Our girl in London yesterday shopping! She's so cute 💕 #DuchessofCambridge pic.twitter.com/6gZV7MGd2Y
— Duchess of Cambridge (@RoyalKMiddleton) December 12, 2015
The Duchess of Cambridge was photographed out and about in London on Saturday. She wasn’t doing an event or anything, she was photographed doing some shopping (presumably Christmas shopping) in the Peter Jones department store in Chelsea. Casual, street-style photos of Kate are increasingly rare these days – in the past year, I can only remember a handful of times where she legitimately got pap’d in some casual setting. The way she’s casually walking around in her Reiss coat (the same coat we saw last week), not caring if she’s photographed, that makes me wonder if she organized a “just like us, so normal” pap stroll. As in, Kate is so normal, she shops for Christmas presents just like us! It feeds that kind of narrative.
Meanwhile, people are still talking about Kate’s sudden haircut, which she debuted last week. Kate’s long-time hairdresser Richard Ward spoke to People Magazine about “the royal lob” – go here to read his interview. He calls her new cut a “practical style” which is “slightly more sophisticated but with all the benefits of long hair.” Is he saying her hair wasn’t AS sophisticated before?!?! Ward also says the new cut “takes half the time to blow dry.” Ah, now I get it. Kate is known for getting regular blowouts at Ward’s salon – he and his people must have been exhausted with the endless amount of time it took to look after her longer hair. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail’s gossip-girl “Girl About Town” had this little piece of juicy ROYAL HAIR GOSSIP.
Has the Duchess of Cambridge been shortening her hair to please the Queen? When Kate starting lowering the hems on her dresses last year, it was widely reported she was doing it with the backing of the Queen, who was keen she avoid wardrobe malfunctions on windy days. Now I hear that Her Majesty’s views on hairstyles may be why Kate has been adopting a more ‘sensible’ look.
As my photos over the past six months show, Kate has gradually lopped several inches off her glossy locks.
Word reaches me Kate was quietly advised to swap the glamour girl hairdo she sported at Wimbledon in July for a length more appropriate for a future head of The Firm. But as she did not want to admit defeat quickly, she has been making the transition in stages.
By the time Kate went to a London conference in November her stylist had trimmed her hair slightly, but she sported a far more sensible style at a charity event in Wiltshire on Thursday, right. How long before we see her with a Sophie Wessex bob?
LOL, I chuckled at Kate “not wanting to admit defeat quickly.” Is that how she sees it? Being advised by the Queen and being told to make changes is “admitting defeat.” Kate waged a war to wear miniskirts and have flyaway hair and she lost. Also: the Queen reads our comment section, I think. How many years have we been giving Kate free styling advice? We’ve said for years that she needs to stop wearing her hair so long. We’ve said that she needs to stop with the sausage curls (and she has severely cut back on the sausage curls, so yay us). We’ve said she needs to wear her hair back more often. We’ve said she needs to make an effort to look more professional. And the Queen was listening and agreeing with us. The Queen was also credited (back in 2014) with finally ordering Kate to stop with the “Marilyn Moments,” short skirts and cheap jewelry.
The Duchess of Cambridge wears @REISS as she hits her fave department store Peter Jones for some Christmas shopping. https://t.co/tFJqrUjVfQ
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) December 12, 2015
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I think she just really likes Peter Jones. (It’s a great department store). I saw her there a couple of Fridays ago too, wearing a pale blue coat with her hair back. Girlfriend can shop!
Obv the queen thing is totally made up. Slow news day at the DM.
It’s obvious the Queen thing is made up, BUT it’s an insidious way of letting the public know that Kate either has no natural instinct for her public image or she surrounds herself with people who don’t advise her properly or she doesn’t listen. That it takes HM, who should have better things to do, who is famed for her ostrich like approach to giving advise, for Kate to make any changes.
And after seeing how badly Rebecca is dressed at engagements, i’m not surprised Kate don’t know or doesn’t realise how she presents.
Peter Jones has always been in the Sloane ranger patch of department stores
Quite right Starlight. Back in the day Diana was known to shop there too, she was one of the early Sloane Rangers.
Does anyone have a guess as to what the U.S. equivalent of Peter Jones is? Is it like Bloomingdales or Saks, or more like Barney’s or Bergdorf Goodman?
Department stores in London aren’t really like US ones. They’re much more like 3-4 stores under one roof. Peter Jones runs the gamut from middle-upscale to true upscale. It’s got a bit of Macy’s, Bloomies, and Saks, depending on what department. You can buy designer clothes, pots and pans, fabric and what was once called “notions.” It also has a very middle of the road “cafe” – far from a fancy upscale place. The shoppers are Sloane Rangers, Ladies who Lunch, the very rich, the upwardly mobile and tourists.
Is anyone going to mention how she’s wearing the same knee boots and Tod’s bag she was always seen with in the dating years? Not to mention how this hairstyle is basically a copy of her 2006 one.
Oh, I love that coat.
Her old ‘do wasn’t ” glamour girl”– she looks more stylish now.
And I doubt the Queen is confiding in anyone.
You know Queen Lilibet is sitting at home on her IPad, sipping scotch, stroking the Corgis, and reading Celebitchy. It’s what one does.
I love the image you just gave my brain! I will be smiling about it all day!
I am sure Betty Windsor, and poorJason are regulars on CB. That is if they have any taste and sense. I wonder what Queenie’s handle is? Can you spot her by her comments? She would be the one who is all over the threads re Katy Bucket and Normal Bill. I suspect she has some pretty sensible things to say. After all, she has been at this royalty game for a very long time!
One’s handle should one care to inquire, is Betty Brisket, and One’s alias is Corgi Capers.
@Imelda Markhoes, Betty Brisket, and Corgi Capers, how very apropos! I shall keep a weather eye out for your inside scoop on important matters of the royal variety.
I bet you she spends more time in the Hiddles threads you fools. Dragonflies forever!
Yes! I’m going to picture HM in a comfy robe, cosy socks, and her bedtime tiara, reading Celebitchy.
