Ah, so many photos of The DoC! The Duchess of Cambridge had two more costume changes in Singapore since we last saw her. For her first day in Singapore, Kate wore a kimono-like Jenny Packham and an unconventionally-patterned Prabal Gurung for the State Dinner. The first set of photos I bring you are from Kate and William’s trip (today?) to the Rolls Royce engine plant in Seletar. Rolls Royce is a British-owned company (sort of) and the Singapore plant is considered a “major investment”. Will and Kate toured the plant and Kate got to pretend to “work”! It was all very amazing and new to Kate.
For this event, Kate wore a Alexander McQueen broderie anglaise suit. It’s a two-piece outfit – some sort of jacket and skirt combo that reads as a one-piece in some photos. I like it – it seems appropriate and smart, a very clean and elegant look. You know what I hate though? I hate the duchess paired this smart outfit with the same GD Stuart Weitzman wedges that she’s been wearing for months! There weren’t that cute to begin with! The wedges are just… not a very elegant look. I hope to hell they’re comfortable, because that’s the only excuse for wearing them so often. Even though I’m bored to tears with Kate’s nude LK Bennett pumps, those would have been a better choice with this McQueen.
Another costume change… this one for a tour of the Queenstown Community, which is basically a neighborhood made to resemble a little English village, from what I gather. Kate wore a breezy dress by Asian designer Raoul, costing £485. I don’t hate the dress, I just don’t think it’s the best thing she’s ever worn. The color and pattern don’t do anything for her. And for the love of God, why not try a chignon or a classy ponytail for some of these super-humid events?!
Will and Kate met with lots of kids, and one “plucky” youngster asked William how big of a family he would like, to which William replied “Two” without hesitation. So, there you have it. William wants an heir and a spare and no more.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
In most production/manufacturing facilities, pumps with thin heels aren’t allowed because of safety issues so I’ll give her a pass on wearing the wedges.
But cork heels with a white dress? She could’ve worn any other wedges and it would’ve looked better. Maybe it was a last-minute thing and that’s all she had with her.
I will never give a pass on those wedges. They look like animal hooves. Ugly, chunky, clunky, and awkward. All wrong for anything but a casual denim skirt or beachy summer dress. Why why why must she always be six feet tall?
She has to be 6 feet tall because she is insecure about herself. The only way to elevate her image to somehow gain esteem is by wearing these god-awful high shoes. These wedges are the absolute WORST. There needs to be an intervention.
for once, her eye liner isn’t that harsh here.
i see she blended it with dark eye shadow which looks so much bettter :)))
but seriously i cringe whenever someone makes that “V” sign when they get their pictures taken…
That’s an Asian thing. I had a Japanese penpal in the 90s and she’d send me pictures of herself and her friends all doing it. I never understood why.
Apparently The American militery guys spread that peace sign. And letss be honest. To them , whatever westerners(whites) are doing looks cool so they started doing that peace sign. but asians dont call that as a peace sign. they call it V which is an Englush alphabet…
The “V for Victory” campaign was actually proposed by the Belgian Prime Minister after the Nazi invasion in 1941. It spread across Europe and then later was used to signify “peace” It appears it is very popular in certain Asian countries to have your photo taken making the sign.
She looks pretty but I hate the wedges. But I hate wedges in general.
I know they’re “pretend” working, but they do look like they’re getting ready for shop class. Wills gets on my last nerve…anyway, about her clothes..they’re okay, but not great, and the wedges of doom need to go.
Thank you for saying what I was thinking! But even better: SHOP CLASS! that’s it.
She should take a tip from the Queen and have some weights sewn into her skirts she always seems to be caught out in the wind
+1
She should take a tip from the queen and learn what a genuine smile looks like. Hint, we don’t need to see your back teeth, sunshine.
I don’t know if she and her handlers are just plain stupid or just… I really don’t know. You’d think they would’ve learned something when she had that upskirt incident in Canada.
Let’s hope that
a) she’s wearing appropriate undergarments
b) there is no photographer standing behind her taking pictures of her naked behind like Canada.
that big open mouthed-big teeth smile drives me nuts
she looks crazed
+1 – You’d think a genuine smile would be one of the first things you learn in “Being A Royal 101″…That maniacal grin seems to be her trademark.
Her wedges are awful.
Everyone in his family seems to have two kids. Princes Andrew and Edward, Princess Anne and his Will’s own parents.
