Princess Kate wore Dior to greet the Macrons on the tarmac for the state visit

France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron arrived in England a short time ago for their multi-day state visit. Because Buckingham Palace is still undergoing extensive renovations, the major setpieces of the state visit are being staged in Windsor. Prince William and Kate were sent to the airport to greet the Macrons on the tarmac, and then Will and Kate were tasked with ferrying the Macrons to Windsor Castle, where the Macrons received the formal state greeting from King Charles and Queen Camilla, complete with a carriage ride and guard inspection. This is basically all William and Kate were tasked with – the greeting at the tarmac, and some of the daytime events at Windsor Castle. I would be shocked if William and Kate turned up at the state dinner tonight – they certainly were not included in the palace’s briefings for anything beyond today’s daytime events.

For Kate’s big “starring role,” she actually wore something new-to-us. Kate has been going so heavy on the repeats, it feels so noteworthy when she’s allowed to buy or wear something new. Today’s look was from Dior – a jacket and skirt from the 2024 collection. Dior is an iconic French label and Kate’s sister-in-law has worn a lot of Dior pieces over the years. So much so that the British papers were briefly convinced that Meghan was becoming a Dior ambassador. Kate paired her Dior ensemble with a pearl necklace from QEII’s collection and earrings once worn by Princess Diana. I don’t have any problem with the Dior look, but I think this whole look would have been chic with a chignon and a larger hat? Kate’s doll wig is not great.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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178 Responses to “Princess Kate wore Dior to greet the Macrons on the tarmac for the state visit”

  1. StillDouchesOfCambridge says:

    I dont like the color on her. Sand is a horrible on her skin. Top and bottom pieces are a weird match. Thunbs diwn for this outfit. But she looks healthy, which is good. I can’t comment on willie, I forgot to take a look at him.

    • Karla says:

      Just an Observation: excellent tailoring on the jacket. Fits correctly. Slightly padded so she looks less gaunt. Harmonizes with the voluminous tulle skirt. Still not a fan of the sum of these pieces…and the styling…Sunday mass in the late 80s…

      • sunnyside up says:

        Jacket fine, skirt, what was she thinking of.

      • Megan says:

        I think the outfit is fine. Brigitte is the star today and this Dior does not upstage her. I agree about the hair and hat. Her wig is worse than Brigitte’s, and that’s saying something.

      • TigerMcQueen says:

        The outfit is a mess because it was chosen to hide how thin she is. The jacket, like you said, is slightly padded (though the shots from the front show how bony her chest is now). The skirt’s volume helps hide how gaunt she is from the waist down (those horrid brown pants from her last ‘work’ event hung on her). The color was chosen to make her fade into the background. The wig…well, that’s just Kate’s love of bad wigs.

      • kelleybelle says:

        @TigerMcQueen, yes, exactly. The loose, bulky fit is to disguise her thinness, and mostly her lack of a bust. It’s concerning. Zero body fat on Kate isn’t looking good.

      • Cathy Buchanan says:

        That hair has got to go! It’s not appropriate for a woman Catherine’s age to still be sporting her Uni hairstyle…what suits a woman in her early 20s does NOT suit a mature mother of three who’s in such a public role. Since her appearance seems to be her sole contribution to the new Monarchy, she should be keeping up with Father Time. A sleek stylish cut above her shoulders, with some face-framing layers and some versatility, would take years off her looks.

      • KC says:

        Business on top.
        Boho on bottom.

        With stilettos. Yawn.

      • CatGotMyTongue says:

        Why is her hat tilted the wrong way? Attempting to hide her forehead scar?

      • Gtwiecz says:

        I never see Kate looking chic. Always these long aging skirts. Why not a sleek pencil dress or skirt hitting her knees? Sometimes it seems she wants to dress like a little girl. Only thing modding is a big pink ribbon in her hair.

    • Jais says:

      The color of putty. It’s fine as a neutral. And a very well-made jacket.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        It’s almost like the outfit was deliberately chosen for Kate with the hope that she would disappear visually.

        She looks like a sepia toned ghost here.

        All that time spent in the woods and this is the first color she comes up with? Has she taken up the hobby of picking mushrooms like her FIL?

      • jais says:

        It’s her ode to nature color since she is now one with nature.

      • Cathy Buchanan says:

        The jacket is great…the color is unfortunate. And the skirt is more Camilla’s style…a pencil skirt would have looked so much more sophisticated.

      • Henny Penny says:

        The last few outfits for Kate outside of Trooping have been particularly terrible, even dreadful colors for her. Honestly, I think her outfits are being chosen for her specifically by Camilla. Meghan and Harry said that QEII’s team dictated the color palette and what everyone was allowed to wear. Any reason to believe Camila isn’t taking full advantage of her power to assure Kate looks terrible in the minutes she has left as Queen?

        What I see is that Camilla has a new face (but especially new lips that make her look a lot less like she’s got a baby canary trapped behind her teeth), and she’s trying very hard to look very Queenly lately. Queen Camilla can’t have “glamourous” Kate stealing her thunder. Stealing is Camilla’s thing! She stole a husband, a family, a crown, and quite possibly the family jewels. And now she’s stealing QEII’s place in people’s minds by cosplaying her, and she sure as shit can’t have Kate around distracting everyone from her triumphant grand finale!

    • Herrgreter says:

      That happens when you steal and copy outfit idea from another person. (Meghan). This and also her striped outfit last week did nothing for her. If she wore her color palette it would actually make her look younger and healthier.

      • Flower says:

        They are literally desperate to be H&M at this point – Kate with her ‘fashion contacts’ and Bill with his midnight 2pm shadow beard.

        Its actually hilarious to watch them abandon themselves to compete with two other individuals.

        That beard looks horrific as always and I will not even comment on Kate’s outfit because at this point it’s just depressing.

    • KoRAR says:

      @TigerMcQueen
      There is nothing in the background here. She is not dressed in neon, as usual, but all these elements of the doll from the exhibition scream so loud that Macron in her elegant, simple, classic dress is lost in the background. Tulle, waist-length wigs and a big hat, this is not an outfit for a diplomatic meeting at this time of day. Middleton is incorrigible. Despite so many available means of possibilities, they continue to dress like those cheap plastic dolls that Carole pretended to sell. The problem is Middleton’s gray cells.

      • Cathy Buchanan says:

        Catherine is aging at a gallop, and whoever picks her fashion “choices” isn’t doing her any favors. She’s tall and has long, well-shaped legs, assets which she does nothing to take advantage of. Yes, she’s too thin, but weight is just as difficult to put on after an illness as it is to lose for appearance’s sake. Good style choices and good tailoring can disguise a multitude of sins. She needs to dress more like a career woman and less like a 20-something junior princess.

      • KoRAR says:

        @CathyBuchanan
        Her legs aren’t long. What’s long is her torso. You forget that all her royal photos are heavily retouched and altered, even the shape of her nails. In real life, nothing is like in photos. She has shapely legs, but short ones, and (despite her slimness) disproportionately muscular thighs. Her elongated legs in photos sometimes make her as tall as William. This is especially noticeable when she’s wearing flat shoes and trousers. Look for old photos of her from her youth. All the Middletons have short legs and age quickly. They’re also full of fillers and Botox, and even without retouching, Kate looks old for her age. She’s slim (now terribly thin), but has a difficult figure because she has a masculine build: no hips, muscular thighs and arms (see the unretouched photos of T. Cruise in a black dress with a white belt). That Dior jacket is perfect because the stiff material helps shape her figure, and the protruding pockets define her waist and hips. The rest is rubbish. Besides, she can’t wear clothes. She has no sense of style, she constantly dresses as other women and is tense and very controlled, searching for cameras and laughing hysterically, even when everyone around her is grim-faced.

    • Mel says:

      What we’re not gonna do is spew ageist comments even if it about Kate. If she wants to wear her hair, the wig or wiglet long, she gets to do that. Her hair is appropriate for whatever age she is.

      • jais says:

        I don’t think long hair at a certain age is a no no. Her style though looks like doll hair. Which is fine. If doll hair is what someone likes they can absolutely wear it whatever the age. I don’t even mean that in a bad way. Lots of people wear hair that gives a certain aesthetic that they vibe with.

      • Tiny says:

        @ Mel
        I will continue to spew on the aging racist.

      • Nic919 says:

        The ringlet curls look like shit on her. It’s not an age thing it’s a shitty taste thing.

        The little girl curls are stupid and she aged out of it by 16.

        This isn’t a no long hair past 40 thing.

    • Barrett says:

      She does look healthy. Sand isn’t her color, agree. I did notice in her recent talk at a hospital that her forehead was too frozen and the wig was very bad. She used to be able to blend her hair w wig and though not with fails it was still better than the current line of wigs.

  2. Barbara says:

    Kate is too old for this outfit.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Right? Very “Sarah Stanley in Montreal visiting her Dad for her 10th birthday. Miss Hattie only scoffed at the frothie skirt and mumbled that the gray one she wears to church was perfectly serviceable ” but with stilettos.

      • Irving says:

        The shoes don’t seem as stiletto-y as they usually are. Kate’s got heels that make her as tall as William, and these don’t. Is she trying not to tower over her guests? (But she’s been fine with that before.) Or is she trying to take up less space around William? Or does she have balance issues?

      • jais says:

        That gave me some Sarah Polley Avonlea flashbacks.

    • Lady Esther says:

      I’m a fan of blergh in general but not on Kate, she needs jewel tones, or something with a sharp contrast (my paper doll version of today was white short but crisp bolero jacket over a black pencil-skirted dress, and the black wide-brimmed hat Kate wore to a Commonwealth event I think? the one where she wore the flowy polka dot dress?) And of course hair in sleek chignon underneath. So chic and she would have matched Madame Macron better.

      but no, here we go again with Twirly Girly Tee Hee Hee, look at me in girlish pink with my twirly girly curls, long flowy lace skirt and a TEENY TINY HAT. Pardonnez-moi while I hop and skip along next to a hoop like it’s 1935! Tee hee hee!

      • Smart&Messy says:

        “Pardonnez-moi while I hop and skip along next to a hoop like it’s 1935! Tee hee hee!” Hahahhaa so accurate, I love it. I actually LOLd.

      • Tessa says:

        She’ll probably have Charlotte dressed in a similar outfit in a few years

      • Mrs. Smith says:

        Lady Esther YES! That outfit you put together would have been so chic and streamlined. Standing next to W, K’s look is pretty typical. Next to Madame Macron, K’s girly styling is magnified.

      • Gabby says:

        Yes. That hat sucks

      • Iolanthe says:

        Lady Esther . Please. Don’t give them ideas .

    • Eurydice says:

      I would say the opposite. The whole look is prim and stuffy – very mother of the bride.

      • Smart&Messy says:

        Interestingly, I can see it that way too. It’s either little girl boarding the Titanic or older woman trying to upstage the other wedding guests. It’s never professional woman in her 40s doing high profile diplomacy.

      • Jais says:

        It’s actually fascinating that it can somehow read as both too girly and too matronly at the same time.

