Duchess Kate in a £428 Kate Spade floral dress in London: pretty or dated?

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The Duchess of Cambridge is the only one who can soothe Great Britain’s relationships with European countries, but put that aside for the moment! These are photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plus Prince Harry today in London. They were doing an event in honor of World Mental Health Day (which is today). As always, I’m just reminded that Harry got all the charisma in this family – you can even see it in the photos @KensingtonRoyal chose to post from these events. Harry is engaged with people and they are engaged with him. William and Kate are just posing for photos.

As for Kate’s fashion, as I was first glancing through the photos, I felt sure that we had seen this dress before, that it was a repeat. But I’m just tired – the Daily Mail says this is new (to us). The dress is by Kate Spade and it costs £428. It’s a pretty dress, I guess. It feels like Kate is going through a style phase that’s particularly ‘80s-inspired, right? And what makes it even weirder for me is that it feels like Amal Clooney is “twinning” with Kate, and they’re both making the same kind of pussybow’d, ‘80s-secretary, pleat-heavy references. I like the colors and the floral print on this dress though, and my only real complaint is that it feels like it should have been worn in May, not October. A tad too summery for October. (Then again, I’m still wearing flip-flops, so who am I to judge?)

You can see some of the full-length photos here. Kate paired this ensemble with suede heels in (you guessed it) nude. We need more Harry photos!

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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100 Responses to “Duchess Kate in a £428 Kate Spade floral dress in London: pretty or dated?”

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  1. Jenn says:

    Barbie

  2. lightpurple says:

    I think that look was almost “auf’d” on this past week’s Project Runway.

    • Megan says:

      Didn’t Jane Fonda wear this in 9 to 5?

      • lightpurple says:

        Yes, and somebody on the Golden Girls wore it too. That’s why it landed in the bottom on Project Runway this week. Nina isn’t about to bring back the 80s.

      • L84Tea says:

        That’s where my thoughts were heading. All of these high neckline dresses are definitely early 80’s territory, and not in a good way.

      • Kaz says:

        Oh God no….high neckline with a tie, pleats, flowers, PINK! It’s just too much. Too pretty, too girlie. Too much hair. So many dresses and coats stashed away in Anmers wardrobe room and she gets a new dress like this! Urgh.

      • perplexed says:

        Even in the 80s it didn’t really seem like Diana wore stuff like this, even at her worst (if old pictures are anything to go by).

        ’80s fashion was ugly, but I still don’t think Diana, in particular, ever looked this….odd? Diana still kind of looked like she worked a job, even if that job was aristocrat.

      • Kitty says:

        You know whats sad. You can clearly see that William and Kate don’t care about all of this. Royal duties and their work ethic.

      • SKF says:

        @Perplexed this is a common misconception. Diana had terrible, dowdy style for a long time. She reinvented herself later on and became stylish; but she had truly terrible style in the 80s – even by 80s standards.

      • perplexed says:

        She looked good at the White House with the Reagans where she danced with John Travolta. That was 1985. She was only 24. The pictures are on Google. She was dowdy before she married Charles, and possibly in the first few months of marriage, but after the first year of marriage she was wearing clothes that were simply of the time, not anachronistic. The 80s were a bad fashion decade for everyone, but those were the trends that
        everybody was following (i.e Dynasty). People did dress
        like that if old tv shows are anything to go by. Diana’s
        dressing seemed to be a more expensive version of
        what was happening in the 80s (her off-duty clothes
        looked like stuff Angela Bower might have worn on
        Who’s the Boss). I’m not convinced that in 2016
        anybody has any desire to wear Kate’s dress above. I
        doubt anyone is dressing or going to be dressing like a
        modified version of this on Scandal or How To Get
        Away With Murder.

        In this clip Diana must be in her mid-20s, and she looks fine to me, considering what unfortunate decade she
        got stuck in fashion-wisei when she was in her 20s:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln_Xo42BWSw

      • perplexed says:

        Diana also did more work events than Kate so I think there were more chances for her to not always get it right. But overall she looks like she fit in with the times whereas Kate looks weird in 2016. And Diana looked like she used clothes for the royal job that helped her to be taken seriously. Whereas this dress above does not incline me to take Kate seriously.

