Duchess Kate in custom Emilia Wickstead in Hamburg: lovely & vibrant?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Maritime Museum in Hamburg

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge finished up the Berlin part of their Poland-Germay tour last night, and they are spending the day in Hamburg today, which is the last day of their trip. These are photos of William and Kate heading into the Maritime Museum in Hamburg, and then later today they will attend a “special performance given by the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra for the children of Hamburg in the Elbphilarmonie.” After that, they’ll board their private plane and go back to Britain, as they will have fulfilled their Brexit ambassadorship. Truly. Their Brexit goodwill tour involved Will and Kate doing fun stuff for five days and they’re calling it work. Not just work, but they’re saying it helps their country because now the European Union will be nicer to Britain in the Brexit negotiations. Is that the case?

As for Kate’s look here… it’s a customized – “bespoke” – Emilia Wickstead. I have to admit, even when I’ve yelled about Katie Keen wearing florals to concentration camps, I’ve enjoyed the fashion show this week. She gave us stuff to talk about and bitch about and I’m actually sort of grateful to have all of these new photos of them. That being said, I’ve disliked so much of what she’s worn this week. I kind of think she saved the best for last! This Wickstead dress – which probably costs thousands of dollars for all we know – is lovely. It’s a gorgeous, vibrant color. It fits her. It’s conservative enough for royal work. The skirt is a decent length. It’s good.

Because I’m a nitpicker though, I dislike the red clutch with a violet dress. And I loathe the Gianvito Rossi nude heels. You know what though? She made it through Poland and Germany without flashing anyone. (There’s still time.)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Maritime Museum in Hamburg

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Maritime Museum in Hamburg

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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82 Responses to “Duchess Kate in custom Emilia Wickstead in Hamburg: lovely & vibrant?”

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  1. Becks says:

    This dress is so boring. It’s a nice color, and appears to be well made, but it’s just boring. I imagine she’ll probably get a lot of use out of it, since it is so simple and….boring.

    • Karen says:

      ^As she rarely repeats bespoke clothes from tours, she will only get today’s use out of it unfortunately.

    • Royalsparkle says:

      Agree.
      The bra seem better-and some part in the dress seem to have – something inside the hem – too skeleton.

      This week was inappropriate, unregal – classy as would be on CP Mary. Victoria. Madeline, Sophia; Meghan.

      No presence in any middleton, no matter how costly the wear.

    • Tanguerita says:

      BORING. I don’t how is this dress any different from dozens of dresses we’ve already seen her wearing. It’s the same A-Line silhouette ad nauseam. And nude heels should be banned.

    • bros says:

      it;s also july in europe. it’s warm. why the long sleeves? this is a fall or spring dress.

      • Kate says:

        The day’s itinerary included visiting a factory, a museum and an orchestra and the temperature was in the 70s: I think a light long sleeved option was probably a sensible choice (after all the men around her all wear suits and no one says that’s silly).

        I think the new colour for her saved this from being totally boring but she needed either to commit to the red clutch and go for it with the shoes also, or find an alternative color for the accessories. She looked pretty and appropriate – for a change the dress wasn’t too short

    • WeAreAllMadeOfStars says:

      Yup, boo-rang! I like the flowery one and the yellow ones much better. With that said, she isn’t a fashion plate and Lord only knows all the haters would pile on if she were. Damned if you do….

    • KiddVicious says:

      I like it. She seems to have finally found her waist and her dresses are fitting so much better. She could have accessorized better, it’s such a simple dress, a brooch would have been nice.

      What are the rules on her repeating a dress made for a specific tour? If Germany paid for this trip don’t they technically own the dress? There’s so much she could do with this dress if she can repeat.

  2. CidyKitty says:

    I honestly don’t know if I like this or not. I don’t know if it’s the color or just the dress, but I can’t decide if I like it. One think I don’t like are those SHOES WHY THOSE SHOES.

    • milla says:

      The shoes plus the clutch make this look very stupid. All that money and still… nothing.

      • Ashamed 2 b a FL Girl says:

        The clutch / dress color combo makes my teeth hurt.
        Imo someone (Carole, I’m looking at you) said your legs are short, a nude pump will make them look longer. She (Kate) is sticking with that. It probably won’t ever change.

