Duchess Kate repeats a cream Roland Mouret gown: stunning & lovely?

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The royal ankle!! *faints*

In an interesting turn of events, I made this happen. I did, I really did. Yesterday morning, I was thinking about Duchess Kate and Prince William, and how they were going to attend Thursday’s royal screening/premiere of Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, and I thought to myself: “God, I hope she doesn’t repeat a dress. I hope she wears something new. But if she has to repeat, I hope she goes with that fabulous Roland Mouret gown that we’ve only seen once before.” And here you go. Kate repeated the Mouret gown that she wore for the first time to a private dinner event in May 2012. You can see the old photos here – Kate made an effort to style everything differently this time around. In 2012, she wore sparkly silver Jimmy Choos and she wore her hair down and sausage-curled.

For last night’s outing, Kate tried a hairstyle I’ve never seen on her before – the loose, almost falling-down ponytail. I like her more for trying something new and getting out of her comfort zone, hair-wise, but I’m still not sure about this style. I hoped for an elegant chignon, but hey… at least her hair’s not completely down, you know? Kate also paired the Mouret repeat with “costume jewelry” – a $35 necklace from Zara. While I admire the fact that Kate mixed such a low-end piece with a Mouret gown, if you’re a duchess and you could conceivably ask the Queen for any crazy bejeweled piece, would you really go with costume jewelry ever?! Also: praise Jesus that she’s not wearing the nude LK Bennetts. THANK THE LORD.

Basically, I’m really liking this look. Even the parts that I’m not totally jazzed about, I still have to give her points for changing it up. Plus, I’ve been dying to see her repeat this Mouret and this was the perfect occasion. Do I need to say anything about William? He looks good too. Blah. Menswear is pretty boring unless we’re talking about velvet and Benedict Cumberbatch or Tom Hiddleston.

PS… William and Kate were smiling and looking happy on the red carpet a few hours before Nelson Mandela’s death was announced, just FYI. They didn’t know, don’t judge them for looking happy.

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Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

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102 Responses to “Duchess Kate repeats a cream Roland Mouret gown: stunning & lovely?”

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  1. LAK says:

    I think we should praise Jesus [or diety of choice] every time she *doesn’t* wear those nude things. LOL.

    She looks fabulous!!

    small complaints: these shoes with that gorgeous dress.

    However, hair is up, bling [even if it is costume] and she looks happy and engaged throughout . A win all round!!

    Now if only someone would have a word about the correct way to exit a car especially when one has a thigh high split in one’s dress……..

    • LadyMTL says:

      LOL, you read my mind. I really love this look (even the ponytail) but that slit in the skirt can be very dangerous, hahaha.

    • Spooks says:

      This is the best her hair has ever looked.

    • Florc says:

      She does look great. And though her slit is very high it doesn’t reveal anything. I’m a sucker for a crew neck, tailored, 1 color dress. Make up and accessories are also done right.

      • Florc says:

        Oh geez! I hate her awkward posture. I expect to see spanx with a slit that high in a dress that tight. I’m not saying she needs spanx to hold anything in, but for modesty.

      • MavenTheFirst says:

        Just saw the pic of her exiting the car. YOWZA! Has she no clue????

      • Maria says:

        I agree with the Duchess or Diva sight: why does she always have to go with the sexy and look at me attire?? Especially at this event with all that was going on:
        http://katemiddletonduchessordiva.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/article-2518959-19e24c5f00000578-119_470x773.jpg

      • mayamae says:

        LAK,

        Is there any chance her height makes it awkward? I’m 5’9″, and when I’m wearing heels, my knees are practically under my chin and I remember climbing out a limo with the grace of a water buffalo. Maybe combined with the narrow cut of her dress? I don’t know.

      • LAK says:

        Mayamae – A person’s height has no bearing on exiting/entering a car gracefully no matter the size or type of car. Diana was 5ft 10in in her bare feet and had no problems. Kate is 5ft 7in and has ALWAYS had problems exiting AND entering cars.