        The only thing that I never got about Diana was her hair, but again, for the 80s her hair doesn’t really look out of place. At least her hair wasn’t frizzy or permed badly. Her hair got sleek when she was in her 30s, but everybody’s hair seemed to get better by 1996 and so did hers.

        Kate has long hair, which everybody is sporting now, but for some reason she looks like she longs to live in Texas.

    • HH says:

      I like this as a skirt or a shirt, but not a dress. It’s not particularly Kate’s styling in this case. I don’t like it on the model either.

      • CMA says:

        Yes, especially since the waist seam looks so awkward — needs a belt to cover the puckering. Maybe the neck bow (see how skinny it is) was meant to be a sash belt?? But I did just learn that purple is the official color of this movement, so I’m glad she’s wearing it.

  3. savu says:

    From afar this looks like something my grandma has buried in the back of her closet. Hair looks great though.

  4. Llamas says:

    Mother of hair.

  5. Citresse says:

    Kate’s hair is getting all Hee Haw Honey again.

  6. teehee says:

    I am always so sorry when I see her. NO HIPS!!

    • Tulip Garden says:

      Too much or too little, very few of us are “just right” or can even agree on what that means!

      That said, I’d love to be able to give away some of my hips, boobs, thighs, :). I’d look better without some of it and she would look better with some of it! IMO

    • Elizabeth says:

      @Teehee- but she is the duch-ass of flashing 😉

  7. manda says:

    She looks like a stepford wife. I’ve never seen her hair this big. Yes, she looks very dated, but unfortunately for all of us, these dresses are in style now

  8. Anguishedcorn says:

    That’s the best I’ve ever seen her hair look.

    Spreading good vibes this Monday, after last night’s train wreck of a debate.

  9. Deedee says:

    Harry’s there! Honk for Harry! That’s all I got.

  10. eggy weggs says:

    The color is wrong for autumn.

  11. Coconut says:

    As I’ve said before here, it’s not just Kate and Amal…*Fashion* is looking at the 80s for inspiration. Pussy bows, big shoulders, jewel tones (with black)….Get ready.

    • ElleBee says:

      Amal has a certain edge that takes away the dowdiness though. Kate doesn’t really have it. Eva Mendes also wears clothes that border on matronly but she rocks them too. Kate should stick to more form fitting silhouettes.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Mendes has said that she buys a lot of her clothes at vintage stores, and bases her clothing line on those older designs.

    • Megan says:

      If the 80’s are coming back, I hope designers go all in and give us the full Suzanne Sugarbaker. Half measures just won’t suffice.

      • perplexed says:

        At least Suzanne Sugarbaker did some form of power dressing.

        I don’t know what Kate’s look really is.

    • Sunsetsnow says:

      Ladies, let’s not put her and Amal in the same sentence. One actually works for a living.

  12. Digital unicorn says:

    Return of the 80 s big hair and wiglets, never good. Girl needs a new stylist.

  13. vava says:

    I don’t like that seam at the midsection….the high waist. It looks as if it should have had a belt. Drop the bow and get rid of the pockets on the bust. It does look like a Spring/Summer frock and not in season. This dress is definitely something to cover up with a coat or a jacket. And her choice of shoes and clutch – no, those don’t work. I guess she made a short speech? Would love to see a video of that!

    Honking for Harry, as usual!

    • Kitty says:

      Its so she can have the illusion of having long legs than a long torso.

    • Nic919 says:

      The seam looks crooked too. I suspect it was poorly altered to create the illusion of longer legs. So many of her clothes are poorly altered and considering she should have access to decent tailors this makes no sense at all.

    • Deedee says:

      Someone said she has a rosebud on each boob, and now that’s all I can see.

    • HH says:

      Do all royal women carry clutches? Also, do they have a larger, more diverse clutch collection? I feel like I’ve seen the same clutch over and over again. I’m not sure if it actually is, or–like her clothing–she just sticks with the same shape.

      • notasugarhere says:

        HM has handbags that she wears over her wrist. Anne uses shoulder bags which keep her hands free.