        Dress is nice and a lovely color.

    • Vylette says:

      ITA! Why did she bring only nude colored footwear this tour? Its not like she just brought one pair and wore it through out. She brought three or four different styles of nude footwear! She really has a very peculiar sense of style.

      • minx says:

        Yes, and the one place she should have worn nude shoes….she didn’t.
        This dress….I’m just indifferent. It’s fine, I guess, and it seems to be tailored to her body unlike some other outfits she has worn. Again, these expensive dresses she wears just don’t look expensive.

    • Casey says:

      I like these shoes; they would be perfect for an outfit or accessories that really stole the show. Great shoes for just fading into the background when something else is the statement piece. She often does this–all boring everywhere, no where for the eye to rest or focus on when you look at her. Maybe her team views her hair as the focal point? This dress is fine, but would be nice with a necklace and/or fun shoes.

  3. frisbee says:

    I really like that dress but the shoes look like they belong with another outfit, preferably one that’s been binned. I say this as a self confessed fashion imbecile so you can shout at me if you want.
    Edit: Had another look on second thoughts it would look good on an Air Stewardess.

  4. Capepopsie says:

    I Totally agree! Clutch and nudes need to go!

  5. Adele Dazeem says:

    Beautiful color. I have to give it to her, she’s been experimenting (for her) and taking risks (for her) and I’m appreciative as well. Now if she would just rock some of that statement jewelry her mother in law had….imagine one of Diana’s chokers with this! Or one of her long necklaces?!

    • Karen says:

      Yes, it needs a statement accessory. Long necklace would be great, or you know, keep very royalish, and add a diamond brooch.

    • imqrious2 says:

      Personally, I love reds and purples together. I like the red clutch with the dress, but she needed to do a red snakeskin shoe with it. Or better yet, a great emerald green purse/shoe with that shade of lavender would be amazing. (I decorated one of my first apartments in emerald and amethyst accents and it was really lovely.)

      And yes, that dress screams for a long station necklace or a brooch… SOMETHING! She has access to SO MUCH jewelry, and while I can appreciate she prefers “understated” pieces, there is still much she can do to up her game. She almost always looks “unfinished”.

      One last nit-pick: if you see the original skirt of the dress, it’s more of a pencil/sheath skirt. Kate A-lined it, I assume, to give herself more of an illusion of hips. She also should’ve had the skirt lined, so it wouldn’t go in between her legs when walking, and also so we wouldn’t see the hem tape when she walked. How can you spend thousands on a dress, and have it look so unfinished? If I was the designer, I’d be mortified that something looking like a Home Ec project went out in my name!

      • notasugarhere says:

        From other photos you can see how uneven the hem is, esp on her left side. And I agree, a lining or slip was definitely needed here. For what is being spent on all of these custom clothes, they are poorly made.

  6. L84Tea says:

    I love the color and I think her hair is looking very good these days–cut, color, and all.

  7. Elaine says:

    I love the new haircut but is she ever going to change the styling? It’s starting to look wiggish to me

    • Royalsparkle says:

      …the greys showing in DM photos (seem unkept lazy with the millions in tax funds).

      The dress hem is also shown uneven, as in poor tailoring.

  8. MinnFinn says:

    Her hair is at least 4 inches longer than it was a few days ago.

    • Soothie says:

      Huh? Looks exactly the same, the blow out is just a bit bouncier. I love her hair here!!!

  9. Mermaid says:

    The dress and shoes are great, not loving the red clutch with it. Her hair is a great length here. I wish she would wear it half up half down so you could see her face better.

  10. HappyXamp says:

    Her boobs look weird here to me. It shows better in a side view.

  11. JC says:

    She’d benefit from some skin at the neckline, I’d like a small v-neck when she wears this color, which I think is a little bright for her. The fabric looks very stiff and smooth. I’d like her better in something with a little more texture and movement.

    The red clutch is bad—so are the shoes.

