While we’re waiting for the new photos of the Duchess of Cambridge at her event today (for Action on Addiction), I thought we would look at some additional photos of Kate during her event yesterday with William. Or, more specifically, let’s take a closer look at her haircut. All of us have been saying for months/years that Kate needs a new hairstyle, that the girlish, long hair, sausage curls and mom bangs are not working at all. But is this new hairstyle any better?
Quite honestly, Kate is copying ME! I took off about three inches more than a month ago, and my hair is this length now. I just let my hair air-dry and it’s got so much bounce and body now that I took off those inches. So… I love the IDEA of the haircut, and after all of our bitching, I’m glad Kate pulled the trigger on taking off what looks like about four inches. That being said, the haircut plus those ill-advised bangs… it is mom-hair. Specifically, it’s Carole Middleton’s hair. The Daily Mail has a piece up this morning called: “Is Kate turning into her MOTHER? Duchess of Cambridge looks uncannily like Carole after a four-inch trim (but they already swap clothes and share a hairdresser).” Go here to see. Once you make the connection – that Kate is actively trying to look like Carole – it cannot be unseen. My question: why didn’t William just marry Carole if that’s who he really wanted?
Speaking of William, he was apparently “joking” with Kate at the ICAP Charity Day event. Kate was acting flirty on the phone and William yelled: “Catherine, I think you can stop flirting with them now!” Then he turned to one of the male brokers and said, “Sorry, my wife is just embarrassing me!” Ha. Funny?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
i actually think its kinda cute.
better than the barrel curls she was rocking before.
but gurl, you’ll never be princess sofia….just sayin.
I think it’s cute too, but would be SO much cuter without those God-awful bangs. Just long, swingy laters, instead of that random chopped section of hair on the side. But it’s a baby step, and I like it.
I agree. The unfortunate part is that she is still stuck with the bangs, but there isn’t much to do about them right now. They just need to grow. I’ve been saying for years that she should cut that hair off. I would actually like to see her take a few more inches off.
I like this hair cut! I am planning to get a similar cut , perhaps a little shorter. She looks much better now!
Give her a break. She’s 6 months post-partum, when all hell is breaking loose with your hair and bangs seem like the only solution.
Not all women have hair problems post pregnancy. My friend is also six months post partum and is almost 10 years older than Kate and her long black hair has been beautiful throughout. Kate just has shit taste in things, like her makeup and her hair. She also has access to hair stylists who could assist if there was an issue without resorting to bangs that don’t suit her at all.
Almost all women have hair issues postpartum, and it sounds like it just hasn’t hit your friend yet. During pregnancy the body doesn’t she’d hair strands as much, and so somewhere around 3-6 months post partum that hair starts to fall out at once, due to the changing hormones. Not only are you losing your beautiful, full hair, but you have to deal with thin/bald patches, and then the re-growth usually comes in coarse (because again, hormones).
I disagree not almost all women have hair issues postpartum. Have kids myself no issues with my hair, and none of my friends did either. Once you have a kid you meet a lot of Moms and don’t remember that even being a complaint. In my mid thirties when I had my first. Why people insist that hormone changes are almost the same for every women is really strange to me. They aren’t. At perimenopause now and guess what no bald spots and my hair is thicker and has more body than it ever had. Weird I know, but not upset about that.
I teach childbirth education and run a postpartum group, and am a PT specializing in training women. I meet a LOT of moms, hundreds per year. No, hormones aren’t the same for everyone, but there are a lot of consistencies in pregnancy, once of which being that pregnant women simply don’t shed the same number of strands per day as we do otherwise (which is usually 50 to 100). It may not be as noticeable for some, but the strands that aren’t lost in pregnancy are lost postpartum, so when you lose 40 weeks worth of hair in a short span of time, it tends to be an issue. Some women get bald spots, some get thin hair, some just have several months worth of wonky hair days, and some have big clumps of hair come out when they brush their hair or shower.
I don’t get the bangs-hate! She looks great!
I’m a bang lover. Some people look way better with them, myself included.
Yep Same here. Count me in on the bang-wagon.
I hate it when the hair stylist just doesn’t understand bangs. I don’t like them hanging in my eyes and get all sorts of crap from every hair stylist when I ask for my bangs to be trimmed at mid-forehead length. Plus, I wear glasses. Of course, I was born with terminally straight, baby fine hair that will not hold a curl even with product or a perm. I have had perms go straight before the stink goes away.
I don’t mind a fringe, either – but some of hers should be shorter so they don’t get in her eyes. My guess though is she is growing them out, which is fine too since she doesn’t have a high forehead.
The new length is a huge improvement.
She could go just a little shorter even, and also add more distinct layers. The texture of her hair would be perfect for that.
I like them on her as well – draws attention to her eyes.
What is it with people on this site and the hatred of bangs? Bangs look good on 90 % of people. she should trim them and they would look perfect. Bangs 4 life!
A lot of us don’t get it. Its such a benign thing to hate IMO. What I really dislike is the “Mom hair” or “Mom Jeans” thing. Kinda demeaning and catty, really. But I guess we all came here to gossip so…..