        The *correct way to do it: [apologies if this comes off as patronising because that is not my intention at all]:

        1. You move your body as close to the closed car door as possible.

        2. Open door, swing BOTH your feet out of the car, making sure that knees are together and plant them on the ground.

        3. Stand up and out of the car, making sure that you do not hit your head on the car roof as you go. [ there is always risk of cleavage flash here, so you take necessary precautions – side note: Diana famously suffered this cleavage flash at her first engagement]

        4. With SUVs, there is a step built on to the side of the car to help you down, so feet should be placed there to stand before staking step to the ground.

        5. To enter a car, reverse some steps ie sit down at the edge of the car seat, then with knees together, swing BOTH your feet into the car, then move body farther inside the car.

        It’s impossible to do a side step out/into of a car with no risk of crotch flash in the manner that Kate does. It’s clear that she doesn’t move her body closer to the door, puts one foot to the ground whilst remaining deep inside the car, stands up and out whilst the second foot is still inside the car. This puts her knees at 45degrees to each other and her body into a squat position because of where in the car she is seated. Result = crotch flash every time. Not to mention how inelegant she looks whilst doing this.

        She has so many crotch shots as a result of this, but she’s lucky that as a member of the RF paps aren’t so eager to take the shots like they used to do before she married William.

        * I understand that in the modern world, people aren’t taught to do this correctly and or they think it takes alot of time to do it, but it doesn’t add anymore time to the process of exiting or entering a car.

        Also, the time between feet planting and standing up and out of the car is very useful for clothing adjustment so that nothing is showing.

      • Snarkweek says:

        Maybe her bore of a husband should exit the car first and then come around to her door, open it, hold of his hand and stand in front of her while she exits. A little gallantry never hurt anyone and he has no excuse because he was raised with the sort of protocol or at least he should have been.

      • LAK says:

        Snarkweek – it never ceases to amaze me how ungallant he is towards her. He was raised better than that {we hope}, but he always charges ahead, not really looking to see if she’s following. I think the only time he stopped waited for her and actually held out a hand [but only to prod her in the back to move along faster before dropping it] was at an engagement last month [she wore a brown dress repeat]

      • Snarkweek says:

        Spot on, LACK!

    • Suze says:

      C’mon you people with your Kate praise! I’m not sure what some of our posters will do when they read these comments and can’t find that pervasive ragin’ CB Kate-hate that they love to bemoan.

      (I joke, of course. I liked Kate’s ensemble, too, fwiw. Didn’t love it, but liked it just fine – with a pass for that necklace. Thought the hair was step in the right direction, if not quite all that yet.)

    • Decloo says:

      Dress is fabulous and looks stunning on her. I would rather see her lose the necklace altogether and wear some fabulous statement earrings. The neckline of this dress is pretty but you can’t really see it with the necklace. Also, Love the hair.

    • MavenTheFirst says:

      @LAK,

      I do remember those instructions for exiting and entering a car. They make so much sense! She should have gone to finishing school rather than St Andrew’s.

      All I can think of is her assertion in the engagement interview that she doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion except Wills’. It’s hard to imagine that someone on princess duty hasn’t tried to instruct her on proper deportment.

      • LAK says:

        Maven: to misquote THE SOUND OF MUSIC, how do you bring up deportment and etiquette, both of which she publicly fails at……

        If William or her mother don’t say it, she’s not going to listen to someone else’s opinion. And she’s not self aware enough to realise what she needs. This is when you forgive Diana’s arrogance at thinking she could manage without help. She had enough self awareness to seek out coaches to help with her role.

        And she corrected any mistakes promptly eg her cleavage flash at her first engagement was never repeated. It would appear that either Kate ignores any advise she’s given, isn’t being advised, isn’t interested in her image otherwise she would invest in it or all of the above. Not a good thing to have in a future advisor to a head of state.

