While other guides might tell you where you can buy knock-offs of specific items, this guide will help you break down Kate's sense of style, which will help you evoke her style much more naturally. Kate would never wear knock-offs, and neither should you. Instead, if you want to dress like Kate Middleton, you should look to the elements that comprise her elegant, feminine, classic style: bright colours, classic staples, modern basics, and girly details. You'll be looking like a princess in no time!
Bright Colours
When it comes to dresses, Kate likes bright, bold colours. She's known to be a fan of dresses by Issa, but if these dresses are beyond your budget, never fear. Simply looking for simple dresses in bold colours that bring out your colouring will help you evoke Kate's look. Kate, a fair brunette with dark blue-green eyes, has traditionally favoured sapphire, turquoise,and light blues (to match her eyes and ring!), as well as bright pink.
Classic Staples
No British girl's wardrobe would be complete without a trench coat, and Kate certainly knows this. The $1,000 Burberry ruffled trench coat that she owns has sold out of shops everywhere. However, you don't need this trench to look like Kate - what you do need is an understanding of the classic staples she favours.
Kate is a traditional, preppy girl at heart, and her style reflects this. Other than the aforementioned trench coat, here are some classic staples you should look into purchasing if you want to dress like Kate:
- Black heels: If you examine recent pictures of Kate, she appears to be wearing the same pair of basic black heels in nearly every photo. A 3- or 4-inch black pump is a great addition to any wardrobe, as it can be matched with just about anything and is always in style.
- Hats: Kate loves her hats! From classic berets to feathered toppers, Kate is often seen wearing a hat of some sort. Hats are a classic wardrobe item that have mostly faded from everyday wear, but you could definitely wear a fancy, Kate-esque hat to a summer wedding to add an individual touch to your outfit.
- Well-cut neutrals: Kate builds her looks around simple, tailored neutrals like blouses, skirts and casual pants in beiges or browns, and elegantly simple sweaters. While these pieces are hardly stand-out pieces, they provide an important foundation for the rest of her look.
- Statement suits: As a princess-to-be, Kate has many obligations that require her to wear suits. She keeps from looking dowdy by choosing suits in bright colours, sleek lines, and luxe materials. Instead of favouring boring pantsuits, Kate looks for details that make her suits unique. When applying this to your own life, remember that a work-appropriate suit can still be an attention-getting suit, and steer clear of the dull, standard suit section (that is, unless you work in a very conservative field such as law or finance).
- Elegant day dresses: Whether for a day out shopping, a lunch date, or a spring wedding, Kate has worn a lot of knee-length, printed dresses. The key to wearing a dress in the daytime is ensuring that it is knee-length (or shorter), in a bright, interesting print, and worn with other separates (such as a jacket or boots). Wearing a casual dress for day events is much more elegant than jeans or other pants.
Modern Basics
Kate, the oldest royal bride in history and the first one to be university educated, is every inch a modern girl. As such, many of her wardrobe essentials are the ones that you could find in a university student's or working girl's closet:
- Jeans: Kate has great legs and proves that she doesn't need to be wearing a skirt to show them off. Kate usually wears straight-legged dark denim, which is more sophisticated and timeless than other cuts and washes. If you really don't like straight-legged jeans, you could imitate this style by wearing boot-cut jeans, which are also quite timeless. When it comes to denim, Kate tends to avoid the super-trendy -- like skinny or super-flared jeans, extremely high or low rise, or out-there colours (like acid-washed, grey, purple, red, et cetera). Jeans are a great wardrobe basic in helping you achieve Kate's elegant, casual style because they are appropriate for so many occasions and can be dressed up or down to fit with the rest of your outfit.
- Leather Boots: Leather boots are another terrific versatile staple that Kate favours. She's been pictured in flat brown boots, flat brown suede boots, and heeled black boots. A great pair of leather, faux-leather, or suede boots can really pull your outfit together. Depending on the style, they will either add a level of sophistication or tone down an otherwise dressy look (think riding boots). Choose a pair that are flattering on your leg size and length and a colour that lends itself well to your wardrobe.
- Fitted Coats, Jackets, and Blazers: Kate knows that the right jacket can add so much to an outfit. She prefers those that are nipped in at the waist so as to create a feminine, hourglass figure. These jackets allow her to dress-up more casual wardrobe items like jeans and boots and then dress-down more formal items such as day dresses.
Girly Details
While she mostly keeps her style conservative and classic, Kate does like pieces with girly details, which add greater interest to otherwise average items. For instance, her Burberry trench is ruffled, rather than being a standard trench coat. Keep an eye out for ruffles, feathers, florals, or embroidered details -- all elements that will help add a feminine and unique touch to your Kate-inspired outfit!
Sources
- Cristina Goodwin and Ysolt Usigan, "Kate Middleton Style for Less", iVillage, 8 March 2011.
- Gill Hart, "Kate Middleton -- Fashion and Style Icon?", Suite101, 19 November 2010.
- Ashley Wermick, "Fresh Fashion Icon: Kate Middleton", College Fashion.
- Telegraph Fashion, "Kate Middleton: A Very Royal Fashion Icon in Pictures", The Telegraph, 18 March 2011.
Caroline Garrod - Caroline is currently working on her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History from Queen's University in Kingston, ON. An avid reader and ...