I don’t think bangs look good on 90 %…more like 9 😀
No way. Bangs do not look good on 90% of people, though I’m sure the people with bangs think they look good. They have to be really well done to look good, otherwise they just look like mom hair.
Well I hope I’m in the 9 because I look terrible without them. My forehead hasn’t seen the light of day in 30 years.
I’m with you, Locke Lamora. I’ve had bangs practically my whole life. I have very fine hair with a high, wispy hairline. I tried the no bang look in college, but that was decades ago. The bang haters just don’t understand!
Not trying to be mean here, but bangs are usually terribly done. It’s one thing if it’s a well done, side – swept longer bang. But Jennifer Garner style? Mom hair. I get the need for having something if you feel like you have a giant forehead (same thing here!) but it’s also how the bangs are executed.
My problem with bangs at least on me is that they only look good for a few weeks. Then unless you go to get bang trims pretty regular and quickly, they look like you are a kid who can’t get keep the hair out of their eyes. Not sure I would go with 90% but I do think on the ones that have the patience for the trims and the face structure it is a good style.
It’s eye of the beholder. That flat acrossthe forhead, hiding the eyes, shaggy,almost framing, but not quite look. IMO few can pull it off and many look like adults wearing children’s styles. We’re all stating opinions so i’m framing my comment as that and not like i’m wording facts that all people look bad with that style. Just that I think that.
I don’t know if I would say this is a mom haircut, I thought that was the bob just enough to stick in a pony tail. I agree she is looking a lot like her mother, and I also don’t think bangs are her friend.
Also, I was looking at some of the other pictures and links and sometimes Kate has the most weirdest forced smile trying to show both sets of teeth. Reminds me of my daughter when she was young and told to smile. It loses its cute look definitely by 30.
@ noway
Lots of politician’s wives/partners have that show-all-teeth smile. Google Samantha Cameron and you will see.
I think it is the result of media training and not settling into public life well. Politicians’ smiles look relatively natural because they get a lot of practice. But their wives/partners often just get the media training and then it looks unnatural.
@noway – I know what you mean. Her smile can look a little crazed a times. Almost like she’s got new batteries or something. I hardly see photos of her with a relaxed and/or slight smile. Although, this could also be due to which photos the media outlets choose to publish.
Sometimes I do wonder with some celebrities if they just don’t pick the worst pictures and show them. They do seem to garner attention.
it’s a good length on her
I love it.
I’ve been saying for a long time that she needed a shorter cut. Very pretty.
Much better than the Disney hair with the curls on either side of her shoulders. That was so outdated and immature. This is sleek and much more professional looking. And for the first time, I actually agree that she used to wear extensions and wigs, as her hair doesn’t look anywhere as full as it did a few weeks ago. It wasn’t curly then, so that’s not it, It is just volume.
She looks vaguely like Olivia Wilde in that profile shot.
I like her hair. She makes me want to get clip-ins or something (I know I know, her’s isn’t real hair giving all that volume) but my hair is so fine.
What’s going on with her face? Besides the hair making her look like her mother, she has been aging rather rapidly.
@ Shelley, I noticed that too and was going to say the same exact thing! How old is she anyway?
Like the hair. It’s cute, appropriately long and suits her. She looks a bit freed up. As for her face, Kate was never naturally thin as she is now and maybe that is taking a toll, particularly with two pregnancies. Or, she is just a busy Mum who isn’t getting enough sleep. Personally, I think she looks fine, much better than any jacked up or Injected plastic face seen in this site!
She is massively underweight right now. That will age you more than any lack of sleep. You can see her clavicles sticking out in that dress.
When you choose body over face you will look much older than your peers, hence why the Hollywood starlets use fillers.
The older you get the better it is for your face if you have a little fat on it. Believe me, I know!
@ minx
I believe. And me too: never too thin.
Chocolate is one of the best fillers ever invented. Painless and makes you happy, too.
She has two young kids, probably still not getting enough sleep. Amazing how that will age you. I’ve been doing work into the wee hours recently and have been getting all kinds of worried looks and even a few comments this past week.
She’s looked this old or near it pre children. They’ve just collectively laid off the extremely heavy hand used to edit the photos. I think maybe after the portrait looking so different from how Kate was made to look in printed photos was a turning point. The public started to question more how she thought this was a great likeness and how the artists work is remarkable in it’s realism, yet it was so different from what we had to go by. So, they laid off the heavy hand.
As she is she has double bags under her eyes or 1 giant bag of puff, deep wrinkles in her forhead, and poor skin. IMO smoking, sun did the worst of it, but her sister and mother carry similar traits.
Point being of all things I doubt Kate’s current appearance has much to do with lack of sleep as she’s looked this way for some time without kids.
And that’s not a slam. I’m a true believer in aging naturally. Gray hairs, wrinkles or smile lines, or whatever else. I think there’s a beauty it all. What looks weird is when you’ve tried to hide part of that aging it looks false to the eye. So, to point out her traits above is not an insult. Just making a point.