    • HK9 says:

      Yes!! It does need a belt. That seam wasn’t meant to be shown.

    • Elizabeth says:

      Vava – Yes! She made a speech..short you asked? Its less than a minute! lol
      I posted the link down below and later saw your post 🙂

  14. perplexed says:

    Kate is pretty but she always looks like a housewife from that cancelled show “Swingers.”

  15. Kitty says:

    Its such a horrible and frumpy dress on her. What is wrong with her?

  16. Meow says:

    Dowdy little wifey.

    Which is what she is, I guess.

  17. Lucky Charm says:

    At least this dress is long enough so when she bent over to talk to that little girl there was no flashing involved. (as long as there wasn’t any wind!)

  18. Zimmerman says:

    She looks like a corpse from a horror movie. There I said it AND feel guilty b/c that’s mean. Go ahead and demonize me, but here’s something nice, her hair has volumne. What’s wrong with her stylist?

  19. Alicat1822 says:

    Sheesh. Can you imagine her budget for hair pieces? I mean, yikes. Too much bouffant, Kate. Just waaaay too much. I’m thinking that the follicle situation is a not-so-subtle way of getting back at Wills if he screws something up? They look silly in photographs together.
    The color looks better though. Highlights are pretty…frock is awful. Harry is amazing, as per usual.

  20. Cerys says:

    Eugh! The dress looks cheap and badly-fitting, as usual. She really needs to tie her hair back when meeting people. Its so unhygienic to twiddle about with it and then shake peoples’ hands or lean over children.
    However we can all sleep soundly tonight in the knowledge that she is off to Holland tomorrow to stop the other EU countries whingeing about Brexit. Lol

    • Citresse says:

      Even in half- up half- down style and while holding Charlotte!!!!!! she still fiddles with her hair. Check out video of her when she arrives to depart Victoria (last day of CDN tour) before she walks towards the dignitaries.
      I noted one of them said to her something like “hope to see you again soon…” and Kate just turns her head and doesn’t seem to reply.

  21. perplexed says:

    Maybe this is weird, but I find Kate more striking when she’s in sporty wear than when she’s extra-feminine.

    She’s certainly attractive, but it seems like her personality gets drowned by the girly fluff. Or maybe I’m not used to seeing women nowadays be THIS girly, and she seems like some kind of anomaly.

    Diana looked like she could hang with Hillary Clinton, and not look out of place despite not having anywhere near Clinton’s qualifications.

    • Kitty says:

      Have you seen Kate without makeup? Not attractive.

      • perplexed says:

        Without photo-shop, yes, I’ve been shocked by how she looks.

        But for some reason the photos of her from her school days where she seems to playing for some sports team at least have some dimension of personality that her current look doesn’t have. She didn’t look like a model, but she didn’t look personality-free either.

      • Charlie says:

        Can you provide a link?

    • Tourmaline says:

      Good point @perplexed. I think of it as a matter of gravitas—Kate doesn’t really have much to speak of. And when she does stuff like this– huge glam blowout plus floral dress– it is quite obvious. There was always something a bit more business-professional looking about Diana–she knew how to look like she should be taken seriously.

  22. iralagi says:

    The dress is pretty good. But her styling is so, ugh. Why does she have to wear early 80’s fawcett’s hair. It’s like throwback 80s altogether.

  23. mary simon says:

    Grandma’s curtains.

  24. Nikki says:

    Looks like her dress is from Sears. In 1982.

    • yellow says:

      I have long thought of this style as being very late 70’s as well, but I wasn’t there (tho, WAS born around then), I just like to wear vintage clothes : ) and it’s nice to know all the nuances. I thought I knew what was up, so thanks for setting me straight ladies.

      Even though the dress has to be expensive, there’s simply no way around this style looking like some kind of drapy polyester : ) ‘specially with those pleats.

