Ahead of the Cambridges’ trip to India and Bhutan, the Daily Mail has run another passive aggressive – some would say “negging” – story about the Duchess of Cambridge. This piece reminded me so much of the piece from a few weeks ago, all about how Kate has become “more regal” than the royals. The point of the new article is that Kate is lovely… but frumpy, unstylish, insecure, and mutton dressed as lamb. While I agree with the main thesis – that Kate is in desperate need of a real stylist – the piece does feel nitpicky and mean. Here are some of the rudest/funniest lines:
“She’s got beauty, glamour and classiness; so why, then, is Kate such an incorrigible frump?”
The polka-dotted Saloni dress: “On Kate, though, it looks about as tasty as a wet scone. Everything, from her trademark demure Princess-on-Parade stance — fixed smile, hands clasped in front — to her hair, falling in loose curls around her shoulders, and the prissy court shoes poking out from beneath the skirt hem, conspires to turn what ought to be a style triumph into something that resembles a Seventies sewing pattern.”
“Kate is, quite simply, style kryptonite. Of course, her innate wholesomeness is part of the Duchess’s appeal, and no one wants the wife of a future king to be an air-headed fashion obsessive.”
“Seriously, you could put that girl in Versace’s infamous safety pin dress — as worn by Liz Hurley — and she’d still make it look frumpy.”
“Because, for all her beauty and charm, there is one thing Kate does not yet possess — and I stress ‘yet’ — and that’s style.”
Kate is “unsure of herself”: “It’s as though — whatever she wears — she is anxiously trying to preserve the image of the jolly, dimple-cheeked university undergraduate she was when they first met, all pussy-bows and Boden, fearful still, perhaps, that if she deviates from a tried-and-tested formula he might once more turn his back on her as he did at the start of their relationship. But things are different now. She’s earned her place in the Royal Family. It’s time to exorcise the ghost of Waity Katie.”
“So, Kate, please. Stop it now with the schoolgirl hair, the submissive air and the stiff standing on ceremony….Otherwise — however stylish the designs you wear — you’ll only have yourself to blame if you go down in history as the Duchess of Drab.”
I will give the author (Sarah Vine) some credit: she put her finger on something that has always nagged at me, which is that Kate often looks simultaneously frumpy/matronly AND twee. Like, she’s aiming for college co-ed and somehow it looks like something that should be on 60-something grandmother. Anyway, I do think Kate should work with a real stylist. I also think she could work on her body language (the crotch clutching and hair fussing needs to stop). And the hair/makeup is just a nightmare. And I think it’s very “interesting” that this piece was published just before William and Kate begin their big royal tour, which will feature all of these expensive new outfits for Kate. Personally, I’m expecting not only “homages” to Diana, but some extra Lady Mary cosplay.
The Daily Mail also had a piece about how Carole Middleton is going to be “babysitting” George and Charlotte during the Cambridges’ tour. Didn’t we already know that? Nanny Maria will be around to help, of course. I bet Carole will enjoy this break from babysitting William and Kate, honestly.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet, WENN.
I personally don’t see what the big deal is. Just because you marry into royalty doesn’t mean you have to be a fashionista, right? Maybe she doesn’t work with a stylist because she’d be ridiculed for ‘wasting money’ on such frivilous things? Or maybe she doesn’t care?
If she was doing lots of great work with her various patronages, and saying intelligent things, I think we would all defend her bad style. But she has nothing else to offer.
Think of all the press she’s gotten ahead of this trip. It’s been all about her clothes and the backdrops and the color story, and nothing of substance. If she is going to Bill herself as a fashion palette, she needs to deliver.
No, she doesn’t to be. However, like any other job, she has a dress code. A dress code that she struggles to deal with, while spending tens of thousands on clothes every year.
ahahaha wasting money??? she always do: her coat cost thousands and her entire outfits do but look frumpy. Will and Kate refurbished Kensington Palace but then went to live in Anmer Hall and Kate wanted in Anmer Hall another kitchen just for herself and a brand new tennis pitch. Isn’ t that wasting money? I think she s very stubborn and she wants to do it all her way, she thinks she’ s beautiful and stylish but she’ s not. Hiring a stylist woukldn’ t be wasting money this time
Every royal in history has used their clothes to convey a message.
