Kate's dress - Stockholm visit

[eloisesparkle]

Your thought please.
I think she normally dresses very well but this looks like her suitcase was lost in transit and somebody in the Palace in Stockholm very kindly offered to run her up a dress from curtains ( a la The Sound of Music ) that they were donating to a charity shop.

I quite like the pattern but the flounce thing at the bottom is odd and the high neckline and frills is very old fashioned.

Christ, I don't like the pink one either. It's just all horrible. With her amazing figure, neat pregnancy and beautiful face how can it be so hard to look good in pregnancy?

Some people just can't do edgy.

The worst of all is that flipping horrible princess Anne up do. It's so frumpy and ageing. No one in their 30s ever wears hair like that. Why does she??

Blue coat: vintage Kate. It's very much her colour.

Blue dress: like it all but the frills on the sleeves. Inverted waistline v. flattering.

Evening gown: neoclassical elegance.

A day full of win for the Duchess!

I know what you mean projectgainsborough. She earned her stripes doing a decade in nude shoes and she's not the noob anymore. She should take a few risks. MORE risks I say!

She has such gorgeous versatile hair..why wear it in that same unflattering up do? I know she’s pregnant, tired etc etc but let’s face it she’s not doing a shift down the coal mine and has people to help her. The blue dress was awful - sleeves looked unfinished. Green one was an attempt to be edgy but just reminded me that the DFS sofa sale was about to end....

Kate herself looked so much better tonight, the dress however completely swamped her, good thing the dinner was indie or she would have floated away.

Are all those hats real fur? Hope not.

I'm in the minority as I actually like Kate's updos. They remind me of Melly in Gone With The Wind. Can't try them myself as I have such fine hair, I'd need a massive foam doughnut and, realistically, a hairdresser.

Risks I'd like Kate to take: red lipstick. Bardot choucroute. Pin curl set. 1940s style snood.

However, Diana frequently got slated when she tried anything new (I remember the kerfuffle over the wet look) so I can see why Kate plays it safe most of the time. It would also distract from whatever cause she was trying to promote as the conversation would centre on the new shade of lipstick, or whatever.

I don't think Kate has worn real fur since her marriage. The collar and cuffs she wore with the green coat were definitely faux (Troy).

She really has embraced the Margot Leadbetter look. Tonight's frock is another fright. She needs to sack the stylist.

I don't know, I quite like the Princess Margaret in Mustique look!

Hopefully this tour is the Emperor's new clothes moment where everyone goes holy crap she can't dress for toffee.

I think the trouble is that in pregnancy you should embrace your curves. If you're naturally an hourglass I think that's easier than if you are a column like Kate. So she's still wearing shapes that would suit her non-pregnant shape but with boobs and a bump it looks frumpy. I know high necklines are fashionable but she needs to lower them a bit in pregnancy. So the silk gold dress (which is beautiful) would look better on her at the moment if she undid the top button (and wore it with flats and a down do, go for an earth mother vibe). The blue velvet dress would suit her current shape better if it had a boat neckline (otherwise it's divine) and she wore it with ankle boots.

She's only 36, she should be pushing the boundaries more (and I'd rather she had misses for being experimental than for being boring). And didn't she work for Jigsaw a bit? I would have thought she should be quite interested in fashion and with her budget and with the remit to support British fashion she could be quite interesting.

CountFosco I think she thinks she is interested in fashion. Just like she thinks she’s interested in art. In reality, she wears clothes from safe, mainstream labels, which is absolutely ok, but it’s not fashion. The result is a look that I imagine she thinks is co-ordinated, but is actually “matchy-matchy”.

She’s also very wedded to particular items - always in skyscraper heels, for example, that really limit her options and are sometimes ridiculously inappropriate. In many ways her appearance is her job and in her role, as the public and history have written it, she needs to be much more than clean and tidy.

Harry and Meghan were out at an awards show last night - she wore a black slim-legged McQueen trouser suit with a white blouse and heels. I thought it was a fairly chic and understated look. Her style is very different to Kate's, perhaps on purpose in the hope that the press won't compare them constantly.

Another great coat from Kate today - can't deny that she gives good coat! Today's one actually manages to make her look several months less pregnant than she did yesterday.

She must be trying to mix things up a bit but I'm not sure if it's been wholly successful. I can't quite decide if I love or hate the dress in the OP. Definitely not a fan of the blue Erdem dress but at least Kate's not wearing the horror ensemble that Princess Victoria has on. It looks like some polyester nightmare you could have bought from a market stall in 2002. Yuck.

Agree that KM looks amazing in the white Chanel dress.

Princess Victoria looks horrendous. What is she trying to pull off there? That just looks trashy.

Kate looks so silly in all these outfits. What is she thinking? No 36 year old dresses like this. Actually, no women anywhere dress like she does. Who is she modeling herself on - the queen? I know it's a uniform and she doesn't dress like this the rest of the time but it's all such an odd way to present yourself.

Meghan looked gorgeous last night in that trouser suit. I think she's just naturally stylish and knows what suits her. And she actually follows fashion.

Poor Kate, the comparisons will be inevitable.

What does a 36 year old woman in the public eye who needs to be mindful of modesty wear though?

She could try copyong the Spanish princess, Letizia? Or just employ a really good stylist. That's what I'd do.

Letizia has been promoted to queen now!

Poor Kate, the comparisons will be inevitable.

Maybe that's why Meghan is choosing trouser suits over dresses - if her style is completely different to Kate's then it's not as easy to compare them. Kate is LK Bennett, Meghan is Reiss!

Ooops, sorry Letizia!