow, I need to have that pink coat or spotted blue dress or whatever she's wearing and rush out and buy it. And I know some women who are really heavy shoppers. I really don't get the appeal of her style, and I don't understand why anyone would copy it. I mean, Kate Moss a few years ago, yes. Nowadays I am watching the Good Wife on netflix, and oh my god Diane Lockhart's outfits, yes, yes. Kate Middleton? Do you actually know any women who rush out and mob the shops for the same dress she's been snapped wearing?

[SuperFlyHigh]

It would be REALLY nice for her to wear something fun/trendy rather than those god awful Breton tops yes I wrote that! for casual wear.

Maybe some Me and Em, Hush etc...

I recall Diana being more trendy but then I was younger, so was she and she was very much Sloane Rangerish.

[Notrevealingmyidentity]

I like her clothes.
They aren't for me as I'm a 20 something who works in engineering/construction rather than a 30 year old royal but that's fair enough I'd hVe thought.

If I was though, I'd wear them.

[squoosh]

She wears the same clothes as her mum, I don't think fun and trendy is for her.

[Notrevealingmyidentity]

I don't think her role is suited to fun and trendy really. Would look strange meeting say the president of wherever in fashions trendiest.

[NotYouNaanBread]

It's a mystery. I'm 4 years older than her and wouldn't dream of dressing so old for my age, but if I was a slender 50+ in a conservative/formal job I might look towards her.

I don't think she has a stylist - I think she is genuinely quite dull, and has been told to dress modestly and can't interpret that beyond "older". She has designer clothes butchered beyond recognition to fit this mould, and I assume that this is done on instruction from on high.

Princess Letizia of Spain is 10 years older than KM and although there isn't exactly a yawning chasm between their styles, it's apparent that PL carries off "modest royal" dressing with a bit more panache. And that she has more than two pairs of shoes...

[squoosh]

Some of the European royals manage to look a bit more fashion conscious and a bit less staid.

[squoosh]

Yes, Princess Letizia was the one whose name I couldn't think of. She looks great.

[Notrevealingmyidentity]

Yes that is true.

[SuperFlyHigh]

Squoosh and notrevealing - ok fun and trendy was maybe the wrong choice of words - fashion conscious like squoosh said about the European royals.

[SuperFlyHigh]

Her clothes really and honestly do look like they're for her mum or for the Queen's age!

which was why I said - fun and trendy - eg maybe the odd Hush star print jumper etc... for casual wear!

but hey she's the Princess...!

[Evelight]

She dresses old, right? In keeping with my Good Wife obsession, I read how she was spotted wearing one of the blazers that Alicia Florrick wore- Alicia is a forty-something professional with an 18-yr old! the article was like it was a compliment to the show -that the characters wore the same clothes as british royalty, but IMNSHO, it's a HUGE compliment to Kate M.

I just realised, as part of her whole class-climbing thing, Kate Middleton probably has huge cultural pretensions too.

Also I was lucky enough to stay a summer in London with some family a couple of years ago- it was when she gave birth, so she was plastered everywhere. But we used to walk around a upper-class-y area, Wapping (I'm only guessing it was upper-classy- by all the boats), and I have to say, the clothes and style of almost any woman there we saw was far more interesting and enjoyable than those of KM.

Enough gossip for now, back to work!

[SuperFlyHigh]

Evelight with the cultural pretensions - the Middletons are/were very aspirational classwise. Mum was air hostess etc.

[Bellerina2]

SuperFlyHigh, you raise an interesting point about Diana's clothes as what she wore was (for the time) far trendier than what Kate wears. Kate's choices are safe and would not be out of place ten years ago or ten years hence whereas Diana's clothes are very eighties. I've seen the exhibition of her clothes along with the Queen and Princess Margaret's and Diana's clothes have dated far more than say, a gown Princess M wore in the 1950s. Diana's clothes also seen huge compared to those belonging to the other two but she was a tall woman and they were both petite.

[NeitherHereOrThere]

Dislike her shoes and boots - these look outdated, frumpy, cheap and shoddy (the black suede ones look worn at the back). With her money I would have a much better range of shoes in attractive styles and colours.