Infact, in ye old times, it was the royals who set the fashion trends of the day and or popularised other trends. Tight stockings for men in the 17th century, influenced by Louis 14, all the better to show off a well turned leg calf
some of ye old trends are still with us today eg white wedding dresses – popular after Queen Victoria decided to wear one for her wedding day. Prior to that, you wore your best dress to your wedding irrespective of colour.
Or Meringue wedding dresses of the 80s, direct result of Diana’s horrid meringue of a wedding dress.
In the modern world, you’d have to be really dim not to employ a stylist when your job has a huge public component. Everyone from hollywood starlets to the the most mundane public figure has an image to uphold which includes fashion, male and female alike, and in the case of rotalty, that stuff goes into history books.
Even the Queen has one.
There is an exhibition in Scotland of the Queen’s dresses running or about to run. There is a permanent exhibition at KP of Margaret, Diana and The Queen’s more memorable dresses.
There are exhibitions around the world of royal wardrobes from different cultures that remain popular. And they all say something about the royal, male or female, that has worn them and the message they conveyed by their choice of wardrobe.
Can you imagine anyone writing a book or putting on a tour of Kate’s royal fashion in the future?
Love your comment, LAK. And I love the photos of some of the Queen’s gowns I’ve seen recently. I think my favorite photos of her are when she’s in a ball gown with a Scottish plaid sash dancing a Scottish reel.
The exhibit isn’t just in Scotland (I’m going in the summer) but all the Royal Collection residences will have some fashions. Holyrood is just the biggest. And I’ve seen the KP exhibit–they didn’t get memorable Diana dresses. Those mostly went in the auction. That was a bummer. But I liked the Queen’s that were there.
Loved your comment! On Mary Antoinette’s puffs the ships were heading towards America to help the rebellious US brethren. Even the most vain woman in history had an underlying point. Why not Kate? She is totally bland. She could wear outfits by up and coming UK designers and this way make a point by attracting attention to new talent, if it is so difficult for her to dress properly. But there is no effort whatsoever.
There is no way her critics would allow her to get away with hiring a stylist. I dont think she needs one anyway. She should just wear whatever appeals to her as long as its decent. Such a fuss over nothing.
She has a stylist,albeit a bad one. (The name escapes me, it was mentioned a few days ago in the blog posts about her outfits for the India trip, and how the stylist and photographer were dispatched ahead of time to photograph the sites so they can plan the outfits. If that’s not a ridiculous waste of money, I don’t know what is.)
Here’s the thing: she doesn’t need to be a fashionista, in fact I think in her role that is not the expectation at all. But she needs to:
1. be appropriately dressed for the occasion – that includes cut, length, style, accessories, hair. She is almost exclusively failing on multiple counts each time she is out and about, whether privately or publicly. Too many examples to count, from flashing her bits to wedges on a beach or boating or at today’s cricket, to pink coat at the memorial in NY, to short skirts when visiting with kids etc.
2. have good posture and an engaged demeanour when on a royal engagement. She fails on this one too, with the biscuit clutching, excessive grinning, hair twirling and her shoulders hunched.
3. Wear suitable makeup. She always fails on this one, with her excessive eyeliner that constantly give her racoon eyes.
Finally, we would all give her a pass for the stupendous amount she spends on looking terrible IF she looked terrible while actually working the difficult, exhausting job of showing up to a couple of events daily, looking engaged and appearing informed. But, sadly, we all know how that doesn’t happen either.
@Vauvert, her stylist is named “Tash”, short for Natasha somebody. She needs to be fired.
I think if she worked with a professional stylist, it might save the British taxpayers a lot of money overall. Right now, it seems as if Kate thinks the only option is: buying overly expensive. one-piece, non-mix-and-match, poorly tailored to fit her clothes, needlessly buying countless numbers of the same types of overly expensive shoes in the same colors, buying overly expensive jewelry that don’t really add much style to her outfits or that are hidden behind her hair; and using overly expensive coats to cover what she’s wearing underneath, etc.
A stylist has helped Queen Letizia buy mix-and-match outfits that aren’t overly expensive and are budget-conscious yet Letizia comes out looking better than Kate every time. Thus it would be a benefit for the taxpayers.
A stylist will help Kate overcome her ‘middle-class,’ nouveau riche idea that buying anything expensive means it automatically looks better or best regardless of what it looks like and how it’s put together overall as an ensemble. A stylist will pick pieces that look good, regardless if the items cost less than what Kate usually buys (with taxpayers’ money).
Right now, Kate can’t reuse her clothes without it having been seen in its complete form before because she buys one-pieces. Mixing-and-matching will give her different outfits at a more rational cost-per-use.
