Kate’s style rules on show at the Platinum Jubilee
Like Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, some members of the royal family find their signature style at the first glimmer of a tiara, while others remain eternally suspicious of fashion like Princess Anne. But Kate, Duchess of Cambridge has finally reached the end of a transformation lasting more than a decade to reach polished near-perfection.
Throughout the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Britain’s future queen walked the tightrope of regal and relevant in considered choices from Alexander McQueen, Emilia Wickstead and Stella McCartney that attracted admiration, without drawing attention away from the 96-year-old monarch.
Kate, Duchess of Cambridge at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in an Emilia Wickstead dress and Philip Treacy hat; A less streamlined Kate Middleton in an above-the-knee dress attends the wedding of Nicholas van Cutsem and Alice at The Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks in 2009.Credit:AP, Getty
It has been a careful process of refinement since Kate’s first appearance at Trooping the Colour in 2011, wearing a softly pleated, double-breasted white Alexander McQueen coat with lashings of eyeliner and a mesh black hat from Sylvia Fletcher, resembling an Alessi fruit bowl. The excesses of detail have disappeared over the years as the duchess follows a new set of style rules.
Rule 1: Keep things simple and below the knee
When Kate filled the Princess Diana-sized fashion void in the royal family by marrying Prince William in 2011, she favoured youthful dresses cut above the knee, such as the blue silk-jersey wrap dress from Issa the label worn at the 2010 announcement of her engagement.
The Zimmermann white summer dress worn by Kate on Manly beach during the 2014 tour of Australia showed her continued commitment to the hemline, along with the form-fitting blue Ridley dress from Stella McCartney that has been worn four times since its debut in 2012.
Sticking with Stella: Kate, Duchess of Cambridge’s blue Stella McCartney dress, worn to the National Portrait Gallery, London in 2012 and Royal International Air Tattoo in 2016 with Prince George, was retired for the Platinum Jubilee Royal Pageant, replaced by a raspberry Stella McCartney below-the-knee dress.Credit:Getty, AP
For the Jubilee Pageant on the weekend, Kate continued her loyalty to Stella McCartney, but this time with a gently ruched, below-the-knee raspberry dress. A white Alexander McQueen coat dress was also the choice for Trooping the Colour, but following suit, this selection was more streamlined and longer than the 2011 selection.
“It’s incredibly elegant and showcases Kate’s incredible figure and posture, but it’s not for everyone,” warns Melbourne stylist Charmaine De Pasquale. “The look can be dowdy on shorter people and drag you down.”
Rule two: Keep a hat on the side
Before wearing the crown, future queens have to conquer the minefield of millinery and find a hat stylish enough to impress onlookers without becoming a meme magnet, like Princess Beatrice’s Philip Treacy headpiece worn to the 2011 royal wedding.
Kate has experimented with a velvet stylised trilby from Jane Corbett in 2011, over-the-top headbands, such as the Jane Taylor pearl appliqué worn to Prince Louis’s christening in 2018 and an alpaca hat for church service at Sandringham.
Princess Diana wearing a Philip Somerville hat and Catherine Walker suit in Dubai, 1989; Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, wearing a Philip Treacy hat and Alexander McQueen coat dress.Credit:Getty
For the Platinum Jubilee, Kate demonstrated her current preference for tilted, cartwheel hats from Philip Treacy.
“It might not be a groundbreaking style, but it’s great to see the return of the flattering, slanted brim,” says Melbourne milliner Melissa Jackson, who anticipates orders for disc styles in the lead-up to the Flemington Spring Carnival.
“If you have great earrings to show-off it’s even better.”
Although Kate wore the Saturn style navy and white Treacy hat for Trooping the Colour, reminiscent of the turban hat worn by Princess Diana in Dubai in 1989, her go-to style is tilted with a flower beneath the brim, as worn with the lemon Emilia Wickstead dress at the Service of Thanksgiving. She wore the same style hat at Trooping the Colour and Royal Ascot in 2019.
“With her hair worn up, the tilt of the hat elongates the neck and perfectly balances Kate’s complete look,” Jackson says.
Rule Three: Remind people that you have the common touch
Kate has always managed to walk the fine line of mixing designer clothing, such as the Alexander McQueen gown worn to the BAFTA awards in 2017, that according to Harper’s Bazaar cost $US10,605 ($14,740), and bargains from ASOS and Zara.
Cutting through the pomp of her recent parade of designer pieces, the duchess has shared photos of herself in a pink gingham Brora blouse and high-waisted Other Stories jeans to social media. The jeans were first worn by Kate when she received her COVID-19 vaccine in May 2021. You, too, could look like a princess, with the blouse costing £129 ($224) but you will need to join a waiting list. The new rules are catching on.
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