You know, I like them but am growing more irritated by the treatment of these trips as “hard work” that require such intense preparation that the Cambridges need constant mini-vacays to recover. Not that I know their fertility situation, but if it’s “work” like this, the Jubilee and Olympics that is putting off a pregnancy then they are going to get a big smack of reality when faced with caring for a baby. Maybe I am overreaching here, but when it’s your job to procreate, and you will have nice live-in help, what’s the delay? When you are pregnant, you can work, go to school, do lots of things…you don’t have to live in a bubble…I get the feeling that’s what Kate thinks?
granted she is not slaving away doing manual labor, but i saw their itinerary and they are booked all day long. and when the whole world is watching your every move, it probably takes a lot of preparation to not put your foot in your mouth or make an ass out of yourself.
i actually like the way she dresses, she just has awful taste in shoes. totally sterile granny pumps.
those are cute wedges!
The outfits in these pics aren’t bad, much improvement from the Packham dress.
I agree about the shoes, tho. They don’t match at all. Even I know that and I’m not exactly the most fashionable girl.
The pictures on the DM website when she is interacting with the children seem like she’s doing a bit better of a job being less of a robot. Could still do without the “thinking hard” faces and the “gaping smile/fake laugh” faces. Oh well, she’s getting somewhere.
I don’t know why anyone would sign up for that life. The constant criticism, the need to wear dresses and skirts every single time you go to an event, the never-ending smiling and shaking hands of strangers – ugh.
I have nothing against Kate (maybe her fashion and makeup choices are a little blah, but I think the fashion is dictated for her), but I do wonder why she wanted to be a royal. It all seems so stuffy and tiresome. This is coming from an introvert, mind you, so that’s more than likely why I can’t even imagine living that way.
I actually quite like the dress. And the wedges. I think they’d make a cute summer outfit. 😀
I like the shoes. I wouldn’t wear them, because as a general rule I only wear flats, but I like the shoes.
Raoul is a Singapore brand and Queenstown is just one of the many public housing estates in Singapore no different from the rest (blocks after blocks of flat apartments). It’s actually the neighborhood next to mine. I think they only brought them there because of the word “Queens” (there’s a condo in the neighbourhood called “Queens” 🙂
Hi fellow Singaporean! 🙂 I was just going to point out the Queenstown ‘error’ when you mentioned it.
Actually though, it was named Queenstown to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s coronation back in 1952, so you can see why they brought them there.
Aha! I see. I was going to ask why is the neighboring estate was called “Commonwealth” but now I think I know 😉
There are more pictures of her with the girl from make a wish (the girl in the pink dress) and she’s lovely and natural in those. Which is sweet and I can’t fault that.
The white dress is great-and the shoes are ick.
Duchess Dollycurls, nice dress, but boring. Pretty low cut neckline, though. Only she can make a low cut neckline boring. The wedges, gross.
Kate signed up for this because she wanted to live a pampered life without much work. She got what she wanted.
Why do I get the impression that once the heir and a spare come along, the Cambridges will farm the kids out to the help. Hands off parents doing their duty. My opinion only; hope I’m wrong.
you are not alone, i can bet my arms that they will use their children as an excuse for not working . she will not start doing anything more then hi and hello until the spare id off to boarding school.
i like this white suit ,she only looks good in mc queen but those awful wedges are not for official work . she have no fashion sense , diana also wore conservative clothes but they were still stylish. she makes it look like you can either be stylish or conservative and as i conservative dresser myself i disagree. i have more interesting and stylish clothes then her and even begin an asian who always dressed more conservatively then my peers in england, i will never wear anything that she wears . my mom like her clothes because she thinks she can wear most of her clothes and she is 50 years old.
I’m not qualified to critique her style but I will say she falls short of Diana or even Sophie. Diana had a seemingly effortless glamour and charisma which Kate obviously lacks.
Both Diana and Sophie seem(ed) to have substance whereas Kate doesn’t seem to have a genuine bone in her body — the scary fake grin is testimony to that!
You have clearly forgotten Diana’s many years of being infatuated with huge billowy Joan Collins dresses.
Yeah, but that was the 80’s and as such, was appropriate for the time.
The 80s are back. With the shoulder pads and the peplums!!
