It was Kate's first red carpet appearance as HRH Duchess of Cambridge and the shimmering gown from Packham's Spring/Summer 2011 RTW collection hit all the right notes: elegant, sophisticated, glamorous and perfect for the occasion. We recently looked at Kate's pre wedding gown choices and noted she favoured halternecks, particularly Issa pieces. At the ARK Gala we saw Kate's style evolve and it has continued to do that since.
A closer look at the stunning detail on the dress. Definitely one I hope to see Kate wearing again.
In July 2011 the Cambridges visited Los Angeles after their first royal tour together in Canada. The royals were the toast of tinseltown at a BAFTA reception held at the Belasco Theatre. Kate stunned the crowd in a beautiful Alexander McQueen grecian gown. The couple spent the evening with Hollywood stars, including Tom Hanks and Nicole Kidman.
Kate's chandelier diamond earrings were loaned to her by the Queen. They looked beautiful with the lavender gown.
Kate wore the Sarai Dress by Beulah London for 100 Women in Hedge Funds Gala held at St James' Palace in October.
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| 100 Women In Hedge Funds Facebook |
Interestingly Beulah London was started by one of Prince William's former girlfriends, Natasha Rufus Isaacs. The label supports a number of charities, no doubt this influenced Kate when deciding to wear the Sarai dress. The silk jersey and chiffon fabric dress retailed at £680.
Kate made her first solo engagement late in October, standing in for Prince Charles, who was in Saudi Arabia following the death of the Crown Prince. A palace aide said Kate was to delighted to step in for Prince Charles at the event held for In Kind Direct. The Duchess chose a grecian Amanda Wakeley gown with criss-cross straps for the dinner.
Kate wore a one shouldered satin chiffon Jenny Packham gown for a reception at St James' Palace in support of the National Memorial Aboretum Appeal in November.
Angelina Jolie wore a very similar Jenny Packham dress to the 'Tree of Life' premiere last year.
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| Radar Online |
Next up, my own personal favourite.
Kate looked stunning a black velvet strapless McQueen gown at the Sun Military Awards in December. Kate's dress was modified from this $6,000 dress. I recall a number of reporters and photographers commenting on how beautiful Kate looked in the dress. The Duchess also wore striking diamond and ruby jewellery which the Palace said were a gift from a family friend.
In January Kate wore a black lace Temperly Amoret gown to the War Horse Premiere in London.
The long sleeved lace dress was recently released by Temperly. It is available to purchase online for the princely sum of €3235. It is a classic, timeless evening gown. Kate adores lace and looked incredibly relaxed at the premiere.
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| Temperly |
William and Kate attended an exclusive dinner at Claridge's in May. Kate wore the Roland Mouret Lombard gown. The creamy white colour, long sleeves and split made for a gorgeous look, In my opinion one of Kate's best. Mr Mouret spoke to Grazia about the much talked about split: 'I think it was quite fantastic there was a split up the front. It was not too much. I think I did quite well'.
A lovely photo of William and Kate leaving Claridge's.
The style combined an emerald lace bodice embellished with Swarovski crystals and a pleated skirt, ribbon waisted with a crystal and flower embellishment. Kate wore her hair up for the event, something of a departure for the Duchess who favours wearing her hair down, allowing the striking detail on the back of the dress to be seen.
Which gown is your favourite? Does any designer stand out for you? Looking forward to seeing Kate's evening gown choices in the future!
My favourite is the ''Aspen' bridal gown. The details in the back are stunning. Don't like the white one, when she stood in for Charles. Too much skin for this occasion
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorite so far is the black velvet strapless McQueen gown at the Sun Military Awards.. LOVE it!!
ReplyDeleteLove them all! But my favourite is the last one the turquoise jenny packham dress. The detailing is amazing! And I like her hair pinned up too :) it allows the embellishing to be shown instead of her hair covering it up.
ReplyDeleteGrace
I'm with you, Charlotte - I love the black velvet McQueen, followed by the rose sequin Jenny Packham. The Duchess is such a stunning woman...it's lovely to see her various gown selections. Thanks, as always, for the great post! :o)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love her in the lace Temperley, the rose Packham, and other Packhams. Her strapless black dress was spectacular, don't get me wrong, but I think it was too much of a conventional LBD (little black dress)-that bling, however, deserved a post onto itself!!
ReplyDeleteThe one Packham I don't think suited her or brought out her best was the "aspen" bridal one. I love the color and the dress itself is just exquisite (that back---whew), but I don't think it was the most flattering silhoute or cleavage for the Duchess's athletic figure (i.e. broader shoulders, straighter body). I think that dress better suits a more hourglass type of figure. Again, its not that she looked bad (heaven knows she'd look good in a burlap sack), but it just wasn't the best dress/cut for her.
On another note, these more spectacular gowns are for the more high-stakes charity and other events so it seems to me she won't repeat them for those occassions. Thus, I don't think we'll be seeing the rose Packham dress again (next thing you know, I'll be proven wrong tomorrow or something... :) ! )
If I had to pick my favorite look, it would be the black lace Temperley. Just marvelous.
Silvia
I really cant pic a fave one..she's lovely in them all.....but I reaallly like the black mcqueen. So stunning.bonnie
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ReplyDeleteI am in love with lavander Mc Queen gown! It's amazing and the belt is fantastic! I also really like Roland Mouret Lombard gown, and of course black velvet Mc Queen gown.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the black McQueen, it's such a classic, sexy look and the necklace just makes it. But I think the turquoise Jenny Packham is my hands down favorite thing the duchess has ever worn. I love the detail on the back, the way it flows, and the way it flatters her figure. And I think she made such a great choice to wear her hair up with it. It just seems to me like the epitome of what a princess would, and should, wear.
ReplyDeleteI also quite like the slitted cream dress and and the strappy Wakeley dress. They're both a little different than her usual choices, and I think they both show a tasteful amount of skin/leg that's just right for her youthfulness and beauty.
The ones I don't like - the red dress doesn't do anything for me, and the one-shouldered gray Packham seems a little too baggy.
I couldn't agree more!
DeleteYour words, my words! I completely agree with you!
DeleteI also love the turquoise Packham gown. Definitely my favorite!
DeleteThe first gown is a gorgeous color & style - up top. From the waist down, however, it looks ratty and worn. I know that this is the purposeful style of the dress, but it just doesn't look right. It seems messy.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the dresses prove how good Kate's formal taste is, but her hair is too long. It gets in the way of the really loose, flowy gowns. For those, her hair should be up (like the stunning aqua number).
Just my thoughts! I really do like her taste.
I love the Jenny Packham gown she wore for the ARK engagement. It was understated yet it had a WOW-factor all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI love so many of these dresses, I don't think I can pick just one favorite.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your choice of the strapless black velvet dress for the beautiful fabric and jewels! I also love the turquoise Packham dress: such a gorgeous color and her hair looked so pretty that night. I like it when she wears her hair up at more formal occasions, to let the dress and jewelry really shine.
I also really liked the red Beulah gown. It's very simple and elegant, but I love the sleeves and color!
Gosh I didn't realize she wore so many Jenny oackhams. they are beautiful though. the one for the ark gala is my fav of all time. my least fave I think is the Roland mourat Lombard. I wasn't a fan.of this entire look. and I love her hair up :) hopefully we will see more of that soon
ReplyDeleteDear Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteOnce again, great post, thank you so much!
It's very hard to pick a favourite... the Duchess looks gorgeous in all of them.
A fan in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
I like just about everything except the red dress. Somehow the dress and her hairstyle made her look older. Perhaps it was the pictures. The teal dress with the crystals and the fancy updo make me want to do the jumpy claps (phrase courtesy of The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendour blog).
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! The Rouland Mouret is my absolute favorite. It's simple, stunning and chic! My 2nd favorite is the black McQ gown. I don't like the red gown or the one shouldered gray gown. Even when she wears colors or styles that are not right for her, she's still stunning!