  2. Anna says:

    I like the dress, I like the winter-white dress with black suede accessories, I dont even mind the accessories per se, but I really hate the hair. I love a formal ponytail and there’s a way that you can so artfully messy, but her ‘do’ comes across just sloppy and lazy. Also, I really do not like that necklace with her dress’ neckline. I’m disappointed – especially after being shortchanged a tiara and a NEW gown earlier this week.

    • LAK says:

      That tiara is beautifully delicate and really needs to be showcased properly. Pity she wore it like a headband from the few pics that came out. You could barely tell it was a tiara even allowing for the angle of the pictures.

      It’s sort of opposite of Melissa Percy’s wedding tiara which needed more coverage and to be set further back on her head.

    • L says:

      I think she wore it in a similar manner that Margaret did (although I would have LOVED if she had worn it in its original bandeau setting) I think we just couldn’t see the top lotus fan because of the car window-what I wouldn’t give for official pictures from that event.

      I don’t know if I would describe it as being delicate, but at least she wore it better than when viscount linley wore it at her wedding.
      http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-ultimate-tiara-collection-lotus.html

      • LAK says:

        You can see how delicate and intricate it is the way Serena Linley wore it. However, i do prefer the way Margaret wore it.

        My personal view is that compared to other tiaras in the cupboard, i would say this one is delicate. Look at the monstrosity that Camilla wears – though i love it on Camilla.

        Kate covered most of it with hair such that the view that was seen made it look like a jewelled hair ornament rather than a tiara.

      • L says:

        Honestly it’s super hard to judge it without seeing the whole look. The car and the window blocks over half of it, and we can only see the very bottom of the sides. I’d love to see the entire look, I think it would look less like a hair ornament then.

        Compared to the bourcheron tiara that camilla favors, it looks small. But that’s Camilla’s big gun tiara, and she’s the only one left in the family who wears her hair big enough for it. She wears the Mary of Teck tiara alot as well though and I feel like that’s smaller than this one. I’m trying to think of another tiara that Kate could borrow that’s in the general rotation. My personal favorite is the The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara, but the queen still wears that all the time. Maybe the Spencer? Not the cambridge lovers knot. It’s to bad most of Margaret’s collection was sold. She had some fantastic pieces.

      • LAK says:

        She can’t wear the Spencer tiara because she’s not a Spencer. Only direct Spencer girls or their inlaws [married to Spencer boys] can wear that tiara. Iron clad rule about family tiaras.

        Of course if they asked nicely, maybe the Spencers might be nice and lend it to her, but it’s not an option for her.

        Her tiaras are the scroll/Halo, currently in Paris in the Cartier exhibition and now this papyrus tiara.

        Looking at HM’s pattern of lending, she tends to retire recently circulated tiaras. Every person is loaned a go to tiara as a lifelong loan for their exclusive use as long as they remain part of the family. Her pattern seems to lend tiaras that have long lost public memory or association with prior owners. If she sticks with her pattern, we won’t see the Cambridge Lovers knot for a very long time. And of course she doesn’t loan the tiaras that are her personal favourites or that she wears frequently.

        Camilla has the Mary of Teck from HM, but her Boucheron Tiara actually belongs to Charles, not HM or the crown. He inherited the majority of QM’s jewels and he is showering Camilla with them. Most of her jewels that aren’t Shand or on loan from HM are from QM via Charles. And he does love to see her in all that jewellery. It’s a fetish that makes me giggle.

        on a personal note my favourites are Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

      • MavenTheFirst says:

        @LAK

        I have seen it stated many times that Charles loves to shower Camilla with jewels. First of all, that’s a far cry from his son, William, who seems mean when it comes to bling. Secondly, I don’t care what anyone says, I am tickled beyond words that Charles loves to drench Camilla in sparkly stuff. Would that we all had husbands like that.

      • bluhare says:

        I am so with you on being drenched in sparkly stuff, Maven.

