Here are some photos of the Duchess of Cambridge Wednesday evening in London. Kate attended an event at the Natural History Museum to present the Art Fund Museum of the Year prize. I always forget that Kate is patron to the Natural History museum, but here she is. She’s also patron of the National Portrait Gallery. She attends events at the Natural History museum a few times a year, almost always for some glamorous event. She is, after all, an art history major.
For Wednesday’s event, Kate wore this £1,580 Barbara Casasola dress which I actually like. I like it a lot. It’s a rare thing for Kate – she looks like a sexy and pretty 30-something woman, not a twee college girl or a matronly 50-something. Considering how tired Kate looked last week in France, does anyone else wonder if Kate returned to England and went straight to her Botoxologist? One thing though – this is an off-the-shoulder dress and people could barely tell because of her Wall of Hair. And while I don’t mind that Kate wore her hair down, I do mind that Kate’s hair people puffed out her hair to a crazy degree. These photos are enough to bring back Wiglet Watch, I think. I’m pretty sure she’s wearing a hair “fall” in the back.
Kate is also expected to attend at least one of the final games at Wimbledon this week, perhaps Andy Murray’s semifinal match against Tomas Berdych on Friday, or Roger Federer’s Friday match against Milos Raonic. The Wimbledon final could be Murray vs Federer, which would be a very happy occasion. Kate might wait until the final though, because she and William are scheduled to attend an air show in Glouchestershire on Friday.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.
She manages to make any outfit look boring. Also — crotch grab after crotch grab!
xD Crotch grab after crotch grab! hahaha so true..
I know, right?
The crotch grabbing must end. Skirt down, hands at sides.
Yes! Constant crotch grabbing. And for the love of God, stand up straight!
At this point I’m starting to wonder if she’s a huge Michael Jackson fan or in desperate need to see her gyno.
She’s crotch grabbing without the clutch! It looks so awkward and terrible!
Also, in the picture with her laughing, it looks like she leaked a bit, and is trying to hide the evidence!
It looks like a Grecian column on her. So boring.
YESSSS!! Thank you, I could not put my finger on it. First I was like “has she gotten even thinner?” No. . . that’s not quite it . . . she looks like a Grecian column. I mean the dress does. Oh, who are we kidding, she does.
Most definitely blah, blah, BLAH.
The dress doesn’t fit, right, under the arms and into the breast area.
People keep using the word grab for what she’s doing with her hands. I don’t think that word means what you think it does.
The dress doesn’t fit her at all
The shoes are cute. That’s all I have to say.
She finally upped her shoe game, but I find the dress to be hideous.
New shoes, ugly dress. She just can’t get it right.
Same here, plus I hate the front zip on that dress.
It’s like a sexy straitjacket dress. LOL
I think that over-the-shoulder picture is really cute. She looks really young in that one.
pretty but too loose. she has a tailor and money, why do her clothes not fit better? especially with her team of stylists?
It’s too loose because she is too thin. That is a dress designed for a woman with more curves.
One of the many reasons I wish she would wear pantsuits is that she has the lean, elegant look to pull it off. She should go less Diana, more Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.
Ballerinas wear a very similar silhouette often in costume and look terrific. I think Kate’s posture, not her thinness, make it awkward.
I know! Her thin body would look fabulous in pantsuits. I think she always looks her best in casual clothes anyway, so a smartly cut pantsuit would suit her very well. And there’s the added benefit that she wouldn’t have to worry about accidental flashing. A wasted opportunity, I think.
As others have said, the dress does not fit her well at all. It bunches in the back and hangs off her torso. And despite her height it’s way too long of a silhouette.
Consistently, the fashion commentary on this site is really off. They should find someone who actually understands it to provide analysis.
The “fashion commentary” in this article is literally limited to “I like it a lot”. I appreciate your insights here — genuinely, I learn about fashion, the court system, and a lot more from CB commenters — but I don’t agree that the bloggers are “way off” with their fashion descriptions. They give general, openly biased opinions about many things; you gave a much more detailed breakdown about why you didn’t like it. If the article contradicted *any* of your specific points, then maybe I could see it…
I was thinking the same thing, but I’m wondering if they made it loose on purpose. If it was more fitted it might be a little too sexy. Imagine the dress on someone like Charlize, or (I’m desperately trying to think of a tall curvy model or actress, but I’ve not had enough caffeine yet) it would be a pretty sexy dress.