Also, a stylist would give her options on how to look her age, rather than what might look good to Carole’s older-generation tastes, because I think Carole might be her current stylist. Kate would come out looking younger, fresher, more comfortable looking, and hopefully get rid of Kate’s bad posture and crotch-shielding. Kate might even come out feeling more naturally poised and thus be able to focus on other people than be obsessed with how she looks to the camera. It might take her out of her own mind for once.
And a stylist would keep track of what Kate has bought and stop her from buying the same looking, overly expensive items over and over again (clothes, shoes, clutches, belts, jewelry, etc.) and will also help maintain the items so that Kate won’t have to buy new things to replace her poorly kept items. Also, a stylist would make sure that Kate’s hems are weighted, properly hemmed and ironed, and ironed overall.
Exactly. Hyacinth is styling her. She’s the one who passed on a pathological desire to be an aristocrat and gets it wrong every time. She thrust her daughter, who has no discernible talents or skills, into a job she is not qualified for. This is the result.
Exactly.
Agreed! Heck, I could dress her better in one day with a mix of Nordstrom and Talbot’s clothes. Yes, middle class but age and occasion appropriate.. Add some royal jewelry, a tailor on call to fit the stuff to perfection and then for God’s sake get new shoes and purses that are NOT freakin’ tiny clutches. And she has the figure to wear anything, it’s idiotic that she looks so frumpy every time despite spending a fortune.
@anne_000: Love your comments! Only thing I might disagree with is that sometimes Carole looks more hip than Kate. Queen Letizia and CP Mary are great examples of stylish AND appropriate young royal dressers.
She certainly isn’t saving money, as many of her ugliest clothes are bespoke. 99.9999% of the humans on this planet will never be able to afford even one bespoke outfit, so I think she likes fashion – she’s just terrible at it.
Well, since she is a public figure and a major member of the BRF, it could be argued tht it is her oportunity to show the best of British designers. She is representing her country after all. She needs to convey what the best of the UK has to offer style wise. She doesn’t seem to get this, that now, she is a global figure. Agreed?
I guess I don’t get the huge problem? The hair is problematic, a little young for her current title. I think she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place- she needs to be traditional and conservative but then she’s boring. If she was trendy she would be flighty. This could be because my taste runs distinctly business casual and decidedly in grey scale 🙂
I think she should accessorize her outfit and yes, I agree she should hire a stylist because her own style is terrible
I think the problem is that she, and everyone else, seems to think that she can only be trendy or matronly or worse, Kardashian flashy.
There are so many examples of women of all ages in the public office function and or in royal families world wide who are managing to navigate the conservative requirement of their wardrobe, without being matronly or dowdy.
Eg all the swedish princesses, Mary of Denmark, Letitzia of Spain etc. Additionally many first ladies around the world, from Michelle Obama to Carla Bruni to the first lady of China.
Heck, Queen Rania of Jordan has to navigate an ultra conservative constituency, and she’s never looked boring in her fashion.
None of the above ladies’ wardrobes can be described as trendy, but they are all stylish, modern and age appropriate.
“needs to be traditional and conservative”, yes it’s true yet the business world has changed. I think your “grey scale” is on point in today’s world.
100% LAK!! She has similar colouring and a similar build to Princess Mary, she should really be looking to her more for styling tips. However Mary always has confidence and grace which Kate is really lacking in.
Every now and then she’ll have a gorgeous outfit; but there’s usually some styling detail letting it down. Then other times she really is frumpy and/or twee. I think she was a sporty girl in jeans and boots who wants to be a fashionista, and always wants to toe the royal line with a bit more modern flare; but she’s just missing the goals. I wish I could style her!! A great head-to-toe stylist would do her wonders. You can be covered and appropriate and not at all frumpy or twee.
Most of all though, she needs to stand and walk and move with confidence!! It makes all the difference.
The problem is that Kate’s personal history aka real job has been that of a college girlfriend, which means looking cute for HIM or trying to hook a man. I’m not dogging her for that but I’m pointing it out to simply say that she doesn’t have the job related experience or social awareness of other women of the caliber LAK threw out. As a result of how Kate spent her time, she has a deficit in playing around (or growing) her own style. While LAK through out some good examples, those woman have had experience being just that —women and in developing themselves as themselves among other things. Chasing & pursuing Willy hasn’t been good for Kate’s own personal development. She’ll always be delayed and disadvantaged in that regard.