Too many randoms here lately and not looking for new commenters to not understand my post.
This is based purely on gut feel and photos so to be taken with a massive pile of salt but… I think William is not a very nice person and Kate is living in a loveless marriage. I think reality has aged her. She seems like a very submissive person who romanticized this life and he seems dismissive and condescending and has a love/hate for her doormat personality.
I think having had children with him has made their relationship issues even worse. This is one of those situations where a person’s life long dream turned out to be totally disappointing and she is now rudderless and trapped by her own wishful thinking.
Again, purely gut feel but that’s what I’m seeing.
I get exactly the same impression. I also think that she doesn’t have any truly close friends and has to rely solely on her immediate family and whatever affection William tosses her way. She strikes me as being very lonely and isolated. It has to be upsetting to realize that fawning articles and sycophantic praise don’t reflect what most people think about you and realize that most people think you’re selfish, spoiled and lazy. Unless she literally hides under a rock, she has to know that even her most sugary fans are starting to waver and doubt. Going into this historic family as a high profile commoner and then becoming a huge disappointment and disliked would be an awful realization. My feeling is that William spoils her materially, but doesn’t actually enjoy spending time with her, unless she’s serving his needs directly. It will be interesting to see how long they are going to be able to keep their marriage together. Spot on analysis though, my gut feelings are the same.
This is better than the wiglets for sure. Yes, it is a lot like her mom’s hair but at this point I don’t believe there is a style out there that everyone will like. Of all the things to complain about Kate, the hair is the least important.
Agreed. I like this haircut. Honestly, I don’t think she looks anything like her mother facially–more the body: long torso, short legs. To me, Kate resembles her father more. And George is the spitting image of hin.
The haircut was needed. The bangs and fake hair still make it seem like she is drowning in hair. While I think it’s Carole Middleton hair, I think she needed this haircut. Now let’s grow those bangs out, Katy.
She’s a mom. Let her have mom hair if she wants it.
And I wish we could lose mom = frumpy. Although maybe I’m biased because whenever my mom comes to visit and I realize we have both gotten the same haircut, I’m totally scandalized and freaked out (poor mom).
What about “Mom Jeans”? High waisted 90’s jeans come to mind when I hear that one.
It’s amazing how unoriginal the Fail is, making an article based on someone’s comment on another article.
Wouldn’t be the first time.
I like it. It’s a step in a good direction.
IF William really said so to her in
Public, he definitely deserves what
He is getting!
I don’t think The Queen is amused. . .
Yeah, I didn’t find that funny at all, much less appropriate.
William is so clueless. But did he call her ‘Catherine’? Usually in most videos I have seen he called her Kate. But whatever…their work shyness is appallling.
Waity Katie tries to acquire some class by making people call her “Catherine” as in “Catherine Parr” and “Catherine the Great [Russia]” or “Catherine of Medici [France]”.
It doesn’t work. Same as the clothes: high fashion clothes won’t make her a princess nor will tiaras nor will jewelry nor will that mop of hair she prefers to carry around.
Pondering Thoughts
I think it was logical Kate goes formally by Catherine. I have a shortened nick name I go by, but for formal or professional settings I go by my full more regal name. If I get super fancy I go by the traditional pronounciation, but that’s a step very far.
Totally fine if it’s requested the press call her Catherine.. She just shouldn’t push that and should see it as endearing if she’s remained Kate from the public just settling on it. Not Waity Katie, but more like if they just called her a variation of how Diana became “Princess Di”.
@ FLORC
Let’s call things by their proper name ;-D
She has been known as “Kate” all her life in the press and all. She never bothered to correct it anywhere anytime. But “Kate” does definitively have a lower class ring to it whereas “Catherine” is definitely more upper class. And that is why she wants it changed. For no other reason than that. And that is why I resent the name change.
She is so fake. Fake hair. Fake accent. Fake stories about her work efforts. Fake name. As everybody knows her as “Kate” or “Waity Katie” then “Kate” is her name.
Don’t get me wrong: anybody can demand that one makes a decent effort to pronounce his or her name. Just if you are okay with “Kate” for three decades then it is a bit too late to demand a change.
Just look at what happened to her efforts to make the press call her “Princess”. They still call her “Waity Katie” or “Kate Middleton”. They don’t buy into her being a princess. Amusingly they do refer to her children as “Prince George” and “Princess Charlotte”. But their mother is still “Kate Middleton”. Spot on I say as she hasn’t done much royal work but Waity Katie annoyed a lot of people royally. ;-D
Not funny at all, but William frequently makes these types of remarks that he seems to think are funny, but are quite negative and unfunny. I think he thinks he’s being self-deprecating and perhaps it’s his awkward and unsuccessful at trying to “relate” to the peasants.
But he exposes his own churlishness and his lack of wit and comes across time after time as kind of a jerk.
Exactly! When I read that yesterday, I cringed and felt a bit sorry for Kate. She seemed to be engaged and having fun with the traders and William has to be a smart ass. He must be such a handful to live with, no wonder she is aging!
