Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were out and about Monday morning for a Christmas party for The Mix. The Mix is a “youth support service” and Will, Kate and Harry were honoring the volunteers who work with the service, as part of their Heads Together campaign. Will, Kate and Harry seem to have passed out some special awards to some of the volunteers and workers, and they also did some Christmas-y arts and crafts.
For the event, Kate wore a new frock – this £720 dress by Vanessa Seward. Apparently, Kate has never worn a dress by Vanessa Seward before, so it’s nice to see Kate mixing it up a little bit. Seward doesn’t seem to be a British designer though? Seward was born in Argentina, lived for a time in the UK, and now lives in France. I have to say… I do not think that this looks like a £720 dress. It looks dated, like something a secretary would have worn to an office Christmas party in 1983. It’s very 9-to-5.
There’s been a lot of talk about how Kate might be pregnant, and that’s why she and William are spending Christmas with the Middletons this year. I keep saying that, to me, Kate does not look pregnant. She still looks very thin, her face isn’t particularly full (like it was for her previous two pregnancies) and she doesn’t have that sick/barfy look. I’m not saying that a third pregnancy isn’t in the cards – I think Kate really, really wants a third child. I just don’t think she’s knocked up… yet.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
Why Kate? Why? Why? Whyyyyyyy?????
The dress does not need a chunky belt to make it look worse. It’s ugly enough on its own.
Lol! 😂
+1.
+1 as well
Seriously the first thing you notice is that awful belt. Why in the world would she think that belt goes with that dress!?
I will say it again and again: HIRE A DAMN STYLIST.
… because she has sh!t for taste when it comes to clothes … well, actually, everything …
She’s supposed to have a so called stylist, her friend Natasha Archer. She has apparently been sty!ing Kate since 2014 – thats when she started wearing these expensive, designer, unsuitable outfits & raiding Charles’s bank accounts! I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what the outfit looks like as long as it costs money. As for another pregnancy, Kate only wants another baby so she can be just like mummy…!
Well, we all know Kate loves theme dressing. She’s at a Christmas party, so she’s wearing a Santa Claus belt.
Kate is looking frumptastic.
She ALWAYS either looks frumpy or completely inappropriate. Girl has no style, which is extra bad considering she could easily buy it.
the style looks like what my second grade teacher would wear forty-something years ago. and the print is hideous.
The print is actually more colourful and youthful than one of these grandma-teacher-dresses. It is quite vibrantly colourful and vivacious. If you just look at the pattern and ignore Kate’s head and legs then it becomes obvious.
But Kate manages to make anything look frumpy. Literally.
The blonde lady in the 2nd pic looks more interesting and stylish than Kate and she is wearing gold earrings which don’t contrast with her blonde hair and her clothes are grey and grey and plain black half-boots.
Dated doesn’t begin to cover it. She looks like an undernourished Christmas tree. I understand trying to look dignified, but putting the librarian dress with the sleek gorgeous pumps and the teenage fluffy hair is just . . . I can’t even.
“Undernourished Christmas tree” had me in stitches.
Me, too! Made me think of Charlie Brown’s pitiful little tree, needles falling off at the slightest breeze.
Me too!
Oh my gosh you all are on fire this morning! 😂
If she had picked it up in a thrift store I’d applaud her sales-searching skills. For that much money — a dress better do my taxes or make me look like Iman!
I love vintage, don’t hate the dress and I think the belt actually goes with it. However, the pattern of the dress itself I find garish, not what I would wear. Still and all, if she’s brave enough to wear it, it’s a nice work a day dress.
She stole Santa’s belt.
LOL! Gurl, don’t you know that’s her favorite designer belt? She may have even worn it with a gown or two.
LOL! I thought she looked like a Christmas tree too. So, predictably, she’s Christmas theme dressing. SMH She really doesn’t have a clue how to dress, does she? I’m so embarrassed for her. She’s ridiculous.
Good grief, I’m a librarian and wouldn’t wear that dated matronly dress at all. I have better style than that!
How about a modern dress once? No? Okay.
I always laugh when people/magazines say/write that Kate is a fashion icon because she is clearly not.
It’s a lot of money for a dress that looks about ready to fall apart. I guess its probably silk but it just looks cheaply manufactured.
The dress isn’t even lined, she should be wearing a slip. Just awful.
Damn. That’s indefensible. I’m not up to date on these royals. Who let her out of the palace like that??? Do they not have help?
It’s all terrible. it looks ill-fitting, the belt looks like it belongs to santa, her curtain of hair, her terrible posture. Just blah.
She needs a haircut. Seriously.
Lollipop head look.
If her posture was better she would look less terrible in clothes. Also doesn’t she have access to a tailor?