      • Becks1 says:

        this was my reaction – i think its both too young and too old, and i think the reason we’re thinking that goes back to Kate’s big issue – she has no sense of style or accessories. I could see Mary of Denmark wearing this and looking more modern; I could also see her MIL wearing this and looking very appropriate. I think the hat, hair and matching shoes are what make it look overly fussy. A different hat, hair pulled up, and different shoes – and this would have been a much better look.

        Its not bad in itself, its just….not great. It could have been a lot better.

      • Josephine says:

        That has always been lazy’s sweet spot — a bizarre mixture of toddler and matron.

      • Nic919 says:

        The little girl hairstyle and hat look silly on her. If anyone can make Dior look frumpy and mumsy it’s Kate.

        Plus that colour is not for her. Meghan can wear that colour because her skin tone works with it. Kate needs a sharper colour. Or maybe even in white.

  3. I’m not fond of the hat. Third picture of them in the car she is smiling out the window and Peg is looking the other way with a look that says why me I could be out day drinking.

  4. Roo says:

    This is the royal version of “socially awkward and lazy sibling gets stuck with driving weddings guests to and from the airport because he’s not trusted with anything more important, and he doesn’t want to make a speech at the rehearsal dinner and thank god for that because no one trusts him to not say anything inappropriate.”

  5. Smart&Messy says:

    It’s juvenile to me, especially the hat and the hairstyle, I’d go for something more professional chic, like Bridgitte. But she is a princess and it’s very princessy, so she checked the box and didn’t flash anyone.

    • Jais says:

      It’s the hair that makes it feel juvenile and doll-like. But I’d imagine there are royalists out there who like that. The jacket is structured well to give it a nice shape. It’s got that throwback call the midwife vibe which again royalists like.

      • Eurydice says:

        It’s on-the-nose New Look 1947, and not in a good way. The jacket is nice, but there’s nothing to bring the outfit into the 21st century. With that constipated little hat and everything matchy-matchy, she even makes the pearls look dated.

      • Jais says:

        The styling really makes it seem like she could be an extra in a 1940’s film. Would it right to say the whole look is an anachronism?

      • Eurydice says:

        @Jais – Is there such a thing as “time capsule aesthetic”? it’s weird because the New Look was revolutionary in the fashion world and this reads reactionary, which is the royal brand, I guess. I think it’s Kate’s styling that the problem. I’ve seen jacket/tulle skirt combos that have a flair to them – like a skirt with more volume, or a funky t-shirt under an open jacket, the jacket cinched with a wide belt and the sleeves pushed up, a heavier shoe. But Kate’s piled proper on top of proper on top of proper – it reads “ancient institution” instead of “fashion icon.”

      • Jp says:

        That hair! Wouldn’t she make news if she cut it?! It is beyond time for her to cut that hair. The color is horrible as well. Well now she can’t. Stupid Pippa had to go get a haircut and scooped her sister.

      • jais says:

        @eurydice- “time capsule aesthetic” works, lol. Only today is not the 80’s inspired looks of Diana but the post-war time period.

      • Nic919 says:

        When Dior was styling the New Look women he was not giving them little girl curls like Kate has done. The reference to Sarah Stanley above was perfect because that is Edwardian little girl styling. The women wearing Dior in the late 40s had their hair much shorter and no doll curls.

      • Deborah1 says:

        @Jp – Pippa “debuted” her new shorter hairstyle at Wimbledon today according to the Daily Fail, yet she had this style at Kate’s Christmas carol concert last December. Did no-one notice apart from me? Kate should take a leaf out of her sister’s book and get rid of that Victorian Doll hair.

      • jais says:

        Pippa’s hair looks a little shorter and maybe blunter than it was at Christmas so it does give fresh cut vibes. And it is catching headlines. The juxtaposition of her debuting a short hairstyle at Wimbledon while Kate clings to her antiquated ringlets is also fascinating.

      • Charlie Foxtrot says:

        Just looked at photos of Pippa at Wimbledon. Is she wearing a wiglet as well? She’s got the same hair tucked behind the ears and her part ending halfway down her head as Kate does. My part goes to the back of my head…..

    • Tessa says:

      She channels outfits worn by queen Alexandra daughters when they played croquet

  6. First comment says:

    Apart from the terrible suede shoes, I like the whole look…the photos are photoshopped to the sky…William is soooo in love with Kate!(s) Look at his face! He wishes he was somewhere else with someone else…the only moment he smiles is when he is with the Macrons… Kate, however, knows how to play the game…

  7. Alicky says:

    A blah, bland look. The woman has no clue how to dress.

  8. Em says:

    The jacket is one of the best things she’s worn in a while. But the entire outfit photographs horribly from the back and sides. The skirt is too juvenile

    • Gail Hirst says:

      Question: Wouldn’t we blame Chanel for the skirt being to juvenile for the great jacket? I mean, she’s wearing a Chanel outfit, right?

      • jais says:

        Dior. Camilla and Kate both love Dior now.

      • Eurydice says:

        This outfit wasn’t designed to be worn the way Kate wore it, but maybe it was custom. We’ve seen many times when Kate has taken a design off the runway and had it changed to suit her taste.

      • Nerd says:

        We can’t really blame the designer (Dior) for the jacket and skirt combination on Kate because it’s Kate’s ability to somehow ruin the style of a high fashion designer where no one else can. This exact outfit on someone else would look beautiful, but there is something about the accessories and the juvenile hat and hairstyle that make this look like something sold at a discount store. All I see looking at this is an old Victorian doll that has been out of its packaging for years and just sitting on a dresser in a deserted home.

  9. Dee(2) says:

    Are we sure they won’t be at the state banquet? I mean, I can understand them not being invited, but how are they going to sell them not coming? They aren’t minor royals down the line. It can’t be because of their kids ( weak excuse anyway), it’s summer. It’s a State Dinner for a major ally. This is like the COO not coming to the companies holiday party. How is it accepted that they are always relegated to the kiddie table for events?

