Once again Kate wears a piece from a favored designer, in this case it was Issa London.
Blair Gable/Reuters
William and Kate wrapped up their first full day of the Royal Tour at tonight’s Canada Day celebrations. Both appeared relaxed and happy, remarkable considering how exhausting the day has been, especially following an afternoon outside baking under a very hot sun. With her hair in an elaborate updo the Duchess looked much cooler and the rich purple in her dress set off her coloring nicely.
We saw the Queen’s stunning Maple Leaf brooch again, the diamonds glittered and danced in contrast to the fabric of the Duchess’s dress. Kate did seem to have new earrings on, or at least a pair we don’t recognize, we’ll have to work on those tomorrow.
Reuters via The Daily Mail
Our Facebook friends and Twitter pals know what an intense search we encountered this evening as we tried to locate the exact Issa dress Kate was wearing. (Not quite the intensity level reached while searching for this afternoon’s red pumps, but close.) Fortunately everyone makes it more-than-fun and we had a good time while working on the mystery.
Canadian Heritage/Reuters
We actually tweeted the photo below mid-evening and said “If these two Issa dresses got married and had a baby it would be Kate’s dress, kinda’ sorta”.
Brittany posted the dress-closest-to-the-one-Kate-wore (in the middle two photos up) early in the hunt, but I wasn’t convinced, believing the vee-neck on Kate’s is cut much more broadly and deeply. But our savvy friends LiltingLimes and Nina_Lux on Twitter are leaning toward that dress in the 3-shot up above, as are many Facebook friends, so we’ll say we think it is *very* similar to this dress, with a caveat that we think the neckline was altered, how is that?
Once again we saw the bespoke Anya Hindmarch ‘Maud’ clutch in black silk, originally noted when the couple met the Obamas, and then seen again at Sam Waley-Cohen’s wedding before making a return appearance tonight.
Whiute House Flickr
For those unfamiliar with the bag, here is the Maud in Ivory.
Anya Hindmarch
Veteran Kate watchers have already noted the return of the black Prada pumps, another good choice.
The Duke and Duchess didn’t stay at tonight’s celebration very long, not surprising consider the day they have had and what’s to come. Here is a look at tomorrow’s schedule.
Saturday, July 2
12:40 p.m. ET — Tree planting at Government House.
1:10p.m. — Arrive at Canadian War Museum for reception with veterans, war brides and families; galleries walkthrough; painting-plaque unveiling.
2:45p.m. — Arrive at Ottawa Airport for departure.
3:45 p.m. — Arrive at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Montreal.
4:15p.m. — Arrive at Sainte-Justine University (Children’s) Hospital Centre; view displays; meet children and parents.
5:45p.m. — Arrive at Institut de Tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec; cooking workshop and reception.
9:55p.m. — Arrive at HMCS Montreal and depart for Quebec City.
With that we’ll sign off the evening, returning tomorrow for more details on What Kate Wore .:)
Kate looks great! The purple is stunning on her. Hair is beautiful and shinning, when she smiles she can do no wrong.
[...] What Kate Wore has more details on this Issa London dress. [...]
more thoughts on the shapelessness of the dress: i def think the dress needs more structure to look better on her.
i compare this to her issa engagement dress, which had a similar style (deep v, gathering in the front, emphasis on the waist, long sleeves, knee length, strong color) but how the issa made her look both slim and shapely.
it’s not the dress…that girl needs to eat a sandwich!
nice color, but i think it looks oddly baggy and shapeless on her.
love the interaction between the two!
esp good to see with all the rumors about albert and charlene, and the occassional awkwardness between the two.
I like the fact that Kate’s willing to look like a mature woman, but this dress, combined with the hair, ages her too much. I’m not fond of the color on her either. I count this one as a miss.
The dress is dreamy, she looks stunning. I love it. One of my favourite looks
I think the comments about the dress’s fit might reflect the fact that Kate has absolutely the wrong underpinning on. That deep V looks lovely on her, but the “‘girls” need better support, which can be more difficult to achieve with that neckline. NOT something I expect to see from Kate.
Obviously Kate is a fan of wrap dresses… but agree with other posters that a few additional pounds would be a positive for that style of dress.
I also wanted to add – this dress looks MUCH better from the front on – all the photos on this blog are her from the side or walking. There are a few wire images where she is standing in front of a white background and the camera caught her from the front and she looks fantastic – it fits her like a glove – not sloppy as some of these photos make it appear.
And a comment that is completely un-style related… I love her interaction with William. . It is lovely to see Kate enjoying the public attention AND William all at the same time!
This soft purple is very pretty on her and the black clutch and shoes make it a very nice evening look. Her chest is looking a bit scary and as much as I love her hairstyle, it makes her look much older.
On a different note, can we talk about how great William looks in a suit and an open white shirt?
This bold colour looks great on Kate and I love her chignon but, gosh, I wish she’d eat a doughnut (or ten!). ;0)
Sarah x
http://stylesouk.wordpress.com
A bit of COLOUR!! Finally!!
Love the updo.. Very chic
I think that the color suits her and am glad to see her enjoying it, although she may be becoming a bit thin for a wrapped dress.
Thank you for the interesting blog, and especially for treating the Duchess as a human being and keeping a positive attitude.
I think the second dress with the neckline sewn. Unfortunately it was not thought so, for this is lacking on the sides of the chest and “pulls” on the front.
The earrings look a little like the white topaz/diamond ones from Kiki McDonough, but with a new diamond drop added. I didn’t like the dress style (but color, yes) until I saw the Prada shoes again. Shoes really do make the outfit!
)
The color is not bad, but the dress does not do her justice. I begin to think that the clothes are too “large” or “squashy” to give the impression of “sloppy”.
Love her hair up! And love that she is wearing a color other than white or navy even more!!! I love this color on her, it looks great with her skin tone and hair. I do agree with Audrey in that it is I’ll fitting. It looks too big and highlights her very slim frame and almost makes her look fraile. I also think it’s a bit low cut as well but that could be because it looks too big and kind of hangs on her.
Aside from the negatives, love the show so far and it’s exciting to check back and see what she wears next! Thanks fir all the details
Trying to get on the Issa London site and I get this message:
http://www.issalondon.com is pending on this server. Please allow up to two minutes for http://www.issalondon.com to become fully active.
Wonder if it’s the same thing that happened to the Reiss website with the Shola dress (as in, crashed!)
Audrey, I agree with you – the good news is, it seems like it will be easy to find a lookalike dress!
I’m thinking HRH might have had shoulder pads added to the dress which would make the shoulders appear broader. Unlike Charlene Wittstock, she’s not a swimmer, so she doesn’t have broad shoulders as a result. Shoulder pads would make all the difference.
They were going to a private dinner somewhere else in the city from where they were watching the fireworks. So no early nigh for the couple. The dinner is also most likely the reason for wearing a relatively “glamorous” outfit to a concert. Love that she has started wearing some diamond jewellery.
Hi, I’m not from the UK and not so familiar to british brands. So thank you zoo much for all the research you do. I look every some hours to have an update.
i dont think its ill-fitting at all!! i love when she wears some colour! she can pull off anything and she is my fashion idol!! a perfect princess in every way
Her hair up sure “matures” her. Compare that photo of all three and she looks so young in the black/white dress even though it was just weeks ago! Purple is very pretty on her!
Hmm, not a fan of the dress–looks like something from a bargain rake and it is ill-fitting. But on the positive side, I love her up-do!