    • Thinker says:

      Yea, why haven’t any photos from that event come out. They don’t want to rile up the peasants with diamonds and new dresses?

  3. janie says:

    Kate looks beautiful! I love her darker hair as well. She has a great body & looks good in almost anything.

  4. Esti says:

    She looks fabulous. My only complaint is that I don’t think the hairstyle was executed very well, though I like the idea of it a lot. This dress is gorgeous, I love the necklace, and I think the black accessories made this look really chic.

  5. danielle says:

    One of her best ever looks, love it!

  6. Gine says:

    Huh, I really like this, even the ponytail. Softer hair is flattering on her. The shoes and bag are boring, but I love that necklace with the dress.

  7. Suze says:

    I think she looks fine – pretty but not dazzling. I like the dress, but not the necklace. I probably would have amped up the earrings and left off neck bling for this look.

    And the idea of the hair is really good, execution is off just a little. However, baby steps, baby steps. She looks happy; they both do. Working it as a team is a good thing.

    • emmie_a says:

      Agree. The necklace clashes with the neckline on the dress. Statement earrings would have been better, especially with her hair being up. And black pumps do nothing for the dress/look, but I’ve learned that Kate is definitely not a shoe person.

    • bluhare says:

      I don’t need to comment now. Suze just said everything I wanted to say.

  8. KromBoom says:

    Great dress but why the newsreader make-up?

  9. eliza says:

    Oh she is just like one of us. Repeating outfits and wearing costume jewelry. *eye roll* She and William are so obvious in their attempts to indentify with the average person it is rather annoying.

    Those shoes are awful with that dress.

  10. MsDaisy says:

    Its a beautiful dress, but why does she keep repeating her clothes? IMHO I think she is doing it for the headlines.

    • sputnik says:

      she ought to repeat clothes. it would be pretty obscene given the economic crisis for someone at least partially supported by the public purse to be seen wearing new extravagant outfits constantly.

      • MsDaisy says:

        You do know that she doesn’t have to buy clothes right? Designers send her tons of stuff. I see nothing wrong with that. Plus there are too many beautiful cheaper dresses she could choose from. I am nowhere near her in status or wealth but I never repeat a dress I wear to a special occasion. She doesn’t have to.

      • sputnik says:

        i’m sure she’s sent loads of free clothes. and the ones she buys probably won’t be paid for by the public (i don’t know if she has a clothing allowance like fergie had). but what i said was that it looks very bad for someone who is paid by the public to be seen wearing new extravagant outfits constantly. it’s about appearances. the royal family are already viewed as parasites by much of the british public. her perceived thriftiness is a boon to their image. much like the queen’s oft mentioned “make do and mend” sensibility. it’s about understanding your public. so while people might snark about it on fashion blogs and places like this, it gains the approval of the wider british public. if she’s going to be lazy, she can’t be seen to be extravagant.

      • LAK says:

        MsDaisy – She’s not allowed to accept free gifts. At best she’s receiving discounts, but it’s not free.

        In truth, she’s seen so little in public that it amounts 2 once or twice re-use of each outfit which isn’t very thrifty if you think about it. If she’s seen out 12 times a year [as an example] and wears new clothing everytime except for 2 occasions when she wears something from the prior year, can we call that thrifty or a clever marketing campaign to make the public think it is?

      • MavenTheFirst says:

        @LAK

        In Wendy Berry’s book (ex housekeeper), she talks about all the free loot Charles and Diana had stored (furniture, nick knacks, etc.), and how in the end, a lot of it was simply burnt. I guess they were “gifts”?

        So, why should I believe that Waity doesn’t accept freebies?

      • LAK says:

        Maven: Whilst the official policy is that they do not accept gifts, I don’t doubt that they receive gifts. However, many of these gifts aren’t given in exchange for commercial pay back eg free clothes like Kate used to receive from Issa in exchange for being a walking brand and when such an exchange happens, it tends to be very transparent and is said to be discounted goods as opposed to outright gifts eg Audi cars.