  12. mellie says:

    I like it all and I really like pairing a little bit of red with the lavender and then just to be safe she went with the nude heels. I’m not sure what other shoe I would have chosen, except maybe I might have gone with a red shoe to match the clutch. I think she did a nice job this trip….fashion wise anyway.

    • Danielle says:

      I love the clash of red and purple. But I think red shoes, or a red and purple shoe, would have been perfect.

      • seesittellsit says:

        I’m not a fan of purple and red, but Danielle nailed it: it was leaving the red clutch alone in all that purple without something to tone in, like the shoes.

  13. Seraphina says:

    She looks like she belongs at an Easter church service. And the bag and shoes do not help. Someone please burn those shoes!!!!

    If she has no style sense she needs to come to terms that she will always rely on a stylist for that. It happens to the best of them Kate! Give in the idea! Don’t fight it!!!

    And she could have made this a better look with accories, but that color is just too crazy for me. I think she read the article praising the Queen for her color choices and followed suit. Kate you are not QE nor are you her age!

  14. Freddy Spaghetti says:

    I love everything about Kate’s look except for that red clutch. Ick! (I’ve made my peace with the nude heels)

  15. Twinkle says:

    Her clothes are so boring. This looks like a Talbot’s dress. Why did she need custom is beyond me.

    • Royalsparkle says:

      +100

    • CynicalAnn says:

      I have to agree. And she can’t accessorize to save her life.

    • BCIty says:

      TALBOTS!!! When I got my first Grown-Up Job after college, my Mom took me to Talbots for my work wardrobe – no, seriously, I was 23 years old and I wore Talbots. AND NUDE HOSIERY. It was the early-2000s, so the rest of my wardrobe was jeans with 3-inch zippers/velour and I believed her that business casual = very preppy starter wife. So you see why I will refrain from dissing Her Keen Highness’ whack-ass shoes for today (just today).

  16. Clare says:

    Poor lamb has all the money in the world, but zero style. she can take a nice enough dress, and make it look lame.

    And, the dress is nice enough, but pretty sure you can buy something similar from Jaeger or Hobbes or wherever for like £200?

    • CynicalAnn says:

      And no jewelry-and bad shoes and okay bag. She is in desperate need of a stylist and not that woman who’s her assistant who likes to shop.

  17. littlemissnaughty says:

    Well, as far as soft diplomacy goes, this will do nothing. As far as entertaining me during a particularly sucky week, this trip has been lovely. I don’t expect these two to do anything meaningful for our countries’ relationship. But they brought out the kids and she wasn’t too boring with the fashion (he was though, good Lord) so I was distracted for a second. Thanks, guys.

    Also, I love the red clutch with the dress. WHERE were those heels in Stutthof though? WHERE?

  18. MellyMel says:

    The dress itself is nice, but super boring. She needs better accessories to really make it a look!

  19. seesittellsit says:

    Actually, I like this – yes, it’s quiet but it’s appropriate to the occasion, which is her business, after all, and a lovely color. What I don’t get is the reddish clutch. This shouldn’t be a tri-color outfit. I would have paired a nude clutch with the nude heels. All that said, it’s a peculiarly autumnal looking ensemble for high summer.

  20. Jessica says:

    I love the lilac dress, probably because of the color. The second picture is funny.

  21. Sprite says:

    Why can’t she ever accessorize with a cool necklace? Something long or chunky? It would make some of her clothes pop. I’m not talking jewels, just some gold and gems.

  22. Anna says:

    Just saw them both! Chatted with each!

    Will is far better looking in person and Kate is much more well spoken than I anticipated. Also Kate’s skin looks better than royal dishers had said

  23. India Andrews says:

    I like the dress’ color and Kate’s haircut.

    I still want to correct Kate’s posture. It is submissive with the hunched shoulders and head forward. Not regal or confident. Maybe if someone told Kate she would look taller, she would work on her posture since she cares about looking tall.

    • Blair Warner says:

      So much this! Her posture is consistently atrocious. And seriously, she couldn’t have worn a brooch?

  24. Dani says:

    How beautiful navy or emerald green accessories would have been with this outfit. The red is an usual choice, but worth exploring. Burn those shoes! NAN!