    • Blogger says:

      Because they can’t be trusted to behave and not cause a diplomatic incident.

      Can you imagine the notes whoever gets saddled to sit next to them? Imagine the emails to Paris:

      “The heir is dumb and clueless. And his wife has a speech impediment. She struggles to speak in her native tongue, let alone speak French. Both are boring as batshit.”

    • Jais says:

      It’s a possibility. But I think an unlikely one. Mostly bc I don’t think Charles wants or feels he needs them there. And as of yet, no reason has been given. But who knows maybe they’ll still end up there. Doubtful though.

    • Kittenmom says:

      Surely no one else can tuck in the tiny children! And Kkkatherine must think of her health – she is recovering from precancer. Whatever precancer is.

    • Becks1 says:

      No, we’re not sure they won’t be there. I feel like it should be assumed they will attend, but it does feel notable that none of the discussion around the state dinner includes then. It should be an automatic that they will be there but it isn’t, which is….interesting.

      • Nic919 says:

        It is very weird that their attendance hasn’t been confirmed for the state banquet. I suspect they want to avoid another ascot fiasco.

      • Becks1 says:

        update – she’s going and it looks like she has Charles’ order now. very interesting for someone who he ignores in public.

        i wonder if she didn’t have it for the Qatari state dinner and the diplomatic reception so she refused to attend those events? her dress looks very heavy tonight like it was meant for a winter event….

      • jais says:

        This is funny to me. The suspenseful buildup. They cannot even announce it until the last minute. She’s having her Givenchy moment with wedding dress designer. A red cape moment. Sorry, it’s just funny to me. Good for her. She was either allowed to go or she decided it was a good and balanced day to go, who knows.

      • Nic919 says:

        They made sure to block her with a massive candelabra this time and with a huge floral arrangement.

    • First comment says:

      Perhaps they deliberately didn’t mention them so their presence at the banquet would have the most effect to the public..or perhaps, they can’t be sure till the last minute whether Kate would be there,thus they don’t mention it to avoid any more Ascot incidents…

    • Eliza says:

      Apparently Charles has one emotion, jealousy. Kate and William, even though they’re idiots would get more attention at the State dinner.
      This one emotion rules his every move, every day.

      • Nic919 says:

        That whole family is run by jealousy. Kate is no better than her father in law, especially because she initiated a smear campaign against Meghan because of her jealousy. They all deserve each other and the misery they inflict.

  10. Amy Bee says:

    Didn’t the press tell us that royal women shouldn’t wear biege? Kate’s been wearing a lot of biege and brown lately. What’s going on here? I get what she was trying to do but the hair, hat and the colour are all wrong. Beige is not her colour either, it washes her out.

    • Jais says:

      Well, the color of beige, or sand or putty is less stand out than that red she wore for the S. Korean visit when she also showed a thigh-high leg. Maybe she’s trying to show that she’s not there to pull focus. It’s hard to imagine after the Chelsea flower showdown antics of the past but who knows.

  11. Tessa says:

    She looks dowdy. And another flying saucer h a t. She grins at those cameras.

    • Interested Gawker says:

      And a TINY saucer hat. After wearing so many larger, colourful and floridly embellished ones it comes off as muted and apologetic rather than chic.

  12. Tessa says:

    The hair hanging down or wigs looks bad.

    • Cali says:

      Those ringlets. I just can’t.

      • Smart&Messy says:

        I know. My god, and on an adult woman.

      • Becks1 says:

        When did the ringlets start? she hasn’t always had them. As a royal, she’s always had the big bouncy blow outs (think of her engagement appearance) and sometimes it was curlier than other times, but the little girl ringlets didn’t become her norm until – when? the pandemic? I can’t remember. but her hair has more highlights than it used to have and those ringlets.

      • Nic919 says:

        The ringlets seem to be the new extensions she got in the last year.

      • KoRAR says:

        @Becks1
        She has been wearing wigs since the beginning. Middleton has normal hair, neither thick nor thin, but it looked good. Now they all wear half-wigs, even Pippa, who “defended” for a long time. And Kate’s curls, as well as the length, started, like everything else, with Meghan, who sometimes had waves on her loose, long hair. Somewhere around 2015, Kate shortened her wigs, because the Queen firmly demanded that she throw out platform heels and shorter hair, but that did not mean giving up wigs at all. She even wore more of them and her hair looked like it had been cast in plaster. Sometimes she wears full wigs, but most often right behind the front strand of hair, often put behind her ears, under which she also has Velcro thickeners (her famous “scar” on her head). At that time, she had so much of it on her head that it took over 4 hours to pin it all up, which William revealed, complaining that how can doing a hairstyle take so long and he has to wait. After such torture of his own hair, it’s no wonder that he now has a mouse pigtail and poor hair, as we saw in the photos from the skiing, where William was cuddling a bottle from the morning

      • Becks1 says:

        @Korar I didn’t ask about wigs – I asked about the ringlets, because no, she has not been wearing these ringlets since the beginning. The hair length has gone back and forth (sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, sometimes bangs, sometimes not, sometimes straight, sometimes curly) but these little girl ringlets in EVERY appearance is relatively recent – maybe the last 2-3 years.

        And to clarify because there is always someone who will say “so what if she does wear extensions” – I don’t generally care whether she wears extensions or not; I care that the palace lied about it and that the extensions look bad.

      • jais says:

        That’s always it. That the palace were willing to go on record that she doesn’t wear extensions. And lie about it. And then hid their hands behind their back and said oh but we could never correct the false crying story about Meghan that just happens to make Kate look like a victim. Nope. Never getting over that one. But I was really trying to remember when the ringlets began making an appearance. It was definitely post-covid. But I cannot pinpoint exactly when. She did have somewhat long ringlets when she did her black and white 40th birthday photos. The one where she looked like a Victorian ghost that passed away from consumption as the commenter carrotface once said.

      • KoRAR says:

        @Becks1
        I wrote that both the curls and length started with the arrival of Meghan, who sometimes had waves in her long hair, e.g. on IG. She also started copying Meghan’s very straightened hair combed behind the ears (Caribbean).

      • Becks1 says:

        no, the ringlets started well after Meghan. Maybe after Meghan left? I’m not talking about her curls in general, but those really tight little girl curls. When you see pictures of Kate from Christmas 2018, from H&M’s wedding etc she didnt have the ringlets. She went with the straight hair for a while through the pandemic and that at some point she decided this was “the look.” and it wasnt’ all the time at first (see pictures of her from scotland in 2023, two separate polo outings) but at some point she decided that ringlets were winning at life.

        it doesnt really matter, i’m just wondering looking back on it.

        @Jais maybe it was her 40th birthday where they started gaining steam.

        I think it bothers me so much bc they are such a bad look for her but someone must be telling her they look great lol.

      • Crystal says:

        Becks1 – I believe the curls are a holdover from when James Pryce used to style her hair (and he did her wedding curls). But then she stopped using his services after he tried to establish a career using unauthorized images or something, and she started using other stylists who weren’t as subtle with the curls. He actually did them very well (I love her James Pryce hairstyles, not all are curly but they’re very nice).
        The ringlets first appeared 2013 I think. At the Remembrance ceremony. I remember because I always liked her little beret, lol.

    • Weatherby says:

      Becks1: I think she is in a rapid state of regression.

      She wore ringlet curls for several years immediately after her marriage, but not twee little curls down her back like this.

      It’s a look that is meant for a girl, a small child with long, bouncy, youthful hair. It ages her worse than the dark makeup.

      I believe this started in 2023. Something happened that really startled her, shook her and her Mother out of their sense of complacency. These doll wigs are her mind grasping desperately to anything (possibly the one thing) that she feels makes her look sexy and appealing. You can see it in her eyes lately, the lifelessness.

      Something is very wrong with her marriage and it would seem it is devouring her. She has no identity, no presence, no… nothing. Except for the impossibly long, and increasingly bedraggled mane.

  13. NoHope says:

    There are many serious and important things going on in the world. I need a break sometimes and when I do, I ruminate on this: how far into her forties is Kate going to keep up the luscious fantasy hair game?

    If you look at pictures of young Kate pre-wig, you realize her hair was never as full as it looks now.

    I do feel for her on this point. The on-ramp to wigs and pieces is easy, especially if your husband’s attention has turned elsewhere and you’re facing a health crisis. There is simply no gracious off ramp.

    No one in the RF is going to tell her she is loved just the way she is.

    So, but, then…how long can she stretch this out before it becomes ghastly?

    • Becks1 says:

      I saw a picture of her yesterday – I cant remember when it was from – but her hair was shorter and darker (more waves, less ringlets) and looked SO much better.

      Wait – it just came to me – it was either from the second canada trip or a garden party, she was wearing that white dress with a crocheted bodice/top and wedges. But her hair looked fresh and healthy. Still bouncy, still wavy, still a big blowout – but much less doll-like.

      ETA found it – the canada party didnt look great, it was when she rewore the dress- I cant get a good link to a picture but google Kate Chloe dress rewear and it will pop up.

      • Nic919 says:

        Her hair looked decent after Louis was born and for Harry and Meghan’s wedding. But the length was shorter and she wasn’t adding blonde highlights.

    • Blujfly says:

      I play the same game! But her identity with her hair is deeper than you realize – the Palace Papers by Tina Brown has a story about Carole chortling to Italian waiters about Kate’s incredible hair and beauty. And the hair is the one the thing otherwise more put together Pippa doesn’t have. In fact Pippa just got a bob. She has the examples in her own family, she chooses not to.

    • Nanea says:

      “If you look at pictures of young Kate pre-wig, you realize her hair was never as full as it looks now.”

      We don’t even need to look that far back. We all remember that sad, very thin, mousy, and *much* shorter ponytail from earlier this year, when Kate’s life was balanced enough for her to be able to do some skiing in Courchevel, while the Willionaire got cosy with a bottle of wine.

    • Nic919 says:

      She has had extension pieces from early in the marriage, hence the press release denial and “childhood scar” story. It is just that lately the pieces look way more obvious and the hair is way too long. No one buys that it’s all real.

      • jais says:

        The ringlets look artificial. There is something about those ringlets that look unnatural. It calls more attention to the artifice than anything else.

      • Becks1 says:

        Her hair looks really unhealthy lately (starting in 2023 maybe?) – not sure if she switched hairdressers, if these are bad extensions, if the highlighting is making it worse or what.

    • wendy says:

      @NoHope — considering the HOURS spent daily dissecting her hair — researching past hair styles – and commenting on her hair….from total strangers. The answer to your question is obvious — I’m not sure she is the one dragging it out.

      • Nic919 says:

        The answer is because kate and KP want to keep pretending it’s all natural. Do most celebrities wear wigs or extensions? Yes. Do most celebs pretend it is all natural? No.

        That’s why this discussion continues. The very first press release post wedding in 2011 was to deny the use of any hair extensions when one was clearly visible. That was a precursor and theme to the many lies blatantly served up since then including the kill notice photo.