I thought the article was a good assessment (albeit with a few obvious stretches thrown in). Also, William may require that little girl lost bit. If so, it probably makes him feel like a big man protecting and rescuing mom. His father didn’t do it but he, big man that he is, will do it.
Duchess Kate is nowhere near First Lady/queen status yet – her husband’s only third in line. I don’t think it’s a valid comparison between her and the others mentioned.
She can wear that ring until it melds to her finger but she’ll never have Diana’s charm or style.
I have said this before, but I’ll say it again: I think Kate (and Will, too) seem to think it’s still the mid 2000s or so. She can’t get away with the stuff that would have been, if not appropriate, at least fine for a 20-something at her first post-school job.
While she doesn’t have to go to the other extreme and look matronly, she can add some trendy pieces and accessories to her ensembles to make things look fresh and young. I don’t think she has an innate sense of style – which is fine – but she definitely should at least get in touch with an actual stylist. I am sure there are stylists who would fall all over themselves to help her out.
Public figure is public figure whether you’re on top, or in line waiting. I get so tired of the argument that it doesn’t hold for Kate because “she’s in a totally different position”, or “she’s got a lot of time before that”, “she’s just learning the ropes” ad infinitum. She does public engagements representing a very conservative institution. Doesn’t matter where she is in line. And it does count, I think.
What I find the saddest is that there is absolutely nothing to talk about with Kate *except* her clothes. That being said, style is not gained. You either have it or you don’t. Kate doesn’t, so she should hire someone who does.
Agreed. There are no excuses. None. There are hundreds of examples of stylish and appropriate that she chooses to ignore even after 15 years of preparation.
Diamondgirl: her position in the line of succession is irrelevant. Sophie will never be Queen consort. Ditto Sofia and Madelaine of Sweden. Yet they are stylishly and appropriately dressed for their public role.
It’s ridiculous to say that Kate must wait until she is Queen Consort before she works with a stylist or figures out a less matronly/dowdy style. She could be elevated tomorrow, in 20yrs’ time or not at all.
Maxima/Letitzia/Mary etal didn’t wait for the elevation before figuring out their visual presentation.
When Kate was a girlfriend, we were told that she was waiting to be a royal before she would pull herself together. So she spent her 20s in leisure wear. She’s been a royal for 5yrs and we are still waiting.
Finally, this has nothing to do with Diana. This is about Kate find an appropriate work wardrobe that isn’t aging, matronly or dowdy. Conservative doesn’t automatically mean those things.
And if we are going to show examples of flashy, stylish conservative, i give you sheikha Mozah.
Since someone invoked Diana, let’s not forget that she worked with Vogue stylists to pull her wardrobe together and or get a tune up from time to time. Not for nothing was she besties with Liz Tilberis, editor of Harper’s Bazaar who helped her with her post separation wardrobe.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen any coverage of Sheikha Mozah here in the States without looking for it. She’s got some lovely things. I just love to look at photos of her.
I don’t think the long hair is even the main problem – Rania and (until just ast year) Letizia had long dark hair just like Kate, which they wore loose and glossy quite often. But they appear to have a better handle on style in general, and some of Letizia’s Felipe Varela dresses are to die for.
trying to agree with LAK, Dena and bluhare. Can’t get comments to appear so will try this little one to say, +1
Yes I think you’re right. Her hair is a problem because the bangs were a big mistake and she’s trying to grow them out. Her clothes, like you said @crowdhood, she has to dress very conservatively. And she’s really thin and not so shapely, so maybe if she “filled out” her conservative clothes with some curves she’d look a bit less twee and frumpy. Although I do think she’s lovely and very feminine.
As a skinny person without curves, i object to the notion that curves are the only way for a person to look good. Just as i would object if someone said that only skinny people without boobs and butts look good.
Different body types suit different designs. It doesn’t make one body type better than another.
Charlene of Monaco AND Elle Macpherson have the same body type as Kate as well as being skinny. Further,they don’t have boobs or butt, and they look good because they’ve figures out what works on their body types.
I don’t think it is her weight at all — other thin people look elegant, not frumpy (points to squillions of “real” people, and models and actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Angelina, etc.)
I think it is the retracted, insect-y stiffness of her posture. She so often looks brittle, compounded with the awkward vagina clutch thing.
I’d sign her up for acting lessons, frankly, to instill a sense of movement and ownership of her movements and body, even if it amounted to imagining herself in a role whilst doing a walk. I’ve worked with a few public people who do this and they found it helped tremendously.