That blue dress she wore at EACH was straight out of 1987/8
+10 for the last sentence. Phoney as a three dollar bill.
burn…the…wedges!!!! or save them for trips to the grocery store if she still does that.
Raise your hands if you’re excited to see and hear Kate’s second public speech!
Any guesses on how many times she’d look down on her paper throughout her speech? I’m betting on 30.
Let’s see if she will utter something stupid like she often does when she opens her mouth.
And then see if she goes shopping like she did when she visited EACH in London and she went out to “celebrate” by going to Peter Jones and shopping…right after seeing sick children and their families.
Retail therapy takes care of everything, even the “sads” from seeing sick kids!
i feel terrible that i am looking forward to it *hangs head in shame*.
Can this girl wear a pant suit or something smart? I’m sick of the dresses. Is it royal protocol or something. I think she’d look more regal in a suit. She’s tall, lean and could probably wear the hell out of it. My guess is, even if she can wear a suit, she won’t She’s too delicate and compliant to try and “out-smart” Will.
I would love to see her work a Katharine Hepburn look! A navy pantsuit would look so elegant and smart, but that would make her look strong and I don’t think the royals want William’s wife to be seen as a strong woman. JMHO.
It’s also very hot and humid in Singapore, so perhaps pants wouldn’t work.
A pant suit would be too hot. HOWEVER, I did see Penelope Cruz rock a red suit that ws sort of loose and cropped pants. Something along those lines might have worked. Something more I wanted to say aside from her fashion. She will quickly become unpopular if she doesn’t find a way to seem more accessible to the public. I think there is a compassionate person in there, but she is far to vain to show some down-to-earth qualities. Take a page out of Harry’s guide to public appearances. Not his “other” appearances 🙂
@L: since when was Singapore conservative? Just hop on a bus/train ride or just walk around our streets to look at how the girls are dressed. not that conservative actually!
and i’m laughing at how people are saying it’s too humid here so a pantsuit is not suitable. seriously? we aren’t located in the Sahara desert you know. loads of people wear pants/pant suits around here… geez
@Eve: I was in Singapore 12 years ago. It was 97° and humid. I would have melted in a pant suit.
I’m guessing it is some kind of protocol, you hardly ever see the royal women in pants unless they are in riding gear.
Kinda disappointed to see ‘bitchy beating the “OMG KIMONO STYLE!” drum, but whatevs. That was a 1950s style dress with a wrap detail bodice. Not a kimono. The skirt was full and did not wrap, and the bodice clearly didn’t really wrap. Also the sleeves were fitted. Fastening on one detail and calling it a kimono betrays a lack of knowledge and seems like nitpicking her just for being her.
More ’50s influence in the McQueen here. Don’t mind the ’50s but it seems like the whole theme of that dress is “the most unflattering line” – I mean, the skirt is *right* at the knee (unflattering) and the sleeves cut above the elbow do no favors unless you are a dishwasher.
Also, no love for that sheer printed thing. Yesterday’s dresses were MUCH better.
You mean the royal women from the Windsors? They all follow a dress code down to the shoes.
There are other royal women in existence. Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Sweden, etc. have Queens/Princesses who attend events wearing pants as well as having worn a variety of shoe styles from platforms, peep-toes, booties/”shooties”, strappy sandals, etc.
Their dress code is less strict, but not any less professional, than the Windsors’.
@sachi but not at official state visits. There’s a pretty fierce protocol for those (esp in a country as conservative as Singapore) Leticia loves her a fierce pantsuit, but she doesn’t wear them for state visits. (same goes for Rania, Maxima, and Victoria) What can I say? I like the royal families. 😀
Now for patron/charity events, local things, and private events? I totally agree with you. But overall I like Kate’s style-I think trying to make her into Penelope Cruise isn’t going to work either.
@ L – Letizia has worn pants/pantsuits on Official Visits before:
Mexico 2008
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0baHbt9g4M4yV/340x.jpg
http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/princess-letizia-and-spanish-crown-prince-felipe-attend-news-photo/83083757
In Colombia 2009:
http://gpdhome.typepad.com/royalblognl_news_summary/2009/05/felipe-and-letizia-start-visit-to-colombia.html
In Romania 2009, Official Visit:
http://royalromania.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/prince-felipe-of-spain-princess-letizia-in-romania-3/
In Palestine 2011:
http://imageupper.com/i/?S0200010060011H1347477561424306
Even though she mostly wears dresses/skirts, Letizia is more varied in her approach when it comes to her wardrobe abroad and she’s often worn pantsuits whether arriving to the host country or attending an event abroad.