I am all for the bedtime tiara, one shouldn’t let standards slip just because one is going up the stairs to Bedfordshire. I wonder how many diamonds said tiara has, maybe just a few smallish ones, just to set a tone dontcha know.
Indubitably.
When one reads Celebitchy at home, one must make sure that the Comment Typist does not have a half day. The Baroness told me that when she was reading on an afternoon she had ill advisedly allowed LAK an afternoon to polish the silver and the post in question was most vexing. The Baroness called Rodger in to type her response, but he is not nearly as good a commenter as LAK and inexplicably he smelled quite like silver polish too. The Countess is still most aggrieved.
Maybe Colin with his silver tray could spare a mo to relieve Rodger at his polishing post. That is if LilacFlowers does not have him otherwise engaged, we wouldn’t want to over tax him. Of course Mark has also been known to step in and be of assistance when necessary. Sometimes one just can’t get the staff!
Best comment ever! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Liz! Love the dogs!
I wonder which of us commenters is actually the Queen…
No advice regarding BUTTONS?!
I don’t know how involved the Queen would get in her hairstyle. I do believe she was “spoken to” about the fly-ups, or should have been – that was just ridiculous. Maybe she read comments about her hair or you know, just decided to cut her hair. We all make these earth shattering decisions on our own. Maybe she did, too.
The media narrative makes it sound like Kate cannot make a decision about anything without running it by Carole, William or the Queen.
I think she just decided to get a haircut for whatever reasons, all of them being her own.
I think it says that Kate’s decisions have been poor so far and that it takes a lot in order for her to learn to evolve into a more professional person.
^ Agree. It almost makes her look rather stupid – its taken her almost 5 years to ‘learn’ to behave in an adult, professional manner that her new status demands. She really must be a slow learner then.
I think she was advised about the fly-ups by someone. But a thing I’ve noted long ago with Kate, (and what kills me about issues that should be petty like this), is that I can’t recall any faux pas in that regard in QEII presence. There have been lapses of etiquette and protocol in Maj’s and Prince Phillip’s company. But otherwise Kate’s typically on her best–And most conservative and professionally dressed–behavior for the big BRF outings. The shortest hemline she ever had around Liz was at the jubilee, and never again. Even in the sausage curl days her hair was always neater than usual and was even pulled off her shoulders, or at least tidily swept to one side on occasions when she got to hang with Granny. The one time she didn’t was also the last time she didn’t, at a dramatic arts gala at B.P. Kate’s hands are in her hair in every other photo of her at that event. This was also the last time I can recall her walking ahead of the Queen. A spectacular showing… All of it leads me to be believe that A) she does need to be reminded/told/forbidden about certain things because, B) she just doesn’t really care. But, C) She absolutely does know better, and has demonstrated that she can do better if she bothers. The isolated gaffes I mentioned look more like tests to see what she can get away with, (which is characteristic of her and William). Either that, or it is symptomatic of a chronic lack of understanding or knowledge of expectations, and she does need constant instruction on these things.
i’ve noticed that too. Always better in the presence of HM.
It may be that she really does care, beyond enjoying spending someone else’s money on inappropriate and expensive clothes. One of her shortest, and silliest, outfits was the teal one with the peplum. She wore that at an event with HM and Prince Philip, nearly flashed everyone when climbing out of the car, and walked ahead of both of them at one point. SMH.
Should have read “it may be that she really DOESN’T care” etc.
When I was a freshman in high school, I had a teacher who was known for being ‘fun’. She ran a pretty relaxed classroom, and even every once in a blue moon let a mild swear word slip. I remember at one point mistaking that ‘relaxed atmosphere’ and getting sassy with her, and being quite surprised when she swatted that down quickly. My point? I think it’s possible that Kate took QE2’s private indulgence as public as well, and had to learn that lesson the hard way.
Yeah @NOTA, it’s a pick your poison kinda’ thing. Ignorance or insolence? A lovely combination of both perhaps? Is Kate oblivious and helpless without guidance? Or is it all her doing and evidence that she really doesn’t give a crap about the public and tries to test these limits even with QR? The peplum on The Diamond Jubilee tour is exactly the one I’m talking about. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2112023/Duchess-Cambridge-Kate-Middleton-Queen-board-train-1st-day-Diamond-Jubilee-tour.html It’s an awkward, cheap looking, unflattering ensemble to start. Now, at first glance it’s not that short. It skims the knee if she doesn’t move. It just kept bunching and inching up, and naturally wanted to sit a few inches above her knees. She couldn’t bend for fear of flashing. You can see her try to three different ways. Then when she sat down the dress went about halfway up her thighs. She hadn’t worn anything like the peplum outfit around QEII before and hasn’t since. But we’ve seen her dressed exactly like that I don’t know how many times. (It’s also a different style from the flowing, flashy numbers that were too many to count, but she NEVER wore them around other senior royals.) Same goes for the messy hair. She reserves that for work and charity appearances… It’s definitely an attitude. Maybe you’re right @Bridget and Liz was like, “You tried it Catherine. Now stop.” Because QEII is Tamar Braxton in my mind 😀
That DM link doesn’t include photos of her walking ahead of Phil and Liz. But I absolutely remember that she did. I gave her a pass back then. Kate and I were still honeymooning. It was early 2012 and I think that was her first solo outing with them. But that’s why I mentioned her doing it AGAIN almost exactly two years later in 2014, Lol. In fact, if memory serves me, something similar happened on the boat at the jubilee with Charles and Camilla. It’s not even about royal protocol. It’s just sort of rude and lacking grace and awareness of those around you.
Amber: the same applies to Kate’s LIW Rebecca. Rebecca has become increasingly slovenly at Kate’s engagements that i’m surprised no one has had a word with her yet.
Google their recent engagement where Kate wore this coat. Rebecca looks like she’s on her way to the shops and decided to squeeze pop into work on her day off!!!
Rebecca increasingly doesn’t even bother to brush her hair and simply put it up, but in the most slovenly fashion that it looks completely unkempt.