        There are people who will insist on sending them gifts which as the housekeeper mentions are burnt or re-gifted. The sheer volume of such gifts arriving every single day makes it nigh on impossible to catalogue and send back. Though, I remember Charles got into trouble when it was discovered that he was discreetly fencing the more valuable gifts for his own pocket…..

        Incidentally, when they are caught out, there is never any apology or offer to return said gift. They simply send some Palace flunky to splain it away as they did with Charles and Sophie’s acceptance of serious jewels from a middle eastern royal and of course WK’s helicopter rides.

      • mayamae says:

        LAK, didn’t Andrew get into trouble for accepting jewelry on behalf of Beatrice?

    • Florc says:

      Yes, it’s done for headlines. You know her closets are bursting with clothes! She’s been caught shopping every other day and almost never repeats an outfit while shopping. I bet we’ve only seen 1% of her clothes collection.
      So, repeating a dress is on purpose.

      • Green Girl says:

        I’ve thought this, too. For as often as she shops (and she’s seen with bags, so you know she’s made purchases and not just window-shopped), she sure does re-wear items an awful lot when she’s in public. I don’t fault her for recycling outfits, as I doubt it would go over well if she always showed up to an appearance in something new.

        I’m not criticizing, but I am curious as to where her purchases go and when she wears them.

    • Suze says:

      I’m pretty sure the royal family pays for all their clothes. They may get discounts and other perks, though.

      I’m willing to be corrected on that, of course. It’s just been my general understanding, going back to the Diana days.

    • Wren33 says:

      I’m not someone who buys a new dress for special occasions. I have a couple of dresses that I wear to weddings and Christmas parties and I buy a new dress maybe once every 5 years. I could afford to buy more dresses, but it seems silly and wasteful to me. I get really offended when magazines make a big deal about celebrities wearing an outfit *gasp* more than once.

      • Ktx says:

        @WREN33
        Exactly. Also, maybe she just really likes this dress, and wanted to wear it again. It’s not as if only a short amount of time has elapsed since she wore it last, and she’s not wearing it to the same event year after year (though I think she did that with a green coat). I’ve got dresses in my closet that I wear to various formal events because they’re pretty and flattering. I’d wear my wedding dress again if I could find an excuse. And I don’t blame her for repeating this particular dress because it’s timeless, elegant, and sophisticated. I wish I owned it!

    • wolfpup says:

      I wonder if she has both a public and personal wardrobe. At her private engagements, it appears that she wears clothes that she doesn’t wear for the public ones. At her public appearances, she seems to recycle, and recycle… I’d like to see the dress she wore with her tiara…but I bet we don’t.

  11. Sloae Wyatt says:

    Kate looks healthy, rested, and gorgeous in that column of cream. My quibble is with the costume jewelry; the necklace would be stunning if it was executed in black pearls.

    • AmandaPanda says:

      I agree – if you’re going to do black accessories on a cream dress, you need a geometric black necklace, not a faux diamond monstrosity.

      She looks nice but I don’t like the chest/shoulder area – I don’t think it’s quite fitting her (understandable!). But it’s fine – good to see them both “hard at work” on the red carpet.

    • Ice Maiden says:

      I don’t think that dress needs a necklace at all, especially not that nasty cheap looking thing that looks like she picked it up in a charity shop. A clean neckline would have been so much nicer.

  12. SuSu says:

    White suits her tanned skin perfect. She always looks good in lighter colours. I think the gown isn´t very good for her body type. The dress emphasizes her round back and small hips. Her shoulders are the widest part and so her silhouette looks a little bit unbalanced.

    I like that she has done something with her hair, but sadly it looks not so good. Pippa wears her hair this way very often. Both sisters have the wrong face shape for it. They need “tighter” haistyles IMO.

    When the news about Nelson´s death came to the Daily Mail they changed the headlines for the “What Kate wore-article” a few times. One was “Nelson Mandela´s death overshadows Kate´s glamorous appearance”. Even for DM standarts this was low.