(And those are lessons I think she would be thrilled to take, considering her fascination with Downton and Lady Mary.) Looking at her more natural stance on a sports sideline or in casual clothing would be a start.
The Fail has been reading comments on this site again! It was quite openly bitchy in some parts but its true. Every time she wears couture or a high end designer she makes it look like it came straight from the Boden/Laura Ashley catalogue.
She is in desperate need of a proper stylist
PS I LOVE the main photo of her in that Erdem dress – she looks like she just stepped off the set of 80s Dynasty.
I’m waiting for the six inch shoulder pads…………….
That picture looks like she’s being swallowed by the Hair Monster and the dress looks like my Grade 8 sewing project . She thinks she looks great though. SMH
Ha! Exactly!
I laughed at the part that said Kate dresses for Wills so he doesn’t leave her like he did before. yikes!!! The British do snark and label it gold better than anyone!!!
Good. I’m glad our derision is not in vain. She has women around her to help, but she is listening to Hyancith. She is listening to a woman who has zero Royal experience and whose social mountaineering obviously didn’t include style lessons.
I know negging is strictly about men undermining women but I really think it’s a good analogy for these take-down articles on the royals just now. Full of shade dressed up in backhanded compliments. Most amusing in this instance but your usual negging is not amusing at all.
BTW: Britisher six degrees of separation game. Sarah Vine is married to Michael Gove, a Conservative Party politician and Minister of Justice in the current government. So we are seeing attacks coming from WITHIN the Establishment, not just outside it.
I didn’t know that about Sarah Vine – interesting indeed. Hmm so maybe the establishment has a game plan with these 2. Buck up or we use the media to take you down.
& the same Michael Gove who allegedly recently leaked a 2011 dinner conversation with the Queen during which she supposedly implied that she’d support Britain leaving the EU. He got major heat for airing this private chat so perhaps there’s more personal animosity involved too.
I’m another republican & think this couple are pretty much indefensible however I thought this piece was exceptionally unpleasant. Blimey, she doesn’t look well, does she ….
YES! The Brexit row seems to be coded into everything just now.
THAT guy??
Yes. That guy. He was in charge of education before justice. He’s making a better fist of justice so far. He doesn’t like the EU.
Negging’s a really good analogy. The press know full well that the public still fundamentally like and support Will and Kate, so can’t directly attack them, and want more access and cooperation from them, for them to much friendlier, so are trying to make them want nicer coverage by these sly insults.
What they’ve failed to realise is that the Royals just don’t need good press coverage – they can release pictures directly on social media and build up a relationship with the public directly, they can participate in TV documentaries to give a fuller and yet more controlled picture, they can run their own initiatives – like the Invictus Games – to generate public good will. The press’s own image is toxic enough that when they try to dig real dirt on the Royals all that happens is that they generate sympathy for them.
I dunno about them being widely liked and supported by the public, maybe abroad but not in the UK. Most people here either don’t like them, don’t care about them or think they are a waste of space. There is a lot of love and respect for TQ and ole Phil, even Chuck but everyone can see how lazy these 2 are. Everything is a PR opp for them.
I think, KTE, that this was their original PR strategy – that they didn’t need the British press because a) Johnny Foreigner press and b) social media, and took their chance to pursue it in the wake of the hacking scandal and Leveson, as you imply. I also agree that the default position of the public is either pro- or neutral to the BRF. Not negative.
But I disagree on your conclusion. What is playing out now – including the royal version of negging – is the collapse of this strategy. As we’ve been saying on these threads for several years now – the only way it could EVER have worked would have been for them to combine it with doubling down on royal duties to be above criticism. Instead, they’ve bunked off as much as possible and, when called on it, displayed endless arrogant entitlement.
They’ve made this negging bed for themselves and I’m not sorry to see them forced to lie in it.
Social media is a terrible media strategy unless you are a Kadashian.
You have to build and maintain public interest through frequent updates with occassional stunts to hold the public’s interest.
Traditional print news maybe waning, but they are moving to online editions that are being run though they are traditional news.
The DM online website is the perfect marriage of traditional news and stunt queen prurient tabloid to hold a worldwide audience – like a news version of the kadashians.
Unless a person is obsessively following the royals, people aren’t going to follow their social media. And these days people only follow their special interest.
