In May and June, the Princess of Wales dusted off a years-old Self Portrait ensemble and wore it twice to two high-profile events within a six-week period. The Self Portrait look featured a structured and belted blazer and a loose, below-the-knee, billowy-yet-janky skirt. The skirt ruined the whole ensemble and it was bizarre that she wore it twice so close together. I was reminded of that Self Portrait ensemble when I saw Kate’s $9600 Dior ensemble yesterday for the French state visit. Kate managed to make an expensive Dior look like she got the same Self Portrait outfit in a pinky beige. Well, the Telegraph called this Dior look part of Kate’s “French girl summer.”

If the term “French girl summer” hasn’t reached you yet, it’s just a matter of time. Google searches for the phrase are up by 100 per cent since June. Now the Princess of Wales is the latest to embrace the idea, but naturellement, she’s taken it to the next level.

In a masterful display of fashion diplomacy, Catherine chose a blush coloured Christian Dior look to meet the French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte at RAF Northolt on Tuesday morning.

Dior is, of course, a French house, and one of the world’s biggest luxury brands, within the stable of French conglomerate LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company.

Central to the ensemble was the 30 Montaigne Rose Des Vents Bar jacket – a signature Dior piece, known for its hourglass silhouette. This particular iteration, the 30 Montaigne Rose Des Vents, was from 2024, designed during the tenure of Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s only ever female creative director who announced her departure from the storied house in May.

While this is the first time that Catherine has worn Dior for a formal engagement, the house has a long history with the British royals. Wallis Simpson loved to wear Dior, as did Princess Margaret, who wore Dior for her 21st birthday in 1951. In the Nineties, Princess Diana was such a devoted fan, the “Lady Dior” bag was renamed after her.

The Duchess of Sussex has also long been a devotee of Chiuri’s Dior, choosing it for one of her first official engagements in 2018, and regularly in the years since, to the extent that both the Sussexes and Dior were forced to deny rumours that Meghan was set to be the new face of the brand. This loyalty extended to her husband’s wardrobe too – Prince Harry wore Dior to his father’s Coronation.

[From The Telegraph]

I actually find it remarkable that this is the first time Kate has ever worn Dior. She’s worn most luxury brands at least once, and she obviously wanted to copykeen after Meghan wore Dior so often. Hm. As for “French girl summer” – The Telegraph left that part up for several hours before the piece was rewritten. Quelle horreur, Kate is no longer having a French Girl Summer. Perhaps the deletion of that part of the article signifies that Kate will be having a Hot Workshy Norfolk Summer.

Incidentally, People Mag had an article highlighting a moment of awkwardness for Kate – when she and William arrived at Windsor Castle yesterday, Kate tried to curtsy to both King Charles and Queen Camilla, but they ignored her. So she did it again when they were paying attention.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.