He must have picked it up from his father who also says things that don’t come out right. I think Charles and Wills at least have a sense of humor that just doesn’t come out well in print.
At least they’re not like that vile old Philip who says hurtfully nasty things to and about random people.
Exactly. He kinda sucks. I would never want a man with that type of personality, being a jerk and trying to make it look “funny.” Yeah, no thanks.
Well, apparently nobody did ever tell William how he comes across. Or he didn’t listen …
He makes them, but they don’t always get covered.
When dating FMORC pulled that same line with me before. He hasn’t done it since. I thought it was demeaning in a way.
Making that statement also displays a level of dominance and putting in their place.
IDC if some don’t agree.
The science of this is we all casually flirt at times in conversation. It just happens as is healthy. And while she may not have been aware of it or thought too sly to get caught William point it out with others directly might be an act to bring some shame or have a feel of superiority at her expense.
This is my stance on tis in general. Not just in context of WK.
However, Unless she fired back with a quick response that didn’t appear passive aggressive and was well perceived that would change the game.
@ FLORC
Private talk and public talk must be regarded separatedly. William did say that purposefully in public. He has had media training. It can not be regarded as a “casual flirt” in a conversation but it was a remark which he made in front of the cameras knowing there were cameras.
Perhaps Kate commands William around too much in private so he resorts to these tactics in public.
Seriously! He is such an ass. She was trying to close a deal for god’s sake. I hope everyone around him just kind of giggled awkwardly and then got away from him.
Willnot ‘I am a Prince’ will always be superior especially, to someone who lost respect after several years hanging around/waiting.
Right?? I work in sales, so very much an old-boys club in a lot of places, and more than a few times I’ve heard remarks like that. And then others roll their eyes like “oh come on you know what he’s like.” etc. It pisses me off to no end.
It’s like when they went to Wimbledon during the tube strike and he was laughing at all the people having to leave. I had a friend who went that day, won the lottery, got Centre Court tickets, who was distraught at having to leave. She is a massive tennis fan and loves Roger Federer (who is, by all accounts, a complete gentleman). And there was Wills in the Royal Box, laughing at the peasants.
He was laughing at people leaving? Can I see the link to that story please?
The cut, in theory, is nice but she could definitely up the sophistication. It bugs because she really is a pretty girl, she just needs a GOOD stylist to help her play up her best features.
It’s kind of like “stop paying to move a tennis court 10 feet and, instead, get an actual stylist.” I think the hair is quite a bit better. But I totally second glanced at a couple of photos yesterday because I mistook the person in the photos as Carol Middleton.
Hair falls off couple of months after birth and it gets worse if you have kids so close in age. I always cut my hair short for easier maintenance when my kids around 4 months old.
That’s a great strategy and I did that too. Don’t think Kate could pull off short hair though…
@ caitlin
Short hair would go against Kate’s idea of herself the princess.
This would be really flattering, I’d think:
http://makeuptutorials.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/h21.jpg
Totally missed that yesterday. Can you imagine how cute this length would look in a ponytail? Grow out the bangs, she’ll look cute.
I love, love, love her hair shorter. It’s almost a physical sense of relief to throw off the sausage curls. But the bangs need work. They’re too long. Actually, I think she would look better with some layers, but not bangs. Too choppy. But I don’t want to seem as if I’m complaining because I am thrilled that she cut her hair up to her collarbone. 👯👯👯👯
I think if they lightened the bangs, it’d make a big difference. They’re really heavy, but don’t really suit the cut.
The more I look at it – this is pretty much the cut I have, though my bangs have been done a bit differently. They look a lot more smooth, and sweep to the side a lot less awkwardly. Mind you, I have a tiny portion of the hair that this woman has, so the similarity wasn’t as apparent the first time I looked at it.
One of my fondest memories of my late grandfather was him saying “oh, you’ve got the haircut the princess has – is this a trend amongst the girls now?” – my grandfather was never the kind of man who liked to talk about things like hair, or makeup or any of that. He worked his way up from nothing, and was a Major in the RCAF – he met Queen Elizabeth II on a couple different occasions, so he had a soft spot for the royal family. Being an airforce guy of that era, he wasn’t super into small talk (unless you had a puppy or kitten in your arms – absolute sucker for animals; he nearly brought back a litter of puppies from up North when he was working). It was just the cutest having him think his granddaughter, who he had sat (mostly uninterested) through so many Disney movies with, looked like a ‘real’ princess.
What a sweet story. I bet he thought you were a princess for sure. ❤️
That is a lovely memory. I miss my paternal grandparents everyday, so I enjoy hearing others speak about their own grandparents.
This gave me a big smile. Thanks for sharing!
I agree, I actually like this hairstyle. I also agree with Erinn that Kate needs to lighten the bangs, and if she got some layers in the rest of her hair, it would be much better than it was before.
I agree that this cut is a vast improvement on the past length, the bangs could use some tweaking or growing out, and more long layers would be a good thing. The bangs seem too heavy for her relatively delicate facial features or size of her face. I love her and her hair in the 2nd photo.