  14. Moondust says:

    I like the suit, I hate the hair. I’m not sure about the hat. I think the problem is Kate’s terrible posture. When Meghan wore Dior for the jubilee, she looked astounding. She has impeccable posture and it elevates the look. Here with stupid hair and bad posture, it feels ok but not great.

  15. Tessa says:

    It’s similar to what carrie Bradshaw wire to church when she wanted to meet mister b i g s. Mother.

  16. Sun says:

    Oh my god, when Brigitte’s famous wig looks more natural than Kate’s horse hair, surely it has to be a reality check!

    Terrible colour on her, and weirdly prissy AND dowdy? The 30-years older First Lady looks more modern and stylish (although still a terrible person).

  17. The Duchess says:

    This colour is not it. I adore the suit, just not on her. It’s so ill-fitting when it doesn’t need to be. Even petite outfits are drowning her now and that is not a good sign.

    • HeatherC says:

      I wouldn’t call the jacket ill fitting. It’s just that she is so thin that the padding is obvious. Nothing to be done there, unfortunately.

    • Blujfly says:

      Clothes have always worn her, not her wearing the clothes, and it’s much worse now as you’ve pointed out.

    • Nic919 says:

      The bridesmaid dress she wore for Pippa’s wedding was a similar colour and it didn’t look good then on her either.

  18. Chaine says:

    The cut and style are fine but the color is so dreary ! She is trying to emulate Meghan by wearing beige, which even Meghan struggles to carry off, but she’s not got Meghan’s warm skin tone to balance it out. All I can think is maybe the color looks better indoors than in the harsh direct sunlight?

    She’s sort of stuck with the voluminous wigs now as she’s been relying on them so long that going back to her natural and now likely thinning middle aged hair would be so obvious. It reminds one of the women of a certain age who still rat their hair like it’s 1967.

    • Jenniem says:

      I wonder that too. She could go with shorter hair pieces to fill it out but at the same time pretend she ‘cut’ it. We know from pics it’s naturally around shoulder length (at least that’s my memory of the ski pics).

      BTW I worked with a woman in the mid 90s who still wore a full beehive hairdo and bright blue to the brows eyeshadow. But she really owned it!

  19. Interested Gawker says:

    This moment cried out for a ‘military Mary Poppins’, classic Kate look or a British designer – either dress ‘like herself’ or meet the French girded to the teeth in an example of the best contemporary fashion the U.K. has to offer.

    The frilly net skirt and the scaled down hat (especially after being seen in a long run of wide brim hats recently), makes Kate look juvenile, like the ‘Miss Dior dressed like mummy as we disembark from the plane together’ or she’s ready to ‘march in two straight lines’ behind Madame Clavel on a school outing.

    We’ve got buttons and it’s Dior but the effect is meh…

  20. BASH says:

    Queen Mary of Denmark recently wore this jacket on a state visit to France. Hers is an off white and she paired with a round skirt of the same material and she looked quite nice.

  21. Me at home says:

    To me the outfit recalls that Self Portrait ensemble she wears so often in different colors, with a sharply tailored jacket and frothy lace (or tulle here) skirt. It’ seems like the coat dresses: comfort dressing for her.

    That said, I love the jacket because I’m a sucker for great tailoring. But that doll hair and girly tulle skirt…. She doesn’t need to cosplay a princess because she is one. It’s like she refuses to embrace being a mature, confident woman.

  22. Catherine says:

    She looks fine except for the weird wig but then again Brigitte Macron’s wig is even worse. Brigitte has more hair than she did when she was 40.

  23. Iheoma Nwakpadolu says:

    Kate copying Meghan’s outfit styles and colours are not doing her any good. Meghan skin is vibrant and so can carry off beige and neutral tones
    With carriage you can wear any outfit and it will poop. Kate lacks carriage thats why she pulls down most things she wears. No amount of styling and tailoring will compensate for lack of body carriage.

  24. Lissen says:

    Hat & hair give off strong vibes of Madeline in Paris … especially the pic of her in profile in the car. Subtle soft power nod to the French? lol

    https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/DQ5/madeline/

  25. Dee says:

    Kate has no style. I’m sure after the red dress with the leg show she was told to tone it down. She’s styled like an elderly great aunt. Though in defense of great aunts, many would know how to accessorize this outfit better.

  26. aquarius64 says:

    This outfit is bland. It’s far from dazzling.

  27. First comment says:

    I’ve just seen a video of the visit and Kate again curtsey twice in front of Charles and Camilla and was completely ignored by both of them.. why does she have to curtsey every single time? I know the royal rules but those curtsies seem so off during official visits with other dignitaries…🤷‍♀️.

    • sevenblue says:

      Isn’t the rule to curtsey the first time you see them that day? You don’t curtsey every single time you interact with them? Charles has been ignoring Kate since her GoneGirl era. He must be pissed that he is working with cancer while she is making instagram videos about seasons, then go to skiing, because she is trying to find a balance.

    • Amy Bee says:

      Yeah, I just saw that video clip. Things are definitely not right between Kate and Charles and Camilla.

    • Becks1 says:

      ooooh interesting. I’ll have to see if I can find it.

      he completely blanked her at the Qatari state welcome in November and then there was another event – commmonwealth service maybe? where he ignored her. For charles not to play along in public and pretend to adore his DIL is……well, its interesting.

      • KoRAR says:

        @Becks1
        Yes, Charles treated her like air, and she bowed to his back, almost as low and servile as Sophie. You know, bowing to the cameras:) Charles didn’t see it, but the media caught it. It didn’t earn her any points though, because it was embarrassing.

      • Nic919 says:

        He blanked her at the South Korea welcome. Not my king has it pinned on their Twitter account.

        And William didn’t even attempt to bow, so William either saw Charles and Camilla before he took the car with Kate or he doesn’t care about protocol.

      • Becks1 says:

        @nic919 I cant find either video now bc I’m not on twitter anymore but I don’t remember it from the SK visit. But that feels like ages ago, lol. i definitely remember it at the Qatari visit and I was shocked bc it seemed like such a big snub to her.

      • BeanieBean says:

        That was weird! It’s like, who is she curtseying to? I guess it’s actually ‘who is she curtseying for?’, because the answer is the cameras. Per Hello magazine, she did three ‘perfect curtseys’. ‘Perfect’. Right.

    • sunnyside up says:

      Curtseys are off all the time, it is degrading.

    • Jaded says:

      Both the Wails have been on Charlie’s shit list since the coronation when she made an idiot of herself with the Temu Tiara and they showed up late. Then the great disappearing act happened. He and Camzilla can barely hide their antipathy.

      • First comment says:

        OMG…I just saw another video in which she curtseyed a third time and kissed Camilla!! What’s going on? Three curtsies? It’s as if she tries to show how obedient she’s towards the Charles and Camilla and that she has the perfect manners…it is so degrading..

      • Becks1 says:

        okay I found a video but I think it cut off before the third curtsy. I did see the first two which just looked like they were to no one. how incredibly awkward. neither charles nor camilla looked her way and the Waleses looked so awkward and out of place.

      • Nic919 says:

        There was a small white tent at Windsor where Chuck and cams are there with the Macrons. Kate and William are on the outside of that tent.

        Clearly a message is being sent by Charles.

      • IFoxi says:

        I’ve thought for a long time that Chuck is pissed off at Kate for lying about cancer, but he won’t call her out publicly, too scandalous.

  28. bitsycs says:

    The color is an abomination on her.

    I think overall the Dior New Look vibe would be great for her to lean into (if she had style and could modernize it some vs straight cosplay) because it flattered women with her shape and made it interesting. Her hair and hat is all wrong too I think – straight cosplay of the new look fully would have been better than that choice.

    • Living Desert says:

      @ bitsycs: Totally right!

      To wear something like this can be heavenly, if one has the two most important ingredients in the mix: Attitude and Accessories.

      Those two A can make or break any outfit.

      This is sadly a case of “break”.

      What a waste of a gorgeous suit, a reverence to a milestone in fashion by Dior, transposed into modern times.

      Plus: Can someone please take a pair of scissors to that mane?

  29. Cj says:

    What an underwhelming colour. A duskier pink would have been as calm but more eye catching. Didn’t think about a chignon but yes that would be stunning! I don’t know why she insists on mermaid hair when an updo can be so beautiful and such a super polished look to accentuate cheekbones and how refined her role is.

    I don’t like the jacket it looks like it doesn’t fit. Wonder if it was bought for something last year, then she didn’t go anywhere but her shape has fluctuated from treatment so it doesn’t fit. Overall a solid 5. Not awful, not significant, nice enough but dull. And certainly not the clickbait worthy outfit to support any attempts to proclaim a return of the most fashionable royal. Press must be disappointed.

  30. Nikki (Toronto) says:

    This is the best she’s looked in a while, but it may be too close to her skin tone, and it’s reminiscent of Lydia Millen-Gordon circa 2019.

  31. KoRAR says:

    They were supposed to pick up Macron from the airport, and Kate, focused solely on herself, can’t even do that well. Her appearance is so embarrassing that I’m ashamed to see it. This isn’t a friend’s wedding, or a name day at her aunt’s, but a welcome for the president of another country, who is on a professional visit to the country that KW represent, and here high diplomacy and a professional dress code apply. They represent the king and the country, not Carole Middleton. The jacket is good, but there should be a knee-length pencil skirt, tied hair, clearly a small head covering, which is not necessary. This waist-length wig with curls, these tulles, this hat – God, is she so dense, or does she have some kind of mental deficiency? Does anyone in the palace have any control over this, or does her mother advise her on what to wear?
    Looks like a doll that an old aunt likes to put in the middle of the bed.
    In addition, zero interest in the guests, but focused on finding cameras. She puts her hand on William’s back (miraculously not on his buttocks), but doesn’t look at him, only at the camera behind him. Another failure is the British media, which instead of focusing on the French presidential couple, devotes the entire front page to Kate’s outfit and wigs. Perhaps BP should take care not only of banquets and carriages, but also of the appropriate media coverage.

  32. Cathy says:

    How is it possible to wear something as classic as a Dior Bar Jacket and mess it up? Mary of Denmark wore her Bar Jacket with a skirt in the same fabric and looked fantastic. I seen a photo of Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi wearing a red Dior Bar Jacket and skirt and she looks fabulous too. So it’s not the Jacket? Is it the way Kate has put the outfit together? If the hat wasn’t tilted so aggressively and maybe if she had worn her hair up then maybe she wouldn’t look like someone playing dress ups? The day before was the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London and no Kate at the church service and yet here she is wearing a very expensive outfit to collect the Macrons from the airport. I’m going to guess that she’ll be well enough to go to the tennis too? But not well enough for church?

  33. Miss Scarlett says:

    The HAIR. My gosh. She is in such desperate need of a hair overhaul. Why does she insist on clinging to this horrendous hair? Is it a security blanket? Is she not allowed to be around d scissors? Please please please KP, force her to get a haircut.

    Also, this could have been more palatable with a bigger hat. Instead she looks like she is cosplaying Madeleine.

  34. MsKrisTalk says:

    Kate is dressed like an old church lady wearing an expensive dress. She does not know how to style her body and she does not understand how to interpret fashion to her benefit.

  35. tamsin says:

    I think it was Hilary Mantel who labelled Kate a mannequin. Kate strikes me more as a coat hanger- things just seem to hang on her- she doesn’t bring clothes to life, so to speak. I wonder if Kate really enjoys clothes much. I love the original Dior look with the cinched waisted jacket and the full skirt, but the beautifully tailored jacket here doesn’t really cinch Kate’s waist and the skirt just seems lifeless. I think the shape of the hat is fine, but imo, it should be larger to balance the outfit. Perhaps a chic chignon without a hat would serve just as well. Charlotte would look lovely with her hair styled like that and that hat.

  36. Blair Warner says:

    Apart from the terrible wiglet hair, I think she looks grown-up and appropriate for the occasion. This is a win for Kate.

    • KoRAR says:

      You must be kidding! Tulle and doll hats, that’s not diplomatic attire for a meeting at noon. That’s something you could wear to your aunt’s name day, or to a friend’s wedding, not to a state meeting. Of course, the wig completes the whole tastelessness.

  37. QuiteContrary says:

    I could see this outfit on Kit Kittredge, the American Girl doll.

    The color is dreadful on Kate and the hat … mon dieu!

  38. Dee says:

    She’s never worn Dior before, right? It’s beyond creepy how she keeps encroaching on Meghan’s style

  39. Flying Fish says:

    If you put Kate in a room with former Princesses now Queens Letizia, Maxima, Mathilde and Mary, she would have no presence at all!

  40. Matty says:

    She is still copying Meghan. This is her version of Meghan’s *Dior* monochrome white outfit worn for the queen’s jubilee. That outfit was also a reinterpretation of a vintage Dior.

  41. Laura says:

    OMG that hair with the curls: she looks like the little girl Harriet Oleson, the bad one, from “Little House on the Prairie”.
    Excuse me but the dress is old and dull

  42. BeanieBean says:

    This Dior is what those polyester Self Portrait dresses were trying to be. Note the difference in tailoring, fabric, fit. It’s quite nice. Too bad Kate ruined the overall look with shoe/handbag choices & a stupid little hat.

  43. Digital Unicorn says:

    This is one of her better looks but agree the colour washes her out (even thou she looks like she’s got a tan) and Cousin It on her head is just yeah….. The sausage curls are making a comeback.

    Kate is one of those women that no matter how they are styled they always make the clothes look sh!t – it seems that the on fashion she can pull of is High Street, she cannot wear design/couture to save her wiglets.

    She’ll def be at the mens finals at Wimbledon this weekend and while we will see William tonight at the state banquet, I will be surprised if she’s there – she’s being sidelined from these events.

  44. Liz-L says:

    Just been announced she’s attending the Banquet tonight 👗👑

  45. Weatherby says:

    I honestly wonder if Charles is now so totally in charge of Kate’s clothing allowance that his office actually selects what she will wear to which event.

    I simply cannot fathom anyone with sense making these (jacket??) dress monstrosities into their latest *signature look*. It’s beyond the Carole-inspired Little Prarie frocks, and the twee she loved when she was first married. My, she really does go through fashion eras, didn’t she? *snort*

    If Charles’ office is now selecting and storing her wearable outfits (perhaps to prevent more pilfering of the wardrobe for liquid assets?), then I can understand the frump; Camilla would naturally choose the ugliest items possible.

    • Magdalena says:

      It is possible that Charles’ people are recommending outfits FOR her, but William is the one who has held the purse strings for Kate’s expenses since he became Duke of Cornwall. Charles used to pay for her clothes when he was paying for William’s household and that’s why she got away with purchasing so many identical ugly overpriced coat dresses in the same colours for years. William seems to have drastically cut her budget in more ways than one.

      Kate has openly disrespected Charles on more than one occasion, so it is doubtful that she would be accepting any advice from his people.

      • Weatherby says:

        Oh I do not think it is advise. I think it is a command: she will turn up at X location and Z time, and will be presented an outfit to wear. These events being Bring Your Own Wig, of course.

        To avoid the spectacle of being late again, and to prevent the *ahem* apparent loss of an entire wardrobe. Also… a control measure to ensure she does not go rogue again?

        William, for his part, checked out of this marriage long ago and if his father wants to house and arrange his wife’s clothing, why not let him?

    • Jenniem says:

      No, this is Kate all over. William pays for her clothes now as he has the duchy money. This is her style.

  46. Miss Scarlett says:

    Am I the only one who thinks this outfit looks remarkably like that white self portrait suit she keeps wearing? It’s like she gets stuck on one silhouette and keeps repeating it ad nauseum.

  47. Lau says:

    Meghan should still become a Dior ambassador just so that all of those people loose their sh*t even more.

  48. therese says:

    I like the jacket a lot. One thing about Kate, you never have to ask if she’s wearing fake pearls. I imagine Macron and Will discussing ignoring things till they go away, and Madame Macron and Kate discussing how to throw a left hook.

  49. Cassie says:

    She wore Diana’s tiara to the banquet .

    Bet that was a fun time .

  50. Anare says:

    She has long had a thing for juvenile looks and this boring, prim, fussy little outfit is on trend for her. The Dior beige groutfit is a snooze, not groundbreaking in any way. Kate likes the structured blazer and fluffy skirt look. The accessories are also ho-hum. The long ringlets are too girlie. The hat is goofy looking, too small and the style doesn’t work with that outfit. I’d vote for no hat. How about that! Cut that long, fake crap, rock real hair and skip the dumb hats. At least she seems relaxed and enjoying picking up the guests at the airport. Mrs. Macron looks stylish, as usual.

  51. wolfmamma says:

    For someone who has so much money she really has no sense of how to use it with any flair. She looks frumpy, regardless of the designer and jewels pulled out of the vault. It really is too bad she doesn’t get herself to a really talented hair team as well.

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