Royal style: the Duel of the Duchesses

[QueenOfTheAndals]

Previous thread

What will tomorrow bring for Kate? Does her love for green know no end?

And Thursday night sees the return of Meghan! I know she can be polarising so let's stick to just discussing her clothes rather than the intricacies of Megxit. There's plenty of other threads to do that!

Would it make a difference if I said I posted my last comment from A&E while I wait with DD and suspected broken bones in her hand? Substance enough to be worrying about?

Ooh ouch, your poor DD. Hope she’s on the mend soon.

Now Frugal, you know that you can only worry about one thing at a time in life, so your concern over Kate's 7264 green coats means you don't care a jot for your DD's welfare.

Someone commented that Kate looked a fright in her Green dress a few days ago and not one person said anything about that comment but a few threads back someone said Meghan looked a fright and was jumped on by many posters for that comment (rightly so).

Just to address this, IIRC someone several threads ago said Meghan looked "an absolute fright" at Wimbledon. The comment about Kate I saw was "that green dress is a fright". I think there's a difference.

I think that there has been a massive change in the way the world works over the last couple if decades. Diana could set trends, she made fashion but the royals of today don't seem to have that same power. If Kate rocked up to her next engagement with a pixie cut I doubt to would be a catalyst for 1000s of short hair cuts (but I seem to recall that one "wet look" hair outing by Diana sparked loads of copy cats).
I doubt the Queen has a long list of fashion rules (almost all of which she broke regularly when younger) but I do think having an elderly matriarch probably has a knock on affect on how the younger royals dress. As an older lady the Queen is much more covered up than she was in her youth and so sleeves, higher necklines etc. have slowly become the normal for royal dressing. The dutchesses/princesses are probably aware of the potential to shock/upset Granny. There was always an unspoken no jeans rule for family get-togethers in my family. At the first such occasion after gran died almost all of the cousins wore jeans. I think the younger royals will subtly change style once HMQ and the DofE are no longer around not because there are rules but because there won't be a sense of "what will granny think".

@thisenglishlife I have to beg to differ.
It is one thing to critique the clothes but another thing entirely when posters are commenting things about her weight, how she has no style and is frumpy, how she can't accessorise.... I could go on.
As I mentioned earlier, someone yesterday or the day before said she "looked a fright" someone else called her "dim" yet the regular posters didn't say a word about such mean comments.
It seems to me that nastiness in these threads seems acceptable when it is directed at Kate.

Maybe she likes coat dresses in which case there is a need for them to exist.

@mrscampbellblackagain, I think you mentioned MM's short waistedness & said you are the same?
Can I ask, what style dresses do you wear because I am currently dress shopping for a wedding invite and cannot find anything that looks reasonably good on me - I have come to the conclusion I too am short waisted, or even NON waisted, sob...

I need help and quick!! 😁

Right...but this is S&B so I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to discuss clothes! That includes things I like and things I don't.

If you don't like the thread just quietly go, you're wasting your time derailing like this.

allibaby

Yes. I totally agree. It’s all here and it’s not necessary to always read between the lines...
As ever m, tone is all.

Gosh I set to with cleaning skirtings, walls this morning so missed all this hoo ha, but you will be pleased to know my walls, skirtings are now gleaming, bloody mud covered dogs in winter doncha know.

Look forward to more glorious frocks...

As ever tone is all.

Kate’s coat dresses are fabulous and suit her so well.

@justasking111 ‘Tis the season when all dog owners long for a housekeeper, I believe. I know I do. Mud everywhere in here. 😬

Another good Kate look - cut and colour both fab.

Yeah I like everything about that look, including the nude shoes

love that dress. She looks great. Is she still in Ireland?

@AudacityOfHope it's not derailing the thread it's calling out the hypocrisy and nastiness of these threads.

As I said it's one thing to critique the clothing but let's be honest a lot of the comments go well beyond that.

I personally do enjoy the threads but at times like the past few days for example they seem to be a free for all to shred Kate to pieces.

I'm glad other people have seen this side to the threads too.

Photos of Meghan yesterday at a National Theatre visit. I wonder if this want was under the camel coat.

*was what

I think though, this is my favourite look of all though. I just like everything about it. The colour, the mix of fabrics, the hair, yes, the shoes as well! She was glowing that day.

@mrscampbellblackagain, I think you mentioned MM's short waistedness & said you are the same?
Can I ask, what style dresses do you wear because I am currently dress shopping for a wedding invite and cannot find anything that looks reasonably good on me - I have come to the conclusion I too am short waisted, or even NON waisted, sob...

I'm also short waisted. Belts to provide shape CAN work see Meghan's first outing with the queen (ie not in her ridiculous coats and overdresses with the belt). A good crossover/wrap style tends to work well.

I've had some success with very tailored shift dresses but I have large breasts so I suspect that plays a part in that they fall from there and don't make my waist look as wide/tummy as flabby. And to be honest, it does usually involve great tailoring and/or some kind of feature over the bust area. I'm not sure if this counts as a shift style, but for example, this dress was flattering on me:

Agree Spudlet. She looked great. I was so envious because she could tuck her shirt in. My breasts might be perky but they're still big for a tucked in shirt as my waist is about one inch below them!!!

This thread took a turn!
I posted that I thought the literal dressing was patronising and lazy and I still stand by that. She is not my royal family and means nothing to me other than a clothes horse in the public eye - so that it what I will judge her on and in this case find her lacking..

Kate off duty.

Megan in a topshop blouse yesterday. Fit and style is not that flattering IMO, but each individual piece is nice, fresh or modern.

Kate has never been "torn to shreds" by regular posters here. No one has said that Kate is frumpy either, they may have said a certain dress was frumpy. The negative commentators are not the regular posters, they are ignored or questioned and then leave.

That blue dress was great @Spudlet