Who says royals don't recycle? From 80s era all-pink dresses to modern wide leg pants,
Kate Middleton has a few fashion tricks that are inspired by her royal in-laws.
In 2011, Kate Middleton wore a strapless black gown to the Sun Military Awards
that drew comparisons to a famous outfit worn by Princess Diana. At Diana's first
public engagement with Prince Charles in 1981, she wore a black satin Emanuel
dress with a dramatic ruffle and train. Designer Elizabeth Emanuel told Vogue:
After wearing the dress, Diana was accused of wearing an inappropriate
style as the dress showed too much cleavage. Emanuel added:
When Middleton wore a similar dress with a ruffled neckline, the press noticed the similarities to
Diana's famous dress. According to the Daily Mail, Kate's dress was designed by Alexander
McQueen and was paired with jewelry she had received from the Queen as a wedding gift.
In 2019, Kate Middleton wore a gorgeous white one-shoulder
gown designed by Alexander McQueen to the BAFTA Awards. The dress featured flowers
on the shoulder and chiffon layered skirt with soft pleats. She wore sparkling Jimmy
Choo high heels and a white and gold clutch to complete her red carpet look.
People noted that the outfit bore more than just a few similarities to an outfit that Princess Diana
wore during a 1991 trip to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Diana's white gown also featured an asymmetrical
design. The silhouette was slightly different, with a mermaid shape and asymmetrical hemline.
To make the Diana fashion comparison even more apparent, Princess Catherine
even wore a pair of pearl and silver drop earrings that had once belonged to Diana.
Princess Catherine isn't just known for her stunning red carpet looks;
she's also renowned for her more low-key style. In early 2022, Catherine wore a wintery all-brown
outfit that seemed to call back to another famous casual royal look first seen on Meghan Markle.
"And actually we had quite an awkward situation because I knew."
Catherine's version of the look featured a ribbed brown turtleneck knit set from Iris & Ink,
brown suede boots, and a long camel coat by Massimo Dutti. Meghan's look from two years
earlier featured a brown turtleneck sweater, a brown skirt, and a camel coat by Stella
McCartney. But Meghan chose to wear brown heels by Jimmy Choo rather than boots, plus a silk skirt.
As both of these royals have shown, a monochromatic brown-toned look is
one neutral color that will never go out of style.
During a 2021 trip to Scotland, Princess Catherine wore an all-blue skirt and jacket
look that was nearly identical to an outfit worn by Princess Diana almost
30 years earlier in 1992. Both royal blue looks featured a pleated midi skirt and a
matching double-breasted blazer, with each princess also carrying a brown clutch.
Kate's version of this timeless look featured a Zara blazer with a slightly more modern cut
and a skirt by Hope Fashion. She also wore brown suede heels and, in 2021 fashion,
a blue and white face mask. In the original look, Diana chose to wear matching cobalt blue heels.
After Catherine wore this gorgeous look, fans of the royal were inspired to try the
look for themselves. The Express reported that searches for blue blazers increased by 614%.
In June 2022, Princess Catherine chose a fitted maxi-length red coat for Queen
Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. The outfit was a 2018 wool-crepe Eponine coat dress,
featuring a round neckline, minimalist collar, and large red buttons.
Royal fans may have noticed that this Jubilee outfit appeared to be a tribute to Queen
Elizabeth II's style. Over the years, the Queen wore several similar red coat dresses. Fashion
Expert Miranda Holder told the Express that the Queen's style changed during her reign,
but by the '90s, she was famous for color-blocking and well-tailored coat dresses. And Kate's red
coat dress is a perfect example of this classic Queen Elizabeth style of dressing.
Red and white houndstooth isn't exactly a common pattern, but both Princess Catherine and Princess
Diana have been spotted in it. In 2018, Kate wore a mini boat dress with a large red and white
houndstooth pattern, two rows of red buttons, and a rounded collar during a trip to Sweden.
The look was strikingly similar to a Moschino jacket worn by Princess Diana during a trip to
Sandringham in 1990. Diana's jacket was a little more experimental, with a piece of
black and white houndstooth threaded through the sleeves and along the edges of the coat.
While Catherine may have gone for a more classic 1960s-inspired version of this look, it seems
that the red and white houndstooth pattern is now becoming a staple of any royal wardrobe.
Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022 after a 70 year reign. At her funeral,
her granddaughter-in-law, Princess Catherine,
paid tribute to the Queen in more ways than one. The Princess wore a simple black coat
dress that emulated the Queen's iconic style, with a few carefully selected jewelry pieces.