It’s not an ugly dress per se but it’s not from this era. I would have loved it in the late 70s. And why the belt? Is she cosplaying Santa Claus?
Maybe something the geriatric Mrs. Claus could wear. So twee!
It’s very Christmassy. Theme dressing?
I’ve never heard of Vanessa Seward before so her clothing line must as well be european. The only argentine thing about this is that the designer is argentinian.
What in the holly jolly hell is she wearing?
LOL! All she needed was holly berry earrings to make the look complete!
She looks like a badly wrapped Christmas present.
My eyes hurt when I look at it.
LOL.
It’s the posh version of an ugly Christmas sweater.
Seriously what is going on with her? It’s like she doesn’t even have the energy to fake smile now. She looks exhausted.
Starving is exhausting.
What the HELL?!? That posture in the second picture…she looks completely messed up. Like, shoulders rounded, chin jutted forward…I’m appalled. I have better posture than that with no comportment classes.
The dress looks like something the Queen would wear & her hair is a mess. Please note, I have nothing against women wearing their hair long. Regarding Kate, her long hair is not flattering. She needs a more sophisticated & shorter style that doesn’t overwhelm her. That’s all, my opinion
I agree with you, except for the idea that the Queen would wear it. I don’t think she’d let her corgis sleep on it.
I feel that all that dark hair around her face really highlights the dark circles under her eyes and the starting of the jowls around her chin. A shorter, fresher cut with some soft highlights would look so much better. I do get the feeling though that her hair Is her security blanket, she certainly does stroke it enough.
What are you guys on. Her hair is beautiful.
I wish Queen Maxima, Queen Raina or Crown Princess Mary would take her shopping.
Oh girl, at this point it would have to be a MI6 fashion intervention. That dress is completely uninspiring.
And can Idris Elba take William and Harry shopping? They, too, need help.
Or Letizia. She could show Kate a thing or two about dressing like a modern woman.
Yes, just saw Leti in a beautiful plum tweed.
She’s beautiful and so classy. But I think her look is a little too tailored for Kate.
Nearly looks like Jessica McClintock’s Gunne Sax circa 1970.
I like it. Kate’s style is modern vintage repro. I’d love to see her in actual, couture vintage because there are some drop dead gorgeous dresses out there I’d buy if I could afford them.
This one is very 1930’s by the print, cut and length… not even remotely 1980’s. Not the most drool worthy for sure but a nice basic dress for what she was doing.
I like the dress, too. I just hate that belt so so much.
I agree with you . If I had been styled better, people would have picked up that it was a vintage look. I would love to see her and some real vintage dresses. She has a figure for it.
If you search for the pictures of Drew Barrymore wearing it, you’ll see a marked difference in how she styled it.
I agree, the dress is not my favorite, but had it been styled better it could have been a win. I saw Drew Barrymore on Seward’s instagram in this same dress with rolled up sleeves and no belt and it looked so much better. Kate’s (lack of) styling is the problem.
I think the cut and style aren’t bad. The fabric/pattern…not so much.
Ugly grandma dress and shaggy untidy mop. Oh, KATE, REALLY.
I’m an ugly grandma, but wouldn’t wear this dress…
And ugly gold earrings.
Truly awful. Does she own a mirror?
I hope Harry gets engaged to Meghan so we can see some nice style. Meghan is going to blow her out of the water. I already like Meghan’s style – nice jeans, boots, bags etc!
Meghan would have to dress like Kate. The British monarchy doesn’t do “modern”.
Meghan is not of the British Monarchy, though. Fifty bucks says everything she is photographed in the press will call ‘American’ style.
Anything has to be better than this.
No, she wouldn’t have to dress as horribly as Kate Middleton. She has to follow the basic dress protocol, including hems to the knee and heels 3 inches or lower, that kind of thing.
Take a look at some of Sophie’s outfits to see how to dress stylishly and for the job. She could also follow Letizia’s style from when she was Crown Princess. Trouser suits, pencil skirt suits, mix and match professional wardrobe.
Nonsense-you can still look appropriate and stylish. Sophie Wessex manages to pull it off a lot. Meghan as a great fashion sense-she could pull off some more interesting and stylish looks.
I think diana, Fergie and Sophie would disagree. They wore/wear fashionable clothing.
Kate is cosplaying 1950s housewife who occassionally has to accompany her husband to work events. And not in a good way.
Not true; Sophie always looks nice; elegant & put together. Camilla really rocks the bling & usually looks nice. Even the York girls dress better; some of their outfits are misses but at least they’re not afraid to wear bolder prints & accessorize. Kate never accessorizes, wears the same style shoe & don’t even get me started on that awful mop of hair
@nota I have always loved Sophie’s style. Take a look at this article – it seems there were two writers of this article…quite funny how they try to say Sophie is taking style tips from Kate…puh-lease! (and throw shade at Kate at the same time!)