The traditional media, albight in an online version, is still the best place to find news on things people wouldn’t otherwise follow except in situations where the special interest is trending and social media is a quicker, more detailed update.
If the royals cut the media off, they have to figure out a way to drive traffic to their social media accounts or else it will be completely ignored eg when Kate blogged for the Huffpo. If BBC hadn’t covered it, no one would have been the wiser because the rest of media simply ignored it.
See, no-one I know in real life gives two hoots about any of the negative press coverage. It’s not a water-cooler conversation at work, over dinner with the family, or in the pub.
There’s a weird thing about the BRF where foreign press – and this here website counts as foreign press – care far more about what they’re doing or not doing than most of the British public do. Andy’s been accused of being workshy by the press for years, and had a disaster of a marriage, and yet are people really that bothered? Not in my experience.
The Gruan made a big fuss over Charlie-boy and the ‘Black Spider Memos’ and the outcome was a great big shrug of indifference from the British public. The fact the Will and Kate have kept a relatively light work schedule while having a young family doesn’t even register. At my company a lot of women take a year’s maternity leave, and then return on reduced hours, so Kate’s work load in the last few years has been pretty unexceptional – especially given how sick she was with each pregnancy.
The people who hate the Royals really hate them, and obsess over them, the people who love them will defend them to the hilt, but the rest of the populatation? Meh.
She could acquire a consultant from British Vogue to help (which is what was done for Lady Diana Spencer in 1981). Or she could become the Patron to a fashion college (like The Countess of Wessex is to the London College of Fashion). Or she could really buckle down and work hard for her patronages and charities (like Princess Anne). Just kidding the last option isn’t for Katie Bucket.
I cringed reading that article–while I didn’t disagree with the points made, it could have been written in a less condescending, mean-spirited tone and made the same points. Duchess of Drab will have legs, I imagine.
I hated the article, and I think it’s disgraceful. There’s no excuse for something so mean spirited. It’s clothes, for God sakes.
It was criticizing more than her clothes, thus the comment about dressing for William so he doesn’t leave her again. It was criticizing them personally.
She is the polar opposite of Diana. I always say that but it’s true. For a woman in her position she dresses very old fashioned and needs a new hairdo. Our country is so obsessed with these people. Wish we had our own royalty. If first ladies count, Michelle Obama dresses beautifully and is classy. Of course she is much more mature than Kate. God forbid if Trump’s wife becomes First Lady. Won’t even go there…..
Let’s get this straight: people seem to forget that Diana was sort of reborn as a confident fashion girl. Originally she was shy, deferent, and HORRIBLY dressed with terrible hair. Her 80s fashion was horrific. Twee, flouncy, just awful. My mother (who has always been very fashionable) said that even at the time most people thought that fashion was terrible. Diana coming out in that fitted black mini-ish dress with the choker and the confidence was a big moment. That was after her gradual improvement and then her rebirth as a sexual, independent woman who knew how to DRESS!!
Hopefully Kate can improve too 😀
I agree that Diana started out as the camera shy girl. And I mean girl, she was 19. Kate is around 30 I think. Either you have “it” or you don’t. Even though Diana was no fashionista in the beginning, you just knew she had the fire inside. To me, she was one of a kind. Kate is fine, her husband loves her and it really doesn’t matter if she isn’t a rock star. As long as she does something down the road to help her people, her lack of fashion or style really doesn’t matter.
Nancy, Kate is 34. If she hasn’t figured out her fashion mojo by now, it’ll take a crisis to help her figure it out.
Diana had figuree out her fashion mojo by 25. Sadly for her fashion in the 80s was terrible. For everyone. In the 90s fashion imporoved exponentially. For everyone. And that’s the only reason 90s Diana looks better than 80s Diana.
She was anointed style icon in the mid-80s when she was called dynasty di, per the most influential tv show/fashion of the day.
In retrospect, it was all terrible, but that was the 80s.
I’m a huge fan of Michelle Obama, but she doesn’t dress appropriately all the time. She often looks like she borrowed on of her pretty daughters’ outfits. She doesn’t know how to dress for her body shape.
I agree gnat. I respect the hell out of her and love her, but her style does not excite me.
Most of the First Ladies have stylists…. as they should.
As should Kate, she needs a new one. Michelle dresses very casually. I, however, admire that she uses little known (at the time) designers for her gowns. No other first lady stands out to me other than Jackie O. Nancy Reagan had a thing for red and Laura Bush was as boring as her husband.