She wore the late Queen's Japanese Pearl Choker Necklace, which features rows of pearls and a
large diamond clasp. According to The Court Jeweller, the pearls were given to the Queen
by the Japanese government in the 1970s. Town & Country reported that the Queen wore
the necklace on several occasions and lent the necklace to both Princess Diana and Catherine.
Kate also wore a pair of delicate pearl drop earrings that recalled the Queen's favorite
earring style. As Cosmopolitan noted, the Queen often wore pearls during periods of mourning.
"First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being."
When Princess Catherine gave birth to her third child, Prince Louis, she appeared on the steps
of the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital as is the royal tradition. She picked a red,
long-sleeved shift dress with a white lace collar by Jenny Packham. The dress looked incredibly
similar to what Princess Diana wore when she appeared on the very same steps after giving
birth to Prince Harry in 1984. As Town & Country noted, both Princesses also wore pearl earrings.
At a glance, the two outfits look very similar, but there are a few differences.
Diana's red dress was a coat dress with puffed sleeves and a blazer-style lapel,
and she wore a white Peter Pan collared shirt and a red tie.
But Diana wasn't the only person Catherine was emulating with her look. Harper's Bazaar noted
that it looked eerily similar to a dress seen in the horror film Rosemary's Baby.
"'Feel.' 'Oh yeah I felt it!' 'Don't be scared, it won't bite you.' 'No, it's wonderful.'"
In 2018, Kate Middleton seemed to take style inspiration from Meghan Markle when she chose
a bright yellow Dolce and Gabbana midi dress for the Men's Singles Final at Wimbledon.
Meghan wore a very similar yellow shift dress by Brandon Maxwell just a few weeks earlier at the
Your Commonwealth Youth Challenge reception. According to the Express, Catherine's dress cost
£1,150, while Meghan's dress was worth £1,129. The publication stated that Catherine could have
been inspired by Meghan's yellow outfit, as Meghan had recently started wearing more colorful hues.
Even though Kate appeared to take inspiration from Meghan with her Wimbledon outfit, the pair
didn't match on the day of the semi-finals. While Catherine went for a more formal look,
Meghan opted for a more low-key look on the day, wearing white pants and a striped top.
In 2018, Princess Catherine appeared at the Victoria and Albert Museum in a modern tweed
purple and white dress by Erdem. With a maroon belt and asymmetrical neckline,
the dress didn't initially seem to be inspired by the Queen's classic style. But the dress
was apparently directly inspired by the Queen's meeting with famous jazz pianist,
Duke Ellington, in 1958. Designer Erdem Moralioglu told The Telegraph:
In early 2022, Princess Catherine stepped out in a stylish monochromatic blue outfit,
wearing wide-legged trousers from Jigsaw, a turtleneck, heels, and a teal knee-length
coat. She finished the look with a pair of Accessorize earrings worth just £7.
Fans quickly pointed out that Meghan Markle had worn a very
similar all-navy outfit only a few months prior. The only real
difference was that Meghan's coat was from Armani and was a darker navy hue.
Despite the minor differences between the outfits,
royal fans noticed that Catherine's look seemed to fit more into Meghan's style
than it did her own. As one cheeky Twitter user noted when they saw Catherine's outfit:
For the 2017 Trooping the Color parade, Princess Catherine chose a striking bubblegum pink dress
with a matching pink fascinator. According to Refinery29, the A-line dress was designed
by Alexander McQueen and featured a ruffled waistline and a high neck. While the color
is referred to as Millennial Pink, it wasn't the first time a royal had appeared in the same color.
In 1983, Princess Diana wore a very similar outfit while visiting Maitland,
New South Wales. And she wore a matching pink fascinator, just like Catherine. Princess
Diana's all-pink look was even featured on the Netflix show The Crown. The Mirror
reported that actress Emma Corrin wore an imitation of the Donald Campbell dress in
one episode of the show.
"Diana, this way please!"
Princess Catherine's feminine style might not immediately remind you of the most legendary high
fashion of Princess Anne. But it turns out the Princess of Wales has apparently borrowed a few
style tips from her aunt-in-law. According to the Express, Catherine began channeling Anne's style
in 2019 when she started to incorporate sleek and tailored 1970s silhouettes into her wardrobe.
One striking example came when Catherine wore a pastel blue midi dress with a lace-adorned high
neckline, a long row of tiny buttons, and long, slightly puffed sleeves. The
dress appeared to be a carbon copy of Anne's famous dress from her interview with Michael
Parkinson. According to What Kate Wore, the dress was designed by a private dressmaker,
so it's highly possible that Anne directly inspired Catherine on this occasion.