Sorry – I left the link to article out!
@nota I have always loved Sophie’s style. Take a look at this article – it seems there were two writers of this article…quite funny how they try to say Sophie is taking style tips from Kate…puh-lease! (and throw shade at Kate at the same time!) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3715438/How-frumpy-Sophie-Wessex-transformed-gorgeous-royal.html
Thanks, MissLee! Off to read the article 🙂
Even Carole Middleton dresses more modern…
Ain’t that the truth.
Ugly dress. I certainly wouldn’t want a dress by this designer if this is an example of her work.
As for the hair – someone really needs to tell her that big hair went out in the 80s. She needs a major hair makeover. Posture etc still awful.
Actually I’ve always felt bad for the designers that the Duchess’ wears. She takes their stunning creations and ruins them with sloppy alterations and boring styling. I can almost hear Vanessa banging her head on her desk wondering why, why did she pair this belt with this dress??
I don’t mind the dress, it had a vintage feel about it but i have an issue with how she’s styled it – horrible belt, mop in her face and the clutch. Don’t mind the shoes but a pair of those swede knee high boots would have made it more of a winter look. And yes you can tell its not lined by the way its clinging.
She desperately needs a new stylist and hairdresser – if Meghan does become part of the family then Waity will have to up her style game to compete. I like Meghan’s style.
all that money and she looks like hell. You could buy this dress for $40 at modcloth for god’s sake! It makes me despair a bit….
I actually love the Christmas pattern to this dress but she has no clue her hair looks like a puppy dog ears with that fussy pattern her hair would have been better pulled back – anyway she looks very happy (must be the heavenly thought of dressing up in fancy dress, games, crackers and lots of television on Christmas Day –
I think red looks nice on her.
The dress looks like something anyone with halfway decent sewing skills could whip up in an hour on the sewing machine, with fabric from last year’s after-Christmas sales. Really basic and theme-y (if that’s a word). Kate’s ‘tasteful lady’ ‘work’ clothes are awful. At least she hauled herself out of the house.
HAHA!
Ugh no this dress is bad. It looks like something you’d find on 1970s bedsheets or curtains. Also I was looking at pictures of her last year when she cut her hair and she looked SO much better. I wouldn’t mind the long hair/extensions if she didn’t hide behind her curtain of hair. Or maybe I don’t like the long hair with the busy pattern but it does her no favors here.
So many of her clothes are really cute, but it’s the styling that messes up the whole look. She needs a new stylist or a get-a-grip friend to help her out in the New Year.
Her face looks great, maybe get best she has looked in a long time. I would not normally like the dress much but it seems nice for a Christmas party and all that so I kind of like it.
Her face really does look great lately. I like the dress but as others have said, the styling ruins the look. I hate the belt, shoes, clutch and wish she’d have pulled her hair back in a ponytail.
Ok I guess I’m the only one who thinks the dress is pretty, looks great on her and the belt is nice with it. her makeup is good too. The dress is appropriate to match what the men are wearing.
I’ve said it again and I’ll say it again…I’ve never seen anyone spend so much money to look so boring and matronly. I can find better fashion at the clearance section of Ann Taylor Loft! Someone tell me what went into the making of this dress to justify the price tag? And I’m sick of those pumps! They look like they might smell from being worn to death!
I think Carole picks her clothes. Except for the skin tight jeans.
She’s very close to the $200,000 mark this year alone. So much money for such an ugly wardrobe.
Yep – a wardrobe where many clothes are never worn again. I wonder who gets them – Carole and Pippa?
I’m guessing the clothing cost is much higher than that, seeing that she often buys duplicates in different colors. Most will never be worn.
I bet she is passing her unworn working wardrobe off to Pips and Carole. If she really did do that it would be some kind of corruption. Those clothes are for her “work” aka her royal duties.
I like her dress …. cute, Christmassy. Then again, I was a secretary in the 80s so there’s that, apparently.
I like it as well. It’s cute and different and I think it looks nice on her.
Hideous. I went on designer’s website. http://us.vanessaseward.com/ready-to-wear/dresses/cai-dress-seafr-v05430#Red&186
Looks a lot better styled correctly. It came with a belt. And with the long necklace it looks better. Kate has no sense of styling
It looks great on that model.
It’s not my taste but yes, it looks much nicer on that model.
Black or nude pumps…cheesy belt. Yes, no styling!
Wow what a difference. Love the shoes.
I think the dress is cute. But I actually recoiled a bit when I saw the first photo of Kate all hunched over with a swath of hair hanging in her drawn-looking face. She looks ill.