  25. graymatters says:

    That dress looks good on her, I hope she’ll wear it again in a season more appropriate for it. I like the clutch with the dress, but it needs different shoes. Or, for a change, these shoes work with this dress, but then need a different clutch. It’s about texture as much as color. Overall, this could be improved by a long necklace and a pony tail. The earrings look great with this dress, though.

    I spent a few weeks in Hamburg a few decades ago. I’ve never forgotten the city or its many, many canals. I think someone then told me that Hamburg was the Venice of the North.

  26. Maum says:

    That dress makes her look so hunchy.

    AT LAST she tried a different colour clutch! I like the clash of colour- makes it look more modern.
    Would have been perfect in emerald or sapphire with similar colour shoes.
    Those nudes just don’t work. If she really wants neutral how about silver?

  27. Joannie says:

    She looks very pretty. I dont know why ppl complain about her shoes. Lots of women wear beige pumps. They go with everything! She has bunions so theyre most likely very comfortable.

    • Maiden says:

      How are her shoes here comfortable? They’re pointy toed and the stiletto heels are 4 inches high. Those shoes will give you bunions and hammer toes, and are a nightmare for anyone who already have bunions. Any podiatrist will tell you that. Kate has no idea how to shop for shoes and pair them successfully with her outfits. That’s all there is to it. Bunions have nothing to do with why she buys 20 pairs of beige pumps. Are we really using her bunions now to justify her never-ending love for boring shoes? I doubt the beige colour of her shoes help alleviate her bunions.

      • Joannie says:

        I have bunions so I know first hand what’s comfortable and what isn’t. Podiatrists are quacks imo. They only want to sell custom orthotics. That’s been my experience. Ive had surgery on my foot from an orthopedic surgeon. I wouldn’t trust a podiatrist to do that. There’s nothing wrong with her wearing those shoes. It’s just another petty reason to criticize her.

      • graymatters says:

        Bunions run in my family. If I may ask, how did your surgery go? What kind of downtime did you face afterwards? Are there limits on what kind of shoes you can wear now?

      • Joannie says:

        @graymatters, unfortunately the surgeon did an over correction so I have issues. I find wearing a narrow or more pointed toe holds the big toe in place and is more comfortable. I was in a walking cast for six weeks. The surgery itself wasn’t pleasant once I came off the drugs. It’s painful but my advice is make sure you have a good surgeon and do the excersises as they say. I had pain prior and do now as well. It’s just different. Heels aren’t good for anyone ever.

    • graymatters says:

      Thanks! I have ugly, but pain-free feet. I think I’ll just stick with my comfortable shoes and no surgery for as long as possible.

  28. Sarah says:

    What an ugly dress! And why does she always dress like it is 40 degrees out? Do you think it is because she doesn’t eat, so she is always cold? My sister has an ED, and is always cold.

  29. K2Squared says:

    The dress color is beautiful!

  30. Sam Louise says:

    Nice colour but so safe and boring. How many of these exact dresses does she need? Did she ask for a 1950s housewife style in every colour of the rainbow? Would it have killed her to wear a necklace?

  31. Sarah says:

    Jeez, I was just over at the DM (I know) and there is a picture of Kate squatting next to Charlotte. If Kate isn’t flashing everyone opposite her while squatting, I’m the Queen of England!!!!! Doesn’t Clueless Kate think of these things beforehand? She has kids with her – she may have to kneel or squat. #flasher #clueless

  32. HoustonGrl says:

    She’s worn other custom Wickstead’s that just don’t fit right, but this one is tailored to perfection.

  33. Kriz says:

    Can we please please please limit on post maximum per day on the dutches. She bored me to tears.

  34. Lainey says:

    I actually like this dress but once again her accessorising ruins it. A (new) red clutch with a lilac dress. Why Kate why?? Oh shes also wearing brand new Kikis/ That are an identical shape to about 10 other pairs of Kikis that she already owns. But you know they’re a slightly different shade of purple to the other purple ones so…

  35. Nanea says:

    As I am a patron of the ​World of Instruments​* at the new Elbphilharmonie concert hall, I got to see William and Kate this afternoon at that orchestra event.