If by “mom hair” you mean unstylish and unflattering then I guess I’d say it is mom hair. Those bangs just look strange to me, they don’t blend with the rest it.
You can really tell how pretty she is when her face is not burried under 3 tons of hair and wiglets
Sorry, I didn’t mean to reply under your comment
This blog should be doing nothing but celebrating! I was ready to throw a party. Her hair drowned her out in every photo; this look is much more suited to her.
So what if she looks like her Mom. Is she not supposed to have genes?
Lastly, not sure why everything is so anti-Carole. I made a comment one time to my mom as to how Carole was seen as meddling. My mom looked at me like I was nuts. She said she thought Carole was making sure that what happened to Diana didn’t happen to Kate. It was an interesting perspective and when thought of in that light, I can’t say I disagree.
Your remark “is she not supposed to have genes?” made me ugly-snort my hot chocolate.
I think it’s nice that she’s close with her mother. Is it really any different from other mother-daughter relationship? It’s just because her life is playing out on the world stage that everyone blows up every little detail.
I am very close to my mother, and I was a big “so what?” for a long time about their relationship. No problem with mom coming for weeks after baby is born, etc., my mother and my husband are very close, so no problem there, but every now and again, I do think it seems like Kate has no one else in her life. My mother gives me more space than Kate’s mother seems to – we talk a lot because we enjoy talking, as adults and friends. Sometimes it seems as though Carole will not give Kate the space she needs to grow up.
It also seems as though she is more involved in Kate’s life than her other kids. That seems weird too.
Totally agree Nic919.
Kate is not Diana, and carole has no power to compete with the BRF, a century old Institution.
Her hair length seem a close copy to Crown Princess Mary Denmark.
I think it looks much more professional.
I find the term “mom hair” slightly annoying. Do you know what my “mom hair” looks like? Unwashed, yanked on top of my head with a tie, bobby pins, headband. I WISH my “mom hair” looked like Kate’s. Ha!
Completely agree Fallon- I get so sad when I can’t actually remember the last time my hair saw a blow dryer- and with #2 on the way I fear that my messy bun is here to stay and “nice hair” is a distant memory….
Congratulations on #2 and know that no matter how you feel about your looks, your little ones will always think you’re beautiful!
I don’t know exactly what mom hair is either. When celebs get pixie cuts, people tend to call it mom hair and I always say I know almost no moms with pixies. For me mom hair is long and rarely blow dried and yes, often pulled into a messy ponytail or bun.
I know. This is “mom” hair. Long bobs are “mom” hair. Short bobs are “mom” hair. Pixies are “mom” hair.
Anything that isn’t razor straight, to the waist is “mom” hair.
And I don’t know any moms with pixies. The moms I know – from 25 to 55 – all have straight below the shoulder hair.
@Esmom….see Jen Garner on strolls with her kids….long hair, rarely blow dried, or pulled into a messy ponytail. Now, Jen rocks Mom hair….and I’m glad her hair is less important to her, than her kids! I’m sure if Jen Anniston EVER gets that baby we’ve all been talking about for twenty years, her hair and makeup will be perfect in any and all Mommy and me pictures!
MrsBPitt- They are playing to their target audence…Garner targets Moms and hence displays her easy maintanence look. Jennifer Aniston looks the same all the time anyway so a baby in the mix should ot change much… bsides these are all people of means so why cant they have a baby and still look perfectly turned out at what are ‘mommy an dme’ pics (assuming they are posing for those pics). Kate has vast resources. Heck I have an upper middle class family and grew up with a nanny and cook and my mother did always look well turned out. She want posing for any pic but whats the harm in the mother’s me-time if she has the resources? 🙂 Let’s not guilt shame the mothers who do look well turned out despite a baby. A baby is not a handicap 🙂
I think there’s really only so many ways for hair to look, so in that sense I think the term “mom hair” doesn’t make sense. Short, mid-length, or long — what else is there? I guess I can understand criticizing celebrity hair for not looking well conditioned (from what I can tell, no celebrities have this problem), but in terms of way the actual way the hair sits — what more can anyone really do?
I so totally agree! Mom hair does not usually involve a professional blowout.
It’s just another term to put women down for not being 22 and perfect to look at. “Mom hair.” “This music is for grannies.” I’m really getting a bit tired of being shamed for being older.
Here, here. It’s a bit of misogyny for sure.
Thank you! Because were all supposed to keep our hair and a skinny figure.
Perfect description, Fallon! That’ s exactly what “mom hair” is — unwashed, tied back, pulled out of my face. And I see a lot of other women out and about every day with the same hair!
Ugh, me too. When I got preggers with #2, my hair was shoulder blade length. By the time he was born it was past my butt. I wondered around for about 6 months fighting with it before I said screw it and cut it into a pixie. I kept that until he was about 3. Now it’s back to my butt again. Although, now that he is a teenager, I think it wear the messy, pulled up, unwashed hair more than I did when he was a baby. Between work, home, and planning a wedding for my oldest, I am way more “mom hair” than ever!
