As a lover of coats, hats and boots, living in a warmer climate means unfortunately it is not always cold enough to wear these things. So I often find myself swooning over the collection of coats The Duchess of Cambridge has hanging in her ever-expanding royal wardrobe. Her maternity coats are no different, chic, sophisticated, perfectly tailored and toward the end of her pregnancy a new confident and playful style we have yet to see from Kate.
Here, we take a look at some our favourite royal maternity outerwear. We have tried to keep to new styles only, and not repeats, and gone back and forth over the list a few different times. Take our poll and let us know what you think is your favourite coat or if we have sadly forgotten one of your favourites!
9. Catherine Walker bespoke forest green asymmetrical coat
Probably one of our lesser favourites of all Kate’s new maternity wear. This asymmetrical bespoke Catherine Walker coat with fur trim collar and cuffs almost seems to swamp the Duchess’ frame – it’s just a bit too much coat. For the first outing of this coat in Sweden, Kate paired the coat with an Alpaca hat and it seemed just a fur-overload in one ensemble.
The re-emergence of the coat for St. Patricks Day with a matching green Gina Foster fascinator fortunately did improve the overall appearance of this coat. The heavy wool fabric and longer length of this coat do not seem to lend it toward the asymmetric style, it seems to add more bulk to the coat.
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8. Goat ‘Ellory’ coat in marine blue
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This is another coat that provides a slight feminine twist on a classic coat. A small diagonal bow placed along the collar line, sitting just under one side of the chin, provides an interesting and dramatic element to the coat. The drawback of this coat is the length, just a tad on the shorter side. If a slightly longer dress had been worn under the coat, we could forgive the shorter style, though having dress and coat the same length makes it seem a tad less formal than what we would like to see a Royal wear. The rich bright blue of this coat is a winner and a beautiful shade of blue for the Duchess.
7. Catherine Walker red and white houndstooth coat
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A fun, sassy, confident and strikingly-bold print resonant from this double-breasted bespoke Catherine Walker, seen in Sweden. We love this coat as it is such a departure from the classically tailored styles that Kate usually chooses and quite a different coat style from Catherine Walker than the more paired back choices available in the collection.
The bright red and white large scale houndstooth pattern of the coat are a far cry from the monochromatic styles we usually see. Whilst she has worn patterns before and is seeming to take more risks with different patterns on her dresses, we have never really seen the Duchess stray from solid colour coats, apart from her graduated horizontal stripe red Jonathan Saunders coat. The bright red buttons also add a fun detail to this coat.
It is clear this coat gives Kate a confidence when she is wearing it and she easily stands out in the crowd. This coat was another favourite with royal fashionistas online, who were quick to locate cheaper repli-kates. Catherine’s red and white houndstooth coat is currently not available to purchase, though Catherine Walker has updated their website with a black and white version of the coat.
6. Jenny Packham bespoke mint-green coat
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A highly controversial coat that divided us royal fashion lovers many times over. This spring-palleted mint green coat with oversize collar bow was the second bespoke Jenny Packham coat that The Duchess of Cambridge choose to wear during her pregnancy. Was it the colour that people didn’t like? The bow? Or the fact that Kate had chosen to commission a very expensive coat so late in her pregnancy that we would probably only see once that divided opinion so widely on this coat? The fact is, we don’t know how many times Kate has worn this coat in private, we don’t see her everyday for royal engagements so she may have worn it numerous times.
To be honest I loved this coat – a lot! When first going to devise this list it almost made our top 2 until we remembered all the other amazing coats that Kate has worn. This coat is great as it is again a fashion risk for Kate. Something a little different we don’t normally see her wear. We have never seen her wear this shade of green and the bow at the centre of the collar added another unexpected twist, almost dainty. Whether you didn’t like the style, the colour or any other reason, praise still needs to go to HRH for daring to try something new and at such a later stage of her pregnancy. The coat itself is very well tailored, with structured panels, seam details, diagonal welt pockets and carefully-crafted cuff buttons.
