The Duchess of Cambridge was out and about today, fresh from her Kensington Palace gala last night. Kate really does seem to be feeling better these days, which is what happened with her second pregnancy too – once she gets past the first trimester, she feels a million times better. Does this mean that we’ll be seeing Kate on a regular basis, doing events several times a week? Probably not. Don’t get your hopes up. Today’s event was for Place2Be, one of Kate’s patronages. There was a conference for Place2Be school leaders in London and Kate made a speech. She said, in part:
“As a mother just getting used to leaving my own child at the school gates, it is clear to me that It takes a whole community to help raise a child. Whether we are school leaders, teachers, support staff or parents – we’re all in this together. We are all working to give children the emotional strength they need to face their futures and thrive.”
Has Kate been dropping George off at school this whole time and no one got a photo of her?? Hm.
As for what Kate wore today… it was a $640 dress by Goat, a label which she has worn before. This dress wasn’t a repeat though – we’ve never seen this! I like the color, because I always think Kate looks nice in those darker, autumnal colors. I think if she insists on wearing skirts and dresses this short, she should absolutely pair them with black tights and black shoes. That’s the ‘90s Girl in me speaking, but I still totally love that combo of black tights, black heels and a lighter dress.
Also: Kate is still in the warm embrace of her greatest love, BUTTONS. I recently tasked all of you lovely commenters with writing love letters from Kate to buttons and my God, did you deliver. If you need a laugh, go back and read those comments. While this dress isn’t so “OY BUTTONS, LOOK AT MY BUTTONS” as some of her other looks, you know that she chose this dress specifically because of her love of shiny buttons. And if you want to write another buttony love letter in the comments, so be it. I will enjoy it.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’m jealous, I so wish i could pull off that swingy boxy shape but I’m not tall or willowy, so on my 5’7 big-boobied frame I look ridiculously matronly and a bit pregnant 🙁
Yeah, I look like a mailbox in these shapes, unfortunately. I need my clothes to show my waist or I look ridiculous.
I think she looks really nice except for the shoes. But overall, it’s a good winter/pregnant look. Is it not cold in the UK though? The people in the background don’t look like they’re wearing much either. It’s gotten really cold over here in Germany this week, I’d freeze in that outfit.
Ditto British Columbia. It was -14C two nights ago, and we’ve had snow for 10 days. I don’t do cold well, nope not at all.
Yeah, I’m the same build and height, and I can’t pull it off. It’s definitely a slim woman’s look.
Ahahah – I am 5’2″ with the same boob issue. I held up a winter jacket to my shoulders yesterday and it went down to mid-shin. I am not sure how I would have walked in it.
I have never been a fan of the boxy dresses and find their ubiquity annoying. If I had your height and boobage (I am short and bottom heavy) I’d get my Joan from mad Men on and wear all kinds of fitted 50’s style dresses. Rock it lady. 🙂
These dresses are fug. They fit like burlap sacks and when Kate shortens them they look even more inferior and very unprofessional. Geez, this woman is almost middle aged, on her third pregnancy, married to the future King of England yet she’s forever stuck in some kind of teenage world of silliness, immaturity, laziness and total dependency on others. She doesn’t learn, and even worse: has no interest in learning.
Yep, boxy and bad tailoring. I get the idea: short dress and black tightpants. But that is just really one badly fitting burgundry sack aka “dress”.
Kate is just very slim so sacky dresses don’t mess up her proportions lenght-wise. Horizontally meanwhile it is apparent how bad the cut is.
I think the boxyness up top accentuates how square she already is there and it makes her look wider than she actually is. She has no snes of how to dress for her body type. Too bad she doesn’t have a stylist who knows what they are doing.
I think this is really cute on her – much better than the maternal dresses with lace and florals that she wears a lot. She is very slim, has a model’s body she is so slim, so this silhouette looks good on her.
She looks young, modern and fun! Her hair is shorter and she is working, so I’m leaving it at that.
The color is perfect on her.
I LOVE IT!!!! I LOVE the color and the appearance of the texture and the pairing with black tights. Love.
+1000
@ Citress Cueious Nic thread.
Awful look and too shoet even with tights – not a good look – other chic royals ladies, MM.
She already has no presence this make her seem ‘ regular’ with all taxpaywrs Duchy millions ( not speaking if expensive cost) …
So….this was at my workplace and I said if I got a glimpse of her I’d report back. She is utterly lacking in charisma and seems vacant at the best of times. She’s incredibly thin and a bit dim – wouldn’t know empathy if it bit her in the…That’s all I have for you folks – I’d like a republic now please. Oh forgot to add: the eyeliner is awful in real life and she looks really old for someone worshipping at the altar of idleness for most of her life. OK, now I’m done 🙂
Saucy… you work at Place2Be? That’s great!
Or was the conference held in a different place? Either way, thank you for reporting back! I truly feel for all those people that have to pretend she’s grand when in their minds they’re going like “…seriously?”
I’ll never forget that, in their first visit to Canada, they were making some sort of pastry, and the head chef said he was instructed to tell William that his was the best pastry he’d seen in his whole life. And then we wonder where the petulant Princesplaining comes from…
Thanks for your first hand reporting Saucy. Can’t say this surprises me. She doesn’t care about anything but herself and her entire existence has only confirmed that.
can we stop commenting on people’s bodyweight it doesn’t help anybody and is nobody’s business unless someone’s out there giving bad dietary advice its not something any of us should be criticized for
Thank you !
At least most of us are not off in accessing the 7 going on 17 years- laxy entitled useless insincere/waste of good GB CW global standing of Royal status and millions from the people to support entuled billy- middleton farce.
@Lala, I honestly don’t think this is a good look on anyone. That last pic of Kate…case in point.
5’7″ isn’t tall?
@lala – no I don’t work at Place2be; in a slightly different way: I’m not noble enough! My workplace is big on corporate social responsibility and we are involved with P2B hence ‘hosting’ the conference. I admit I come from a very anti-monarchy viewpoint but I’d like to think where I see intelligence/charisma/empathy/elegance etc. I’d be big enough to point this out even if the very concept of royalty is an anathema. I think Queen Rania and some of the middle eastern ‘royalty’ are beautiful, elegant and so on as women – separate to ‘royalty’. But honestly, KM is a damp squib and came across as dim.
@Elizabeth – not by modern British standards it isn’t. I’m 5’7” and an academic, and I often feel dwarfed by my (female) students.
Wow that’s an awful lot of money for a nicer quality version of an Old Navy sweater dress.
Right? She could buy this exact dress at literally half the stores in the mall. Why spend $640? I get dropping cash on dresses for big events and galas, but I don’t get the need to spend that kind of money on outfits day-to-day patronage visits.
Why not just wear her existing maternity wardrobe from the two previous pregnancies?
Exactly!
++1000
The color looks lovely on her.
Wow, I actually think she looks fantastic!
I do too. Really nice. Not worth what she paid for it, though.
Well, paying that price doesn’t really support the idea she were educated and smart.
Agreed. She is wearing sth she feels comfortable in. What a change…
I thought she looked fantastic last night at the event she was at. She was just glowing. Dress was a miss.
I agree! I think she loks gorgeous! Love the dress, tights, and even shoes. Maybe she should have wore boots o even the dreaded ankle boots (lol) that Kaiser dislikes.
Hideous
Morticia Addams would love that dress – except that she would add a big fur collar 😉
But then Morticia Addams has STYLE. Gothic and somewhat morbid but style.
Hideous and cheap looking. She looks like she shops in a really awful fashion 2nd hand shop.
I loathe this look on a woman. But the color looks good on her.
My girls wear dresses similar to this with all kinds of colorful tights. That style is childish to me something about the cut is making it look that.
+2
Fir the rest of us maybe ….but not when taxpayers Duchy funding in the millions for a few meet greet events per year….representing HM POW/BRF – GB UK. When she do folliw orders to apoear for the few walks – we should never have a miss.
The expensive frock or skirt wore to prisoners- other pass expensive maternity -stated by nota up thread (*excluding the dalmatians looking one), could have been reworn here.
I like this look. It’s on trend (with the retro vibe to the dress) but not out and out trendy. This is the way for her to do updated looks while still looking “classic” since people insist she cant be trendy but has to be classic. Classic does not have to equal boring which it often does for her.
Actually love the shoes – great heel. She looks good.
I agree-love the shoes.
Love the shoes, too. Anyone have an idea on the brand? Todd’s?
Angie’s ankle boots from yesterday would look great with this outfit.
Clicked & expected a boat load of buttons..but she looks fab! No complaints here.
If you want Duchess Kate to wear your designs, just add buttons.
My son goes to kinder next year and I am dreading it. I feel like Gollum and will be gasping guard my precious, looking in the Windows lol.
I understand that feeling! I’m not a stay at home right now, but I was able to stay with him when he was a baby and my husband is now, so he’s never been left at daycare. I’m DREADING the day it’s time to take him to preschool, even though I know it will be good for him.
Fresh dye job… it only gets worse from here
Yep, I noticed that red tint!
She uses henna color when she is pregnant.
Lovely dress and the color works well for her. I agree that autumn colors would be lovely on her.
Also not quite “defcon button” but those buttons are huge lol
Best she’s looked in a while! She looks radiant! Love the look and wish i could pull it off!
And today, a Haiku:
A shine on my sleeve
Vivid, glorious and bright
Buttons give me life
Hahaha….that really is good.