Other than it being loose, I love the dress and the shoes.
It would look great on Halle Berry.
Or Sophia Vergara.
Yes! Exactly.
Her stylist and tailor are her assistant. She isn’t trained to do either and this is her first fashion job. She is really young. She probably doesn’t really want to stand up to Kate, it’s an easy job Kate hardly does anything, why risk it? Plus, Kate doesn’t have a lot in her life she is in charge of. William can’t ever be wrong and her mother takes his side, so any disputes between them go his way. That’s why he picked her, she was willing to go along with whatever he said to do. So she controls what she eats and what she wears (at least for the most part, her mother probably weighs in often, William is openly critical of what she wears right before they step out the door (“You look like a banana” ect), and of course Jecca and Princess Diana also seem to weigh in. So if she can finally “win” arguments with Tash she can take some pride in that. Serious tailoring is not something you can just pick up and with the quantity and quality of the photos taken of Kate at official events you can spot the rookie mistakes.
Kate doesn’t seem to have an innate sense of style, she doesn’t seem to have fun with it, she doesn’t seem to have a strong sense of self (which makes sense because the past decade and a half has been devoted to playing whatever role Prince William and her mother tell her too. She is only an art history major because that is what William started out as, and it shows) she is obsessed with copying Princess Diana, and I really think she has some type of body dysmorphic disorder (the obsession with her weight, despite the fact it is unhealthy, extreme, aging, and makes her look worse. Plus she is very focused almost to the point of distraction on the fact her body doesn’t have the ideal proportions. The inappropriately short skirts and compulsion to only wear nude shoes seems to stem from her trying to lengthen her legs and minimize her long torso). All of this contributes to the clothes wearing her and the poor tailoring and diminished self esteem, self-confidence, and the need to put on a show for the cameras make everything she wears look cheap. Her inability to properly style and accessorize and make it all suit the occasion are also huge stumbling blocks. If she had fun with clothes we see her personality in her “off-duty” attire but she seems to have a uniform of striped shirts with skinny jeans. She would also have fun dressing Charlotte, no body hang ups their, but she has the nanny pick out and buy that clothing.
There is a lot to address. Some of it needs to be handled by a therapist, not a stylist. However, if she is going to keep buying £1,000 + on one dress a stylist that would stand up to her, has training and experience, is solely her stylist, and understands royal protocol, dress codes and accurately pick out clothes that suit the occasion (NO hot pink at the 9/11 memorial) and knows how to build a wardrobe with versatile pieces and keep her from spending so much money on things that are so close to pieces she already owns would be a very wise investment. Tash is younger than Kate and going through this learning process herself. If Kate really likes her style she can ask for her opinion on things the stylist suggests but reall should go back to simply being Kate’s assistant AKA playing games on her phone and killing time because what could she possibly be doing?
She should stop with the DIY tailoring on designer clothes and find a real tailor with experience who can work with her to flatter her inverted triangle shape and long torso that don’t involve mini skirts and nude heels.
She should also talk to a make up artist even if she wants to keep doing it herself. She could learn a lot and hopefully break bad habits and possibly build the confidence to try different styles.
None of that will be cheap. Good thing she has Prince Charles! Although I doubt she will be doing any of that soon. That would be proactive, take effort, make her better at the job she hates, and also it would mean admitting she needs help and was wrong.
Bravo.
I did not know her stylist was also her assistant. This explains so much.
Thanks, Lindsay, Great breakdown. If only Kate read this blog…
And the ‘stylist’ looks kind of messy.
Her personal assistant is Rebecca Deacon. Her “stylist and shopper” is the 26-year-old Tash something iirc.
I don’t think she has a body dysmorphic disorder. She is terrified of losing William and also is pushing a princess image of her fantasies. She may have an eating disorder, but I’m no expert. As long as she looks skinny in the mirror to herself, then she is successful in her eyes where her goals are concerned.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………. would losing William be horrible? Not in my book!..LOL
Wow Lindsay – bang on! Nailed it in so many ways!