She didn’t need to cut her hair, just stop fondling it and keep it out of her face
While yes she’s getting, looks wise, more like her mother as she gets older, the haircut is good. She looks more professional and grown up.
As for his comment – I think it was his attempt at being humorous, we know he’s quite crap at it.
I don’t understand why people are criticizing her for aging. Some people age badly! She is one of them. What do people expect her to do?
Botox, fillers, injections – gotta keep that Hollywood standard of agelessness!
I’ll venture to say that once again PR is to blame.
From the engagement through to about 3months after the birth of her first child, her photos were heavily photoshopped to a hyper glossy image. That’s not to say that she wasn’t or isn’t pretty, simply that an unreal image was perpetuated. In the same way that her work ethic was over-hyped.
These days, more of the unphotoshopped pictures are coming through. To people who believed she was that glossy image, it appears that she’s aged rapidly when the starting point wasn’t the glossy image.
It’s the difference between seeing a glossy image of a model in a magazine and being confronted with the reality. Cindy Crawford once articulated this by saying she looked very different from her own photos.
The difference is that people understand the photoshopped images of glossy editorials whilst naively assuming that images of royals aren’t or can’t be photoshopped as they go about their business.
And it’s not just Kate. As an example, William has a scar on his temple from a childhood accident. Most of the time, the scar is photoshopped from the image.
In 1990, I met a model who had posed for Penthouse, and her model boyfriend. She said that she looked nothing like the finished photo’s for the mag. Her and her boyfriend filled me in on the make-up and computer’s capacity to change their photo’s so they were no longer recognizable, even to themselves. For example, they could change things like the length of her legs, her eye color, and the thickness of her hair. I thought her sort of pretty, but an ordinary girl. They had a lot of resentment about the entire process, saying they were treated like “things”.
I have seen her in person and she does look older than her years. I thinks it mostly to do with how dry and leathery her skin is and the very very thick application plus she is very thin as well – mind you this was not long after the wedding but with these un-touched photos you are seeing the real her.
i always use this comparison of a fan pic vs the glossy image that was dessimated everywhere. Same engagement. Same conditions. 2011.
Fan pic
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5028/5620841923_cdd927d5c3_b.jpg
vs circulated photoshopped image
http://www.celebitchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wenn3290934.jpg
LAK another comparison was a Chatelaine cover, except I cannot post links. They changed her skin, shape and color of her lips, her teeth, redid her makeup, erased hair blowing in her face, and gave her eyes a hint of blue.
The official portrait was much more accurate as to what she looks like, which is why it surprised so many.
LAK
I tried to put what you said somewhere else here. I’m going to return to posting “what LAK said” if I see your comments 1st!
I think back to her glory days just after she returned from her honeymoon to the UK. A friend was behind the fencing on Kate’s side of the greetings. She snapped a photo and it was simply not the image of Kate printed at the time.
Hermakeup was theatre grade layers for exmaple.
So you’re saying that every single picture of her appearing in every news outlet from every photo agency was photoshopped exactly the same way? Do the picture editors of every national paper and magazine and blog and photo agency have ESP that allows them to achieve this remarkable feat? Or do they have some sort of society where they agree on just what Photoshop they will do to every single image?
What utter nonsense. I’ve worked for over ten years on the frontline of major print media – I can tell you that when you get the RAW images from the agency it’s a race against time to upload them the fastest. The idea that photo editors are sitting around doing major work on Kate’s face, let alone conspiring with each other to do THE SAME PHOTOSHOP is just laughable.
I actually like the shorter hair. It looks more professional.
Damed if you do, damned if you don’t.
Kate looks wonderful.
She looks 45+
GOD FORBID!!!
Right, there’s a fate worse than death. I think she looks much more mature and professional without the Wall of Hair.
-.-
AS IF aging was the issue here. Style yourself to look like your granny, fine. She is 33, for god’s sake.
What the heck do grannies look like where you come from? She doesn’t look like a granny and so what if she did? Bad beauty karma you’re spouting there.
If the cap fits, wear it… sheesh
Bet she grows it back to fill original length by next summer !
It’s the hair you have when you take out your extensions.
And if you look at the non-photo shopped photos, yikes. Girlfriend is looking rough.
It’s a huge improvement. You can see her face and her bone structure – and you know, she *is* a mom. So mom hair is perfectly fine.
I would love to see her try a polished, slightly asymmetrical bob with a side part. Her skin is always so matte and the eyes are over lined. Give me fresh, modern, dewy and aristocratic! Give me something to aspire to dammit! I see tired with bad hair enough everyday at the park.
I mentioned down below that I had a hard time picturing her with any other hairstyle, but now that I think about it, maybe this suggestion you’ve mentioned could work.
The Fail has some close ups of the new ‘do’ from today Action on Addiction visit – it is her own hair and looks in good condition. Thou i still have a problem with the praise she gets for ‘recycling’ clothes that cost more than people earn in a week. Her outfit today cost somewhere in the region of £1,500 (dress and coat). She should wear them more often considering that I, a British taxpayer, is paying for the ill fitting designer clothes that she constantly shops for.
