Here are some photos of Duchess Kate visiting Stoke on Trent, England today. She made a trip to the Emma Bridgewater ceramics factory – they make mugs and such, with cute little designs (ladybugs!). Emma Bridgewater has made a special mug for charity, the proceeds of which will go towards EACH’s Nook Appeal for hospices, and Kate is a patron for EACH. Kate also got to decorate what looks like a mug (?) in a video posted to the new Kensington Royal Twitter account (I’m including the video at the end of the post). You can read more about the trip here.
Kate wore this blue wool coat by MaxMara for the outdoor part of the event. It’s a pretty color on her, but I consistently like it when she wears blue. It’s one of her best colors (red and burgundy also look good on her). She accessorized with her favorite sapphire and diamond jewelry (we’ve been seeing those sapphire earrings a lot lately) and blue suede Jimmy Choos. Yay, I’m so happy the nude LK Bennetts got a break.
I also love that Kate pulled part of her hair back. Now THIS is an appropriate and professional hair look for a daytime event. Isn’t this much better than seeing the sausage curls flying in every direction, and seeing Kate constantly fiddling with said curls? Also: NO BUTTONS. Looks like Kate’s new stylist is trying to break her of some bad habits gradually.
The Duchess of Cambridge has a go at painting ladybirds on pottery designed for @EACH_hospices @EmmaBridgewater pic.twitter.com/P2EkCchvDD
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) February 18, 2015
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Her hem is still blowing up though. Ha!
I actually liked this until the kick pleat blew up in the back.
If she’s forsaking buttons, she could at least wear a brooch.
Ha! I was thinking the same thing. For some reason, the wind really loves her.
For some reason I cannot get over that she and I are due at the same time. I know all women carry differently, and I’m 5’4″ with a short torso and she’s tall, but it boggles my mind. I’m carrying a ridiculously heavy watermelon belly in front of me, have trouble getting in the car, even sitting on the toilet because my belly wants to occupy my leg space and rib space at the same time. I can’t roll over in bed without concerted effort and grunting (maybe cranes?). She looks like she has to fart. I want to cry.
Wiffie im sure you look beautiful and you’ll give birth soon so try to stay calm and relaxed.. . Most women at 7 months are big or bigger. I don’t think she is typical of what pregnant women usually look like at 7 months plus. I started showing at 5 months and at 7 months I had trouble breathing as the baby moved and kicked me in the ribs. And in my second pregnancy for some reason I gained sideways lol and some people would think it was funny to say to me ‘waddle waddle’… oh well. Don’t get me started on the mega gigantic boobs I developed (hanging on my stomach). So many people felt inclined to point that out to me like I couldnt tell? I always wished I carried differently and felt frustrated by unnecessary and unhelpful comments.
I don’t know if she’s not eating right or its just her metabolism or her eating style ? Everyone carries differently. My SIL has such a great metabolism that in her 9th month she didn’t look pregnant , more like she had a huge breakfast. She was even smaller than Duchess Kate.
@net12 thanks. There are 2 sides to every coin I guess. When I look 9 months along starting at 6 months, I hear a lot of “any day now, huh?” “Sure it’s not twins?” “Eating for two?”
She probably gets a lot of questions if baby is malnourished, is everything OK? Is she starving it? What’s wrong with her? You can’t win.
I showed early even with my first, so i expected this time too. It’s wild though how some women especially with long torsos can look relatively not pregnant, and give birth to a seven pounder. It’s like, where was that hiding?! Lol.
Hem weights, hem weights. We all know this, why doesn’t she?
My kingdom for a pair of trousers on Cathy Cambridge.
LOL! So true too!
She needs to go check out a Queen Letizia lookbook — she knows how to wear pants and look great doing it.
This!
Totally agree blue is one of her best colors and this is a lovely shade of blue. I hope the nude heels were sacrificed to the shoe gods and we’ll be seeing some serious shoe fashion in the future.
These deeper jewel tones with hints of gray are her friend. She needs more of these because she always looks great in them.
Yes. This is one of her best coats. And she even makes simple court shoes seem stylish.
Hey no cork wedges!
And where is William?? They have really been pushing out Kate lately but he has been MIA.
Report today says W will start his job in late Spring, but won’t be flying mission till Summer. No, I don’t know what that means.
Is it me or was Kate just bewildered at the idea of pressing that sponge to cup? “What is this? Paint? It goes where? Like this? What is this? What?”
Also, £20 for a cup? And ONLY 5 goes to charity. No, thanks.