Best write up I’ve read. Excellent summary.
Exactly – no sense of self. That is why everything she does is so cringe worthy. She plays off of everyone and is a reactor, not an initiator. I understand the concept (from experience, sadly) but now understand that you have to accept yourself, first, before you can make a difference or even be happy with yourself. I kind of think though that her goal has always been to be whatever she needed to be to get to her position. :/
All I am going to say about this outfit is that even in a dress that is a little looser, she is frighteningly thin. I hope someone is intervening.
PLEASE STOP THE CROTCH GRABBING FOR HEAVENS SAKE! She ruined a good look with the bouffant mop, horrible shoes and the crotch grabbing. Plus the dress looks way too big on her.
Totally agree. I think she chose a relatively daring dress, then backpedaled on the tailoring and disguised the revealing shoulders with that mop. Awful.
I don’t like the entire look. The hair is too much and all over – this would have looked nice with a simple ponytail. The dress is just plain weird – I might have liked it if she’d styled herself differently. The only bonus was the shoes – no nude pumps!
I really don’t like this dress. Hard to tell from the photos posted here, but at the Daily Fail, you can see up close shots of the dress and it has a zipper up the front — and it’s horrible. Also, neither she nor her so-called “stylist” can apparently style an outfit — it never looks like it all comes together and really works.
Plus the hands on the crotch, even when she’s not holding a clutch is too much.
She is at Wimbledon today, wearing a repeat of a yellow dress from the Australia/NZ tour.
I took a closer look at the dress after reading your comment about the zipper. Do you think the dress is backwards?
@Flowerchild, I went back and looked at the photo of the dress from Net a Porter, and it’s in the front there too. Kate seems to like zip up dresses as much as she likes lots of buttons.
Long zipper at the front means easy accessibility. What a tease!
This is one epic fail. The hair…..unbelievable. The dress is doing her no favors and she obviously has never heard of Spanks. What are the lumps on her rear end? Off shoulder doesn’t flatter her at all. And there are videos of her wobbling around in those shoes; if you can’t walk in your high heels then maybe it’s time to find something else. Crotch clutching has got to stop. Running fingers through your hair must stop too, that is just gross. And she didn’t do very well with her speech, either.
vava, spare buttons oh wait there are no buttons, zits may-be ????
In agreement 100% with Alix. I tried to picture Letizia wearing this and if I’d like it. The dress is nice and that’s as far as I will go.
Even her most daring outfits seem so vanilla. Nothing to really grab my attention and I feel the dress is wearing her and not the other way around. She simply doesn’t look comfortable. Just like at an red carpet event, you see actresses wearing their outfit or the out wearing them and she always seems to fall in the latter.
And Wiglet watch is back on I do agree.
Yes, the dress does seem to be wearing her. It’s for someone with more confidence and innate style.
Yes, I feel like this dress deserved a pop of color. Could you imagine a bold colored shoe? Or turquoise drop earrings? And the hair should have been styled simpler has well.
She looks fine for Kate. And for her position, she is being slightly daring. I’m trying to be less hard on her, because I don’t like her personal style. So I have to critique her from within those bounds as opposed to how I would like to see a piece styled. Although, I give my two cents on that as well 🙂
One of her best looks so far! And finally some new shoes yaaay…
The shoes are just nude sandals. I would put them in the same blah category as her nude pumps.
I think she looks very nice. It might have suited the dress better to have her hair up, but she’s been styling it differently lately so no big. I like the dress, her hair and shoes are fine too.
I hope she doesn’t go to Murray’s match. I prefer the crowd camera to focus on the sleeping oldies missing all the action. Also, she’s just another layer of irritation when he inevitably makes hard work of it. Andy Murray does that on purpose so that the Sixlets can laugh at my rising blood pressure.
Speaking of Wimbledon, I can’t belive Federer won yesterday. Cilic had 3 match points nad he blew it. I was so upset I cried yesterday, and I don’t even care about tennis. The crowd cheering for Federer I also found very annoying. Irrational, I know.