    *Schoolkids from all over Hamburg are regularly introduced to classical instruments, they can try out things, and get to experience a rehearsal. If they are interested in finding out more, there are courses where kids can learn the basics like reading notes and performing little pieces.

    Kate was good at interacting with the schoolkids and didn’t touch her hair as often as I had anticipated, but other than that, I was not impressed. I didn’t like the way she talks, hampered by her awful fake/posh accent. The fabric of her dress looked, like so often before, cheap, and no one really seems to know how to do seams/belts. The overall workmanship was shoddy. Her posture was so bad that I felt like reminding her more than once to stand up straight. At least she stepped forward to try her hand at conducting, unlike William, who didn’t show much interest in the concept of the event. It seemed like he had just tagged along.

  36. Mei says:

    She really does love her nude coloured shoes. Maybe she wanted to be an ice skater or ballerina when she was little??
    This is a really good dress on her, looks cosy. Now just pull the hair back – how good would a pony tail have looked with this? Especially with her hair at this length it will give her a great full ponytail if she curls it a bit before putting it up. Even just clipping the front bits to the sides would have been good.

    • vava says:

      I like this dress as well, even though in some of the photos it doesn’t look as if the hem is straight. Typical Wickstead, though. The color is nice!

      I like your idea on the pony tail, too. That would look nice on her. I was watching several videos of Kate today and it seemed as if she was always running her fingers through that hair and that looked sort of …….. unhygienic to me. I wouldn’t want to shake her hands after seeing her do that.

      She really overdid the nude shoe game this trip. Girlfriend needs some help with accessories.

  37. Aerohead21 says:

    This is a nope for me and here’s why: it’s a beautiful spring color with a fall/winter fabric and long sleeves. Way too heavy for such a light, cheerful color. Maybe just remove the sleeves or use a different fabric…

  38. NikoleN says:

    she already has 100 childish dresses/coats like this. And another one? For what? She is so terrifically boring but I’m sure she think that she has taste. And why she couldn’t seat carefully, she is crumpled again! Billy always do that strange thing with his fingers, they still don’t know what to do with their hands. Pitiful sight.

    • Sorry, no dignity in that says:

      Exactly.
      childish, boring, bland, mono-colour. Kate is so mono- in everything:

      Mono-interest: get William to marry you and stay married to him.

      Mono-self-development: do everything to keep William.

      Mono-spare time occupation: shopping.
      Hey, there are two nannies for the kids and several house staff for everything else.

      Mono-friendship: Family is friends and everybody else is enemy.

      Mono-fashion clothes philosophy: bland.
      Mono-fashion shoes philosophy: nude heels.

      Mono-approach to charity: one has to do it to get shopping money from Father-In-Law but one doesn’t have to like it nor show interest.

      Mono-idea about small talk: Pretend to be interested by saying: “That’s interesting.”

      Mono-psychology: Mummy knows everything and will tell me what to do.

  39. Wren says:

    I do love the color of the dress, but the design is boring. We have seen this on her 1,000,000 times! Also, she should have lost the nude heels with this. A pair of pretty floral pumps would have been gorgeous.

  40. Starlight says:

    According to daily mail total wardrobe comes to a total recall f 26,352.20 pounds seriously if that is actually money paid out which I still think is questionable as surely these designers lend their dresses. Either way it’s strange she doesn’t recycle her outfits and wear previous items

    • Sorry, no dignity in that says:

      If those numbers were anything near correct that would be appalling. Recently a nurse told the British Prime Minister that she could barely afford the rent (had 2 children and hubby worked, too). The British Prime Minister just shrugged and said there was no magic money tree.

      So Britain can barely pay its nurses a decent wage but Waity gets shopping money for clothes within the 6 figures. that is perverted.

      Magic Money tree + British Prime Minister video:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUtJEfB9Hi4

  41. Velvet Elvis says:

    What can I say that hasnt already been said…she’s boring as hell. A woman as beautiful as she is and with a great body should be able to kill it, but she just comes off as a plain Jane. Her style is so unremarkable. Would it kill her to throw on a stylish necklace or something at least.

  42. LL says:

    I like this dress, but I don’t like the clutch.