After I wrote about Duchess Kate’s Prabal Gurung cocktail dress yesterday, we finally got the photos of Kate’s earlier look in Singapore. For the earlier “day” look – while Kate and William were being officially greeted by the president, plus a trip to Singapore’s Botanical Garden – Kate wore this Jenny Packham dress. Let’s discuss it! I don’t care for the Packham at all. Surprisingly enough, it’s not the color, although I would love to see Kate move away from her beloved beiges, pale pinks, creams and everything vanilla. If I’m being anal retentive about it, I guess I would call this a “pale beige-rose” color – it reads as pale pink in some light, and beige/cream in other light.
Anyway, my biggest problem is that this feels like a kimono-like robe. The material, the collar, the wide satin belt, the flowery print… I would love this if it was actually a robe. I would totally buy this robe and wear it after I got out of the shower. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good dress for the kick-off of The Epic Asian Tour. I understand that Kate probably wanted to wear something that seemed “Asian influenced,” style-wise, but don’t wear a dress that looks like it was made from surplus kimono material. Just my take.
Oh, and her hair’s back. Yay? I prefer her hair back almost always, but that’s just because I’m kind of sick of her sausage curls and her constant hair-touching when she does wear her hair down. When she pulls it back, she plays with it less. And that’s always a good thing.
By the way, I hope you’re prepared for lots and lots of new Kate photos through this week and into next week. This is all part of Kate and William’s massively hyped “Asian Tour” which is so unbelievably epic, it lasts a whole eight days. So I’m going to try not to go overboard while discussing Kate and Will when we do get new photos. I know some people just adore everything they do, and some people just hate everything they do. Keep the peace, y’all!
PS… I love their “seriously, I am looking serious and making a serious face while looking at these very important flowers” expressions. One of the orchids was named after William’s mother, so I guess they feel like, “We cannot smile while looking at a flower named after poor Diana.”
Photos courtesy of WENN.
As usual, she looks dowdy and boring and blah.
Also! Kate has apparently been seen drinking only water at dinner. No alcohol…. bump watch staaaaarts now!
I call false alarm. Remember when she turned down that über high calorie nut-paste at the unicef(?) HQ? Everyone started wondering why and envitably the pregnancy rumours started wafting about. When in actual fact she was scared she’d gain 0.0001 of a lb.
Or at least that’s the theory I’m going with.
Christ, I fear the day their kid is eventually born. The newspapers are going to be pastel pink and blue and the bookies are going to go crazy with name guessing…
That being said I hope their first born is a girl.
Well girl first is just fine. Remember William et al have already changed the firstborn rule.
And when William is crowned King, you can bet he’ll try to find out what exactly happened to his mother. Whether it’s released to the world is another matter.
Oh, Dear Lord…. -_-
Kate doesn’t drink alcohol. Too many calories.
Kate doesn’t drink much water either. Too many calories 😉
Look how much weight Diana put on when you view images from early June 1982. Good girl Diana, you ate and produced a healthy baby boy.
Kate; if you are pregnant, eat up girl. Hurry.
I’m not usually on the “bump watch” train, but I also noticed her face looks fuller. Either she’s had some injections or perhaps it really is time for “bump watch”.
Yeah! Fillers?
ITA with the fuller face and maybe the secret smile too. Count me in on the bump watch.
That was snark, ladies ;). I just love how every time this girl turns sideways it’s bumpwatch!
LOL! Good job–you even reeled me in this time, and I’m not one who normally cares. Haha!
her face has filled out…hmmmm.
Yeah, it’s called the Tracey Anderson bullimia cheeks look.
I hope not. I had to Google Tracey Anderson, because I didn’t know who she was. She does have some rather big cheeks. Hopefully Kate isn’t bulimic. Perhaps she’s just had some filler injected.
Something is going on because her face has definitely filled out but her body hasn’t.
It’s hard to tell about the body — she often wears pleated, flowy fabrics that can deceptively add weight and hide all the protruding bones. I’m gonna go with the “Tracey Anderson” explanation re: the face..