I love this dress on her.
I love Rog but I wanted Cilic to win that. I was quite downcast. He’s a nice guy, too. And the match was better sans Katie Bucket. The camera cuts to her always get on my nerves.
I felt really bad for Cilic the way the crowd was so thoroughly behind Federer. They always are at Wimbledon, and it always seems really tacky to me. Have a bit of respect for the opponent!
Is anyone else watching Paes/Hingis in the mixed doubles with as much enjoyment as I am? I only discovered them in the final last year, but this year I’m searching the schedule for them!
There’s far to much hair and I hate the shoes but otherwise it’s a nice look.
She’s attending Wimbledon today and because she’s meeting the ball boys and girls beforehand it’ll undoubtedly be counted as work. Or they’ll announce she’s patron/ president beforehand.
Her hair is out of control, isn’t it? You can’t even make out the top of the dress at all because of that fake mop. It actually looks like a wig is some places. The dress would look nice on someone else with some curves and self-confidence. Kate is trying too hard. The dress is wearing her IMO. And what’s with the lumps at the back? It looks like she’s wearing a corset and her bra is showing in the back – this dress needs a sleek silouette and someone with impeccable posture. The crotch clutching and the OTT facial expressions are also so annoying. Overall, Kate looks ridiculous. SMH
Spot on. The hair is especially awful.
Yeah she is at Wimbleton today at Serena’s match. Saw pics she has on the yellow color block dress she wore on the Australia tour.
and her posture is really atrocious.
I also tend to wear my hair down a lot so I understand her pain. I like it down, she looks more comfortable with it down. I like the outfit too. Maybe she always looks tired, because she is, since she has two kids?
That’s it!! Of course!! The two kids…and maybe the nannies had the day off and she had to look after them ALL BY HERSELF. Poor sausage. Maybe the crotch-grabbing is some sort of stress-relief.
Botox or photoshop?
Not liking the dress, esp the bottom half. Too early to figure out exactly why/how I don’t like it
Photoshop because botox wouldn’t get her this flawless compared to very recent un-shopped photos of her. And that dress seems very 1990s Victoria’s-Secret-Stephanie-Seymour to me.
Also Botox doesn’t work instantly it takes at least 5 days to make any sort of visible difference and two weeks for the full effect.
We have seen how much they will Photoshop Kate. The differences are always glaring. Photoshop also has the ability to drastically improve her skin and complexion, Botox does not.
the bottom half makes her look too elongated for how skinny she is- it over-emphasizes how emaciated she’s getting. Her hair is wider than her hips.
Because it looks like a zip up bedspread?
The dress is gorgeous on the model and mannequin. I love it. IMO, it looks odd on Kate for two reasons: 1) Lack of tailoring so it’s not as snug as it should be; and, 2) Kate has narrow hips and broad shoulders. So this dress accentuates that. The waist should tailored so the slight A-Line of the skirt should have hit higher.
Also, overall, the style isn’t all the way there. A pop of color with a bright, simple, heel would have been good. Too much hair. The hair should have been pulled back or a sleek, straight look (which would look better in a longer bob).
She’s back to her country singer Loretta Lynn big hair. http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/360296/20060364/1415303758377/M_LorettaLynn630_082912.jpg?token=c9tCQtT%2BiUMYFws0T2vljDMFLJc%3D
You nailed it. My first thought: she’s channeling 1970s Nashville.
Loretta Lynn….perfect!
Remember higher the hair, the closer to God!
https://goo.gl/images/QYQUBn
https://goo.gl/images/jfqRsb (Although the nails are real)
https://goo.gl/images/zlGyl2
https://goo.gl/images/R2XCCg
The other Dolly Partonism that tends to fit her is:
It takes a lot of money to look this cheap
(Although she looks a different kind of cheap)
I can’t get over the fact that she isn’t wearing anything from her ugly shoe collection! Go Kate.
Don’t get too excited, she’s right back to the nude pumps today at Wimbledon.
She desperately needs a haircut. Above the shoulders would look really nice. She is incapable of looking sexy. The shoes are nice.
That’s all I got.