She and Felipe never go on State Visits, nor do the other heirs to the throne and their spouses. They’re not Heads-of-State. They can only participate in receiving/meeting Heads-of-State (which is probably what you mean with the stricter dress code).
They go on Official Visits par for their roles. There’s a difference between the two, although the host country/government can receive future monarchs with Head-of-State honours.
The white dress is very pretty. Would have been better with a low ponytail.
Wedges are so informal. They rarely look good on many clothes except casual pieces like jeans, sundresses, and shorts.
As for the second dress…it’s OK.
I just don’t like white underneath anything sheer. Either black or neutral undergarments/linings would be better. It looks weird when you can clearly see the white underneath the clothing. It makes the sheerness more pronounced, in a bad way.
Her hair, once again, ruins her outfits.
Didn’t she bring her hairdresser for this trip? She and William brought an army of helpers with them.
It’s obvious Kate doesn’t want to compromise her “famous” hair, so why not spice it up a bit when help is available? It looks silly having all that hair all over her face in humid conditions and then constantly touching and flipping it back. If she’s so bothered by it blowing in the wind, then tie it back or put it up.
Re: her hair….LOL. Can’t you see the line of her hair vs the extensions? The heat/humidity is causing the extensions to reveal themselves.
3/4th pics are the most explicit. Follow the line from the top of her head, down to the curly end. There are 2 different textures of hair starting with the bushy/fizzy at the top which changes at collar bone to glossy, curled ‘cocker spaniel ears’ ends.
But also look at this picture from an evening reception they are attending.
http://www.popsugar.com/Prince-William-Kate-Middleton-Sinagpore-Reception-24900400?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+popsugar+%28PopSugar%29&slide=7
The side part line is a perfect line that abruptly and inexplicably re-starts at a different point mid-way on her head. The hair from this mid-point has separated out ie not blending with the glossy spaniel curls at the side. It looks like a wiglet that wasn’t blended in properly!!! And the two are different textures.
Oh my. I’ve never seen it quite as obvious as in that photo, LAK! She can’t deny it after that.
LOL
“Real hair” according to the sycophants. Indeed. 😀 😀 😀
The more I look at that photo the weirder her hair looks. It looks like it’s divided into portions. And there’s a black line stemming from the “2nd side part” of her hair that looks odd. It’s not strands of hair, just one black line that cuts through the natural flow of her hair on the top of her head.
She looks lovely. I like the shoes & clutch paired up with her dress. The black really pops with the white. Very demure.
Singapore is a very conservative country and she is dressed totally appropriately. I’m not sure why so many people insist on so much more from her. She’s looking much more at ease with people and the locals seem happy to see her. That’s pretty much her only responsibility.
The last dress kind of looks refreshing on her. She always seems to wear dresses without any designs or patterns. This is a very fresh change from her usual plain/dull outfits. Jus my opinion
Hate those wedges like I hate Katie’s boots. Give them up! Totally ruined her look. She doesn’t have to tower. She’s tall already. A sensible pump would have been fine, but then Duchess Dollycurls wouldn’t be able to show off her toned calves. Oh, and get someone to weigh down your skirts. No one wants to see the royal coochie other than William.
Wedges of Doom – too funny.
why is she she always smiling like a maniac? i mean, is everyone around her always telling funny jokes, or is she h*gh on something all the time???
in probably 85% of her public pictures she is showing horse veneers over horse veneers! no other female royal does anything so pathetic like her. she is such a bad actress…
LOL at the “horse veneers” comment. They look sooooo fake. Even William’s slightly yellow, slightly rabbitty teeth look better. At least they are his own – presumably.
Has anyone else noticed that most of the people around them look less than thrilled?
Woah, looks like she’s having a Marilyn Monroe moment there in that last pic. 🙂
I’ll bet she has no arches in her feet, real flat-footed. Pippa, too. Wedges are much more comfortable for those of us who put more weight in the middle of our foot.
Duchess Kate looks wonderful, as per usual. However, she might think about putting weights in her skirt/dress hems, like Princess Diana did, for those breezy days!
I really like both dresses! Esp the McQueen. I used to have a shirt like it and I wore it to death. It was literally coming apart. lol
As for the shoes and hair. *sigh* Whatever…
What I’m about to say goes totally against my stance as a womanist, but whatever- we live in a world of paradox.