I obviously have no idea if she is pregnant or not, but I will just say..when I was pregnant my face got quite puffy before I got any sign of a bump, so you never know.
What bothers me about the dress (besides tge color) are the shoulder pads….also, Kate’s cheeks look different to me. Anyone else?
I was a little surpised at how low-cut the neckline was. In most pics, it’s not a big deal, but in one pic I saw a bit of Cambridge boobage there. Helllooooo Singapore!
Low necklines are a no-no when you are wearing an overly padded bra
In a way nice idea for the dress and someone could probably rock it, but on her… boooooring.
Apparences can be deceptive, I know that but really, her smile screams silly for me. Like there’s only air in her brains or something.
Lovely dress!
Kate doesn’t seem to like wearing colour. It’s very little girly I think. They did have a holiday in France before the thour maybe baby Wales is in there already? I am so glad she wore her hair back too I’m with you. I wish she would change her jewelry up a bit too.
Baby Cambridge…..although legally, it’s baby Windsor-Mountbatten!!
The SHOES! Oh, my eyes…
yeah, it’s unfortunate… but isn’t it protocol ?? Closed toed shoes and stocking for all public appearances.
I like the dress!
I think this woman has cheek fillers or something. What makes me sick is the constant need she has in showing off her ring (is she left handed?) and thats why she tries to use her left hand in everything (to touch her hair, etc).
About the pregnancy rumours, she has been pregnant for like 2 years already! She always touch her stomach and sometimes drinks water at special events … Knowing that will get her the attention she loves. In the meantime… NO real charity work.
It’s amazing what a little fat/water/filler can do to wrinkles in the face. She looks younger and better.
It’s likely they might have already tried for kids and she’s having trouble conceiving so maybe the fuller face is from hormone injections?
Hormone Injections?? Maybe if she ate 3 square meals she’d be able to ovulate without any intervention.
^ right on, allyson.
I like it and I think it’s quite appropriate for the situation. Only thing that seems a little off are the stiff sleeve cuffs.
A lot of the time these events are not about her but about the people they visit or talk to, and I appreciate that her clothing doesn’t make it a LOOK AT ME IT’S ALL ABOUT KATE show.
kimono inspired appropriate? you need history lessons.
I don’t really find it kimono inspired, and I meant more that the colour and the shape seem appropriate for the occasion to me.
Yes, Angelic, you covered this yesterday, Japan and Singapore are not best buddies. Excuse us all for not having in depth knowledge of political history in the Far East…
↑ You don’t have to have “depth knowledge of political history in the Far East” to know Japan did very disgusting things to near Asian countries. China Korea and other South-East countries.
But today Japanese have powers and money so apparently they don’t get bashed that much(from the West, i guess. Japanese are very obsessed with their “image”.)
Anyway you just have to remember Japanese did a horrible horrible things to many other countries. ha ha. But they don’t teach their people about those horrible things or even glorify those so you probably would encounter some naive japanese person denying those things. :))
I think the dress is fine for the occassion. Catherine is the future queen of England and expecting her to wear boob-baring, short-short dresses on official trips is silly.
That dress makes her look more broad shouldered and doesn’t help her already masculine face feature.
ah the great ‘kimono inspired’ debate of 2012. 😀
I think other than the belt, it reads more as 50’s dress to me with the full skirt, but that’s me.
I just also think alot of times people don’t know the ‘rules’ of fashions for royals whenever anyone yells about her being boring. And this is for all the various royals not just the british ones. People were complaining that she’s wearing a asian costume-but that’s pretty standard for the royal women on state visits (see Mary and Frederick in Asia last year, the norwegians wear traditional costumes frequently etc) Heck even presidents and presidents wives have done the same thing.
It’s considered respectful and a nod to the host.
And while I do think that Kate could mix up her shoes a little-she was wearing those wedges that I hate with the mcqueen dress she wore today- again that style of footwear is pretty standard across the board.
