Royal Flash!

Kate’s racy lacy dress? It gets a big fashion tick. But dare to bare too much and you may come a cropper in the great...

IT WAS enough to spook the horses. The Duchess of Cambridge turned up at Royal Ascot last week in a see-through lace dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. The frock, tantamount to dressing in a doily – which I suppose at least kept her cool in the searing heat – was compared to her couture wedding gown, but there was one crucial difference: the wedding dress was lined.

And doesn’t it show how times have changed that when her late mother-in-law was photographed in a sheer Laura Ashley skirt, it merely revealed her legs, not her kidneys?

I blame another Kate M for this trend.

Remember the Liza Bruce sweet-wrapper slip dress worn by Kate Moss in 1993? The outrage that you could see her nipples, and a pair of black pants? These days, her outfit seems as buttoned up as a burka.

Wearing a gown with more holes than William’s diary has been a stealthy drip-drip assault, so that these days young women out on the town look entirely naked, and entirely normal.

(There are 108 sheer dress options on Asos alone; it even sells sheer socks! Goodness, even Per Una does a doily dress – a €120 orange lace frock.) Once celebrities caught on to the cobweb, courtesy of Julien Macdonald, Matthew Williamson, Versace et al, underwear was tossed on a bonfire, so we could all appreciate how much time they have spent in the Pilates studio.

Truly, then, it is a case of the Empress’s new clothes…

ANDIE MACDOWELL She’s incredible, isn’t she? Clever lace panelling in this Roberto Cavalli gown preserves the Hollywood star’s modesty. BELLA HADID Too ‘circus performer’ for model Bella, and you’d need a trapeze artist’s body to pull off this Ralph & Russo gown, but it is gorgeous. CLAIRE FOY Too much fabric in this Valentino dress. It makes me yearn to see The Crown actress as the Queen wearing Norman Hartnell. LILY COLLINS This Elie Saab romantic lace gown manages to be both see-through and frumpy on the British actress. UMA THURMAN This pale gold dress by Atelier Versace, with its clever use of fringing, looks stunning on the Hollywood A-lister.

MILLIE MACKINTOSH I like the leotard effect, while there is just enough beading on the sheer dress by Barrus to add coverage for the reality TV star. ELLIE GOULDING A strangely meaty dress by Jenny Packham, giving the singer the illusion of not just being naked, but sans skin. CHARLIZE THERON Sheer Versace, but with enough draping to keep the Oscarwinning actress looking classy. NANCY DELL’OLIO In this unflattering laser-cut Alaia dress, former Strictly star Nancy resembles an antimacassar. SUKI WATERHOUSE Kate can breach protocol and wear a short skirt for once, as scallops give illusion of coverage. The British model and actress isn’t comfortable in sheer, using a biker jacket and even her handbag to cover up. VICTORIA HERVEY You sort of think, why would the socialite bother? Just don’t buy a dress at all and save the money instead.