B-but…but…they say she’s worth a BILLION pounds for the Brit fashion industry! Lol
Hahahaha – so true. Guess i should be thankful that she’s single handily saving the British fashion industry from financial ruin.
– deleted-
I can’t imagine her with any other hairstyle, though. Because of her dieting, I don’t know if her features at this point lend themselves to any other hairstyle that could flatter her. Diana had short hair, which is unusual for a celebrity, but her face had a certain spark to it that made the short hair, no matter how weirdly cut at times (her best hair probably came later in life when she got rid of all the layers, before she died), look fine on her, but I think a lot of Kate’s beauty comes more from her hair than her face (at least in its current condition).
Mind you, I don’t think Kate has a terrible face or anything like that. She fits a certain standard of prettiness. But the dieting seems to have taken some nutritional glow out of it. That’s more what I mean — and I think the hair she goes with now kind of masks that a bit.
She looks great. Leave her alone.
Sure. Once she agrees to not live a lifestyle funded by taxpayers. Then she can be anonymous all she wants.
Taxpayers don’t own her. I find this line of reasoning petty and small spirited.
Tourmaline, does this mean you find your employers petty ans small spirited for demanding that you work for your salary?
No LAK… but I would certainly draw a distinction between them criticizing my work ethic and performance, and them endlessly nitpicking every aspect of my physical appearance.
Do you throw same shade at those who heavily praise the lack of actions with fluff statements of employees? I am having difficulty phrasing that right, but it’s the best it’s coming out. Sorry!
And I like to draw a line with my comments. I’ll state observations, but not nit pick details like “can’t she trim her eyebrows” or “did she apply eyeliner with a paintbrush” or whatever else. It’s not with that intent. It’s directly about work ethic, spending, and more to the PR or how an adult woman must be excused from being held accountable for their actions because they have kids and simply cannot handle work because of that.
And while you can never hush everyone you can’t lump all who offer criticism in with those who criticize appearance. 1 apple spoiling the bunch should not over take your senses here. It is gossip and much of the threads are driven to appearances and clothes.
Oh I get that FLORC… I sure don’t think that Kate is beyond critique, or else I wouldn’t be a longtime lurker of the Celebitchy royal posts!
I was just responding to the idea that anyone saying the nitpicking of superficial things goes too far should be silenced by “but taxpayers pay for her!” I don’t agree with that.
Tourmaline
We agree then. Although, to a point I think it’s somewhat true. She is to a point accountable. Her hair stylist, clothes, makeup, and everything she has are covered via taxpayers without her having to pay in. And I believe by the way law is written her children belong to the Monarchy, but that’s just outdated if so.
Still, as it is she has no idenpendent income and 1 way or another she is supported by her people. So to that way it’s like she is to be examined. If she gave up or took less of what she has available as a senior and full time royal perk maybe that would change. That she takes as much if not more than others who work far more for less it might be differnet, but it’s not.
It’s almost the same as how other nations with royalty took issue with the outfits purchased by their royals while the people were in hard times. They felt it there place to question not only the clothes and price tags, but the worth of those they had to pay for.
If you’re a lurker you must know my comments can be very wordy. I’ll ramble about hoping i’ve made my point clear. Sorry for the long read, but I hope it’s made sense! Still, we do agree! I just see the other side of the argument being valid. Not nice, but valid.
All THAT said there are some who do just want to nit pick no matter what just as some wish to blindly praise. We are all familiar with their handles and try to not feed 😉
Tourmaline: define superficial in the context of Kate’s appearance.
Bear in mind that her clothing and grooming for her public appearances are paid by the tax payers.
She spends over £100K annually of tax payer money on what you consider superficial.
And that’s before you factor in travel costs, office costs, living costs paid by taxpayers.
So again I ask, do you consider it petty if the people who pay your salary in whatever form that takes are being petty when they ask you to do your job and pay every aspect of your comfort so that you can do said job?
She had this hairstyle when she was in her early 20s, so I don’t get why it would be considered “mom hair.” Is it because of the bangs? It’s not J-Lo hair, but I don’t see how it’s mom hair either. Just looks like long hair to me. I don’t know how seriously someone in her position would be taken if they had J-Lo hair, which is why I assume Diana always had that short hairstyle.
Like I posted in another thread, I still don’t get the hair hate. The extensions thing also gets me. What about her hair made everyone think it was extensions? The varying lengths? I can do that with mine, from butt length when down to a flapper-do that is just past my ears. (Granted people ask if my hair is fake all the time and then want to touch it when I say no, yuck.) Thickness? Ummmm, there are lots of us who have thick hair and it isn’t fake. I don’t get it at all.
I like her hair at whatever length, I think it looks great when it’s longer, it looks great now, minus the bangs. It looks think, healthy and happy, the way hair should. The bangs though, those gotta go. It’s her makeup that needs some more serious help to me. Update it woman, update it!
Well said, Eden75. I think I liked her long hair better than this shorter do, though. Either way, she has great hair.
I like it. She has great hair but it was beyond time for her to cut some of it.