    • Florc says:

      The DMO is sick. That article is good proof they serve the Middleton family at the cost of News. Shame on them!

    • Thinker says:

      The Mail also had a series of pictures of William and Kate in the car and it looked as if they had been rowing. Both looked miserable with teeth clenched and tense expressions.

      • Jessica says:

        Those pictures of them in the car looking sullen are from them leaving the film after they had just been told of Mandela’s death. Cut them some slack, if they had looked happy in any way we’d be bitching about how insensitive they were.

      • Anna says:

        That was as they were leaving; they’d just been informed of Mandela’s death. Naturally they looked very somber.

      • Florc says:

        Jessica
        Cut Thinker some slack. They didn’t know that. So they had a reason to look annoyed this time. There are loads of other times when they look like that anyways. Don’t attack at the first opening.

      • anna says:

        Actually….they DID know that. They were told before the movie even ended. So I’m sure they looked that way because of the news.

    • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

      God, I may have to quit reading the Dailymail–between this and the crap they printed the day after Paul Walker died–I didn’t think they could go that low.

  13. L says:

    I like the shoes. Classy for evening and pull in shades of the necklace. Last time she wore silver sandals and alot of people trashed that. No pleasing some people.

    I’m thrilled she wore her hair up, but the messy pony wasn’t quite executed right. The fact that it covered her ears was a strange look.

    Also, lucky Kate got to meet Idris Elba-and pretty much reacted the same way I would have. Totally geeking out.
    http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/198iithripg22jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg

  14. SamiHami says:

    She does look good, but I don’t like the shoes or the necklace much.

  15. Janet says:

    Love the dress. Love the shoes. Love the whole outfit. Everything works. She looks great. And I think she put on a few much-needed pounds having the baby.

  16. m says:

    The necklace is out of place and clearly an afterthought, but she gets kudos for accessorizing. But what is with the bow on her hair tie? It looks childish; I think a nice bun would have looked much better overall. Other than that, this is the best shes looked in a long time.

  17. BeckyR says:

    She looks lovely.

  18. yeahright says:

    I think that is way too much dress for her. She’s quite slender and tiny and its kind of owning her. Its a beautiful dress though but I think it would work better on someone with just a bit more shape. She always looks gorgeous though.

  19. Florc says:

    Ugh.
    Zoomed in closer the the dress. Those folded shoulders! I know that’s a style now, but with her shoulders already quite broad the accents there do her no favors. Not her fault though. It’s just a trend right now.

  20. teehee says:

    Much better than how she normally dresses, but still true to her signature style: nothing dashing and no star power— just properly dressed and put together. The star thing is never gonna happen with her, despite reports of what she is wearing or her role. Either someone has it or they dont- and most of us know by now, she dont have it…. but, yes she is dressed and styled more favorably this time.

  21. Cristina says:

    She looks beautiful! Love everything about her look here – except the pumps. They don’t really go with the dress, but I’m just being picky 🙂
    I think this is the first time she’s worn her hair in a ponytail to a red carpet event, she should do it more often.
    Maybe a well-styled ponytail with now hair bow visible will be considered for her next outing.
    P.S At first I thought she was wearing a scrunchie 😀 A velvet one.

  22. Kristen says:

    I love the whole look. Dress, hair, necklace and all. She looks gorgeous. But I can’t believe you guys didn’t post or link to the picture of her meeting Idris Elba! Jezebel did a post about it because Kate looks just like all of us would look if we met Idris Elba – giggly and in love.