Her clothes are a bit meh - boring and untrendy although occasionally I see an outfit that I really like on her.

Too much eye liner and orange blusher.

She has amazing hair although it can be a bit too long at times. I love it when she has it tied back or in a chignon when she needs to be elegant.

European royals are much more stylish I agree.

[Cariad007]

I find Queen Letitizia's outfits a bit too news anchor-y (which indeed she once was) or like they belong on a character in The Good Wife at times but Kate do do worsen than to look at Mary of Denmark who is older than her yet dresses far more stylishly whilst not going over the top. Maxima of the Netherlands on the other hand is a wacky dresser and clearly doesn't give a shit - I imagine the Queen would not appreciate it if Kate emulated her!

[Twinklestar2]

I just wish I had a job where I could wear hats as often as she get too!

[squoosh]

'I've seen the exhibition of her clothes along with the Queen and Princess Margaret's and Diana's clothes have dated far more than say, a gown Princess M wore in the 1950s.'

I agree with you that 1950's dresses look far more classic to our eyes than one from the 1980's but do you think 50 years from now the 1980's dress will also be a classic, or will we still shudder a bit?

1950's style wedding dresses are all the rage these days but no one would have worn one in the 90's. I remember in Pretty in Pink Molly Ringwald's character hacks a gorgeous 1950's prom dress to pieces in an effort to 'improve' it, so the 50's weren't as kindly looked upon then.

Maybe the distance of time will improve Diana's dresses, but maybe not.

[NotYouNaanBread]

I don't think that KM has the room for cultural pretensions. She has been give a very detailed and restrictive job spec and she doesn't deviate from that, so it doesn't really matter what she is "really" like. I honestly think you could put Snooki from Jersey Shore in KM's job and by the time her training was done you wouldn't notice the difference.

I don't like the implication that aspirational = social climbing (pejoratively) = pretentious. Her Mum had a job. Left her job. Started a perfectly mundane company with her husband. Ran company together extraordinarily well. Brought up children. Made millions. Bought nice house. By complete coincidence, daughters fell in with an unusual set at uni, and one married a future king.

It's not like she used her, um, party streamers company (hardly a "pretentious" industry!) to "throw the girls in the path of other rich men" or dragged them to be presented at court in a white dress and long gloves and a London season in some sort of 1880's throwback.

[squoosh]

Oh yes, the sexual allure of paper chains and party poppers!

[JoanHickson]

If they were social climbers Pipa would not be with a mc trader and James would not be with an actress.

[NeitherHereOrThere]

For someone who is supposed to dress modestly, she keeps cocking it up by wearing flimsy skirts prone to baring her arse - once is a mistake but to have done it at least three times is foolishness.

[TerraNovice]

Say what you like about Diana but her clothes, shoulder pads and all, were more individualistic and seemed to reflect a bit more personality than Kate's do. I'm sure she's very nice and all that but she just seems a bit of a Stepford Royal. At least Diana supported charities like AIDS ones rather than the "safe" charities that Kate has taken on.

[slug]

I think the thing about KM's style is it can easily be replicated on the High Street. Wasn't most of her honeymoon wardrobe from Reiss?

Of course items she wears sell out. They are available and affordable for the average consumer.

[notinagreatplace]

I don't copy her clothes but I actually really do like her style. I like seeing clothing that is classic and well cut rather than tacky, trendy stuff on a celebrity.

[Evelight]

@NotyournaanBread- I thought it was commonly accepted that it was NOT "completely by coincidence"? I remember reading somewhere, I think when they had just got married (can't remember where) "The Middleton sisters are like climbing ivy, pretty, fresh and climbing upwards". I paraphrase but KM really doesn't seem to be a Lizzie Bennet. You don't just happen to marry a future king -especially if you are not of his social background and circle. It takes a certain amount of planning and foresight. There's nothing particularly wrong with that, btw. I've heard many girls, if not married by their late twenties, explicitly say they want to marry "up" (or rather "worthwhile")

I agree that Diana's style had a lot more individuality.