Boy, did this article nail Kate’s issues with fashion. She is trying to hold onto her youth, but yet also trying to adopt the future matron image and is stuck straddling the fence. I think she can and will find her image once she figures out what it is exactly her public persona is going to be. What we see now is her desperate attempt to hang onto what she knows and what William likes despite the scathing press they are both receiving for it.
All this talk made me realize that it’s most likely William who loves Kate’s hair like this. I really hope she’s not stuck with this style because of him. Blech. But of course she’s one of those women who does that.
Oh, I hate that too, Ginger. I know a few women who had not-so-great hairstyles, but they keep them because their husband likes their hair long/short/dark/blonde/whatever. I’m always like “But it’s YOUR hair!” It makes me mad. Why should someone stick with a haircut they don’t really like just because of their spouse?
I worked at a department store. I had older women return adorable outfits because their husbands didn’t like it. Kate reminds me of those women. Being with William and her mother makes her look like a bug caught in amber. Fossilized as a little girl trying to please her mother and her boyfriend and having no idea who SHE IS.
The article was really mean. It’s not that it said something untrue but there are different ways to criticise. But recently DM has started printing mean articles about The Cambridges like, every weekend. It’s either clueless Kate or workshy Will. They truly are after them. And they are in fact changing the public opinion about them.
As for Kate’s clothes – I don’t think the problem is what she wears but how she does it. The slouching posture and desperately clutched hands would ruin most outfits on anyone. But maybe her hot private parts promptly burn a hole in any dress she puts on and this needs to be covered?
Her clothing usually looks like it could be found at a local department store. If she was known for being frugal instead of spendy, she could probably get away with her clothing choices a bit more. Her clothing costs thousands of dollars, though, and still looks very Macy’s-esque. I think her worst problem is her hair. The wigs and extensions are inconsistent. One day she has a mountain of fake hair, and the next day it looks more fine and a lot less in thickness. It’s embarrassing, in my opinion.
I read this article on the DM with my mouth agape!
The author completely toed the “you will publish only positive things about my wife!” decree by saying how beautiful, graceful, and classy she is. (All things with which the commenters can then vehemently disagree by just looking at the pictures of her.) And then she lets loose with the criticism of just her “style” and manages to pull Workshy into it by suggesting that Waity is stuck in a fashion rut because she’s still trying to hold onto him (implication: he’s a faithless ass). And then she says that Kate has earned her place in the Royal family and should chill, which will only make readers think, “Has she earned her place? What about the Irish Guard thing?”!!! This is such masterful shade!!
All Kate (and Will) had to do to avoid this sort of crap is work a few times a week. I’m sure there would have been an occasional tabloid piece, but if they worked like C&C, Anne, or Sophie, the clothes and awkwardness would take up a few lines and then it would be on to who they met and spoke to and what their organization does. And soon, Kate wouldn’t be displaying much awkwardness at all, because she’d be getting practice. But no, they had to fritter away all their goodwill, and now the gloves are off.
This is my take too. After 5 years they expected better. It is total shade. I took the earn comment to also shade how hard she worked to land Workshy.
Yes, that’s a good reading. She waited really hard and that’s how she “earned” her place in the royal family.
Can you imagine the glee with which this article was written? It’s really quite vicious. Anyone who thinks it’s actually about Kate’s clothes is missing the point.
With all the staff the royals have no one would even know if Kate hired a decent stylist. She really needs one! Also everyone compares her to Diana and that is an impossible act to follow. Diana was fascinating even in khaki pants and a shirt. She looked effortlessly glamorous. No disrespect to Kate, not too many people have that kind of charisma.
Knowing how to dress and put your (whole) self together is a mark of self respect, self awareness and respect of others and awareness of the environment you evolve in. Kate picks at time (not all the time and rarely anything that I find interesting but still others could do a wholesome look with those pieces) good pieces but every time she pairs it with the most boring shoes, hair that do not belong there, make up that hardens her and ensures she has no freshness, (extremely bad and insecure) posture, (fake and exaggerated) smile, lack of substance and genuine interest. Others could pull off her pieces first with : the right shoes (shoes these days and well for a few centuries now are GREAT accessories and complete the outfit, her picks show she considers they are to be forgotten in the whole kit), hairstyle that enhances instead of putting down the whole outfit and MOSTLY, CONFIDENCE (if you do not feel it-fake it-workplace teaches you that-well maybe this is part of the problem). She does not pick the most interesting pieces of clothing but she ruins any possible good ones with the ill fitting (moving buttons, too much fabric, enhancing her absence of curves), shoes (some ugly tacky metallic shoes come to mind) and hair that really look as if put at the end to ruin the ensemble effect. Finally, her coats worn INSIDE (ex: basketball in NYC and meetings) is so inappropriate and look so uncomfortable. People who said she was followed were lying. The person who is followed is Michele Obama who freed our shoulders and arms from jackets that too often were ruining our nice work dresses. FIrms and offices are now filled with women who dare the bare shoulders/arms look. THanks Michele. That was daring. We all owe you!
