Kate Middleton’s fashion journey – from shy wallflower to perfect princess
IT’S taken Kate No Time to get back into the swing of red carpet events, but it’s been a slow and steady build-up to the Duchess finding her stylish, gold-heeled feet.
Attending the premiere of the latest James Bond movie this week, Kate wore her best look to date — a custom Jenny Packham caped dress bedazzled with thousands of gold sequins, which usually costs £3,640.
It outshone every Hollywood A-lister and proved as big a talking point as the film itself.
Even though Kate has walked her fair share of red carpets, this is the first time she has worn such a showstopper of an outfit.
Her style has evolved from shy wallflower to perfect princess.
And with the help of stylist Natasha Archer, who is set to go on maternity leave very soon, she’s swapped bouncy blow dries for chic up-dos, and plain frocks for statement gowns.
In 2011, Kate attended The Sun Military Awards in a stunning but simple black dress by Alexander McQueen that originally sold at £3,995.
The strapless, floor-length gown in heavy velvet showed a shy Kate, then 29, was still not comfortable with being the centre of attention.
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Still playing it safe in 2013, she went to the premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in a plain long-sleeved dress by Roland Mouret.
She looked as elegant as ever, but the cream dress rather swamped her figure, and signalled that the Duchess wasn’t quite ready to embrace her fashion crown.
But Kate came into her own at the 2017 Baftas with an off-the-shoulder black dress by Alexander McQueen.
Giving Hollywood’s finest a run for their money, her full-length number with floral detailing was a big red carpet moment for the Duchess, a look we’d never seen her in before.
She’s gone from strength to strength since then — ditching muted colours and classic shapes in favour of knock-out glamour and fashion-forward looks.
Kate is clearly now more comfortable with her favourite designers, choosing silhouettes that flatter her figure and not chasing trends.
She is an undisputed style queen, and long may she reign.