An incredibly hard decision to stick to only a few of The Duchess of Cambridge’s maternity dresses. We have rounded up our favourites and put them here for you to ponder over. Take our poll and let us know what you think about our favourite maternity styles. Or was there some that we missed out that you just loved?
Remember we also looked at Catherine’s maternity coats – you can vote on those too!
8. Goat ‘Eloise’ tunic dress
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We are in two minds over this dress from Goat Fashion. We love the a-line tunic style, the striking feature of the four metal toned buttons on the shoulder and the fact this dress has real pockets. What woman doesn’t want a good pocket on her dress?
However, the shorter almost mini style is not really what we would like to see from any royal lady (especially when pregnant) and we aren’t being prudish, just more thinking of the stereotypical representation of a Princess. Catherine is wearing the shorter length dress as a styling trick during her pregnancy, to draw your eyes away from her bump and to her legs clad in black tights. She also tried this styling trick when she was pregnant with Prince George in her peter pan collar Topshop Dress and then again in a Joseph Coat. We want to see all women embrace their bumps when pregnant, a women is supposed to grow, change and have a visible bump, so never be afraid to show this off. If the Duchess was a private citizen and not Royal then our opinion would be that she looks amazingly stunning in this dress that accentuates her legs.
We have found you a great repli-kate of this dress here.
7. Alexander McQueen embellished gown
One of the few Alexander McQueen pieces that Kate opted for during her pregnancy. McQueen is highly regarded as Kate’s go to label, with Jenny Packham and Catherine Walker coming in a close 2nd and 3rd. So it was surprising to see so few pieces from the fashion house over the past nine months. This beautifully embellished white chiffon gown and cape, with it’s floor sweeping train made an impressive statement as Kate glided through the halls of the Palace in Oslo on the arm of King Harald of Norway, showing us that she can hold her own amongst the European Royals. Kate’s McQueen gown was created in a bespoke colour, Selfridges stocked a bright orange version of this gown and we think perhaps a different colour than blush pink would have looked a lot better. Perhaps not the bright orange, but this seemed liked a lot of fabric, especially with the draping in the dress and the overlaying cape.
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However, this dress makes us very excited, not necessarily because we do or don’t like it, but because of what it represents and what it could hold for the future. This style of gown with matching cape reminds us very much of Queen Maxima’s blue Jan Taminiau ensemble she wore for her husbands coronation King Williem-Alexander of the Netherlands. A perfect regal gown for a modern Queen Consort to wear as she choose not wear the typical Velvet Coronation Robe so the gown and cape with train took the place of this robe. It makes us excited for Kate’s possible sartorial choices for William’s coronation when she will be Queen Consort in the future. Kate is proving more and more that she is learning how to dress as Royal Lady for specific occasions.
6. Seraphine ‘Marlene’ dress
Another picture perfect pretty princess dress from Kate. This cornflower blue lace bodice dress from Seraphine Maternity’s Luxe Collection is a nice feminine style. The dress has a ruffled collar and cuffs that are accented in black velvet ribbon trim as is the cinched waist line. Slight bell cuffs finish the long peek-a-boo lace sleeves and the skirt is draped into an a-line silhouette falling to just below the knee. This is the perfect maternity style for a dressed up day or evening event. The only draw back for us of this dress, is the nude lining under the blue lace bodice. Lining in either the same colour or a shade darker of the dress is best. A nude lining under any colour or style of dress really does not work well and should be avoided at all costs.
Despite this, we still love this dress. Unfortunately this dress is out of stock, though you can still view it here. Find a cute repli-kate for this dress here.
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5. Erdem ‘Christina’ blue velvet bell sleeve dress
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There were lots of comments on Twitter about this Erdem dress looking like it was made from curtains. You could pigeon hole this dress into a small pop-culture window reference from when Scarlett O’Hara created herself a gown from curtains in the movie ‘Gone With The Wind.’ Though even that dress was a masterful piece of carefully crafted haute couture…
The dress takes it’s direction more from traditional royal fashion, harking back to the era of King Louis XVI and 18th Century Fashion. A time of luxurious fabrics, velvets, brocades, jacquard, damask, layered gowns, frilly lace collars and sleeves. With so much trend fast fashion constantly at our finger tips, it’s a nice departure to see something different. Don’t we want to see our Royals dress as such? Royalty? Sure it can be a bit stuffy at times, impractical or perhaps old-fashioned but it is nice to try to keep some traditions going. There are enough celebrities to bring us runway trends.