Conservative dress with a few tweaks is pretty much the rule for official state visits. Is it a ridiculous ‘rule’ for royal women to follow? Sure. Should Kate mix it up for charity/private events? YES. All the rest of the royals are much more fashion forward at those kinds of things. But it’s a state visit-so to expect something that a typical celebrity would wear is just not going to happen.
Yay for Norway!!
….’scuse me while I get nostalgic for where my family come from 🙂
Blah dress. Can’t get behind the orchids. And she probably went with the kimono style thinking it’s Asia so it fits for all Asian countries.
That blank, serious look on her face says I’m trying really hard to give people the impression I care about Diana’s orchid but really I just want my picture taken.
She’s thinking, “Someday they’ll name a flower for ME!!! MEEEEEE!!!!!”
They just did on this trip. Only she has to share it with William.
Waity wears a new/recycled outfit. Waity smiles at Wills. Waity carries flowers. Waity speaks. Waity does/doesn’t eat/drink. Waity has gained/lost weight.
It’s sad that this is what reporting on the British RF has become.
The dress is pretty, but her makeup is far too heavy for day
I kind of like the dress. But she needs to do her hair/shoes differently.
I like the dress. It has a nice cut and color. It is very appropiate for the occassion. I think she looks good.
OMG, i’ve been to those botanical gardens, they’re gorgeous but the weather is incredibly warm and humid, i remember being soaked just from walking around, and they have this sort of greenhouses for the more exotic rainforest plants, and they’re even more humid! it’s a hair nightmare.
Her face looks a bit puffy, no?
Your face gets like that when you have bullimia. 🙂
Really? I had no idea! D:
Kate always manages to be looking right at the camera…..Willy Work-a-little looks unusually hot tho
Bump watch. Face looking MUCH fuller lately.
I actually like this look. It’s one of her better ones in my opinion, and they are few and far between.
Massively padded bra though… Or has she somehow miraculously got pregnant ? Which would explain the puffy face.
She is still nowhere near pretty, however hard people are trying to make that happen.
Puffy face has to be fillers (looks so unnatural). I’ll be shocked if she got pregnant that skinny!
My Aunt (ex-Aunt actually, she ran off with the neighbour)was just as skinny as Kate..she HAD to be anorexic. She gave birth to 3 healthy baby boys in the space of 5 years. Super skinny women can and do get pregnant.
Padded bra for sure.
Style of dress awesome, color of dress blah. Hair definitely an improvement from those dated curls. She just drank water at state dinner, no food! Anorexia central and definitely never getting pregnant.
Andrea,
Thanks for addressing what appears to be the elephant in the room. Either people don’t see it or feel it’s too sensitive a topic???
We already went that route with diana and eating disorders, I just find it sad we are going at it again! I really wish she would gain 20 lbs. No one is having a baby that thin. No one. Poor Harry doesn’t want to get married yet, please don’t lay it on his shoulders. Gain the 20 lbs dutchess, then conceive, then you can be a thin WASP if you wanna be.
For some reason, people don’t want to admit that some celebs including her have eating disorders. Then I suppose it all isn’t as glamorous is it? Having a growlng stomach and yearning for food, but only drinking water! ugh! I’d much rather party with harry and eat some real food!
Yeah, I remember those early Diana days(early 80’s) when she was wafer thin and Kate’s increasingly more skeletal appearance brings on flashbacks of those days for sure…Maybe I’m dating myself here, but it’s possible that a lot of the commenters are a lot younger and don’t remember…
These are sausage curls:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/5026820262_b7546ce6ba.jpg
I have never seen Kate with hair even remotely resembling that, yet you use the phrase incessantly.
Please don’t scare me like that again!
The Daily Mail reported that Princess Diana died two weeks before a scheduled trip to Singapore. She was planning to see the orchids that were named after her. How sad is that?
Boy, she looks as if she is melting. It must be hot as heck there.
I like the dress. Don’t love it. But it honors her hosts and is right up her alley.