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely pictures, Charlotte!!Its really hard to pick a favorite,, I like them all!!!My favorites are the black Temperly and Jenny PAckam's Aspen bridal gown. I also noticed some of her gowns had such deep necklines,especially the red beulah gown and nobody made a fuss about it. But when Kate wore the white sleeveless top at the Olympics, suddenly it looked really bad. oh well.
ReplyDeleteIt's context, that's all. I thought the white tennis shirt had to much cleavage (and posted as such), but in a nighttime, luxury ball context the intent and meaning and appropriateness is another. Silvia.
DeleteHi Charlotte, apologies if you have already done a post like this but as a suggestion for a Kate loves post you could do Kate loves jewellery :) she always seems to have at least one accessory on during engagements you could maybe pick some of your favourites. Just a suggestion :)
ReplyDeleteGrace
The ARK jenny Packham one is my all time favourite on Kate. Stunning.
ReplyDeleteOh dear what a task---she looks great in all of them; everytime I look I decide on a different one and you did not include the one she wore on the evening of her marriage.
ReplyDeleteShe is always lovely, but is at her best in sporting clothes or when she is shopping, whether at supermarket or in the West End and in evening dress.
Thanks for giving us the chance to see these dresses again.
Jean
Well, she looks beautifully in everything, but I choose Roland Mouret for its 30´s spirit, black lace temperley - the only one I really wanna have because I could imagine me wearing it and red beulah, I like dresses with sleeves and V neck..(just her hair are a bit wierd there...with smooth updo as she wore to Tate´s - that would have been Wow for me).
ReplyDeleteBlack McQueen is queen of classic but nothing "new" for me, what would have made it really interesting had been those beautiful jewells but unfortunately we cannot see them so much because of her hair. Lilac McQueen ..well I never liked it,it has no cut for me,particulary for those sleeves/non sleeves, I don´t like them and I´m not sure if they do a good job for Kate´s broad shoulders, the color is also too washed for my taste..but if the duchess would have completed it with some nice grecian updo/half up do,it had been better mark in my eyes ;) Glittering rose Jenny Packham - very nice, especially I love those shoes (contrary to the jimmy choo platform sandals), but again those loos hair put it one grade lower in my opinion. Teal Jenny Packham...very nice hair do, I do love lace but I myself am surprised why I´m not wowed with this dress..maybe the pleated wide skirt(the same as the lilac McQueen), maybe combination of two colors, maybe too much happening there..but it´s interesting, surely.
Generally, I think she looks always nice but for bigger occassions she shouldn´t wear her hair just loos (or just rarely, for change), it seems as a too big contrast then.
My top two are the teal Jenny Packham and the pink Jenny Packham. I just wished she had worn her hair up with the pink Jenny Packham; I think it would shown the detail of the flutter sleeves and the beading better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the second look at these beautiful gowns, Charlotte. We do like our duchess best when she looks like a princess! My favorites are the rose sequin Jenny Packham and the lilac McQueen worn in LA. This last really is the most figure flattering of them all in my opinion. It emphasizes her tiny waist while giving her a little pouf in the bust and hips area while still showing off her svelte shape. The white Roland Mouret is also a stunner. Not crazy about lace, except in her exquisite wedding gown. But they all look great on Kate!
ReplyDeleteI must be strange but I am not a fan of the glittery j packham dress. I mean it's ok but if I had to choose one dress of hers it wouldn't be it. Same goes for the black a McQueen which is lovely but nothing special.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I absolutely love the Greek lilac McQueen (just precious, I love the simplicity and understated elegance of it), the beautiful grey packham and The aspen j pakham. I would have a hard time choosing between all of them but Id put McQueen 1st followed by a close tie between the packham ones. The Aspen is beautiful and the grey one just looks marvelous on Kate.
I am also not a fan of the temperley or the red beluah. I hope they stay buried at the back of her closet!
Carlota
Oh and I forgot the wakeley one! I am a fan Also but it is not something very princessy. U can tell this was recycled from er earlier years!
ReplyDeleteCarlota
If you've got a little time to burn, or rather, need a fun distraction from problems for a few minutes, check out the collections at temperley, mouret and mcqueen websites and pick which items you think would look awesome on the Duchess ( it's like playing paper dolls in the digital age... :) )
ReplyDeleteSilvia
My favorites are the lilac McQueen, grecian Wakeley, and the black lace Temperly. All three are nice gowns on their own, but I really like what she did with her hair, makeup, and accessories.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the teal Jenny Packham gown, I thought it was perfect I probably would've liked the black mcqueen if her hair had been up, it basically covered her necklace & it's rare enough to see her with jewels
ReplyDeletelove re jenny peckham gown..... and love the blue one
ReplyDeleteI think she looks absolutely fabulous in the blue-green Aspen gown. And her hair up also looks great.
ReplyDeleteNow, Charlotte, I have a question: I was reading an old post on your blog the other day, (http://hrhduchesskate.blogspot.pt/2011/05/royal-couple-to-have-minimal-entourage.html)
and I read that the Duchess did her own make up for her wedding. Is this possible? I mean, the make up was so absolutely perfect! :) Was that possible without the help of a professional make up artist ? Can you please shed some light on this subject? :)
Thank you so much. Keep up with the wonderful job with this blog !
Andrea
It's always very hard to gauge the veracity of rumours regarding the royals as the Palace release very little information. I would think there was certainly a make up artist present to help, It was such a momentous day for Kate, she wouldn't have left anything to chance.
DeleteMy favorite is the Jenny Packham's Aspen bridal gown she wore to the 'Our Greatest Team Rises' event. The dress and her hair was pure perfection.
ReplyDeleteKathy in Georgia
I've kept coming back to this post as I can't choose or say I'm wild about any of them - sorry! I think she looks nice and I definitely prefer an "up doo" especially for evening engagements.
ReplyDeleteKate's killer outfit for me was the other week, solo evening engagement, up doo short dress (not a gown though) - superb!
Fingers crossed we may see some new outfits on the upcoming tour but we may also get repeatsville.
PPx
The lilac McQueen is my absolute favourite. Love the graceful folds and pleats, the glittery belt which accentuates her tiny waist, and the fact that it has some type of sleeves and isn't too open in the front – it really proves that you don't have to bare a lot of skin to look glamorous! But I am not such a big fan of the shoes the Duchess wore with that gown, to me they are a little too chunky for such an elegant and ethereal dress.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite was definitely the teal one, but I also really liked the red long sleeved one. I thought the color was great & her hair just looked amazing. I think I'm the only one that liked that dress though
ReplyDeleteNo, I have it in my top 3, we are only two :)
DeleteThis is so hard! My top two have to be the cream Roland Mouret because she simply oozes glamour in that gown. Next, the Packham "Aspen" with the exquisite detailing and the cinched waist. I am in love with the back of that gown. Both.of these gowns are a bit risque for Catherine. The cream with the high front slit, and the Packham with the low front and sheer back. Mixed with the Jimmy Choo Vamp sandals and perfect hair and accessories she is the epitome of elegance. Next, would be the McQueen black velvet gown. Pippa who? This gown accentuates her formidable figure and dripping with diamonds she looks every inch the perfect princess. Amanda Wakeley would follow suit with that stunning pale blue structured flowing gown. There was.no.better choice for her first solo engagement. Her chignon topped it all off and left her looking every bit the perfect hostess. I also loved the lace Temperley gown because of the reminiscent effect of her wedding gown. It displayed her formidable figure. Stunning in red the Beulah London gown was exquisite. Both the pink and grey Packham gowns were stunning. Especially the detailing on the perfect pink gown for her first appearance as the Duchess of Cambridge. Leaving the lilac McQueen as my least favorite although itbis beautiful I just feel as if it lacked something that the other gowns did not. That may be because she was playing it safe on her first tour representing the Queen. All in all, Catherine doesn't need a stylist and I doubt he evef will. After all she created the gown of the century. One that will be remembered forever. That was when she was still Kate Middleton.
DeleteWhat difficult choices! My favourites are the Jenny Packhams and then the Amanda Wakeley....think she looked just stunning in those outfits! (Especially love the Duchess when she has an up-do for her hair-so elegant!)
ReplyDelete