  23. Thinker says:

    This lovefest is making me feel a little sick… (Kidding, kinda)

    You guys… this whole look is so awful my eyes hurt. The dress no longer fits her properly at all. It’s bespoke and the shoulders are completely off, the chest is tight, the whole thing should be a size up. You can see her bra lines for cripes sake! Even Kate looks to be clenching her teeth in discomfort, probably thinking about how differently the dress fit last time she wore it (pre-George boobs). I’m not into her taste in cheap jewelry. I think this particular necklace is distracting. She could have worn that beautiful pink and white diamond flower necklace she received as a wedding present, or borrowed something from the royal family. The ponytail is a complete wreck. It’s messy, and NOT in a stylish “undone” way, no it’s just sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

    The worst thing is she apparently spent SIX hours in a hair salon getting her locks tended to – and this sweaty gym rat ponytail is what they came up with??!! (Although by the looks of her face some discreet Botox treatments happened at the spa too)

    • bluhare says:

      My opinion is that a boat neckline like this should have no necklace at all, except maybe a long pendant if it’s casual. This one I think should have been left alone. It’s what I don’t like about the outfit; other than the necklace she looks great, but that necklace is just jarring.

    • MavenTheFirst says:

      You are not alone. The fit is off. She looks a bit like a linebacker in it. Not so, the previous year. The hair doesn’t go with the dress and is messy. The necklace is at odds with the elegant lines. If it looks like costume jewellery, she is doing something wrong. Her face seems to be puffed up with stuff. At least she looks healthy and the dress is a good colour for her. But what else is there to talk about except how she looks?

    • LAK says:

      Thinker – my bar is very, very low as far as Kate goes. I can’t expect her to hit it out of the park any time. She’s proven she is beyond that, plus there is always something to quibble. She doesn’t know how to style her body or even how to pull a look together, so i have to applaud every time she looks sort of decent.

      However, as a palate cleaner, here is Carla Bruni in the same dress at an official function:

      http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/05/09/article-2141905-088A2E06000005DC-951_306x917.jpg

      ditto Amber Valletta

      http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/05/09/article-2141905-13018DE1000005DC-556_306x917.jpg

      we can play game of who wore it better…..

      • bluhare says:

        Amber, hands down. Followed by the first time Kate wore it. Then Carla.

      • Thinker says:

        Love Carla’s kitten heels. Amber for the win. Gorgeous makeup, gorgeous accessories. Both Carla and Amber have dresses in jewel tones… Which would suit Kate better than the white mess.

        Love your comments as always LAK, especially up thread regarding tiara options.

        I maintain Kate looks wrecked here. Altogether a poor effort with a miserable result.

    • vava says:

      I agree. The dress doesn’t fit her properly, the neckline should be worn without a necklace, the accessories don’t work and most of all – the hairdo is horrid. She blew it once again.

  24. Sachi says:

    She looks very good.

    However, the ponytail looked sloppy and didn’t achieve what she was probably hoping for with the sleek dress vs “messy” hairstyle. There’s a photo of her talking with Idris Elba (who looked hot!) and her hair looked flat at the back of her head like she slept on a board, and she looked like she had no ears!

    But she looks really pretty and happy, and later was appropriately emotional, shocked/saddened by Mandela’s death.

  25. bettyrose says:

    So fab. If I had her figure I’d own that dress in mutiple colors and accessorize it differently each time.

  26. Ice Maiden says:

    Great dress, but the ugly clutch, shoes and necklace ruin it.

  27. Eileen says:

    Diana,Princess of Wales wore costume jewelry quite frequently so Katherine isn’t in new territory here-in my opinion I think she really could use earrings of some sort. Diana would wear a very long strand of imitation pearls, a pair of gold heart and bow earrings and crescent moon earrings to name a few pieces I can recall-if it were me I’d wear the real McCoy if I had bling like that!

    • Thinker says:

      Just my opinion, but Diana made things look rich. This Kate necklace looks cheaper than it is.

  28. Sandy says:

    She looks great, and sets a wonderful example. No complaints about the accessories! She screams class, and not the faux class that many in Britain try to project.

  29. Fue McCormick says:

    I think the dress is boring; the necklace ugly; the shoes are wrong; and her hair? Uh …

  30. littlestar says:

    LOVE the dress (something I would definitely wear) and that necklace with it is amazing. She should have worn different shoes though. BUT. We all know the Middleton sister’s don’t have the best taste in footwear.