Rebecca only makes efforts when HM is present.
I think HM’s people might actually provide KP with a typed list of do’s and don’ts. She knows exactly what’s expected, it’s not left to her (poor) judgment, so she looks passable.
It’s funny that the DM royal reporter is going with unphotoshopped Kate pics whilst the fan twitter is going with photoshopped ones.
On a different note, every time that Peter Jones is mentioned, I imagine Kate has taken up sewing because it has a really great Habadeshery dept.
Rebecca English picked some interesting photos, for sure.
I can believe Kate would sew. Not that I thinks she does, but I always think of her as someone who would have been happy as a 1950s housewife in Ossining.
@Suze: due to it’s specialty, i’ve always thought of Peter Jones as aiming for the housewives of 1950something. It’s great for finding everything to do with housewifery, old school style. A sort of dept store version of Cath Kidston if that makes sense.
It’s entirely inkeeping with Kate’s perceived desire to be a throwback housewife.
The only surprising part of Kate’s love of Peter Jones is that she hasn’t found her way to the section that sells hem weights.
Peter Jones is ace. I really don’t think you can criticise Kate for that. I love PJ and I am about as far from a 1950s housewife as you could imagine – it’s just a good department store, of which there aren’t that many in London really!
AmandaPanda: I’m not sure why you would infer criticism in a comment that says a dept. store specialises in a certain type of product and is good at providing that type of product.
The 1950s were the glory days for housewives’ products, which is entirely inkeeping with Kate’s image AND Cath Kidston, another company that specialises in throwback designs.
Peter Jones is just a bit more of an upmarket John Lewis (who own it) and yes their Haberdashery dept is unrivalled. Talking about throw back ideas from Cath Kidston – they have these material ‘plastic bag’ storage bags (to keep all your plastic bags in one place). Love it – might have to go buy one. Their freestanding laundry bags are the snizz.
I hate to say this, but the unretouched photos are a little rough. I know she has 2 babies so I’m not trying to be too hard on her. But she doesn’t look like a healthy 30-something. She looks a little haggard.
i genuinely don’t think she looks any different to how she’s looked in the past. The difference is that she’s not being photoshopped into a glossy image anymore.
This is an unphotoshopped picture of her taken a few days after her wedding.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/06/article-1383965-0BEBA43600000578-144_306x520.jpg
At least she’s looking better here than she did a few weeks ago during the chinese state visit.
This is a woman with nannies, no financial obligations, and millions of dollars at her disposal. She is not a normal 30-something mother that only gets a few hours of sleep and has a 8-10 hour a day job. She looks really unhealthy and much older than her actual age, especially for someone who is wealthy and doesn’t have a real job. All of the blow outs, designer clothes, and expensive jewellery still cannot hide her issues.
I agree Shambles. Kate obviously is a beautiful woman but she looks ROUGH! Much older than she is. Sh looks tired and rundown, which is kinda sad.
I hate judging other women, but she looks terrible for someone who is my age. Is it smoking, lack of vitamins/nutrients or what exactly do you think? I’d really like to know so I can avoid looking that haggard.
And suddenly, I am feeling so much better about myself.
I’m 6.5 months pregnant, chasing a 2.5 year old, and working 12 hours a day at my pretty stressful job. And I look way better than that (if I may say so).
I saw an un airbrushed photo of posh spice vickie beckham yesterday and I was Shocked. Her skin is so orange, dehydrated and aged. I always thought she looked ok but as a career annorexic and chain smoker it has taken its toll. Vickie has the skin of a 52 year old. Not a 42 year old Much like the eating disorder and chain smoking and bad make up victim kate. They both need to apply for that tele show “10 Years Younger” where rough as guts women get put right again.
Shambles
LAK is the elder expert here on this. Kate unedited is not drastically more worn looking because of kids. That’s ignoring the years of evidence supporting this and only going by heavily touched up photos in print that never looked true to the later portrait or the candid shots. Those cannot be ignored if things are to be true.
TEW, you’re the everyday hero of a woman we don’t praise nearly enough. You get it done because it needs to get done. Hope you get the chance to put your feet up this holiday season!
@aurelia, it’s a long time since I heard the expression “rough as guts”, it makes me home-sick. It also describes Kate Bucket’s look on occasion. How sad that it has come to that, and she is the supposed future of the BRF. How much longer will it last if this is what the head of the Commonwealth will look, and behave like? It’s as if she has learnt nothing about duty or decorum over the last how many years she has been at this.
Thanks, NOTA! That’s a really nice way to start off my Monday morning, and I appreciate your kind words. (Hoping to get some holiday as soon as work allows!)
In both cases the security team were conveniently cropp
In both cases though they went to great pains to crop out her entire security team. As if Kate would be sauntering carefree down the street just like everyone else!!
It’s always funny when the articles imply that she’s walking alone even if they show a wider angle that includes the RPOs.
It does feel a LOT like a staged pap stroll as Kaiser said. KM shops all the time. This time the RPOs are out of view, not stopping anyone like they usually do, and a professional photographer just happened to catch her? Feeds into the “normal” story line Jason is pushing so hard.
Peter Jones, especially the one in Sloane Square, was always my favourite store when I worked in London, I liked it even better than Harrods, and could never get on with Harvey Nicks. I thought it curious that the RPO are not in evidence in the pics, you just know they are lurking somewhere environs.
Just by the by, Peter Jones/John Lewis have a fabulous web site, and will ship to the US for ten quid P&P. I love their bed linen and towels, and they only take a few days to get here, wonderful.
The RPOs have been cropped out of the above pics.
here is a wider angle where you see him walking beside her. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/12/12/19/2F4F785800000578-3357449-Christmas_shopping_The_Duchess_of_Cambridge_opted_for_an_elegant-a-16_1449948913038.jpg
And i agree, the Peter Jones on Sloane Square is fabulous. Harvey Nicks used to be amazing, but i don’t know if my tastes have changed or it’s simply deteriorated. They try to maximise every inch of space, but it’s ended looking like a market instead of a well laid out store. too many designers over a very small amount of space. i didn’t start appreciating Harrods until a few years ago and i’m still creeped out by the altar to Diana and Dodi. Lately, i’m going Selfridges.
