Round One to Kate in face-off with First Lady
SHE’S much admired for her wardrobe choices in Canada, where she is dubbed her country’s ‘Kate Middleton’.
So there was bound to be sense of fashion rivalry when First Lady Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau met the Duchess of Cambridge.
But on this occasion, Sophie’s style proved no match for Britain’s future queen. Both had strikingly similar ensembles: plain, close-fitting dresses to just below the knee, hats and court shoes.
But while Kate’s designer dress, matching hat, nude heels and eye- catching brooch was deemed flawless, experts said Sophie’s outfit was let down by a mismatching purple felt hat.
The Duchess of Cambridge looked effortlessly elegant in a striking royal blue body contouring dress by British designer Jenny Packham. Learning from the dangers of fly-away hems on breezy runways in the past, her tailored dress didn’t let her down as she stepped off the plane.
Kate also demonstrated a masterly motherly juggling act, negotiating the steep steps in £450 four-inch suede heels by Gianvito Rossi while resting Princess Charlotte on her hip and taking George’s hand.
Her hair was swept back into an elegant chignon, courtesy of her £300-a- day travelling personal hairdresser, crowned with a jaunty blue Locke and Co hat decorated with Maple leaves in tribute to her Canadian hosts.
Another charming touch was the royal family’s Maple leaf diamond brooch, given to the late Queen Mother by her husband, King George VI, to mark the state visit to Canada in 1939.
William, meanwhile, was wearing a dark blue suit and his Guards tie. The dress chosen by Sophie, a 41-year- old former television presenter and yoga fanatic, was spot on. The gown from Édition de Robes cost 595 Canadian dollars – a fraction of the cost of Kate’s, thought to reach well into four-figures.
It had fashionable and flattering shoulder details, and Sophie sensibly didn’t risk a cut quite as figure-hugging as slim Kate.
But she was let down by her purple felt hat from Torontobased The Saucy Milliner. It wasn’t the right choice with this dress and aged her beyond her years. The main problem was simply the colour, a rich dark damson that clashed terribly with her dress.
Her understated jewellery and shoes worked well and these elements came together to make a breathtaking ensemble. As the UK has ‘Kate effect’ – where clothes worn by the Duchess sell out in seconds, so Canada has its ‘Sophie effect’.
But on this occasion she looked a mere pretender to the fashion throne – and Kate retains her title of style queen.