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5. Hobbs ‘Gianna’ coat
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A navy blue, double-breasted military style coat with vertical flap welt pockets, silver toned hardware and oversize collar come together to create an effortlessly stylish and timeless piece. We love this coat for its longer length to just below the knee, the almost-bustle feel to the rear, and the a-line skirt creating a feminine flare. The thick luxurious look of the wool fabric of this coat ensures it looks a lot more expensive and high end than high street Hobbs and unlike the thicker wool fabric used in the Catherine Walker green coat, the thickness of this fabric does not swamp Kate.
The Hobbs ‘Gianna’ coat is more reminiscent of a Sportmax style and silhouette.
4. Jenny Packham bespoke blue coat
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This coat divided many an opinion on the royal fashion front, with as many loving this style as who did not find it favourable at all. Probably to date one of the biggest fashion risk coats that Kate has ever worn. Why? It’s not like it is glaringly neon or oversized or laden with sequins, or has huge spikey pointed shoulders as some avant-garde coats. It is more the fact that Catherine was walking a fine line between paying respectful homage to the engagement and foundation she is attending with her fashion choices as dressing up in a costume: this brighter blue coat with thick contrast white trim along the edge, collar, cuffs and buttons had all the hallmarks of vintage nurses uniforms. The Duchess of Cambridge was visiting Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists as patron of nursing charities. Far from being a costume, this Jenny Packham Coat seemed to work. Perhaps it was the wider spaced double breasted buttons? Or the way Kate accessorised her coat with her G. Collins & Sons Tanzanite Pendant Necklace & Earrings? Or the towering Jimmy Choo Georgia pumps?
Another impeccably tailored Jenny Packham coat we fear we will never see again, unless re-tailored post pregnancy or perhaps passed to Meghan or Pippa in the event of their own pregnancies.
3. Ida Sjöstedt black evening coat
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A beautiful tailored evening coat in a longer length. It always seems to be a such a hard thing to find a gorgeous dressy evening coat that is not too short. Having a coat that could sweep over the top of an evening dress or gown and look every inch as glamorous as the garment beneath is important! There are not that many opera coats available and fewer people who know of them. Wearing a short evening coat with a gown always looks odd and takes away from the glamorous nature of the entire ensemble, such was Kate’s quandary when she wore her red Zara coat on top of a delicate lace Dolce and Gabbana dress to The Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations.
Whilst an opera coat is normally a full length coat, Kate’s Ida Sjostedt is almost there, so we will give it a pass. The gorgeous black embroidery that adorns the bottom hem takes it from everyday, to beautifully-tailored evening coat. We can’t wait to see this piece on the Duchess again.
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2. Burberry ‘Tolladine’ black shearling trench coat
This was our initial pick for number 1, but we changed our minds at the last minute. We love casual Kate because even when she is “dressed down” she is still as chic and princess-perfect as possible. This double-breasted coat features shoulder epaulettes, buckle cuffs and a belt with square buckle to cinch in the waist.
We can’t believe that Kate was six months pregnant when she wore this, she didn’t look pregnant at all. She looked snug as a bug in a rug, all wrapped up against the snowy and cold elements for her first event in Sweden. We also love the rough edge of the shearling coat, something almost neanderthal about it, though in every sense in an updated fashion forward way. Just a pity the shearling isn’t faux.
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1. Boden ‘Lena’ coat
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We love this coat for it’s bold colour and feminine details. Never before have we seen Kate wear such a bright shade of orange. Her Tara Jarmon coat almost looks peach in comparison. The gorgeous ruffle details around the neck, sleeve cuffs and pockets take this coat to a whole different level. The ruffle is an uber-girly feature and creates a softness to this coat. Sometimes it’s great to have a sleek sophisticated coat, sometimes a structured highly tailored coat, sometimes a fun casual trench and other times a girly sweet coat. It’s all about playing dress up, changing your style to suit your mood or occasion and using fashion to highlight your multi-faceted personality. The Duchess of Cambridge’s Boden coat also had a very affordable price point making it an instant hit and sell out with royal eepli-katers the world over. A coat we will likely see Kate wear post baby number 3.
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Time to vote in our poll – do you agree with our rankings? Choose your favourite or let us know what you preferred in the comments!
We have done our best to scour the net for some great repli-kate pieces for Kate’s coats. See our picks below: