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The Duchess of Cambridge joined other members of the Royal Family today for Trooping the Colour, The Queen’s traditional birthday celebrations. The Duchess took part in the carriage procession and the balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace in a pale blue bespoke ensemble by Alexander McQueen and Juliette Boterill.
The Duchess wore an Alexander McQueen pale blue dress, which was another incredibly intricate piece of master craftsmanship from designer Sarah Burton. You can see the amount of detail and refinement that has gone into the construction of this dress through the seamed panelling of the dress, which appears to radiate upward from the waistband, over the bodice and downward through the box pleated skirt. This dress is quite a unique design for Kate, as we normally see the same type of silhouette most of her dresses; this design seemed to break all of her usual go to rules.
The dress featured a dramatic and sweeping square neckline, quite Tudor-esque. The sharp looking high peaked ‘puff’ shoulders have gathering pleated details noticeable through the stitching of the sleeve onto the shoulder of the dress and a longer, bracelet-length sleeve. The dress has a thin cinched waistband, which flows into a fit and flare skirt with tailored box pleats. Kate normally opts for more of a rounded neckline with three-quarter sleeves and either a sheath or a-line style. The high shoulders are the stand-out feature of this dress, creating a very dramatic and regal appearance; it is a sartorial element that McQueen is well known for using.
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As Catherine’s dress is completely bespoke and constructed from numerous McQueen dresses and or coats, we are unable to bring you one specific dress to purchase. However we have done our best below to highlight the structural features of other McQueen looks for you to see where Kate’s dress has come from. It is the mark of an incredible skilled designer to be able to pull apart small elements from different outfits and combine them into one completely new and beautiful outfit. Some designers really struggle with this or simply do not want to change their original designs. Being adaptable to clients’ wants, needs and body shape is imperative in the fashion industry today – especially if your client is a Duchess!
Whilst this is essentially a peplum jacket, it includes many of the features found in Kate’s dress, the most obvious being the square neckline and puff shoulders. The box pleated peplum appears as though it could also be extended into a longer skirt for a dress.
This McQueen dress features slightly peaked shoulders, with a similar waistband, seamed panelled details over the bodice and box pleated skirt. Shown for its pale blue colour, similar to Kate’s, this piece has a longer box-pleated skirt. It also features the seamed bodice and waistband but not quite as dramatic shoulders and much shorter sleeves.
The Duchess wore a Juliette Boterill disc fascinator. This is an interesting and surprising choice of milliner from Kate who is known to favour Jane Taylor or Lock & Co for her hats. Whilst Juliette Boterill is not new to royal circles (her pieces are often worn by Princess Eugenie and Autumn Phillips), it is the first time we have ever seen the Duchess chose a piece from this milliner.
The pretty pale blue large tilt sinamay fascinator features white flowers, pale blue buntal twists and netting on the front. The design space is also filled with netting, white flowers and sculptured buntal twists. As Catherine’s piece is completely bespoke, we show several similar designs from Juliette Boterill below.
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Kate carried an Alexander McQueen box clutch. This rounded edge box clutch also seems to be created bespoke for The Duchess of Cambridge. It appears that the clutch has a silver, pale blue and metallic jacquard weaved floral pattern. Now it could just be our eyes, but we think that the clutch may have either a butterfly or dragonfly on top of the clasp? Unfortunately we did not get a great look at this clutch, though you can just catch a glimpse in this photo. Below we show a longer version of the McQueen lace clutch which has a similar design to the Duchess’.
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Kate wore her Kiki McDonough Topaz earrings, retailing for just shy of £3000. They are a double drop halo earring from Kiki’s Classic Collection. The post stud earrings have a smaller oval topaz surrounded by diamonds at the top, connected with a larger drop cushion cut topaz surrounded by diamonds. The earrings are set in 18ct white gold and are a real statement piece, whilst still being incredibly elegant and feminine. We love this colour gemstone on Kate, it is very delicate and work wells with her features. You can purchase these earrings here.
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Kate wore her Kiki McDonough Eden necklace, retailing for £1,166.67. This gorgeous, delicate and feminine necklace showcases a large centre flower topaz surrounded by pave set diamonds. The white gold chain also has two smaller round topaz stones. The necklace is made from 18ct white gold has a drop measurement of 16 inches. You can purchase this necklace here.
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We adored Kate’s bubblegum pink ensemble from last year and are just as thrilled with this more subdued and subtle pale blue colour. Kate always seems to know how to pick out exactly the right colour dress for the occasion that looks stunning on her and makes her easily visible to the crowd. We hope to see this piece again in the future.
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