Do I need to get glasses or is that guy sort of hot?
Bluhare: would it help to know he is carrying concealed? 😉
oh that RPO is definitely hot. I can already picture him as the lead in one of those great BBC series…
LAK, you are right, Selfridges is a great shop too, and their January sales were fab, I had more than a few bargains from them, and their cosmetic counter was par excellence, but if I was all the way down in Knightsbridge I couldn’t be arsed to drag up to Oxford Street, I was never a champion shopper like Katy Bucket, and I didn’t have chauffeured limos to drop me off, and pick me up, it was all tube and buses for me in those days, I was a mere pleb. Also, is the Marks on Oxford street still as good as it used to be? They always had the first release of their new lines there.
And yes, that RPO looks well fit, and with a full head of hair too! Carrying concealed you say? Phoar, hold me back, but then, a concealed what?
the marks and sparks at the marble arch end of Oxford street is still good. And they still test out new designs. The one at Oxford circus is terrible. always has been.
i’ve been having lots of work meetings near Selfridges which is why i’ve rediscovered my love for it. Oxford street is still hellish. it’s undergoing a rebuilding thing. the tottenham court road end is pretty much being rebuilt and impossible to navigate…there was a fish and chip shop on top of the tube that opened until 3am. chips as good as any east end chippy. lost in the crossrail rebuild and i still moan the loss because as lovely as west London is, i still can’t find good chips that are on a par with East London
concealed what you ask? that is the question 😉
Thanks for that quick reply LAK, it was the Marks at Marble Arch that was the best one, although I did used to nip into Oxford Circus as well, my bank was in Regent Street, so I was around there a bit too. Interesting to hear that Oxford Street is still a nightmare, plus la change! Shame there is no longer a good chippy round there, I used to love the greasy spoon where you could get a full English and a mug of tea for a fiver, talk about comfort food. I still miss those thick rashers and snarlers, not to mention black pudding and Heinz beans, although my waist-line doesn’t.
Concealment of assets/guns is always the best tactic I find.
Why LAK, I believe it does! I love a man with a concealed weapon. And especially if he’s been specially trained in *gulp* that particular weapon management 🙂
Bluehare: I thought the RPO looked like Vladimir Putin.
hazel, that is a real buzzkill.
1. Cute RPO
2. Isn’t the shirttail hanging out just a bit too sloppy? You can wear a quilted or safari-type vest if you’re concealing a weapon. Frankly, this does not look polished.
3. They seem to be the same height! Is he short, or is she quite tall?
If you read the comments that went with this story, they were hysterical!! And then the DM ran a story about how exhausted Kate looked, must have been from all the hard work she did three days last week, PLUS raising two babies, one of whom is “challenging” because he understands Christmas now.
I took it as pure satire. Priceless!! The comments were again hilarious!!
I don’t know about a a “Sophie Wessex bob” but she could sure use some Sophie Wessex skin care!!! Girl looks haggard and older than her chronological age here. I would go so far as to say Sophie looks younger. Must be all the “work” she’s been doing lately.
In those “tiara” photos of her beside photos of Diana at the same (approx) age, Diana looks years younger and better in general.
Well, Diana was years younger in those shots. But I agree that Kate looks much older than her years and I am convinced it is due to the relatively drastic weight loss she experienced several years ago. I have some of the skin sagging issues she is experiencing because I lost about 20 plus pounds in my 20s and my weight has fluctuated a bit since then, although I’ve mostly managed to keep it off. My sister, who has always kept her weight steady, has none of the same issues.
For what it’s worth, to one of the commenters above, my favorite fish&chips joint is The Rock and Sole Plaice, in Covent Garden.
I’m so sick of this Diana comparison. Leave these women alone. Diana is younger than Kate Diana is prettier than Kate Diana Diana Diana. FFS you’re comparing the boys MOTHER to his WIFE.
Are those cigarettes peaking out from her purse? Surely she wouldn’t make it so obvious but I can’t think of it being anything else. Thoughts?
I think that box is too big to be cigarettes, it’s wider than her thumb.
I don’t know, but I am 51, have a lot less money and privilege, and I think I look younger then she does
Most mothers I know have gotten their hair cut at some point. I highly doubt the queen dictated this to her. She has beautiful hair and she’s reasonably young, why not wear it longer? I have long, thick hair and I love it and get loads of compliments on it. It also gets thicker and less manageable when I cut it shorter – the weight of the long hair makes it less voluminous. This shorter hair looks good too. I don’t think her style is all that great (she should look to Mary of Denmark who looks similar to her but is styled much better) but I feel uncomfortable with the Le El if criticism she gets.
I think Kate has the opposite situation because she wears a lot of extensions to make her long hair look more voluminous, which has the disadvantage of looking unprofessionally messy whenever a breeze blows.
I think that even with shorter hair, she’ll still wear loads of extensions, because she likes that ultra-thick hair look. With all those extensions, I think shorter hair would be to her advantage when a breeze blows though.
I think she probably realised it that she over did it with the wiglets – particularly at that Women in Hedge Fund event she went to. That hair was bigger than the dress and that was saying something.
She has lovely natural hair – wear it.
Betti: i’ve revised my opinion of the dress from that event. it was probably the wrong occasion and on the wrong person. it had/has a boho vibe that would be fabulous on someone who is boho. Kate is definitely NOT boho. and in combination with the Pompadour, courts and statement, was definitely not the outfit for her. someone more hippy-ish with undone hair would have rocked that dress.
I saw the dress on the model and it looked good on her. I could see someone like Sienna Miller or Sophie Cumberbatch wearing it well (SC is one of the few people in my opinion that can wear Erdem really well – i actually like seeing her in them).
Its like that Peckham dress she wore to the Bond premiere – i really liked the dress but hated it on her, it looked like it was at least 2 sizes too big for her.