  31. The Original Mia says:

    She looked good, except for her hair.

  32. Maggie says:

    Gorgeous couple! She looks beautiful. I love the dress…..fits her perfect figure like a glove.

  33. Maria says:

    I’m just not feeling it for this attire and look. With all that she has at her disposal she could do better. I see pictures of other royals around Europe and the women just seem so much more into what they are seen in and how they put it together. And she has a great body to show off almost any type of silhoutte. and I agree, the necklace looks like she had nothing else and grabbed whatever she could find as she dashed out the door.

    • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

      I know! If I was her, I would definitely be at EVERY SINGLE charity gala, state dinner–just for a chance to wear those jewels. Heck, I’d be at the Queen’s beck and call if it meant I could *look* at the royal jewels, or any of her personal jewelry. I don’t like dressing up–but I LOVE jewelry. Especially pearls. I always wished that I was one of Elizabeth Taylor’s grandkids or something–man alive, I would’ve loved to look at her collection.

  34. CuriousCole says:

    I was completely underwhelmed: A plain Roland Mouret dress, messy hairstyle, costume jewelry and the same boring makeup she’s worn at every event. She does not know how to wear jewels, and that’s a great pity, given the glittering vaults she has at her disposal. Separately I might like the necklace but it was horrible with that neckline and the dress demanded some pops of color in her accessories. It’s a nice change to see her hair pulled back, but the attempt at messy styling is an ill match with the type of gown and unfortunate necklace she chose. None of the elements fit together.

  35. caitlin says:

    She made an appearance at a children’s hospital today and while there were no “Marilyn Monroe” moments, the outfit was bizarre and missed the mark. Saran wrap jeggings, paired with a dressy blazer/jacket and ankle boots. I can understand the desire to turn it down a notch or two on the dressy dial when kids are involved, but man, these skinny jeans/jeggings hardly qualify as business casual. Ridiculous…

    • Maria says:

      Whole heatedly agree. Looks high school-ish. The leggings need to go. We understand she loves her legs and showing them off, but she is on official duty and that attire does not conjure to mind anything near what she should be portraying. She really needs to take a hint from other royals across the globe. Take a pick, any one of them.

      • vava says:

        Absolutely right. Jeggings and skinny jeans must go. They are not professional looking for a royal lady. Also, high slits in dress, no-no. We do not see those legs.

        That jacket was one of her worst.

        I rarely (if ever) like her choice of shoes.

        She also needs to get over the hair fondling, that nervous tick just doesn’t seem to stop. I bet if she were bald, she’d still be rubbing her scalp.

    • Xantha says:

      I’ll guess we’ll have to agree to disagree with her outfit. I like her outfit.

      There’s video for this day and there’s a little girl with pigtails that steals the show!

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/royalfamilyvideo/10502048/Duchess-of-Cambridge-visits-childrens-hospice.html

  36. Virgilia Coriolanus says:

    Wouldn’t it be nice if she as much animation on her face, as she does now, when she actually has to do her job and show up at a charity event….sigh.

    I’m especially a little bitchy today because I just got back from visiting my 90 year old neighbors. Kate makes me stabby, so I try not to think about her. The only reason I go onto her threads is to read the comments. But my neighbor was telling me about his time in Italy, during WW2, and how he doesn’t like to think about it because his best friend died a week after they got there (his friend was in the Mountain division of the army, and they were chasing the Germans up the mountain, as they were retreating, and his friend was killed)—so knowing that I basically do more “charity” work than Kate, who is a grown ass woman, whose JOB it is to do charity–who has a lot more influence in this world than I do–makes me a little twitchy.

    What does it say about William, a dude who chose a girl who won’t do anything but smile and look pretty? Especially since his mother was so extraordinary, in her charity work.

  37. mimi says:

    Wondering where Pipa is these days.