Regal chic to relaxed glam — we chart Kate Middleton's style hits through the years
ON Monday it will be a decade since “the Kate effect” took hold. Wearing a deep blue Issa wrap dress, Catherine Middleton stood arm in arm with her new fiance, Prince William, as their engagement was announced.
The £385 number by the little-known London-based designer sold out within five minutes and the brand was catapulted into the limelight.
A Duchess was in the making and, ten years on, Kate has become one of the most well dressed women of the decade — a true style icon.
Her £250,000 handmade wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, mixed traditions and modern trends — setting a bridal trend for lace bodices and long sleeves.
And pretty much every item of clothing the 38-year-old duchess has been seen in since has sold out instantly.
Kate looks effortlessly glam in designer gowns for red carpet events, appropriately regal in buttoned-up suits and relaxed but chic in outdoors attire.
And she is not afraid to step out in high street brands such as Marks & Spencer and Zara, dressing comfortably in loose trousers or skinny jeans.
Here, The Sun’s ABBY McHALE and SIOBHAN O’CONNOR chart Kate’s style hits through the past decade.
2011 – Style star
Accompanying William to a black tie bash in Los Angeles, Kate oozed Hollywood glam in a bespoke Alexander McQueen gown, £450 Jimmy Choos and a £135 clutch.
Gust of honour
During her first Royal tour, to Canada, Kate’s Jenny Packham summer dress flew up in the wind. Clever Kate now uses hemline weights to spare any blushes.
'Real' mother
Kate posed on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital, London, cradling newborn George – showing off her post-baby bump in a Jenny Packham one-off frock.
Blooming lovely
Detailing around the waist of this Jenny Packham gown showed off Kate’s four-month bump perfectly at the University of St Andrew’s 600th anniversary dinner.
Red hot glam
Kate sizzled in this this glorious Preen by Thomas Bregazzi dress on a royal tour of Canada. The style and shape of this £999 dress is so flattering on Kate, she has the same one in black, too.
Ready for business
In her first solo trip abroad, to Holland, confident Kate looked the ultimate royal in this skirt suit by another of her favourite designers, Catherine Walker.
Rule breaker
Baring shoulders is usually a Royal no-no, but not for Kate at the Baftas in this Alexander McQueen dress. Two years later she stepped out in a near-identical gown – with sleeves.
Stripe it lucky
Breton tops are a staple of Kate’s wardrobe. She looked the part at the King’s Cup boat race at the Cutty Sark, London, in sailor stripes and blue LK Bennett trousers.
Role model
Kate has bolstered people via socially distanced visits – and her style is top-notch too. This face covering – twinned to her Beulah tea dress – cost £15 from boutique Amaia.
Mum, wife, icon
By Ingrid Seward
THOSE dimpled cheeks, Audrey Hepburn eyebrows and bouncy blowdry – every part of Kate Middleton is adored.
Monday will mark ten years since a beaming Prince William and Kate announced their engagement and he gave his bride the stunning sapphire ring belonging to his late mother, Diana.
The romantic gesture was his way of making sure his mum didn’t miss out on their special day.
Over the past ten years, Kate’s life has changed dramatically. She has become wife to the future king, mother to their three children and valued patron to countless charities and good causes, with particular interest in the early years of children’s lives, mental health, sport and nature, and the visual arts.
So much has been expected of her it would make a weaker woman wilt – but the Duchess of Cambridge has taken up her royal role with aplomb, becoming an international icon in the process.
She is in a position of huge responsibility but she just gets on with things and keeps smiling – looking effortlessly glamorous and stylish at the same time.
I feel sometimes that Kate will burst with perfection. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have pinned their hopes for an ongoing dutiful monarchy not on their own son, the Prince of Wales, who they know will do the job, but on the future of Kate and William and their children carrying their duty into the next century and the next.
There is nothing this woman cannot do.
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