Jeanne I thought looked like fags too! I am a bit of a Kate apologist and think she gets a bit of a hard time (I know- I go against the general grain here!) but I do think this is really odd. Kate never really does pap strolls and suddenly we have about 65 non-photoshopped and near identical pics in the daily mail about her shopping. So now she is getting bashed for looking old and for spending all our money in the comments section. There isn’t really even a story tongi with the article. Have the royal family agreed to release these in order to suppress something else? Pap shots of George at the Santa grotto or something? Strange how the press works isn’t it.
Actually, i’d say this was coming from KP rather than the Press. Nearly every time they are about to embark on a holiday in the sunshine, Kate is papped, unphotoshopped shopping at Peter Jones. The ensuing comments have been that she’s tired because she’s working hard. a week or two later, the entire family decamps to Mustique.
Yes, lots of comments about how tired and overworked she is poor dear. Definitely angling for a sunny vacation and time off.
Aren’t they getting ready to head up to the country for Christmas though?
I’m sure the Queen has more important things to consider than Kate’s hair.
I don’t care for the way Kate is wearing that coat, it looks much better on the Reiss site, with the belt and the collar down.
The untouched photos are pretty jarring. Kate looks haggard.
Girlfriend looks hungover. Too many champagne cocktails last night?
Oh my goodness, is she pregnant again? With twins?
For someone who is that thin I suspect she has probably low energy levels – i know she works out religiously and drinks those faddy full of sugar ‘green drinks’. I know a few people who exercise a lot (yoga etc..) and go on these raw food diets etc.. and they have low energy levels, their energy comes and goes in short bursts.
This. Girl also needs a good facial and moisturiser.
Picture with flower bouquet might be young Carole spliced in to confuse us.
So. A question about the coat. Who paid for it?
She certainly is a power shopper.
Tax payers. This is why……….
Anything worn on engagement is paid for by tax payers – it’s part of the tax payer costs that the royals receive for their engagements.
That’s why it’s irksome for her to wear the clothes for personal time because it looks like she can’t pay for her own personal wardrobe which we all know she can.
it probably gives the accountants headaches when she does that because they have to account for the cost of her official wardrobe.
LAK
So, if she buys something and intends to wear it officially is it not discounted until she actually does? And she’s so thrifty she’s recycling argument falls flat when it’s reversed in this way so her thrifty way only benefits her and not the taxpayers.
Florc: if you purchase items for your official wardrobe, they should only be worn for official reasons. If an auditor were called in, they would ask to see the clothing purchased or intended for official reasons. It’s the same as any work allowance. You have to account for any mix-up between private and work expenses or work privileges.
You don’t blatantly use work privileges for your private life and still say that you are funding your private life from your private purse. And if you do, you should reimburse your work.
In Kate’s case, she might buy clothing that sits in her wardrobe unworn for several months or years. If she presents the bills to the tax payer via Charles’s tax writeoff, then that’s what they are.
If she purchased them privately using her own money or William’s private stash or even Charles’s private income that has nought to do with his public life, for her private use, that’s none of our business.
If she purchased privately, but then decides to use for public life, that item of clothing can be a taxwrite off for Charles. It becomes public property. Unless she doesn’t present the bill. A favour to the taxpayers so to speak.
If she uses public property for private life, how has that been accounted for? Ditto using private property for public life. It goes both ways.
Tax laws *are*/*can be* that pedantic.
Ask Barbara Amiel. She brought down her husband Conrad Black due to showing off her wardrobe in Vogue which caused a tax investigation which opened up a can of worms that showed up his financial abuses of his company.
LAK, well remembered! I didn’t think anyone outside Canada remembered Amiel and Black. Tax laws are very, very important and you’re right that people ought to pay attention to them.
LAK
I just read the Vogue article on his take down. Smart lady!
Unless this is a work-related pap stroll… then it’s for work, only staged to look otherwise.
All the Brits. OK (most of them), didn’t you notice there were no more maternity mini- dresses carrying Charlotte? The chat happened by late 2013 ie after all the George is here parties.
Fewer anyway. The black outfit she wore to wrap presents in NYC was a minidress and short coat. The coat was a blazer, badly lengthened with a strip of fabric, which is why I remember it.
This is another reason why she needs to get her clothes made through a personal tailor. There are other examples of how she buys expensive, one-piece, brand name outfits and then does poor alterations on them. Not only would she save the taxpayers a lot of money, she’d have clothes that look finished and professionally done.
Were those dresses with George? because they looked like coats that were stitched shut as a dress. Coats that had matching dresses for under them, but there was never a dress. Only bits to prove so.
An example was when she was carrying George and was at an event with Bear Grylles (spelling?)
It’s clear that kate has no style. Maybe we should just stop expecting something great from her, it won’t happen.
And the DM has the let’s “compare Kate to her mom” etc…. well, William and Carole would’ve been much more interesting together (if same age)… Kate looks dull compared to dish water. Some people just don’t have it. Now listen, I’m not speaking of her looks. Kate is an attractive person.
I don’t believe for a second that the Queen would get involved in Kate’s hairstyle. I believe Kate lost a lot of hair after her latest pregnancy (it happens to some women, especially when you breastfeed, which I have no idea if Kate does) and that that is the reason for her changing hairstyles as of late. I don’t think she would give up her glam-do style if she didn’t have to. She seems really fond of it and I don’t blame her, I actually like really long, glamorous hair on her.
HM likes to get involved in family issues she just lets others take over when it looks “hopeless.”
HM is not a meddler. She has a firm hands off approach. She buries her head in the sand, let’s you make your own mistakes, and only steps in when the situation has reached crisis or beyond.
This is extremely well documented HM will only do something when her hand is forced. Not until everyone is questioning her judgement directly for the current state of things will she act. And that’s with much more avoidance.
Nota is right. She is a notorious anti meddler.
There are other ways. Men in grey suits or the queen’s ladies in waiting dropping a few words here and there or to Kate’s manyfold assistants.
If Kate looks bad then so do her personal assistants and so on…
Kate’s love of massive amounts of extensions didn’t begin only after the latest pregnancy. It’s been years in existence.
