Back in May of this year, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were still working with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex within the Royal Foundation. The separation of the foundation didn’t come until a few months later, and it feels like the separation is an ongoing thing – the Sussexes still haven’t formally launched their separate foundation, and the Cambridges’ staff are still scrubbing the Sussexes from the Royal Foundation’s site. Anyway, just days after Meghan gave birth to baby Archie, the foundation launched Shout, a “crisis service” where people in crisis can text volunteers and mental-health professionals. Today, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended an event to celebrate the volunteers who work on Shout. It feels like Shout was something both couples worked on, but now William and Kate are “claiming” it for the Royal Foundation.
Kate wore a Smythe blazer in grey and cranberry-colored Joseph slacks. I like the blazer a lot – Kate has some nice blazers, several of them from Smythe. The trousers kind of suck though. I know I begged Kate for years to invest in these kinds of separates, but wow, she just has odd taste in trousers and pants in general, doesn’t she? Her chunky heels are great though. I guess I just would have kept everything here except these pants, and I would have replaced them with a slim-cut pair of black trousers. Hm. William is, as always, unremarkable.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Yes, the pants are a fail. Maybe the color is the problem?
I think it’s the length. It sits weirdly above her ankle and they should be longer. I don’t mind the colour actually I just don’t know why the few times she wears trousers she has them sit at this weird length.
I agree, totally the length. As a tall woman, it’s pretty tricky to find ankle pants that can be let out enough to actually hit my ankle.
I know Kate is 5’8 but her height is more in her long torso and she has shorter legs so she shouldn’t really have that issue. My body type is the same way.
It’s definitely the length that’s the problem. I love the color and actually dress like this for work.
Yep, the length. I like the colour. The ankle is awkward.
Trousers this length are very popular in UK. One of our top news readers, Fiona Bruce, who also presents a current affairs programme, always wears them.
It’s their length and I’m not crazy about the color. The outfit should work but it doesn’t..it’s not terrible but not a win.
It’s not the lenght. It’s the little flare at the ankles. Otherwise it would look good.
Definitely the length. They’d look great as slim-legged trousers. I don’t know why, but with Kate’s proportions, crop doesn’t seem to work; it makes her legs look shorter. She should opt for a full length, or just over the ankle pant IMO.
The fit of the pants are off as well, you can see the way they “buckle” on the back of her legs (from the side view). Keen Katie would definitely benefit from the use of an in-house tailor!
That cropped length has been the style for a while now.
The pants are not really a fail, Cathy is just not accessorizing them correctly. The purpose of cropped pants is to show off a killer shoe. Her shoes are not killer so the pants do not work. What would really work is a very high heeled cage sandal.
If Cathy insist on court shoes, then Kaiser is correct; Cathy needs slim cut black pants.
I wore almost this same outfit to a recent networking event, except that my blazer was tweed. I thought I looked great but now I feel like I probably didn’t.
@Enn — I have no doubt that you looked fabulous!!!
@Enn, I am sure you looked great.
Another problem with the outfit is the blazer. Cathy has a long torso which makes the short blazer look as if it shrunk in the wash. If the blazer was a traditional cut (boyfriend blazer???) Cathy’s outfit would not look so out of proportion. The pants would definitely not look as bad.
A 4” cage sandal? Omg, no.
I, like Kate, have a long torso and short legs. I have to get almost everything hemmed and can never do a French tuck because my shirts aren’t long enough. Most jackets look cropped on me, and the arms are always too long. My proportions are off.
As someone noted downthread, I’m a dumpy, short legged freak.
I think the pants would look good with much different shoes, something with ankle details, like wrap around laces, or straps with some sort of decoration on them. And something different on top – like a longer jacket (rich caramel color) that comes down to mid-thigh with a different top underneath (like a turtleneck). The white t-shirt does nothing, and the Jacket she’s wearing looks ill-fitting as in it is too short-waisted for her.
Her shoes, while classic, would be better with something else. I like the pointed toe and the block heel.