I’ve done these things. Not for charity, but making cups and bowls. It’s a fun day trip with friends if you ever find a place and get the chance.
For what it’s worth I think she was bewildered at the placement of the stencil.
William has done nothing lately. And yet his training hasn’t been a priority for some time. He really dragged it out. Even when he was said to be taking in the “theory” he skipped off for vacations. Being on a traveler plane counts as theory for being a helicopter pilot maybe? Or maybe it was the theory of a bulet flying through the air to impact on an animal that was part of his theory to brush up on.
Kate is working at least and being seen.
RedSnapper – I was disappointed in that too – those mugs would match my mom’s kitchen perfectly, her birthday is at the end of the month, and we bond over stanning Kate (mostly for the coat p*rn) – but for expensive as those are vs. how much the charity is getting, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
She has been working her bare butt off lately. My guess is she is going to retire after the baby.
I think you mean Stoke on Trent not Stroke on Trent?
Hahaha, I noticed that, too.
I guess it depends. My cousin calls it “Stroke” due to the large number of obesity cases he sees from that area (NHS internist, bless him).
My favorite Stoke export is Robbie Williams. Always has been, always will be…though the ceramics are lovely. They’re just not tattooed and troublesome 😉
That coat actually needs some buttons, the design looks off to me. I don’ t care for these snaps that Max Mara is using currently. Also, the wide lapel this time is not the most flattering for a pregnant woman, they make her look wider. That said, the hem is straight, the color is fairly good on her (not my favorite shade of blue, but what the heck.)
Hair flicking.
Long unladylike strides.
She needs new shoes, these are just about as boring as they could possibly be.
“Long unladylike strides” – is this really a thing?!? It just looks like she’s walking to me. I think criticizing stride length is reaching.
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, as am I. I think the long strides are not very ladylike.
Don’t you know that a true lady always restricts her movements? True ladies are wilting flowers – no bending down, tiny little steps and limp hand movements. True ladies should always wear a corset to properly restict the body for true ladylike behaviour. 😉
Honestly, I’ve seen videos of Kate walking and it reminds me of some of the girls from “out in the county” (i.e., farms) who we played against in women’s high school sports. Nothing against farmers or these chics, but they had a certain stride as opposed to a walk.
Meh. It’s walking. I’m not going to attack it.
I wonder how many will attack vava on her walking comment just to do so? Because you know that blood in the water and they can’t let this weakness go unexploited.
@Florc, you’re right–she’s just walking. I’ll try to do better! *hunkers back down in foxhole*
Yeah, she’s always had a long stride, and a tendency to take steps two at a time. I think it’s the athlete in her.
I will say something good though, she did get out and about. I liked her dress.
I hate her hair like this. I think she looks much softer when her hair is down. She would look so great with a cute bob haircut.
+ 100
I like her coat. She tends to very good coats.
Sorry you are like a royal encyclopedia, William is MIA..do the public have access to records that prove he has finished things like his bespoke programme, or his flying hours and training. Is he really achieving this? I remember when Harry was at Eton there was some controversy about him doing poorly in his school work but still managing to float on by. Are the certificates public record???
No public records, but the palace or the royal press corps tend to accidentally let the cat out of the bag. Usually in a misguided attempt at positive PR.
And we’ll always have social media now.
Why do I see Rick looking lovingly at Ilsa saying, “We’ll always have Facebook”? 🙂
LAK you live in Kensington don’t you! Did her helicopter leave from there? I’m wondering wondering if she’s in London or Anmer.
Red Snapper
Or Buckleberry?
Redsnapper: yes I do, but I wasn’t paying attention this am. Completely forgot that she had an engagement.
Now that I think of it, I haven’t heard any helicopters lately.
Mind you, I don’t live as close to KP as Amandapanda is. She overlooks KP. I’m a couple of blocks further away.
Bluhare: Tee hee.
Can AmandaPanda see into Williams’s bedroom? Because he has issues about that. I heard it from the President of Singapore.
P.S I can’t help but wonder what gems he’ll unleash during the China trip. The stunned look on his face when he realized everyone in the Oval Office had written him off as a lightweight….
Red Snapper,
I for one is looking forward to William’s awkard conversational gamibits on the China tour. I’m sure he’ll provide us with much free entertainment. He almost always deliver in that department and it is even funnier because it is unintended.
😉
Now people are saying he shouldn’t go to a certain elephant preserve that is on the schedule. It is attached to an elephant circus act, and the animals are possibly abused into doing the tricks. Interesting to see what happens.