Just FYI, it doesn’t have to do with breastfeeding – women are losing the hair they didn’t shed in pregnancy, just in a short period of time.
Don’t pretty much all famous women get extensions? I mean, I may not love how Kate styles her hair, but she’s certainly not alone with the extensions.
Is it just me or has her hair been the same since we’ve known this betch? I mean, some wispy bangs here and there or a couple of inches off the length now and then, but come on?!? It’s the same. Tired of her bs hair getting coverage everywhere all of the time. Side note, she’s also not a fashion plate, nor is she interesting. She’s basic. She’s a basic betch…an extremely lucky basic betch but basic nonetheless. Over it.
^^^ THIS!
I laugh when I see the “fashion plate” posts/articles. Great fashion sense doesn’t come from buying expensive-ish garments; it comes from knowing what looks good on you and the help of a damn good tailor. A damn-good tailor is key, folks. Most of the expensive-ish sh!t that Kate wears looks like I could pick it up at Walmart due to it being ill fitting.
And her shoes. Ugh, the shoes … don’t even get me started on the shoes …
She’s def very basic …
@ Fue McCormick
+1000 Spot on about the tailoring point.
Well, do you remember what happened when Kate had her first official portrait commissioned? It looked all blurry and like a portrait of a bitchy female character in “Denver Clan”. Kate did talk to the artist herself and picked the photograph for that painting herself. That was the problem,
Now imagine if Kate were allowed to go to a really good tailor and to give instructions to him. Judging by what happened to her portrait the result would be a major fashion desaster.
Perhaps Kate doesn’t really listen?
What I find interesting, is that the staged pap shots in the DM come right as The Telegraph has published two articles that are less than flattering about Kate this week. One article is a direct comparison about how DK copies Diana’s style (with pictures!), and the other is about The Tatler’s Diana cover, which is evidently selling really well. They take that opportunity to mention how Diana at the same age seemed more “…grown up and relaxed in her skin, not so much the flawlessly styled less appropriate princess that we see in Kate…”
So have some journalists decided that whatever was asked at the now-infamous meeting a couple of months ago is null? Frustrated with the Cambridges and taking the gloves back off?
The People article has a quote by Richard Ward, Kate’s hair dresser.
He said: It’s a practical style and a great option for a mom who has had long hair, who has a busy life and is short on time.
So does this mean less extensions in the future too?
……………..
I agree with the rest of you that the Queen didn’t order Kate to re-style her hair though I can imagine her not being pleased with Kate’s lack of common sense when it comes to her clothes and hair.
……………..
I think it must be rare for Kate to be seen shopping with a friend, post-wedding.
If she was shopping with a ‘friend’ then its def a pap stroll – Twitter normally outs her shopping trips as either she’s on her own or with Pips/Carole.
More like nonexistent
Wait … does KB even have any friends? If there was a woman in tow it would have to be female security, I think …
I think that’s the problem with the married ins now: they love the write ups and the covers they get for being fashionistas and fashion icons that they forget their primary mission – to represent and serve the people. They get caught up with their new socio-economic status they do everything to show that they belong there, like buying the latest and most expensive fashions. Their royal spouses had this level of adulation and luxury all their lives. But blood royal or not, if you forget the main purpose the public and press that adore you will be the same that turn on you.
I’d hate to be her and have unfair criticism on my appearance. By the numerous comments of some I’m assuming they look glamorous 100% of the time. Jealously really brings out the ugly.
Again, not jealousy. This is a person who waited 10 years and chose to say yes when he finally proposed. She is the one who constantly shops and shows up in new clothes. She is the one who chooses to be this lazy. She, and her fans, are the ones who make it about her looks and her clothes instead of her work.
As someone pointed out further up, it isn’t that she looks different now. It is that the press are no longer photoshopping her photos. The real her is a surprise to people who bought into the shallow, perfect-looking princess image. Why the press is no longer altering her photos is an interest topic for discussion.
+1!
+1
I guess the press is no longer photoshopping Kate because William’s and Kate’s protest against intrusion by the press has annoyed the press. They now show them how much W+K depend on positive press.
I am very much against press intrusion of private life. Even celebrities and kings and queens should have the right to go on about their entirely private things in private. If something is some really ordinary action like shopping or dropping off your children at school then the press should be banned. If a president is enjoying a holiday at the beach day – that is private.
I do support the press if they investigate scandals. So if a president is enjoying a day at the beach with some company bigwigs who want some laws changed – photograph them and hunt them down.
Sadly recently the press rarely investigates scandals but photographs such trivial things as some celebrity going to the gym without makeup.
deleted.
Oh please. Who would want that life? I’m definitely not even remotely jealous of her myself. If I were to be jealous of anyone, it would probably be of the person who gets to make out with Idris Elba. Glad you are so elevated and vibrating on a higher plane than the rest of us here, but you are commenting on a celebrity gossip blog after all.
Fat chance lady!
Fat chance she can make out with Idris? Awww… That’s mean! No stepping on people’s dreams:D
That’s the problem. She’s supposed to be more than just glamour and outer appearances. She’s supposed to work for the benefit of others. I see mostly admiration for serious, committed royal workers, like QE2, Queen Letizia, Princess Anne, Duchess Sophie, Queen Maxima, etc. Though yes, some of these ladies are glamorous, when they’re not, it’s not all that they have going for them. People still commend them on their good works.
For Kate, all she’s been pushing is her looks: what clothes/shoes/accessories she has on, how expensive they are, how much of her hair style is what characterizes her, etc.
If all of a sudden, the ladies I mentioned above stopped working and instead became models of self-indulgence and superficiality, then there’d be criticism of them.
Whereas with Kate, since everything is about her image with little substance to her beyond what her PR team wants us to believe, if that goes down the drain, then that’s all there is to talk about her.
I believe that if she and her PR concentrated less on these superficial aspects of herself and she started acted like a grown up 30-something year old woman who has interests beyond what pleases herself and William, then there’d be more to talk about her than just her appearance when it isn’t the photo-shopped, 100% perfect princessy image.