  25. Elizabeth says:

    In this instance a belt would have been great. As it is, the dress looks unfinished.
    AND She should just get a ring bearer to carry The Big Blue before her when she walks in public so it would be clear to everyone she is the Keeper of The One Ring. How does she walk like that with a finger out ALWAYS! http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/10/12/3943A82400000578-3830640-image-a-43_1476100122076.jpg
    And Harry is so unlike himself here.
    I can’t stand their trio events. Kate is always extra fake happy, Will pulls rank and Harry is a subdued version of himself when they are near. This kind of “look how close we all are” PR event hasn’t worked for 4 years now. Time to stop and not force them to pretend to work together anymore.

    • Kitty says:

      I think they use Harry for his popularity. Some people think when he gets married he won’t get a big royal wedding and it won’t be watched like William’s was.

      • Elizabeth says:

        Kitty – Agree on him being used for his popularity – the crowd always seems bigger for the TRIO events than those for only Willnot and Katenot.
        For the wedding -Harry maybe as 5th in line now , to the throne , maybe Harry will not have the same scale of the wedding but he will definitely have an infinitely happy marriage 🙂
        But back to the topic of cost – being Diana’s sone maybe he will get a bigger budget than typical 5th in lines (Assuming Queen is still alive when he gets married) and as for how many people will watch – most BRF weddings are televised – even Sophie (and cannot remember her husband’s name OMG) wedding was televised!

      • Kitty says:

        So you are implying that his wedding will not be as big as William even though everyone is waiting for him to get married and the most popular royal?

      • Elizabeth says:

        Kitty – by the norm it should not be.. it is not about popularity 🙂 However, in his case, popularity, boost to monarchy and his own closeness to his extended family will probably ensure a larger scale wedding than a 5th in line usually gets. Esp. in tough economic times like Brexit and what not.
        And I am not waiting for him to be married personally…I think he should take his time and follow his heart. But I am the odd one out, I also dont like big weddings and prefer intimate dos. 🙂

      • Kitty says:

        Yeah I do see a big royal wedding for Harry that could be seen more than William’s to be honest. Also royal weddings helps the economy so we will see a huge royal wedding.

      • Elizabeth says:

        Well and Harry can plan it all by himself…given how involved he is with Invitus 😛
        Hopefully Kate will not push his bride like how she seems to lunge ahead of Harry>> http://66.media.tumblr.com/5921e499712843028d47ac2e9125ae18/tumblr_oeu5zult431v9d20mo3_250.gif

      • Kitty says:

        Wow Kate is rude. Then again I would be jealous of Harry as well if he is more popular as me.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      Oh my heavens. Someone tell Prince Petulant to stop wearing slim fit pants. They ride up on him and it’s like a train wreck you can’t turn away from.

      NO ONE NEEDS TO SEE YOUR MOOSE KNUCKLE, Mr. Normalton!

      I’m sad for Harry every time he’s paired with the Douche and Douchess of Lazy. Harry shines so brightly when doing his own events – and when LazySquared try to co-opt it, they fail every time. They fail because they’re more interested in pushing him down and making him shine more faintly; but if you’re looking to reflect another person’s brilliance, hiding their light under a bushel isn’t going to get it done. LazySquared just.do.not.get.it.

      And again, he’s having to do the bulk of the work for them. Will & Waity are a damned disgrace. Honks for Harry – at least he’s genuine and sincere in his efforts.

  26. Elizabeth says:

    Kate’s speech… not even 1 minute long 😐
    https://twitter.com/QueenVicMirror/status/785453342650691584
    I have given longer impromptu business presentations and speeches much longer than without having to look at notes…oh well maybe thats because I knew what I was actually doing.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Harry spoke longer than both W&K.

    • vava says:

      Hair flick, check.
      Looking down at the paper 98% of the time, check.
      Tortured phony accent, check.

      Thanks for posting the link to the speech, Elizabeth! Kate is a mess, as usual.

    • Hazel says:

      If she absolutely couldn’t get through this without reading, she’d have done better with cards, not stapled sheets of paper.

    • MinnFinn says:

      Kate’s stage fright is so bad — so much so that I am uncomfortable watching her. I would love to know what her inlaws think of her fake posh accent.