I like this haircut. And I like bangs that look like bangs and don’t keep falling in your face. I have to wear bangs because of the odd shape of my hairline, I wish that weren’t true but it is.
William was joking and it was cute. For heaven’s sake this was an event where a man was wearing a suit top and heels and no pants.
The hair is terrible, dear God why is an adult woman with two kids hiding behind her hair like a teenager? And these pics really show off how poorly tailored her outfit is…she has a knack for taking a designer dress and making it look like cheap crap from K-Mart.
The length of the hair might not matter, if more layers were involved. Even ‘hidden’ layers would help frame her face and give the style some extra bounce. As for her fringe/bangs, they could be more blended into the sides instead of looking so stand-alone.
Bottom line, I am not sure her current hairstyle really highlights her features as well as it could. Maybe she just doesn’t want her look to change from her younger days.
People keep saying it’s mom hair. It’s momager hair.
It seems shoulder length hair = mom hair on this website which is a bit silly. My hair is about shoulder length, just chopped it about a month ago. No bangs just a bit shorter than Kate’s. It’s not mom hair, thanks. Don’t even have kids. I will be growing it out again, I feel more like myself with long hair. But short hair does not equate mom hair. It’s just shorter.
Yes!
I usually don’t comment on her hair or clothes unless she makes them ridiculous.
Kate has always done whatever she could do to let William know that she will be whatever he wants her to be in order to keep him.
So she has SWF’d Diana. So why not SWF her mom too, who, according to tabloids, is the glue that holds her marriage together ( and which is the only thing Kate has ever wanted), and is the major factor of William being comfortable enough to come home to Amner?
Anyhoo, Mama Rose Carole has such a strangle-hold on her daughters. They’re all sharing the same clothes, the same stylist. and nearly the same hair-do and her being the supervisor of Kate’s marriage.
So creepy and unhealthy, isn’t it. Just goes to show how she never intended to raise her girls to be independent women just a means to an end for Carol’s social-climbing ambitions. I doubt those girls know they’re being manipulated though. How can Michael be okay with Carole’s behaviour? Is he just as spineless as the girls?
@ Chrissy
I think birds of a flock fly together. I think Michael was A-OK with all of this type of parenting. Look at his only son, who can’t do anything right, but relies on Uncle Gary’s money. If Michael felt one way of his daughters because they’re girls, then why he would let his son be raised to be the same way in being useless and needing a rich spouse to depend upon too.
Imo, Michael may be spineless in that he’s OK with Carole wearing the pants in the family, but overall, I think he’s fine with how all three of his offspring were raised to be. I doubt that even now, he’s telling Pippa and Jame to do a regular schedule of work like normal people do and stop waiting to hit the marriage lottery.
We see aggressive Carole and the 3 children what fail to rely on themselves financially in the world. We do not see Michael with the od story of him elsewhere or not acting as Carole acts. He’s not out there trying to get a room at KP or Anmer. He’s not the 1 wanting a table at Christmas dinner. He’s not the one making organizing their daughters households or cooking for his son in law. He’s just absent in all of these articles both fluff and news related.
He’s simple the unknown and because of this we assume he’s often not on board or not as aggressive as his wife who by many appearances looks to be the Alpha.
Personally, I think he’s fine as it is for now. Maybe down the road something will be revealed. Until then anne’s description seems ok. He must be at the very least on board with Carole’s parenting style.
I think it’s an improvement, for sure.
I’m also struck, after reading the words “bangs” about 100 times in a row in the comments, by what a WEIRD word it is. BANGS. Where did it come from? Why are they called bangs?
Sorry, off to get more coffee.
That’s a good question actually…huh, I don’t know the answer.
I think it originated from the expression “bang-tail”, a term still used for the practice of cutting horses’ tails straight across.
That’s what I’ve heard too.
Ah! Thank you! That makes sense.
And in the UK we call it her fringe, anyway. Anyone who doesn’t read US websites regularly wouldn’t have a clue what was meant by Kate’s ‘bangs’ if they read about it (it actually sounds vaguely obscene).
She looks wholesome and young.
I like it.
Shock, surprise. Woman cuts her hair and looks like her mother. Not.
She cut the hair but she still can’t keep her hands out of it. FAIL And WHY ON EARTH does she keep the bangs that stupid length? She’s like a grade-school child who’s literally hiding behind them. More evidence she’s the wrong girl for the job. (Oh heck, she doesn’t see it as a job anyway, right?!)
fringe not bangs
All I can see is a woman who has lost a tremendous amount of weight. A lot. I see it in the way her clothes fit. I’m sort of a tailoring nut so I always notice how other peoples clothes fit. Outfits that she wore a couple of years ago are hanging on her now. That could explain why she looks like she has aged dramatically in the past couple of years. I remember seeing older photos of her on a yacht with William and she looked amazing. This was before they were married. Now I know that having children ages a woman. Trust, I know. But I feel like there is something more here than just regular aging.
Bangs do not look good on anyone over the age of 12 they are just so stupid and childish!
Love her button necklace