Dress shouldn’t be off the shoulder for that type of event. Shoes better. Hair hideous. Facial expressions maniacal.
Awful…the hair is out of control. It should be back in a ponytail to accentuate the neckline. It needs a pop of color, she could have worn a necklace if the hair was pulled back. Not sure what type of fabric the dress is but looks like knit which is too casual for an evening look. Like the shoes but don’t go with the dress. She’s a mess
The dress is wearing her. The length and style are too overwhelming for her frame.
Yeah, I think I would love the dress on someone else, but in most of the shots I think it just makes her look really long in the waist and sort of noodle-y. Still, I suppose it’s not as bad as it could have been…
Also, I have a LOT of thick hair and if my hair gets to around her length it tends to get big, like hers is here (the difference being that I actively try to avoid that). So I’m not sure she’s sporting a wiglet, but I do think she needs to scale that mane back. Someone else said that above the shoulders would suit her, I agree.
Exactly. This style was not meant for her figure (nor her personality).
Straight outta the 70s
Her undergarments are atrocious here. She needs to ask QEII.. panty lines and bra 😞😞
I work at that museum! I’ve never met her but my partner accidentally walked into an event she was at once. The sense I get is that she does the bare minimum, and is not actively engaged like some of our other patrons.
Angelina Jolie actually comes in to the museum a lot (one of her kids is obsessed with dinosaurs), and everyone here raves about her. She and Brad are apparently really normal and care about supporting their kids’ interests, which a lot of parents don’t. I wonder why Will and Kate don’t bring their kids in for a proper look round? Could easily come in after hours for privacy.
Isn’t this the same museum where she’s been photographed once with George? I think so– it was last fall. I saw she was quoted during this event yesterday saying that George loves the dinos there.
The hair down in front ruins the look, can’t even see the off shoulders?
And she’s wearing a new pair of dangling earrings you can’t even see. I saw a glimpse on another site.
Note: The earrings she wore to Wimbledon today are what she wore to this event.
Oh dear, Barbie feet sandals, out of control hair and OTT facial expressions. The dress would be nice on someone who had a bit of a shape. It just emphasises her underweight frame and the big hair doesn’t help with that. It is an appropriate dress for the occasion but just not on her.
I think she looks lovely, both outfit and shoes.
Me too. I like all of it.
Is it a sweater dress? A knit cocktail frock? I had no idea that was a thing.
There is no way that is all her hair, though it does call to mind what my sister can do with a set of hot rollers and a bottle of hair spray.
I’ve had a pixie cut for around 20 years and that amount of hair being just all over the place makes me hyperventilate.
I can see the look she was aiming for, but girl, that look is not you.
If this is her trying to dress sexy, she fails. She doesn’t have the air of self-confidence to pull off sexy. She just wanted attention wearing this dress. And the hair is so bad – Tammy Wynette comes to mind.
Saw the video of her presenting an award at the event. First of all, her comments seemed way too rushed and short– just a few seconds of “delighted to be here”. Second, she had her eyes glued to her written remarks pretty much the entire time, even though they were banal and bland and easily could have been given by memory. Really she needs to work on her public speaking skills! Focusing on her hair, figure, and clothes is not all that is necessary for her role.
I agree with you re content etc., but I thought she showed some improvement. Granted it’s easy to do that when you have 25 words or less to say, but it was better!
Her posture was dreadful during her speech. Her hair was in front and very little was hanging down her back, which really emphasized it.
This dress is Totally wearing her. She’s too thin to wear something this “heavy” looking. (Or maybe it’s that she is so thin that it makes the dress look heavy?) She used to look so healthy. But now she looks sick. 😢
Kate is currently at Wimbledon in the front row of the Royal Box. Serena Williams is playing (dominating) the first women’s semifinal.
Kate is wearing bright yellow and has her hair down (obvs). Sitting next to the wife of the president (?) of the All England Club.
Bonus: Looked like I also spotted Sophie Turner in the Royal Box.
Bonus 2: Royal Box, LOL
I’m most excited by Kate’s proximity to BARRY GIBB! 😉
Yes! I noticed him too.
It looks like the dress is slooooowwwwwlly sliding down her body.