Ha ha – good memory, yes I’m very close
I’ve ben in another country for work this week so can’t comment. However there were lots of police doing a sweep on Sunday afternoon as I walked home and then a couple of hours a helicopter arrived – assume that was Kate coming back to kp. I shall keep my ears peeled!
Beautiful, shoe is a perfect match to coat but she needs to sew some weights to the hem like some shower liners have magnet wts. Hehe. Bottoms are always flying!!
That color is beautiful on her. This look does seem simpler, more elegant. I hope she is working now with a stylist. #nomoreLKBennetts
Oh, look: a blue coat with pumps and a clutch. How different. *yawn*
Exactly ZZZZZZZZZZ
Snoozeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Look, a real life paper doll!
Isn’t this exactly the same as the white coat she wore to her last event? I like it but it kind of a repeat. I wish she’d wear the purple/maroon one again she first wore when arriving to NYC but maybe it doesn’t fit anymore at this stage in her pregnancy.
I absolutely loved that purple coat!
50 Shades of Blue.
How many blue coats does this woman have????
That’s what I ask too. Does she really need a new expensive coat for every engagement she has? I get that she is pregnant but she must still have her maternity clothes from her last pregnancy.
Apparently, yes she does. I don’t understand why. Just get coats in a few different colors and change up the accessories and the clothing underneath. Why waste such massive amounts of other people’s money?
I’ve also been wondering why we haven’t seen her ‘old’ maternity coat-dresses. That cheerful yellow from the Queen’s garden party and the mint one were great choices. And it’s not as though they’re worn out.
I think the problem is that she doesn’t really know how to accessorize – hence the constant stream of all-new colour co-ordinated outfits. This is an area where she could really benefit from a professional stylist to give her some tools to work her existing wardrobe in new ways. I think that CP Mary is very good at this precisely because she has professional help. She has some wonderful pieces that she recycles in different coat-dress-hat-shoe combos.
I do find it funny and ironic that Kate used to work as an accessories buyer and can’t accessorize worth a damn. 😉
Maybe the different time of year has something to do with it. This baby is due in April whilst George was born in July. Clothes she was wearing when 7 months pregnant with George i.e. in the month of May would not be suitable to wear at this time of year.
She’s wearing a plain maternity dress underneath, which is not weather-dependent. She wore a pale pink wool coat around this point last time. And a white wool Goat coat. She has plenty of warm coats that fit her maternity shape already, no reason to invest in even more.
I know Charles pays for her clothes from his Duchy income (I think that’s where it comes from) but that’s in place to provide the POW with an income as the Duchy of Lancaster is for the Queen. I know its entailed, in that Charles can’t do what he will with it but it’s not really other people’s money. He may take a tax deduction on business wardrobe costs, but I can’t even fault him there as I know people in the public eye can deduct work clothing expenses on their taxes here and I assume there’s a similar scheme in the UK. Charles is the one who should be annoyed at how she’s spending his money. Assuming he’s annoyed.
Dabbing paint onto a mug with a sponge while a million photographs are snapped… The resources required to achieve this remarkable moment… security officers, scheduling assistant, press advisor, personal assistant, hair stylist, wardrobe stylist, nanny, cook, chauffeur, housekeepers….the advance planning efforts of the organisation… all for several minutes of handshakes, then swept away in the back of a Bentley, compensated with multiple palaces to call home, unlimited funds for furnishings, artwork, jewellery, clothing, cars, vacations, gifts and the most lavish lifestyle imaginable guaranteed for one’s own life and one’s heirs…. I don’t know why, but watching that video makes it seem so stark. I don’t understand the purpose of monarchy, truly I do not. SMH.
The DM now has an entire article about her gray hair. They really are getting desperate. For the amount she spends at the salon and for the hairdresser, though, it is surprising to see such a poorly-done dye job.
I think it’s absolutely astounding that her hair grows in gray. Not just strands here and there, but her entire head! I’ve never seen anything like it. I would be mortified and frustrated if I had to constantly color my hair prior to my 50th birthday.
@ racer
Really? We are all different and age differently. I am 43 and am 60% grey. I have to have my colour done every 4 weeks – and that’s pushing it!. I have been going grey since my early 20’s. I have a few friends with the same issue. Why would anyone be critical of something over which she has no control?
A lot is genetics, but poor diet (lack of protein etc.) affects it as well.
I noticed a silver hair here & there by about 30. No shame in something beyond your control.