KEEPING US GUESSING
KATE, like her beloved late mom-in-law, Diana, has been getting bolder and bolder with her style choices. One particularly striking piece set tongues wagging – an unusual chartreuse-hued gown by Erdem for a black-tie dinner hosted by the British ambassador in Stockholm.
The bold ensemble featured a high collar, long sleeves, a floor-skimming skirt and an oversized botanical print, but the delicate golden-green colour gave the design a chic twist.
In a subtle nod to Diana, she wore her gown with a pair of Princess Diana’s pearl earrings and her pearl bracelet.
Some observers loved the eye-catching Erdem number, others thought she was wearing her grandma’s curtains.
But on a visit to the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Kate had fans in raptures with her red hound’s-tooth Catherine Walker coat because of the similarities it bore to a look worn by Diana three decades earlier.
Diana rocked a white-and-red hound’stooth jacket by Moschino at Princess Eugenie’s christening at Sandringham in 1990, pairing it with a black-and-white skirt in the same pattern.
“From polka dots to red coats and floaty pastel gowns, Kate Middleton’s wardrobe choices have long drawn inspiration from Princess Diana,” brand stylist Hannah Eichler told the Daily Mail.
“Her latest outing has shown the Duchess of Cambridge’s looks continue to be synced with Diana in the sartorial department.
“While Princess Diana might have opted for more fashion-forward styling by mixing colours instead of going tonal like Kate, it certainly proves that real style never goes out of fashion.
“From 1990 to 2018, hound’s-tooth prints are a fashion mainstay.”
SO IS it a boy or a girl? Thanks to clever styling, there’s no way to compare the way Kate is carrying this time with her pregnancies with Prince George (4) and Princess Charlotte (2).
Still, her face does seem to be ever so slightly fuller this time around – which, some folks will have you believe, is a sure sign she’s expecting another daughter. Then there’s Kate’s choice of colour in her couture. Fans were in a frenzy when she appeared in the eye-catching fuchsia Mulberry coat she repurposed for an appearance at Coventry Cathedral in January.
Kate had donned the knee-length design before, you see – when she was pregnant with Charlotte. Was the bright pink hue her subtle way of revealing baby No 3 is a little girl?
But fans hoping for another princess realised they couldn’t count their chickens just yet. There’s been plenty of blue in Kate’s pregnancy wardrobe too – especially during the latest royal tour.
The blue Catherine Walker coat she wore when she arrived in Oslo was an instant hit – as was the pretty blue maternity dress she wore underneath by Seraphine, a brand she often favoured while pregnant with Charlotte.
She switched things up slightly as she stepped out on her first Norway outing by adding a faux fur hat and cuffs to ward off the chill for a series of stops with Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
But while Kate always looks beautiful in blue, one of her outfits in the regal colour was rather a misstep.
At a reception to celebrate Swedish culture at the Fotografiska gallery, her look of choice was a floral blue velvet number with long flared sleeves by Erdem that had her looking more like a governess than royal. The dress set Twitter alight, with armchair fashionistas suggesting Kate get a new stylist – and turn her dress into curtains.