Is this the dress of the year?
There are few higher fashion compliments than someone scooting over to ask “where did you get that dress? It’s gorgeous, I want one!” Whether it was from a little place you found in an obscure town you just happened to be passing through or the first thing grabbed off a rail at M&S, this question never fails to leave one feeling smug.
Abigail Spencer’s smug-ometer must be off the scale now that the Duchess of Cambridge has worn the dress she made famous. In a new portrait, Kate wears the navy-and-white polka dot dress that saw Spencer (one of Meghan’s Suits co-stars) declared a best-dressed guest at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May.
The dress in question is a tea style by Alessandra Rich, who began her brand in 2010 and has cornered a niche in luxe, ladylike pieces. It’s chic without being too serious and has a little dash of edge while also being perfectly polite. For Kate, whose own style is much copied, it marks a foray into something more experimental without straying too far from her comfort zone.
The influence of Spencer’s dress had already been felt in royal circles – Pippa Middleton chose a plain spearmint version for Prince Louis’s christening and a few weeks ago Kate was pictured in a similar £159 buttoned-up brown take from Whistles.
Even before the Duchess’s endorsement, Rich’s creation was in line to be a defining look of the year. The dress clearly inspired collective note-taking because imitations have already popped up across every price point.
I’d usually consider myself impervious to these influences but I’m proud to admit that I too cannot get enough of the polka dot dress. I toyed with investing in the real Alessandra Rich thing but instead bought Uterque’s floor-length shirt dress with gold buttons which felt a bit “governess” before I had it shortened to a midi; it got me through a day where I had to give a speech and then go to London Fashion Week, quite a steep sartorial challenge.
Zara now has a prim white-collared take for £39.99 but if you have more to spend Paper London’s ruffled crêpe midi and Nanushka’s pussy bow chiffon dress are both divine. Then prepare for smugness-inducing enquiries.