I like this too. Not the most interesting dress ever but a good color and I love the block heel with the black tights. Only thing I would have done differently is put the hair halfway back and given her a stronger lipstick.
She’s altered the dress from the original, its surprise surprise shorter! Like all her dresses will be until the baby is born.
She seriously made it shorter?
+1000
Like so many others – with awful unprofessional seamstress carol (party p) bad adjustments.
I’m glad she’s wearing tights underneath. I remember during her other pregnancies she wore some super short dresses and they seemed inappropriate for her position.
Yes, that polka-dot one was scary!
Looks great. Love the dress, the buttons add a bit. I’m a big fan of loose dresses and tights. Also, the shoes go well with the outfit. A pleasant departure from the skinny jeans, wedges, and 4 inch heels.
My question is why are the crowds small for her? You would think hundreds of people would want see her.
Richard Palmer of Express calculated that she has only been outside of London 3 Times this year, excluding foreign tours not in the UK. Since she has only been pregnant since about August, she doesn’t have much of an excuse to explain this.
So much waste.
Billy waitie middleton hate avoid the British press/people who support Throne Idle /middleton hen party decoy – family of 5 plus middletons luxury lifestyle. Instead they go abroad to bring out the kids (and not like Prince Jigme, Butan- meeting dignitaries at 1.5 years old or Princess Estelle, SRF) – because GB is no good or buy into WKM lazy entitled fake insincere life.
They often don’t announce Kate’s engagements very far in advance, and especially when she’s pregnant, she might cancel any of them at short notice.
Pretty.
THE EYELINER RETURNS!!! She had been practicing restraint, but she did not hold back with her liner and shadow this day. Bless her.
I love this outfit!
I love this outfit! Super cute! The price tag? Not so much!
I like buttons.
I bought 3 shirts last year in different colors from Soft Surroundings because of the buttons.
Multi, colorful buttons all the way down the fronts.
It’s about as artsy as I get and I do always get compliments.
I’m glad she looks healthier. Severe vomiting/nausea in pregnancy sucks.
nope. this is a full on button FAIL. i hereby revoke her button badge. less than ten buttons???? buttons aren’t saucer sized????
i am crying dainty pearl buttons as i type.
This comment made me hoot! I think she looks good.
I like the color on her, wish it was a couple of inches longer. Black tights are good, I would have worn a calf hair leopard shoe. I like that her part is a bit off center for a change.
Or some high fashion slouchy boots, those would look great with the shorter hem line.
OMG that’s perfect. Calf hair leopard shoe (flat) and make the side part much more…side-part-ey. Move it over even more. It softens the face SO much.
I nominate you & vava as her stylists. I think Kate’s a beautiful woman but she has no imagination and she needs your help.
Okay I popped over to WKW and the quotes over there from Palmer and the palace in general are hilarious. Palmer mentioned how Kate had been arranging her royal duties around the school run (which means that she is losing, what, two hours a day of potential work/engagements?) but also….what royal engagements? She has done 4 or 5 over the past 2 and a half months.
then the palace was quoted as saying she had been so ill, that was why she hadn’t really don’t anything outside of London and they had to “cancel” so many events. But its not like she’s been ill since January.
Let’s see if she will keep popping out children to avoid work duties. Apparently her pregnancy sickness isn’t as bad as work duties as she suffers the former to avoid the latter.
She looks really pretty. This is something I would wear. Knee high boots would look cute with this dress as well. Gorgeous!
*Tiptoes in , looks shifty*
So, Kate – from coat dress to Goat dress. Discuss.
*Slinks off again*
I love the color of the coat, but can I just say I really do not like the hair color? It’s almost as if she was trying for some red but it came out orange-y. I remember seeing pics of the 1980s when that color and some strange henna-burgundy color was a “thing”, but on Kate her skin look sallow up close with hair that color.
Kaiser, the button love writing project was so fun! Feel free to give us more assignments in the future!! 🙂
Liking the dark tights and shoes for Fall. This has been a great look for years. I wish hose/tights would come back into fashion. Looks so unfinished with bare legs, except at the height of Summer/beach season. I have complete hair envy of Kate, 100% envy. I’ve got the mousy blonde, stick straight hair.
I love this look and the color and even the shiny buttons! They’re not where I expected. She looks fantastic!
Oh, I can’t stand buttons that don’t really fill a purpose. This dress is all kinds of awful IMO.
Yeah, it’s terrible!
Like the colour, hate the cut of the dress. Like the shoes & tights. But she needs to stand up straight! No slouching!
I think this is super cute. But it would’ve been even better with ankle boots.
Agreed – the shoes don’t suit the style of the dress. If ever there was a time for boots … which we know she loves …