The ‘Christina’ dress is a modern twist on old-world royal fashion featuring a high collar, long sweeping flared bell sleeves, a floral jacquard pattern and blue velvet trim on the collar, cinched waistline cuffs and oversize hem. A nice statement piece from the Duchess. Perhaps people felt this dress was old fashioned as Crown Princess Victoria was dressed in such an edgy contemporary style so each woman was dressed at opposite ends of the fashion spectrum offsetting each others ensembles in a fun, yet quirky way. We think both royal ladies looked lovely.
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4. Erdem ‘Stephanie’ gown
A bold, dramatic statement gown with a pretty floral pattern adorning the yellow mustard satin fabric. This dress caused quite a stir amongst royal fashion watchers with more not liking this dress than liking it. We loved this dress, truly fit for a Royal. We think people may have had a different opinion on this dress if Crown Princess Mary of Denmark had walked out in this gown. There would have been a lot more audible wow gasps than negative comments, as Mary is known for more drama and playful styles, whereas Kate is not. The Duchess of Cambridge should be acknowledged for her proclivity for trying new fashion styles during her third pregnancy.
This was the second Erdem dress in as many days that people felt was a little too old-fashioned and like the ‘Christina’ dress was offset by the very contemporary and fashion forward black satin ensemble worn by Crown Princess Victoria. The ‘Stephanie’ took it’s cues from Victorian styling, which has had quite a reemergence over the last two years finding popularity with many couture fashion houses. We first saw Kate in a Victorian-esque style outside Kensington Palace in a navy Saloni dress when she meet with people from Bhutan and India as a preview to the upcoming royal tour. The high frilly collared neckline, accentuated flared bell sleeves, gathered drop ruffle hem, button closure frilled placket and self-tie long silk sash are all reminiscent of Victorian fashion construction.
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3. Prada green poppy-print silk-crepe dress
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This dress was worn when Kate was still in the early stages of pregnancy, so we aren’t quite sure if we can say this is a maternity dress in the typical sense. The Prada style however was the perfect Kate shirt dress and a beautiful choice for the engagement she was undertaking. This silk dress features a beautiful garden floral print of orange poppies upon a green background. A pretty and feminine self-tie bow at the neck, long cuffed sleeves, a shirred waistline and skimming to below the knee in a gorgeous midi length. We would rate this as one of our all time favourite dresses the Duchess has worn and hope to see it many, many more times. Perhaps next time for the Queen’s garden party with added Jane Taylor or Sylvia Fletcher for Lock and Co. hat?
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2. Kate Spade diamond pleated shirt dress
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Another shirt dress? Yes, Kate’s fondess for this style has been apparent for years since her Libelula ‘Rebecca’ shirt dress days. A black and white diamond check pattern midi length shirt dress with bold white, burgundy and black contrast stripe trim on the sleeve cuffs, waistband and hem of the pleated flared skirt. Kate looked stunning and feminine in this demure style. The fun mixed prints added something different to Kate’s normal monochromatic or simple print dresses.
Many social media commentators suggested this style was something their Grandmother might wear, hinting that this style is too old and frumpy for Catherine. The shirt dress was indeed a popular style from a bygone era of the 1940’s and again being revived the 1970’s. Your grandmother would have been in her stylish and youthful 20’s when she donned a style like this herself, therefore being quite hip and fashion forward. Older fashion styles are constantly weaving in and out of our modern fashion sometimes without us even realising.
If you love the shirt dress style but are not a fan of a busy pattern on a shirt dress, a block colour is a perfect addition to your wardrobe that will stay versatile for years to come. You can still purchase this Kate Spade dress here. We have a great repli-kate for this dress here.
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1. Orla Kiely: Leith X Orla Kiely ‘Margaret’ smock bib floral print dress – black
This was our favourite of all Kate’s dresses worn during her third pregnancy. It was perfect in all the right ways. Another dress echoing Victorian styles which was a nice nod for the engagement of the Victorian Giants Photographic Exhibition. A fun, bright multi-coloured floral print contrasting the black background of this feminine dress. Thin black velvet ribbon trim adorned the fitted bodice and high ruffled collar and ruffled cuff sleeves. A slightly flared a-line skirt fell to below the knee to a longer midi length. The Duchess stood out beautifully against the backdrop of the National Portrait Gallery as she toured the Exhibition.
Believe it or not this dress is still available in several sizes here. Find a beautiful repli-kate of this dress here.
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You can also be a copy Kate in some of these styles that we have picked out especially for you below:
Vote in our poll: