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It may not be a mystery on the scale of an Agatha Christie novel, but the curious case of The Duchess of Cambridge's Royal Ascot outfit yesterday has had us stroking our chins. Kate made her second-ever appearence at Royal Ascot just a year after her first wearing a dress which was different- but the same.
2016's look was by Dolce and Gabbana while yesterday's was a bespoke creation by Alexander McQueen, the Duchess's go-to label for bespoke pieces. Yet, both were made of white lace, they were of modest length and came with fitted, long sleeves. Barely discernible differences were the latter's high neck and fuller, stiffer skirt.
Kate wearing McQueen at Ascot yesterday CREDIT: GETTY
Clearly when you are one of Britain's most senior royals, you have full prerogative to have several versions of a very similar outfit in your vast wardrobe and Kate may have any number of reasons for debuting a recycled-but-not-recycled look yesterday (perhaps she spilled red wine on the last one? Or George and Charlottte got paint covered paws all over it?) but the conundrum has thrown new light on the Duchess's style recycling habits.
Here, we analyse her 5 style recycling rules...
1. When diplomacy calls
The Duchess of Cambridge wearing Carolina Herrera at France v Wales CREDIT: AFP
A duchess's duties include countless foreign visits which in turn call for the occasional diplomatic fashion gesture. Naturally, certain colours will be useful for more countries than one, and red is probably chief among those. So it was only right that when Kate attended a Wales v France rugby match in Paris in March, she revived a red Carolina Herrera coat which she had first debuted in Canada the previous autumn. Handily, red is the national colour of both Wales and Canada.
2. When it just works
While Kate is perhaps not renowned as the most experimental of dressers, she has- to her credit- tried countless silhouettes from neat pencil-skirted suits to sheath dresses, prom skirts and cropped trousers in her time. But there are a handful of looks which have clearly gone down so well in the Kensington Palace dressing room that Kate has re-ordered them in different colours or slightly tweaked designs.
Kate wearing her second Preen 'Fenella' dress
Most recently, that was the red Preen 'Fenella' dress which Kate first wore in Canada and then wore in black to an awards ceremony a couple of months later. Rewinding the clock further back, at a garden party in 2012 Kate wore a pale pink, pleated skirt dress by Emilia Wickstead which she now also owns in turquoise whiles her archive also includes a similar Alexander McQueen style in pillar box red.
Kate in one of her favourite Emilia Wickstead styles. CREDIT: REX
3. When she wants to downplay the spotlight
Of course, wherever the Duchess goes the attention will be on her but one way to shift a little of the focus is to wear a look which we are already familiar (this was a tactic employed by Princess Diana who knew that paps would get less for their photos if she was wearing a familiar outfit). Earlier this month, she wore an old favourite Rebecca Taylor tweed suit as she visited victims of the London terror attack.
Kate re-wearing Rebecca Taylor as she visited terror attack victims CREDIT: ANTHONY UPTON
4. When it's purely practical
Now that Kate has been through two pregnancies, some of her maternity pieces have been seen on a couple of occasions such as the baby pink , pearl-buttoned coat she wore for the Commonwealth service when expecting Princess Charlotte and Trooping the Colour whilst pregnant with George.
Kate's McQueen maternity coat CREDIT: GETTY
Plenty of the Duchess's casual wardrobe falls into this category of repeating too: Zara skinny jeans, Penelope Chilvers boots and a Troy London parka are all pieces which have been seen more than once.
5. When the occasion calls for it
Kate in one her favourite nautical looks
Perhaps one of the Duchess's most famous repeat looks is her Alexander McQueen navy and cream nautical blouse and pencil skirt which she has worn several times since debuting the look in 2011, often for sailing themed visits. Although it might be subtler to be less literal, it's clearly a way of dressing which Kate enjoys and so might explain her insistence on always (well, twice) wearing white lace to Ascot- especially if she is a big fan of My Fair Lady.
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