This is maggie’s thing. She’s been coming here forever to basically call names on people who say things she disagrees with. She enjoys it, so let’s let her have her fun. I’m fine being called an old prude, and I forget the other names she’s used. I remember that one because someone changed her posting name to it a while ago.
Maggie likes to call us old prudes and prigs. those are her two favourite mean words. LOL. at least she’s progressed to full sentences. one can better enjoy the intended insult.
That’s what I love about CB, it’s endlessly entertaining on so many levels. I never realised that there are resident trolls who only come out to poke pointy sticks at people. I must be what I was called the other day, a bit naive! Either that or blissfully oblivious to the taunts. There’s room for all I suppose, and maybe I just don’t have enough to do on a Sunday morning, but boy is it fun!
On another note, I wonder if said troll is any relation to Mrs Thatcherooni?
Bluhare others.
I’ve always read their comments in this and other names as an american pretending to be in the UK. Just the drops like pennies dollars and $ instead of the currency sign over there. And the view of Kate that is on point with the tabloids here, but not really over there. It’s something no one is shocked at this point and the jealousy argument is still used like it’s valid.
*insert eyeroll emoji here* because my emoji library keeps crashing!
Lak you forgot to capitalize your sentences. Back to grade school for you!!
Bluhare are that’s not true. I simply don’t see Kate the same way.
maggie
You forgot to capitalize “LAK” and her handle is not a word on it’s own. They’re initials. Factor in many of us are on phones or touch screens and forgetting caps is struggling for something to criticize.
And the exclamation points in your sentences shows emotion. I think you do enjoy trolling a bit more than just sharing alternate views.
Whoa, she really is looking rough and worn down. It’s crazy how much older she looks when not photo shopped.
+1!
She’s not aging well … and gurl needs some color on her lips …
I think it’s a little weird that she’s never photographed with Pippa anymore.
She was with Pippa and Carole at a restaurant a few days ago.
You’re repeating common and boring criticisms. Everyone bagged on Princess Diana and how she bent to royal rules and her style was hideous. This is more than fashion it’s manipulative control. Open your mind a bit. Where is Diana these days
Diana’s millions of devoted fans didn’t bag on her, so who is this “everyone” of whom you write? Where is she now? In her grave because she refused royal protection, chose to get into a car driven by a drunk, and refused to put on her seat belt. Or, she’s metaphorically spinning in her grave at the antics of her son and daughter in law.
Why bring Diana into it? Kate Middleton had 10 years to make this decision, and she has been the most coddled royal bride in recent history. This is about ongoing PR of two lazy, entitled people who take all the perks and refuse to do the work.
Yes actually the press did bag on her. I love her and hated the pressure put on her on by the Queen. If you believe the story of her death as told in the media your negated from my caring anyway. Diana refused protection because she felt in mortal danger from the PALACE. And indeed she died in a tunnel…pathetic Sheeple.
@ notasugarhere +1
Diana’s relationship with the press was adversarial when it wasn’t simbiotic – now that was a woman that gave good headline. Sometimes her fashion choices won raves, sometimes they were widely criticised.
New Day
80’s and some early 90’s style was horrible and I will rag on that forever! It’s not because of who wears it. It’s because they were terrible clothes.
Perhaps the Queen would like her to have a perm.
LOL
Obviously made up, I agree; but yes allowing your in-law to dictate how you dress and wear your hair is defeat, not to mention really fucking creepy.
When the in-law is the President of the Family Firm that secures your housing and lifestyle, you pay attention to the work dress code.
notasugarhere
Exactly. And Kate also needs a daily reminder of the significance of its history.
I dunno. If you marry into the family business and while working as its representative, you have a pattern of having your flimsy skirts fly up whenever it’s windy and now the world knows you don’t wear underwear, then yes, I think the senior members can tell the her to wear more sensible, business-like attire when working. But overall, I don’t think they care what she wears in private.
Same with her hair. When she goes on ‘business meetings’ and she’s continually greeting people with her hair flying around her head like its been caught up in its own private mini-tornado, then yes, she should be told to put it into a more professional, grown-up hair-do. And again, I don’t think they care what she does with it in private.
It’s amazing how many ‘oops’ moments she had. The firm may have had to beef up the dress code to help her understand what should be common sense for public appearances.
Thank You these people treating her like a dress up doll for the world is disgusting. Not much feminist angle on this topic. Not for Kate. She must tote around the prim and proper feminine ideals for all the world I suppose #sarcasm
@ New Day
That’s the problem with her and her fans. She thinks the job is about being a dress-up doll. It isn’t.
It’s about working for others in order to promote good will for the continued existence of the family firm. They have to show that they are of some value to society at large or else what use are they for all the taxpayers’ money they get?
If all Kate wants to be is a royal Kardashian, then she needs to rethink her playbook.
See the other not-so-dressy female members of the family. They’re known for their work, not what high-end fashion name they’re wearing.
There’s no feminist angle on this topic because Kate represents nothing but a woman who set out to become a wealthy, pampered wife. She didn’t go to college to do anything with her degree. College was a means to meet/date/marry William. Mission accomplished. She has no outside interests. The only things we know about her are her exercise/hair/shopping obsessions. That’s it. That’s Kate Middleton.
Prim and proper? Oh goodness, heaven forbid anyone (much less another woman) think it inappropriate for a woman to flash her bare bum at work. #pearlclutching
I find it amusing when the “feminism” argument is trotted out about Kate Middleton. She is the one who has made it all about her looks and clothes. She is the one who has flashed over a dozen times on duty. She is the one who thinks working 60 HOURS a year is too stressful for a healthy 33 year old woman.
Hmm, another new name showing up to tell all Middleton critics they’re wrong.