  27. A says:

    Bahh, she was so good for the Canada tour I thought. Also, if W&K were any good, they’d exploit the crap out of their awkwardness and market it as some kind of “regality” in some similar way to the queen lol. Or go the awkward duckling route and be like, “Oh, woe is me, look at how clumsy I am and how just like my subjects I am!!” There are ways to spin this where you can still give the people what they want and, well, they don’t seem interested in doing that haha. 80% of Harry’s charm resides in his newly-redeemed larrikin personality anyway. Also he’s the only one trying but still.

  28. Elizabeth says:

    this is fro harry’s event- so funny http://hrh-wales.tumblr.com/post/151453077052/this-kid-was-not-ready-to-meet-harry
    Also a question- does he use the prefix ‘prince’ when he introduces himself?

    • A says:

      Don’t think so. There was a funny video of Morgan Freeman talking about how he had no idea it was Prince Harry because he just introduced himself as “Harry.” 😛 I think it was when he was on Jimmy Kimmel.

  29. seesittellsit says:

    Strictly wallpaper. She looks pale – wonder if it’s the dress color or she’s preggers again.

  30. ABC says:

    What the hell is she wearing? A nightdress? That’s just ugly, don’t care if it’s ‘in’ right now it’s awful. (Jmo, but from his expression in the first pic Harry agrees with me)! Honks!!

  31. Amelie says:

    Ugh no I hate it. I like most of what Kate wears since I dress similarly to her but when she misses, she misses hard! This reminds me of sheets/wallpaper design pattern. I think the outfit could be salvaged somewhat if her hair were up. With the high collar and her hair down it’s almost like she is getting choked by her own neckline.

    Somewhat upthread said this would be a cute skirt and I agree! Skirt with a black top or something.

  32. Citresse says:

    I don’t get Kate’s style. She shows up in skin tight pants and sky high wedges then it appears she raided the moth-balled closet of a 99 year old.
    Then we’ve got the shoes… stilettos again…. when paired with the great-granny dress amounts to one strange look indeed. It’s like someone has had a chat with Kate, advising her to dress conservatively (though, she won’t give up the stilettos) but then after a little while she gets rebellious (again) and breaks out the skinny pants and wedges.

  33. Larissa says:

    The dress is really ill-fitting. Her waist is 10-15 cm lower than the dress waist, which you can see clearly. The waist area is really bad. She should have worn a belt or something.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      She often has her dresses altered to make the waistline higher, the result often ruins the original style as per this case. Plus they are always altered badly again you can see it in with this one, if you look at the waistline you can see its not straight its looks off.

      If she’s going to alter clothes she should at least get a trained seamstress rather than her wanna stylist who is just a poor tailor than she is a stylist.

  34. The Original Mia says:

    She looks like Loretta Lynn from Coal Miner’s Daughter. But Loretta did it better.

    Honking loudly for Harry! I hate these trio events. He shines regardless of them, though. Excellent speech.

  35. IndifferentCat says:

    my lovely friend Justina made the bouquet she’s holding 🙂

  36. Starlight says:

    She needs to get out more, after walking through Convent Garden shopping area today the London fashions are in and I can’t quite understand why she is wearing a dress that would have been better for a Women’s Voluntary service afternoon tea in August. London shops- stocked with Block heels, lots of green black and grey and Kate decides to not embrace the British Autumn fashion season. Note how she gasps the air when she talks, have seen that somewhere before. Nice pics of Cressida Bonas in the Daiky Mail the other day such a shame Harry didn’t get hooked up with bo ho !

    • graymatters says:

      I saw those pics of C.B. I loved the blue boots in the first one. Any guesses as to why she changed them for the second? And her shirt, too, iirc.

  37. Sunsetsnow says:

    Ugh! More caked on makeup and a prissy dress. Shocker!

  38. Starlight says:

    Why does she clutch the clutch so tightly, can’t she leave it in the car. She has flowers to hold, hands to shake, people and things to touch, hands to show expression. I mean she hardly needs her eyeliner that desperately in an emergency or she may have a first aid kit in there just in case Wills or someone hurts themselves. Maybe she has her mobile phone in the clutch for an emergency from home but then she has about three bodyguards in the know and Wills obviously relies on them.

  39. Ravine says:

    Enh, I don’t think Kate and William look particularly less engaged than Harry in this set of photos.