Kate’s lips are too thin to be cheesing hard the way she so frequently does. Back in the day, when Hollywood had their “Star Machine” folks were trained out of those kinds of quirks. She’s been in “princess training” for over a year now. Why has no one told her that it makes her look like her teeth are about to jump out of her face and chomp everyone in the room to death?
The McQueen dress is gorgeous, but she’s going to get blood all over it when she eats everyone with her killer dentures.
Kate needs a hair cut! Just sayin’ She is very pretty but needs to let go of the hair!
I really love the wedges, but they definitely don’t go with that dress at all.
These are boring looks. Too much makeup as well.
Come on Kate, keep us interested…
I think she looks amazing. Love the white outfit.
love her, she is always so laid back.
I can’t help but think she is pregnant in all of these pictures. It’s barely there and I haven’t thought that ever up until now. She probably isn’t but this is the first time since they got married that I think she might finally have a bun in the oven. Which is good because it will give her something to do: be a mother!
I love the white dress (or dress/shirt combo) and I like the second one too. But here we have another wind blowing the breezy dress too high incident again… I remember she was highly criticized during the Canadian tour when that happened when she wore the yellow dress.
I think she looks good here….
I LOVE the shoes with the wedge- they seem comfortable and I LOVE the dress
at the bottom pics.
I wish I had so many of her clothes and shoes!
She’s done something to her face, because she looks like Patrick Bateman when she smiles. She didn’t use to look like that. And her bottom lip/jaw stick out oddly, like they are being pulled to tightly. Whatever she’s done, it was subtle but still too much.
@ I NeedANap,
You said& I agree :
“Her bottom lip/jaw stick out oddly, like they are being pulled too tightly”
You mean like a ventriloquist dummy?
Yeap! you got it right!
She doesn’t have a true sense of style because she doesn’t have an identity. Being William’s clone (his friends, his interests, his family, his work (haha!) schedule, his mannerism, have sapped her of any individual identity.
Also, she looks over-done in every way. Teeth too veneered, hair too long and over-styled, fake tan too dark, eyeliner too dark, face too tight, too much dieting, weird Tom Cruise-type cultish smile (you know the type, like saying “my smile is bigger than everyone else because I am 250% happier than everyone else!”). Everything about her is “off.” I think it stems from her trying to be “perfect” for William — but trying TOO HARD, and now she doesn’t look natural anymore. Like I said, the problem is she no longer has an individual identity.
+1
You’ve hit everything dead on, Mrs. Krabapple.
Love both dresses, the white especially, both very pretty and appropriate.
These two are missing that something extra and she seems very fake, even her hand clapping and talking to children looks like she’s doing just-for-the-camera-to get photos of her doing it. She just comes off as so disengenuious.
Pr.Charles and Diana together were dazzling and had presence. Diana had so much charisma it jumped off the page into people’s psyche, it’s one of the reasons she was such a superstar. Diana also had natural-style, she just knew how to put herself together effortlessly, it doesn’t matter whether it was the 80’s or 90’s Diana had style and that includes her wedding dress which was copied for years by women of all ages. Part of Kate’s problem is she seems empty, it’s probably one of the reasons she doesn’t truly exude real style. She can wear every McQueen and every High street clothing designer for the next decade and she will never have real style, because she “just does not have it.” The press has been selling this woman non-stop for ages and she still feels like a hard-sell, to me everything about her seems forced or insincere.
+1!!!
I agree- Princess Diana was amazing and one of a kind! From the books that I have read, however, the suits that control the Royals have done everything they can to wipe out her memory in England. What a shame for William and Harry. I love the photos of Kate in this post, however, and even the one where she is grinning broadly reminds me of some photos I’ve seen of her as a little girl.
+10!
Like the white ensemble a lot, not so much on the printed one, although she looks much cooler in them than in the heavy Jenny Packham.
The shoes do seem to be an odd choice. Maybe they are comfortable?
I think I see a tummy…
Yes, early maybe 4 weeks… therefore if you see tired faces on Kate; she’s probably feeling green.
Oh dear, in pic #5 she forgot to put her ring hand on top!
@Queen,
LOL you’re right she forgot to show off the Diana ring! She always does.
Kate the Duchess Chav that wears ugly wedges.