Duchess Kate in sparkly Jenny Packham in London: twee or beautiful?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium Theatre, London

I wasn’t ignoring the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on purpose, it’s just that Kate wasn’t wearing anything particularly notable for a few appearances, and those appearances coincided with the days leading up to Thanksgiving, so… well, better late than never. Here are some assorted photos of the Duke and Duchess from the past week. I’m including photos of Will and Kate at Aston Villa Football Club, the Acme Whistles factory in Birmingham and at the Palladium Theatre on Friday. Their trip to the Palladium was for the annual Royal Variety Performance – Will and Kate were the special royal guests this year. They’ve been the royal guests before, but in other years, sometimes the royal guest is the Queen, or the Prince of Wales, etc. This year’s royal variety show included performances by Louis Tomlinson, The Killers, Miranda Hart and more. You can read more about it here.

For the Royal Variety Performance, Kate wore a sparkly, baby-blue bespoke Jenny Packham gown which… I don’t hate. Considering it’s bespoke, I feel the skirt and hem should have been better dealt with, but all in all, it’s a decent gown. I’m sure there are many people trying to making this into a “she’s wearing blue, that means she’s pregnant with a boy!” thing. I have no idea. I bet Kate doesn’t know yet either.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium Theatre, London

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium Theatre, London

For the day-trip to Birmingham earlier last week, Kate recycled a coatdress in black (with cream accents) by Goat. The original price tag on this coat was £680, and she didn’t seem to take it off at all, for any of her indoor or outdoor appearances. I’ve said this before, but it’s still so strange to me that Kate keeps her “coat” on for all of these events. She always seems like she’s got one foot out the door.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate visit the Acme Whistles factory in Birmingham

I’m also including photos of Kate at the Aston Villa Football Club, where she wore black jeggings, a black t-neck and a red ski jacket by Perfect Moment. The jacket was a repeat too – she last wore it in February of this year, for a London Marathon event.

Cambridges Aston Villa

Cambridges Aston Villa

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News and WENN.

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41 Responses to “Duchess Kate in sparkly Jenny Packham in London: twee or beautiful?”

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  1. Alix says:

    The gown is pretty enough, but I’d be tripping on the hem all night long.

  2. Carol Hill says:

    Thank god no one is tracking what I wear daily. I do the same clothes several days in a row!! OMG!

  3. runcmc says:

    She looks lovely in all three but it’s weird how she looks like she’s at different points of her pregnancy in these photos even though they’re days apart! Pregnancies are so strange to me (have never had kids)- I know it’s normal but howww

    • Shambles says:

      I literally cannot tell she’s pregnant in any of these pictures. I don’t see it, at all. No shade, just confusing.

      • Astrid says:

        I’ve had four kids and I can’t tell either that she’s pregnant in any of these pictures. Not that I doubt her pregnancy.

      • Millenial says:

        Lucky girl carries small. I imagine it’s because she’s tall and disciplined in the kitchen.

        Not me. I barely get two pink lines before. my stomach looks 5 months pregnant.

      • Chaine says:

        she does look a bit stout in the “bespoke” gown.

  4. Nicole says:

    The gown is pretty I just wished they hemmed it a bit. I actually like all the looks here. She’s got the pregnancy glow going on now that her sickness is over

    • RoyalSparkle says:

      Too much!
      And the hem is awful – eyes, looking at the first photo. More like PP Christmas deco.

  5. CommentingBunny says:

    I think she looks gorgeous in that blue number, and she’s just glowing in all three outfits. She looks happy.

  6. Hmmm says:

    The dress is a bit too sparkly for my taste. She also wore a very similar gown last year, also by Packham–the only difference being shorter sleeves and less bling; the Elsa dress as I called it–so why couldn’t they have altered that one to fit her pregnant belly? Although, I am wondering what belly?

  7. Nancy says:

    The gown seems very mother of the bride, but the woman is pregnant, and now the cameras will be clicking on her future sister-in-law on repeat….so Miss Kate will get a break for awhile.

    • Karen says:

      It looks like what my grandmother wore to my wedding. All sparkly and blue. I think it is over the top and bedazzly )if that is a word).

  8. Becks says:

    I want to like the blue gown, but I just don’t. I think it makes her chest look very broad and bulky. Something about it is just off.