@Fluff: Kate Middleton took on one of the most important jobs on the world stage with her marriage. No secret there that she was marrying the heir to the British throne. With that responsibility comes a professional dress code – one that all of us who work in the corporate world abide by – which means no skin-tight jeggings, no bare bum flashes, no flimsy skirts blowing up in the wind, no masses of fake hair flying around her face while she mindlessly twirls with it. She repeatedly appeared in an unprofessional, immature and thoughtless manner that was an embarrassment to the BRF. She continued to dress and act like a Sloaney college student long after her marriage and it’s about time someone lowered the boom on how to present herself in a manner suited to her role. And she does have a role, a very important one, one which seems to have taken a long time to sink into her head. Maybe it was all that hair that was impeding her understanding.
Prince Charles get’s money from the Duchy of Cornwall he is the one paying for Kate and William not the public purse. There is a reason why the Queen has always had the same hairstyle same with Princess Anne. It’s to always be recognisable. Anne has really long hair but I can’t remember the last time she wore it out. Kate’s hair just isn’t practical for royal engagements etc she will eventually settle and find something that she likes.
The Duchy of Cornwall belongs to the public. There’s also their enormous security bill.
What Natalie said. The Duchy of Cornwall is reserved for the heir to the throne. It does not belong to Charles outright. And DanaG, if you happen to be working for Jason, could you tell him that Charles’s plan to acquire the Crown Estate outright is delusional? Thanks very much.
Charles receives a tax writeoff for all monies used by WHK in their public life and their office. Whatever the (wrong) arguments about the duchy income belonging to Charles, the tax writeoff is a direct link to the tax payers without the benefit of the duchy to hide behind. Kate’s wardrobe and grooming are paid by Charles who receives a tax writeoff for them.
@ DanaG
The purse of the duchy of Cornwall is owned by the taxpayer. And Charles does merely get a part from that purse. So it is the taxpayer who gives him money out of his purse via the purse of the Duchy of Cornwall.
So yes, the taxpayer finances both Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William and Kate.
She looks fine. Maybe she has trouble sleeping. Maybe she’s having a rough patch with William or some other issue that we do not know about. As fellow women/mothers we sure are not very kind to each other.
We are the worst to each other, men are actually much nicer when it comes to women looks than other women, we’re constantly doing this to each other. Most of the comments are always about her looks.
Lets be fair. Most of the comments are about Tiaras, monarchy, legal intrusions, and financials of prive vs public with a dash of work ethics and PR nonsense. Looks are secondary and not often direct insults.
There are plenty of working mothers on here who both have children and earn a living. Many find it difficult to have sympathy for this woman, who has basically never worked in her life and cannot do the bare minimum now.
She has a life of privilege and wealth, paid for by the taxpayers, and still barely works. She focuses more on her appearance than on her work. Why are women required to be more sympathetic to her, instead of standing up and saying, “As women we find her laziness and antiquated attitudes offensive”?
Well if all she did was focus on her appearance why are you and others saying she looks like crap basically?
@Maggie – you can focus on your appearance and still look like crap basically. Some people have it, some don’t.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again….all is not well in that marriage/family/whatever. Even beyond the Photoshopping debate….she doesn’t even smile sincerely like she used to. I suspect she’s not the most emotionally strong person and the criticism is breaking her. In Diana’s day, there were only the papers and tv…not blogs, Twitter, Internet, etc. She STILL struggled with the pressure, and I think despite her demons she had ten times the fire and confidence of Kate.
Kate has never been emotionally strong – she (or should i say her mother) persuaded everyone that she (Kate) was up for the job, when she clearly wasn’t. Kate was always running home to mummy when things weren’t going her way or when William didn’t call – she had a flat off Kings Road but spent more time at her parents home in the country. If she can’t stand on her own 2 feet without mummy holding her hand then how in hell is she going to handle being the future Queen of England.
Personally, i don’t think she will be Queen as he won’t be King. At some point the sh!t will hit the fan with them and he will be taken out of the succession – thats my tin foil tiara prediction. Whats obvs is he doesn’t want to be King – she however (via Carole) desperately wants to be Queen. Their ambition to get to the top won’t let him walk away.
I think she’s an introvert, and basically a person not interested in much. I think she’s pretty simple. Only a simpleton could sit around for 7 to 10 years, not working at anything at all, waiting for phone calls. And now that she got what she and Mummy wanted, she is not pleased. She has to work. She has to show up. She wants to stay home and do nothing like she did for ten years.
Beware of what you wish for, Kate – you may have gotten it.
She is a public figure and should not go out looking like this. Hair should be tidy (is a ponytail so hard?) and wear some lipstick, maybe add some earrings, even gloves (red gloves would have looked great with that coat). Maybe Queen Letizia’s visit in March will provide her with some fashion ideas, she always looks very well put together.
When I saw photos of Kate standing next to Queen Maxima at the Remebrance Day services, I thought she looked like a girl standing next to a woman. Maxima rocks–sometimes it’s not the greatest look, but she has a dynamic, engaged personality–I just don’t get that from Kate.
@ rosiek
Exactly. Something red against that coat: gloves, scarf, turtleneck. The way she dresses – it looks as if she doesn’t wear anything underneath that coat.
Yep, Remembrance Day service is something Kate will never get right. She either giggles, dresses up like a show pony or is completely disinterested. She should have enough education to understand what that day is about.
I dread the day William becomes king. And even if Kate would merely become the consort it would still be worse. She doesn’t have it and doesn’t get it and doesn’t work for it.
No such thing as consort, when William becomes king she will be queen barring death or divorce.
spidey she’d be the Queen Consort just as Philip is technically the Prince Consort. If William dies after he becomes king, then the crown passes to the next person in the royal line (ie. their son) not to the consort. KM will never rule or reign in her own right.
Spidey
Nota is right.
If Kate was “Queen” she would have right to rule if William becomes unable. Instead she will be “Queen Consort” and that Consort part means in a way her value and status to the Monarchy is only if her husband is there. Without him her value and status drops.
And Consorts are very real so i’m not sure why you wrote “no such thing”.
I highly doubt the Queen would ever read what you have to say. Women should be supporting each other and reading this is disturbing. Kate is beautiful. She may not be perfect but who are you to criticize her every move? I’m so sure you would be the perfect princess. Keep thinking that. This website is disgusting.