Royal style & gossip: strawberries, serves and sartorial splendour - anyone for tennis?

[QueenOfTheAndals]

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@AppleKatie I thought the same!!

I think she looks great - love the shape and the pleated sides - and it's great she's watching a British player on court 14 rather than sitting in the Royal Box.

Agree with pp that W&K are really getting the PR right at the moment.

I don't HATE the dress but the shoes are a disaster. Which then made me think: what shoes WOULD work with that dress? Which then made me think maybe the dress is just a problem anyway.

Wedges would have been better but wedges make me want to curl up and die, I find them so frumpy.

So perhaps the dress is just frumpy.

I do feel sorry for her in many ways as she's younger than me and all my friends and yet obviously to feel she's doing justice to her role (which she does impeccably) she so often dresses very much more staidly and yes frumpily than she should for her age.

I do usually quite like her Wimbledon outfits (yellow dress was nice last year iirc) but this one is a miss, I think.

I hate it.

I also hate the bag and the shoes.

I LOVE that she looks as though she's thoroughly enjoying herself. Hope she and W get a night out with the Feds.

The hideous bow is something to do with her role as patron or whatever she is for Wimbledon. It's awful. She was wearing it last year too I think. It's like the bloody orders - they ruin every outfit!

I think I saw Pippa in the stands yesterday on tv. DH and MIL were watching so it was just a glimpse as I came into the room and I didn't dare to ask them to rewind! They take their tennis very seriously! .

queen when I got an email to say I’d been mentioned I thought you were going to say I’d gone too far! 😂

I think stilettos are far more old-fashioned than what she is wearing or even wedges.

I'm constantly surprised when people say she wears dresses that are too old for her. All the mid-30s women I know dress like her.

This is from Charlotte's page about the garden yesterday: "Following the 'Back to Nature' installation at Hampton Court, it will move to its final destination - to form part of a new children's garden at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. Many of the plants, trees, hollow logs, dens and the treehouse will become a permanent feature of the garden. We can expect to see Kate visit the garden there, where she will meet the winner of the Blue Peter competition launched earlier this month, asking children to create a sculpture for the garden."

Made me chuckle. We used to go to Wisley all the time but stopped (as have a lot of people I know) as they've become so incredibly unfriendly to children. I wonder if they've seen a reduction in visits so lobbied to get the garden and let children in. DS once tried to take a ball in - fair enough, it is not allowed. But the woman was so rude and unpleasant to him (age 3 at the time) and me, I think that was the final straw after a few trips where it felt like the kids were a nuisance, even in the cafe.

Anne - I agree. I don't think those sort of dresses are particularly old and I know lots of women who wear similar when out and about with the DC etc.

I suspect in her private life she dresses a lot more sexily. We've seen glimpses at the odd shot - and even that red dress she wore for her parents anniversary/birthday was much "funkier" for want of a better word. There was also one state dinner where official photos weren't available but one surfaced of her with a fair bit of cleavage going on.

I loathe block heels but actually, as block heels go, those are pretty good I felt.

That dress would work with trainers or flat sandals but they aren’t ‘worky’ enough, she is the wife of a future king in her mid 30s at work after all. I think it could be better to think of what she wears as work clothes & how she’d have to dress at a City law firm, somewhere traditional at any rate.

I like what she is wearing, except for the bows. People who don't like the shoes, what would you suggest? I think the shoes go with the 1940s vibe. I like the handbag with the top handle, but think it should be slightly larger. It looks sort of like a tiny Louis Vuitton Pochette Metis, which is one of my favorite handbag shapes. I always have my eye out for affordable renditions of that style.

Imagine if she'd worn it with chunky trainers?? The other day I was going to the gym straight after work so I was wearing my old gym trainers with a dress. A friend who works in buying for New Look said I was very on-trend as all the hip young things in her office wear similar!

Kate does do sexy from time to time - I'm thinking the white off the shoulder rewear from the other week or the blue Jenny Packham mullet gown (for want of a better word!) but Wimbledon's royal box is probably not the place for it.

@biggreenolives - I work in the City. But if I was attending a work event at which I would be running around a garden with 30 children, I would not expect to be wearing the same dress, heels and jacket I wore yesterday?

And I also completely disagree she has to dress "traditionally". Old school law firms even are mostly changing their strict and old fashioned dress codes. On what planet do we want our future queen turning up in a navy skirt suit every day? Ick. Even goldman sachs has a dress down policy these days.

Although I think more shift dresses could work - tailored smart ones for formal events and more relaxed versions for more casual events.

Just reread your post - did you mean the white dress from today? I can honestly say that I would not blink an eye if I saw that in the office of any of my clients. It would be considered completely appropriate. A dress with a defined shape and a collar would not require a jacket which is practical in this weather. I can think of at least 3 women with senior roles within my client base who would easily wear that dress. And more if it was in a different colour as most women I know are pretty nervous about wearing all white in the office!

I don't think she has any choice re the bow brooch.

I don't like the shoes but agree they are "work" shoes.

She looks very happy.

I meant the dress is good but she can’t wear it for work with cool shoes. I presume you can’t wear trainers to client meetings? I’m out of touch as I don’t work in the city anymore. My civil servant friends & those who work for MPs don’t wear trainers or sandals.

I love the dress but as always her shoes are just wrong. I don't think I've ever seen her in a nice pair of shoes other than the occasional evening sandal.

She has a pair of silver Jimmy Choos that are to die for, as well as a gorgeous pair of plum strappy sandals. But other than that, Meghan, Bea and Eugenie are definitely better on the shoe front! Meghan has some beautiful shoes and the York sisters, even if their dresses don't look quite right, wear some great shoes.

It's another no from me for KM's outfit today. Revere collar doesn't suit her at all. The shoes are terrible. I agree with a PP.... a shoe intervention is badly needed!

(I was going to write that the York sisters have some great pairs but that might be taken the wrong way...)

Wonder how much the teeny tiny bag cost? Seemingly the dress is in £2,300 territory..

Kate's hair seems longer recently or is it that she's easing off on the high volume bouncy blow dry?

Ok well I'm a club of one then, because I really like DoC's outfit (I'm not acknowledging the bows, attention seeking little whimsies that they are...) AND I'm loving the block heels. I think they are right for the retro vibe.

I'm all for a comfortable heel and I expect it's frowned on to spike your way across the lawn even if you're a royal.

@Wildorchidz It's custom McQueen so I'm guessing not cheap!

Good points @Myimaginarycathasfleas