    I liked the black jacket she wore, but wish she took it off inside.

    • Megan says:

      The Queen never takes off her coat either. I wonder if she started that trend to limit interest in her fashion? Like keeping her coat on only gives her one look?

  9. Jayna says:

    I love the blue gown, but Kate always looks her best in casual, sporty clothes. I remember when she was dating Will, and I always thought she looked great in her casual wear and wellies.

  10. littlemissnaughty says:

    That sporty outfit is sosimple, yet so good. These casual ones always look the best on her and she seems the most comfortable. She looks great in all three. I wish that she’d straighten her hair just once. Not because this doesn’t suit her but because I’m so curious as to what that would look like on her.

  11. Mel M says:

    I liked the other blue Packham she wore mentioned above with the shorter sleeves a lot better then this one. This one looks so uncomfortable. How can you sit down with all of those large embellishes?

    • vava says:

      Same here. I don’t like this dress mostly because some of those sequins are absolutely huge and they could poke on the backside when sitting. The hem is a tripping hazard as well.

  12. Giulia says:

    She’s so gorgeous. The gown is just ok. A bit aging. Not sure that’s *her* shade of blue.

  13. klc says:

    Kate looks so good at this weight.

  14. Barbz says:

    I like the sporty casual look

  15. Michelle says:

    If they chose to find out, she probably does know the gender by now. My friend who is due roughly the same time (mid-April) has known for a couple weeks. But there’s no guarantee if they chose to find out and she tends to wear blue a lot anyway.

  16. Veronica says:

    I’m pretty sure she’s said, both when pregnant with George and Charlotte, that they didn’t find out the sex of the baby so I’m guessing they aren’t finding out this time as well. I give them major props for that because I couldn’t wait. I found out as early as I could both times, at 15 and 16 weeks, both girls, and would not have had the patience to wait.

    • Lady D says:

      Not knowing was the only fun part of being pregnant for me. I really didn’t enjoy the experience, but the non-stop guessing part was fun:)

      • Gabrielle says:

        Finding out the gender during both my pregnancies were my 2 favorite days of the whole thing. If you don’t wanna find out good for you, but I see no point in that. No regrets.

  17. Maria says:

    I do love the dress. She looks good when she is pregnant.

  18. SoulSPA says:

    Another repeat. Yes, fun events. I understand that the royals attend entertainment and sport events, but still. And she’s been at a few events these past days. I don’t known what the reason could be: 1. Charles made their new staff implement a new PR strategy or 2. Outshine Harry’s engagement announcement as part of Carol’s strategy or 3. She knows she’ll be compared to Meghan so she does a bit more hoping people will forget how lazy she is or 4. No new reason as she always does a bit more before prolonged holidays. 5. All of the above or 6. None of the above.
    OR She’s hoping to receive the Royal Family Order (can’t remember exactly the name) before Meghan gets hers. The one Keen Kate doesn’t have yet after more than six years as a working member of the BRF.

  19. Citresse says:

    Like the dress and the colour. The close up photo of Kate’s face shows how much work she’s had done. I was almost shocked by it, IMO she looks completely different.
    As far as her hair, she really seems to have abandoned the up looks. This is one occasion where her hair up would be nice especially when she wears nice earrings and necklace. What’s the point in wearing them when her bulky hair covers them up?

  20. Princessk says:

    I thought the dress was great and she looked very elegant in it and the shoes were perfectly matched.

  21. Joannie says:

    She looks beautiful!

  22. Zondie says:

    The Acme Whistle factory sounds like something Wily Coyote would use to lure The Roadrunner.

  23. Anastasia says:

    In the blue dress pics, she’s back to a nearly center part. GIRL, STOP THAT. SIDE PART. SIDE PART.

    Somehow she never listens to me.

  24. Starlight says:

    Lovely evening gown she looks lovely what I do find strange is how she glances at Wills on entering the event, either she is not happy he isn’t giving her guidance or she isn’t sure of herself

  25. Nacho_friend says:

    She needs to calm down on the fillers in her cheeks. It’s way too much.

  26. Doc says:

    To me she looks relaxed and happy outdoors and when she’s around sports… Other times she looks so stiff and out of place, I nean I don’t know how anyone could feel comfortable in this outdated role…
    Honestly, I kind of feel sorry for them. Except for the tennis courts, that I envy so much, would love to have one.