Michelle Obama is a fashion icon as well as being an confident and accomplished woman in her own right. I agree with everything you said about Kate. She’s a woman with the emotional development of a teenager and this shows in everything she does and the life and styling choices she makes. Because of these choices and the lack of personal growth displayed, she lacks the gravitas that she should exude for someone of her position. She always looks like she’s playing dress-up which is shocking IMO because her clothes/ styling are so poorly done and cost the earth. More importantly, five years in, she still hasn’t figured out that her role is not that of a clothes horse but as someone whose job it is to do good works for the benefit of the people she represents. A lot of her faux pas would be downplayed if she just did her job. But instead, she’s a punchline of her own making and I don’t think this will change because she doesn’t care enough to change..
Chrissy, you got it. IMO until Kate can and/or feels confident enough to step outside the shadow and direction of Carole & William, she’ll always be the hollowed eye tween-matron-frump would be sophisticate that we are seeing now.
Her hair is very sweet 16 all of the time. It is also very dated. She shops all of the time and spends hours getting her hair done and this is the result. Smh
I agree. Princess Anne is extremely unfashionable (and has been known to wear the same items 30 years apart) but she gets less criticism because while they may be dowdy, her clothes are suitable for whatever appearance she is making and she works hard.
Did anyone else have to google “pussy bow”?
Yep.
Kate is immature which shows in her curly hair and clothing choices. Her unnaturally close relationship with her mother shows up in the matronly quality of her clothing. Her chase for Diana’s ring shows up in the number of times Kate single white females Diana fashion wise. Carole does the same thing.
I think she’s very aware that her photographs will be viewed over many lifetimes and the purpose is to look timeless,not trendy. Two things that always amaze me about her 1. Her style was much better during the girlfriend years 2. Her style has not evolved since the marriage. She looks the same year after year and it’s not getting better. Will she wear wedges on official engagements when she’s 40?
If she were a fashionista then the critics would be picking her apart for being superficial, a big spender, vapid, having nothing better to do than shop. Can’t win. Though, personally, I do think she has awful style. Boring!
She does shop all of the time. People post photos of her on Twitter when they see her out and about.
Having a stylist could save her a lot of time, and probably money. It only need take a few hours a month. They bring clothes to her, she tries them on while a tailor is there and the tailor prepares them to be altered. The stylist can shop ahead for events, and help her re use existing pieces more often. There is no reason she couldn’t wear some of her clothes more often.
I think her hair is really a big part of the problem. She wears it down to much. It is so thick and heavy it needs to be longer or up to not interfere with her clothes.
Her posture, and the stance with her hands at her, Uhm below waistline, looks strange too. People do commonly stand like that, but it looks like she is holding her hands down for dear life. It can be awkward to know how to pose with other people. It isn’t family or friends where you get in real close, and every culture may have slightly different rules on how close to stand together. I do through this with my husband’s job, where people can be so formal at events, and then after you meet them 3-4 times are not at all.
I haven’t seen much pictures of her shopping aside from the few ones with her mom a while ago. What photos on Twitter are you talking about?
After years of watching “What Not To Wear” I’ve accepted that some people just have crappy taste.
She dresses like a stewardess from a budget airline, the hemline is too low, and the clothes are
too tight fitted to her body and usually a drab color. Diana’s clothes always flowed, even in tight pencil skirts they were never too close to the body.
Can’t understand why anybody in their right mind would marry into the British royal family today, especially a prince. She’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t, under a microscope 24/7 and the target of every mean girl of both genders. Bet she’s wishing she just had married a regular rich guy.
Harry doesn’t have much chance of finding a mate, since they all can see how his brother’s wife is treated. Why bother with a royal under such circumstances? And the problem isn’t that Kate is “work-shy” and somehow deserving of such unbridled contempt. The climate today is just vicious. Harry’s wife would never satisfy anybody, either.