The jacket, also classic, I think would be better pared with a dress, that way it wouldn’t be as noticeable that the waist is too high. Also it might look ok with a different top, a scarf (as another poster mentioned), and definitely different pants that are full length and perfectly tailored with a high rise.
I think flats or a regular pump would’ve worked better. Love her outfit regardless.
There are some other photos of this event online – and she looks miserable, every look toward her husband is awful. It is almost a Diana in South Korea. I think Willy is up to his tricks.
I am too @Enn. Dumpy, short-legged freaks unite!
I also have an apple shape so between Kate and Meghan, my do I get put through the wringer when people criticize their bodies.
@not so gullible: Elle magazine online has a picture of them at the event calling it a PDA moment. The look on Kate’s face does not say affection. It says nice try, you jerk. Subtle scorn, but it’s there. Methinks Wandering Willie has been a bad boy again.
I’m sorry, @Silas. Sometimes I think commenters don’t consider the impact of some things they type.
Enn, I think the outfit is fabulous and professional, and I bet you looked great!
I think the pleats are the issue so looks odd in seat of pants?
In theory the crop is fine, the width is fine, and I like the color. So the pleats are it for me.
Wow, she looks great! I LOVE this look. My first take was- wow! I love this look! Lol. I guess I have horrid fashion sense, but I love those pants. Top to bottom- I like it all!
I also love this look, all of it. I would love to wear those pants; that color is fantastic.
I love it too. Black pants would have been too severe for a nice autumn day.
+1000
It’s the fabric. It looks cheap & they hang funny.
She looks like she is expecting a flood, the weird little flare and length are awful, the colour also seems to need something higher up in the outfit to match with, like a pendant or brooch or something.
Kate looks fine.
I just dont understand why she went in front of will
The Meghan effect.
It’s hitting all the Royal women.
No doubt her perfectly maturing confidence is enabling her to break the protocol that Meghan was criticized for. 🙄
She often walks in front of him. It’s why I roll my eyes when stans screech about how Meghan doesn’t know her place or whatever when she goes in front of Harry. Kate does it all the time.
She does it with TQ as well – there was one occasion at the Boxing day church pap stroll where she was with TQ and Sophie meeting well wishers outside of the church and she marched ahead of TQ and accepted flowers meant for TQ. She got funny looks from both Sophie and TQ over that.
GF isn’t Queen Consort yet.
She often walks in front of people who are above her in rank. She is always walking off balconies ahead of Charles and Camilla.
There better be screaming from the rooftops over her marching in front of him and greeting people first. The whole country should be up in arms over this flagrant breach of protocol from this hussy. I doubt it will happen though.
I wonder if she’s doing it because she’s mad at him at the moment? It would be nice to see some (any) indication of spirit from her.
can we concede here that she may have put a foot wrong in front of Wondering Willy?
When Kate breaks “protocol” it’s apparently ok.
Not only “ok”, but totally ignored.
I noticed that too. Isn’t it against protocol? Or only when Meghan does it to Harry?
I really like the colours and most of this outfit, but I wish the trousers weren’t cropped.
Ugh. William’s shoes.
Kate’s jacket, pants and belt don’t seem like they all work together. Nice separates but it’s not an outfit.
She should have buttoned the jacket because it looks a little sloppy like that and also worn a less plain top maybe or some kind of necklace. It look like she just grabbed a bunch of pieces and there was no styling. It’s very office blah.
Wow Will’s shoes are… terrible
He’s got the same taste in shoes as his brother
It seems like a scarf could maybe have tied the pieces together? Otherwise, there should be some color flow between the separates. Black pants with the pop of color in a shirt would be better.
Or a scarf could have worked really well. True.
Neither Kate or her stylist can put an outfit together for sh!t – its always been like this. On their own the pieces are lovely but when she puts them together its looks just awful. Same goes for accessorising.
This is what happens when you co-op your former PA as your stylist – amateur hour playing dress up. Plus Kate is one of those people where the clothes wear her, not the other way around.
The shoes do NOT go with the outfit, ankle boots would have been better. But hey, at least the blazer is on the right way.
Her former PA isn’t her stylist anymore though. Wasn’t she replaced a year and a half ago when she went on maternity leave?
I like the outfit.
I believe Archer is now back from maternity leave. When someone else was dressing Kate in her absence it was one of the few periods that Kate has looked good.
I love Smythe blazers even though they’re too expensive so I’ll never buy one. And I like her outfit, including the pants.
What’s with the out sized pocket flaps though?
Justify the price?
Lol.
I would wear the whole outfit (well, probably with different shoes) in a heartbeat. (But I’d also wear black tights and I learned yesterday that that’s totally old-fashioned 😉 )
Uh oh. I just bought black tights to wear with my skirt for Christmas! 🙂 oh well. Keeping them.
Black tights with black shoes (or ankle boots) are a great way to “lengthen” your legs, esp. with a dark skirt. As a short person, I do it all the time 😊 (And depending on the shoe, it can look pretty sexy!)
Black tights are great and very useful during autumn. There’s nothing old-fashioned about them. It would be like saying everyone who doesn’t wear tights is a slatternly harlot – it’s just taking a position to the extreme.
I’m a slatternly harlot but I don’t wear tights. We harlots use piercings, heavy makeup and smart mouths to advertise ourselves these days.
LOL
Black tights are the best : how esle are we supposed to wear a dress or a skirt between october and april ? :-).
Seeing bare legs during autumn and winter just give me the chill!
My Irish friend wears black tights all the time. I assumed it was a Uk/irish thing. I loathe tights and stick to leggings.
@Andrea Parisian here!
We wear black tights all the time, off different density depending of the weather. So it’s not a Irish thing 😀
Actually I often find that women from UK/Ireland and US do not wear any tights at all, even in the midst of winter.
Opaque black tights are fine; it’s the sheer black ones that Kate wore the other night that look dated. IMO
Black tights aren’t old-fashioned, the person yesterday who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the entire United States was totally wrong.
There is disharmony in this outfit. The trousers don’t work with such a structured blazer.
On a different note, Kate frequently strides ahead of William, he almost looks like her P.A., bringing up the rear.
Both William and Kate strike me as not being very confident people but I think Kate carries William an awful lot.
the belt is horrible
I would lengthen the trousers but other than that I do like this outfit
Not fitting from the rear. Hard to wear trousers with no butt contour.
Twitter land is having a minor melt down, apparently Meghan got this idea from a LA crisis center.
I mean, it’s not exactly a fresh idea. I was volunteering at crisis centres like this decade’s ago, and there’s at least a dozen currently operating in my city, not including all the church run crisis centres.
It isn’t a fresh idea in North America (Ted Bundy anyone)? but it IS a fresh new idea in London UK. As already stated, it’s the first of its kind so yeah it’s a big deal. See the Cambridges are the most unimaginative couple I’ve ever known, everything they claim for their foundation was someone else’s idea but theirs. Even Heads together was originally Harry’s idea which the Cambridge stans have been trying to claim as Kate Middleton’s idea. Even the never-ending mobile garden was someone’s idea and Kate claimed it as her own. I already figured out this Shout Out was Meghan idea since crisis centers have been operating in N America for ages and since before Meghan joined the RF, no one even dreamt of anything like this. Because it’s a North American thing and because it’s the first of its kind in the UK, it’s a given its Meg’s idea. But at least Harry gave credit when he took IG idea from the US, the Cambridges are gonna claim credit for coming up with the Shout project and just let it at that. I tell you, both Cambs are the thickest couple in the entire royal family, but hey they’ll be king and queen consort, right?
It was fresh to the Foundation.
@ Babs: Kate gets credited for suggesting they join up for HT because William credited her with noticing they were all working on mental health initiatives independently, which implies she was the one that pointed out they should be working together (to be fair, he doesn’t say that exactly, but I think that’s why people make the assumption): https://www.vogue.com/article/how-kate-middleton-heads-together-idea-may-have-just-changed-britain-for-the-better
Any chance of a link? 🙏
My recollection is that Kate was the one who thought of the name “Heads Together,” not the idea itself.
I mean, is there any real proof that it was entirely Meghan’s idea and it didn’t come from staff/one of the mental health professionals they spoke to/etc? Will was the one to launch the seed donation from the RF in early October 2017 (https://people.com/royals/prince-william-heads-together-impact-mental-health/) and he also launched it and did the call for volunteers, though that could have been because the Sussexes were on maternity leave.
My guess is that it’s staying with the RF because of that donation, but there’s a chance the Sussex Royal Foundation will share in its once they’re up and running and the Cambridges and Sussexes will trade off doing events for it.
It may be coincidental in that William had been kicking this can down the road for years or perhaps the new girl simply brought an old idea to a new table. It’s all debatable. However, what it does look like is that she definitely lite a fire under W/K asses. And that’s a good thing.
Now there are all over Grenfell Tower, and holding on to the cookbook’s money.
No wonder the Foundation broke up, one couple does the work and when it turns half way decent the other couple takes the credit.
Right. They are going to dine on that one forever. Even if W/K and had ideas, and Harry to some degree, those ideas weren’t being executed. And who’d want to bring ideas to the table only to see the lazy and indifferent be the face of it? I wouldn’t and no one in any work situation that I know of is fully comfortable with that either. I can fully see why this may have rubbed Meghan wrong. Harry is used to surrendering all to a sibling as a part of the BRF but for Meghan, who is self-created and comes from a different cultural frame, this has to have made her hot.
The cookbook is 100% Meghan’s idea and any money raised came from that. KP taking credit for money going to Grenfell is shady because they didn’t do anything of substance. William visited once and Kate never even bothered to until well after the cookbook came out. Considering the tower was basically walking distance from KP, it’s sad how little they did immediately after the fire.
Sorry to be all over this particular thread, but I think there’s a difference between KP and the Royal Foundation holding onto the cook book money and distributing it—it’s the RF that has it, not KP. The financials and (to make an informed guess) legal contracts with the publisher and kitchen are tied to the RF (whose staff worked on the project with Meghan) and the Sussexes’ foundation is likely not set up to manage that income yet.
At least where the book’s publisher is concerned, they would need to amend the existing publishing contract to change everything over to the Sussexes’ foundation. Depending on how they sold the translation rights (UK vs World English vs World rights) it might be dozens of contracts with each international publisher that have to be amended.
It’s fine. It’s appropriate for the event, the pop of color is kind of nice for the fall and it’s definitely a more modern line than her terribly boring dress coats. It would look better with a purse but a very decent look for her overall.
The outfit is fine and work appropriate. I work in UK mental health services and have never heard of Shout.
It’s new, I think they started last year.
This year, I think.
They said it’s the first of its kind in London UK
Let me clarify: I work in London mental health services where patients are frequently in crisis. We have received no literature or information about this service. Which is very odd as it would certainly be useful.
I liked this overall look. There is something about the pants I don’t love, but can’t put my finger on it – not the length. It’s something else.
Anyway, that quibble aside, this is the kind of outfit she should be wearing – fairly modern but not super trendy, she doesn’t look like she’s trying to cosplay her idea of a princess.
Could it be the fit ??
I think it’s the fit and the pleats. I also think that blazer doesn’t quiiiiiite work with the trousers.
But overall I do like it and the blazer is something she can wear a lot in the future.
Pleats look good when you don’t have a flare. They would look good if they were cigarette cut.
@Becks: I 100% agree with “…this is the kind of outfit she should be wearing – fairly modern but not super trendy…”
I think she looks great! I would love to see her in some full length skinny slacks sometime, though.
Wills will be off for a sleep now. He’s gotta catch those zzzzz where he can, you know!
What’s William doing? He’s napping, apparently.
He probably does spend his spare time playing around on his motorcycles and playing videogames and watching tv. And napping.
And waiting for Carole’s cheese toast! Let’s not forget it! Gotta keep up his strength for Rose bush trimming.
It’s just so hard for him to see his kids, you know?
+1.
Overall it’s an ok outfit and I hope she continues to wear trousers…
It’s okay. I think the belt is what throws the outfit off. It looks clunky. I’m thinking she should have work trousers the color of her blazer? Right?
William…Bill.. those shoes booboo, no. Stahp.
I kind of like how both she and Meg walk in front of their husbands. It’s hilarious when Kate does it because of the way William walks (IN THOSE FUGLY SHOES) he looks like her assistant, like he should be carrying her latte. I think also Kate takes really long strides so in freeze frame her legs look ridiculously long.
Either way I dont think her outfit was a terrible fail, just needs some tweaking.
I really like the blazer too. The pants look pleated, that’s really just too 80s for me.
I mean the entire family is trash but a small part of me stans the pettiness.
Will’s shoes? How about Will’s face? He always looks like he’s sucking a lemon.
I was going to say, Why is Will making that horrible face? In all the pictures!!
Pants sag in the back. That’s why they look off.
The blazer and pants proportions are all wrong! She looks stunted.
To me it looks like she took clothes labeled “DRY CLEAN ONLY” and threw them in the washer and dryer.
And then put them back in the washer and dryer for a second run lol!
I dislike pleated pants in general with the exception of a wide leg fit. The cranberry color is pretty. I like Kate in bold jewel tones but unfortunately she favors creams, light blues, and lilac.
I like the outfit and I would wear it. However, with those pants, my heels would be higher or I’d wear them with short boots. I still think she looks nice.
I think if the pants were less straight with a slight flare/boot cut, then it would be better looking. They need to fit on her thighs better.
I like this outfit alright, but there is something about it and I think it is just sort of blah and plain. Boring. I would wear this outfit on a non-court day.
I agree she has a trouser problem. I love the blazer though.
I love this outfit from top to bottom. This is the kind of outfit I wear to work regularly.
The pants are a no but at least they are not those wide legged culottes. But the pants should be at or just slightly above her ankle. Or else she should wear them with a sharp bootie instead of those pumps.
Honestly, slow clap for Kate. 5 years ago she would have turned up to this event in skinny jeans and those horrible navy platform wedges. The pants aren’t the most flattering, but I love that they’re not super fitted.
Good job mummy Quinn Kate dressed fine.
I think the trousers would look better if they were slightly tailored at the bottom. They’re just a little too wide at the ankle
If I were a duchess, I think I’d establish 5 work outfits a year and stick to them. Yes, it would be boring, but it would also eliminate a lot of headaches. Tours would have their own wardrobes to respect cultural considerations.
Sure, designers may not love it, because it would shrink the “what duchess wore” market. But it’s not like the fashion industry would die. Other people wear clothes.
Sure, that’s what us regular folks have always done, but when you can spend endless amounts of taxpayers hard earned money…you buy the same outfits in a gazillion shades.
But if she wore the same stuff you would moan about that
At least she’s not wearing a coat dress.
I have no problem with this outfit other than that it is boring as f*ck. But i guess that how the royal family/press want her to dress?
I’m so surprised everyone hates her trousers! I love love love them, color, cropped, and all. (And I generally agree with the critiques of Kate’s outfits.)
This outfit is off.
It feels like she made an attempt at European chic (French / Spanish) a la Letizia – but didn’t quite pull it off.
The Trousers are not quite the right cut or colour for this combination.
I feel like she may have initially paired this jacket with her usual slim black jeggins but was talked out of them at the last juncture.
The mind boggles at how someone can be so badly dressed with these levels of resources.
I love a nice opened minded approach
The trousers are wrinkling rather oddly, to my eye, when she walks. But I suppose any issues relating to fit are the sole purview of the Duchess of Sussex, right?
Also, how much did all of this cost? Anyone have a tally?
WOW, she looks 50! The pants are awful. The blazer is ok. The makeup was put on with a heavy hand. The husband is pathetic. The hair is gorgeous.
She looks 50?! Not that this should be insulting, but in what world does she look 50 here? Some of these insults are just ridiculous now.
She looks 45. Kate has Middleton genes, they age early (look at her dad).
I really love this color combo. I wear a black and white blazer with maroon colored jeans all the time and it’s my favorite outfit. However, I agree something is off with the fit on the pants. Maybe long and wide legged. Or cigarette pants slightly longer? It’s the hem that gets me. Otherwise I like it.
Sounds like a great organization.
I way prefer her “costumey” looks others seem to hate. At least they’re unique. This is just like a really nice JC Penney outfit.
I like the blazer. That is all. Apparel company I freelanced with last year was really ramping up blazers for this fall so it’s a thing.
I like her outfit. Honestly, had she worn skinny pants (like most commentators here are complaining she should have worn), everyone would have then been like, “There she goes, wearing something that looks like jeggings, super tight. Why couldn’t she wear something baggier?”
I like this style on her. It’s a bit retro, and it flatters her. Overall, I think both her and Meghan have hit or miss outfits, like most people in the public eye, including their famous deceased mother-in-law. But they both always look great. I mean, they’re good looking women, they make a potato sack look good!
Kate, for goodness sake! I suggest she watch Queen Letizia and copy – that woman can dress, and they have similar body types.
I’m really not a fan of how these pants fit. They want to be cigarette pants, which would be super cute but can’t seem to commit to the thinner ankle that would make this length work.
I like the shoes too but not with the fit of the pants.
Bit it’s a fine look overall.
If the jacket were even two inches longer, it would look so much better.
It looks too small vs properly tailored
She needs a handbag or something else to hold so she isn’t constantly holding her hands in front of her crotch 🤮
To @LEXA
”I mean, is there any real proof that it was entirely Meghan’s idea and it didn’t come from staff/one of the mental health professionals they spoke to/etc? Will was the one to launch the seed donation from the RF in early October 2017 (https://people.com/royals/prince-william-heads-together-impact-mental-health/) and he also launched it and did the call for volunteers, though that could have been because the Sussexes were on maternity leave.”
Is there a proof it wasn’t her idea?? The charity is based off an American charity. This was a JOINT project between Cambridge & then prince harry(as mentioned in the article). They started working on this around the time Meghan joined them(OFFICIALLY engaged November) so it’s MORE THAN clear she had a say or inspired it. For example her last telegraph interview with byrony she mentioned she encouraged P.Harry to speak up on his mental health issues (went on to do podcast with byrony).
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/10/31/behind-scenes-meghan-markle-duchess-tells-bryony-gordon-vulnerability/amp/
Seriously? Absence of proof is not evidence.
What makes you think that the people they are working with, actual health care professionals, didn’t do a study on the different types of services available around the world and decided that this one would be most suited?
Because Meghan is American , then it MUST be her idea? If it had, i’m pretty we’d know about by now, she’s not the sort to let others take credit for her work, and doesn’t shy away from referencing her accomplishments/ideas as evidenced in the article you linked to, talking about how she encouraged harry to participate in the podcast. If it had been her idea, we’d know for sure and without doubt.
Saw a picture of her on stage and those pants are off. They look really odd. They wrinkle at the ankle. If they were true crop pants, that wouldn’t happen.
@babs, nope. Nobody said Meghan looked like any kind of freak. Nor should they, As @enn, said it’s a s*#tty thing to say about anybody, even if you don’t like them.
She looks nice today. Her clothes looks good on her. The problem with Kate is that she copying off others or her clothes wear her.
I think as individual pieces they aren’t terrible, but as a royal she has the ability to have everything tailored to her body type. She has a tall, athletic, lean figure. She has the money and the means to wear the best and have it fit properly. But IT. NEVER. DOES. It’s infuriating!
Her hair really suits her like that.