Question for SIXER, LAK or anyone who may know.. I was under the impression that the dress code for official events did not include exposed shoulders and open-toe shoes? Or did I make it up? Haha!
It depends on royal duty events ie representing HM and by extension the govt OR personal charity events OR family events (lines can be lurred on this one in terms of family events that cross over into the other two).
Representing Queen eg at Somme, as conservative as dictated by *formal protocol.
*Protocol is dictated by Monarch. It can be arbitrary depending on individual monarchs. What HM decides is protocol may differ from Charles or William when their time comes.
It’s remained largely conservative and tweedy because HM follows the dictats laid down by her father and grandfather. She’s made few changes.
Personal charity/patronages eg this museum event, dress code is as relaxed as dictated by event/charity.
Family events = blurred lines. Rule of thumb here is that HM is present, formality is required as that is her preferred professional presentation. This bleeds into events that are purely fun eg Ascot.
On these occassions, follow the rules of the event AND take into consideration HM’s preferences as a guide to what to wear.
Looking at Wimbledon pictures in the DM. She must have her hands in her hair (petting the wiglet?) at all timesl
No, No or No.
To quote the great Pam Poovey, ‘Inapprops’.
Well, she finally managed to disappear completely! I can’t believe how thin she is. And even fully covered, she’s managing to show a visible pantyline as well as some weird buttons/bumps on some sort of undergarment. Someone elsewhere suggested it was a corset, but she’s seriously a stick. Can she even think she needs to compress anything? Even if she did, it’s not an appropriate undergarment for this dress; she needs Spanx.
Ok, I love, love, LOVE this dress. Well done, Kate. But, to her and Angelina: BURN THE NUDE HEELS.
I think the blue one – similar style (blue) looked better on her but isn’t it nice she didn’t wear nude pumps yet again.
The second photo down it appears she let the natural curls out (at least in the back), it’s a nice photo.
I would have liked this look more if her hair was up and the dress a little shorter.
She looks way to skinny in that dress… Her style is very blah. Her stylist and hair/makeup crew need to be replaced, now.
The dress is a similar silhouette to the white knit Ralph Lauren skirt & top, as well as her many Temperley Londons, without the fussiness. And the shoes are so similar to ones she already owns. Blah.
I think she looks like she is wearing an off the shoulder straight jacket of sorts. The shoes are very nice.
Hair too big. Dress too big. Protruding shoulder blades. No…this is neither sexy or pretty. It’s very much blah. And while the shoes are a vast improvement, they are too high and she’s wobbling on them.
My first thought when I saw the pics was…”what did William do now?”
All she cares about is showing off the body, bringing the skinny sex to it. That’s ALL she cares about. She’s a stick insect with no taste. Her fashions choices are tiresome.
Agree. She brings so little so often to so many ‘patron’ tables.
Her hair is out of control. This dress definitely needed a relaxed up-do (not a chignon) and perhaps sandals with design and colour, to make the outfit complete.
I agree the dress is a size too big, but she’s so skinny I’m sure it would have looked worse in the correct size (look at her blades). I’m also sure she’s not wearing anything underneath (except for underwear, I mean), hence the lumps in the rear end. A slip or spanx would have smoothed everything out.
Does she have access to some jewelry? Or is it only the two tiaras and the one set of earrings?
I love the idea of this dress. That being said, it’s so ill fitting.
If she were my next door neighbour, I’d think she was really beautiful. But as a princess she’s so blah.
Horrendous dress, it looks like a rag on her and absolutely not tailored, that shoes doesn’t match to the dress. Her assistant is blind. Too much fake hair. And that’s Michael Jackson crotch touching all the time… That crazy grinning. She’s really sick.
You can totally see the hair fall line on her head.
She really clings to the wiglet. Vanity is all that matters to her.
Can she go anywhere without putting her big man hand or her pocket book on her crotch? Disgusting.
This dress would have looked better shorter, perhaps knee length. As it is, it looks like the hem fell out of it.
Both Pippa and Kate wear some besutiful dresses but they so fail with the accessories. It just brings down the whole outfit to the point of laziness
Oh, I don’t like this dress at all.