She is trying to pretend to be a country lady. Small patterns and all.
The dress pattern is actually quite pretty and quite colourful. But Kate’s styling and posture turn it into one of these frumpy grandma things.
Her hair curtain is back and that is bad. Any kind of hair band style with that dress and she wouldn’t look so old and dated.
Some kind of blazer in brown and that dress would look youthful and cool.
And lose the belt.
A more youthful handbag instead of that black grandma clutch purse wallet thing would have complimented the dress instead of aging it.
Her stylist is/was allegedly Natasha Archer. Apparently they try to style Kate as aristocrat, land lady and expensive-but-subtle. That doesn’t work on Kate as she doesn’t have the style and posture and accessories to pull it off.
I like the dress, but KM makes it look cheap and unflattering. Her poor posture, indifferent accessorizing, and horrible hair give her the helpless waif appearance she is desperate to convey to the public.
At this point her hair is a style liability. It now looks like a full wig. No shine or movement and it is overwhelming her face and figure. She’s hiding from everyone in plain sight.
I swear I had that dress in the 80’s, all it needs is the big shoulder pads.
Don’t give her any ideas.
I have theory I haven’t seen espoused on this site (and this site is the only one where I actually read the comments) and, I may have missed it…does anyone think William tells Kate what she may or may not wear? or, in the alternative, she has a concept of what he will or will not tolerate? such as, hair must be down , skirts may fly up…I wonder because Carole actually does have better style, as does Pippa.
Nah, I don’t believe William cares what she wears. And it wouldn’t surprise me if Carole is the one who picks out most of her outfits. This dress is very much her style.
Dress and herself look awful.. hurts my eyes when looking at it
definitely frumpy .. all that money on that… Just shows too much money through her hands
she should have worn jacket and long skirt fir a Monday Morning. . Her stance is dreadful looks aged when she stands so hunched up not good posture …for her age she dresses ridiculously…
P harry looks really nice … he is so much better than the Lamebridges. ,. They are useless ..
Yes, she would have looked great in a blazer with a midi-length pleated skirt. And not in red or green. Her hair desperately needs a cut and could be pulled back into a pony tail. Then she needs to get rid of the endless clutch purses – what’s wrong with small shoulder bag? Her bad posture is also driving me crazy. The way she looks above make her look like she’d rather be anywhere else. Such an immature and definitely, unprofessional look for this almost-35 year old.
Totally agree; she always looks so out of place & never quite dresses to the occasion. This is a Monday morning youth event & she’s wearing stiletto heels! A skirt with a jacket & boots would have looked so much better.
If she were pregnant, she would be canceling events. I don’t buy half the stuff the Fail writes (“one royal source” could be the writer’s own fevered imagination, and yes, I include all the big “names” in the fabricator category, too — everything is locked down much tighter now than pre-2005) but I do know that pregnancy=excuse to disappear for the Duchess.
I’m not saying the HG was/is a lie. I’m just saying, she has had the most inconsistent cases of it I’ve ever heard of.
And I don’t see her setting that card aside.
(I think the dress is fine. Criticizing her styling at this point is just shooting fish in a barrel.)
She looks like a walking Christmas wreath.
Why does Charles fund her wardrobe if he barely sees his grandkids?
It’s like the dress version of the ugly Christmas sweater. Except that ugly Christmas sweaters work because they’re kitchy. This, I don’t know what this is.
Dollar store Christmas wrapping paper dress.
There is no way she was even a part-time accessory buyer for Jig Saw. Ugh. Why doesn’t her art history degree kick in or her inner photographer?
You would never know she shopped for clothes in London 1 day a week all the years she dated Wm, per Katie Nichol’s biography.
I think this type of dress is in style again. Sarah Jessica Parker wears them constantly on her new show Divorce, and she usually dresses up to the trends.
It’s not pretty on the Crotch-clutcher though. Stand up straight!
Her hair is always the pregnancy giveaway. This is not her natural color by a long shot (in addition she has a good bit of gray) and she lets those roots go natural for 8 weeks or so in the beginning.
I laughed out loud when I saw that dress. It is so dated. I don’t care who is wearing that style again it’s not going to happen. And that print? It looks like holiday craft fabric on sale now at Joann’s. She has gone beyond cringe worthy in this number. Her hair is beautiful but get it back off the face. She needs new eye makeup routine, something softer. But let’s face it nothing can be done for her lack of charisma.
I just like that third picture where it looks like Harry is going to grab her bum.
What bum?
So much pattern. So much hair. So much slouching and holding her clutch in front of her whatsit. She would be an absolute knockout if she stood up straight, wore something more elegant and simple and controlled the hair!