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Kate’s Eternity Band Identified, Scotland Engagements, Final Tour Polls

We are back with several updates as well as our final polls on what Kate wore during April’s tour in New Zealand and Australia. But first, a new date added to Kate’s Calendar:

  • Thursday, May 29: William and Kate will have several engagements in Scotland. The day starts with a visit to the Strathearn Community Campus where they will meet young Scouts, Cadets and representatives from Scotland’s Air Ambulance service. In William’s role as Patron of the Fields in Trust program the couple will see MacRosty Park in Crieff, a recently restored venue. The duo then visit Scotland’s oldest working distillery, the Famous Grouse Distillery in Glenturret. More from The Courier:

As well as nosing and tasting fine malts, the couple will officially open the new-look Famous Grouse Experience visitor attraction which brings more than 100,000 people to the distillery each year.

To welcome William and Kate – known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn in Scotland – the distillery has commissioned a special pie with Glenturret as the key ingredient.

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Next, news about the diamond eternity band Kate has been wearing.

Photo Credits as Shown on Individual Images

Photo Credits as Shown on Individual Images

Anna of My Small Obsessions has been corresponding with Annoushka, and they have confirmed the ring is their piece. The Duchess wears the Eclipse Diamond Eternity Ring.

Annoushka.com

Annoushka.com

Crafted of brilliant-cut micro pavé white diamonds, the ring is available with a variety of diamonds and other stones. As shown on the website it sells for £820, roughly $1400 at today’s exchange rates; it is part of Annoushka’s Eclipse collection.

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Now, our favorite hat poll.

Kate wore the ‘Seaford’ hat from Gina Foster when arriving in Wellington, New Zealand for the tour’s first appearance. The hat is described as “velour fur felt Jackie-O pillbox with felt flower trim…”.  It is from Gina Foster’s autumn/winter 2013 collection.

i-Images/Polaris and Photography by Woolf

i-Images/Polaris and Photography by Woolf

The Duchess wore a customized version of Jane Taylor’s ‘Dolly’ hat for Palm Sunday services in Dunedin, accessorizing the deep turquoise dress by Emilia Wickstead.  The website notes it is a “Velour felt cocktail hat with handcut felt feather and crystal detail.”

S. Lock/i-Images

S. Lock/i-Images

Kate chose another style by Jane Taylor for Easter Sunday services in Sydney, Australia: debuting a fully bespoke piece coordinating with her dove grey Alexander McQueen ensemble.

Our fourth chapeau is by Australian milliner Jonathan Howard, his ‘Boutton’ design. Kate wore the hat to an ANZAC Day service in Canberra.A. Parsons/i-Images/www.i-Images.co, Jonathan Howard, A. Parsons/i-Images/www.i-Images.co

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On to our look at shoes worn by Kate on the tour.

Kate chose her ‘Valerie’ pumps from Emmy Shoes for the couple’s arrival in Wellington, New Zealand, a nice contrast to the red Catherine Walker Russian Greatcoat.mmm

For Prince George’s Plunket playdate Kate wore new shoes by Jimmy Choo to accessorize her Tory Burch dress, the brand’s ‘Vikki’ Platform Pump. UPDATED Nov 20, 2014: There is some discussion these may actually have been the Jimmy Choo ‘Aimee’ style./Jimmy Choo

When visiting the Blenheim War Memorial Kate was in her navy Alexander McQueen heels. The shoes were also worn with the LK Bennett blue Poppy Lasa dress in Amberley, as well as the blue Stella McCartney ‘Ridley’ dress when arriving at the Canberra airport, and with the Michael Kors coat dress for ANZAC Day services and the airport departure from Australia.i-Images/i-images.co

Kate accessorized a custom dress by Jenny Packham with her Jimmy Choo Cosmic pumps when attending a State reception at Government House in Wellington. The Cosmics were also worn to a Government House reception in Canberra, accessorizing a Lela Rose cocktail dress.Polaris Images/Jimmy Choo

We saw Kate’s Stuart Weitzman Corkswoon again, first worn for the Whenuapai Air Force Base engagement was the first time we noted them. The shoes were also worn to the Blue Mountains visit.Kate Tour 2014 Corkswoon

When aboard a world-class racing yacht with New Zealand’s America’s Cup team the Duchess changed into another pair of shoes we’ve seen previously, her Sebago Balas.Sebago

Kate’s Episode Angel heels were seen at an engagement at Rainbow House Hospice, paired with the Erdem ‘Allie’ coat. The shoes were also worn in Christchurch and Canterbury with the Luisa Spagnoli separates.i-Images/SplashNews.com

When attending Palm Sunday services in her deep turquoise Emilia Wickstead dress, Kate wore another pair of Emmy ‘Valerie’ style pumps, this time in the label’s carbon grey colorway.i-Images

The Duchess brought out her Mint Velvet plimsolls for children’s rugby matches and a whitewater jetboat trip.i-/Mint Velvet

On the tour’s final day in New Zealand, we saw Kate’s Prada heels, worn with her blue Sparkle Tweed separates by Rebecca Taylor.Nunn Syndication/Polaris Images

For the Cambridge’s arrival in Sydney Kate was in her trusty LK Bennett Sledge heels.  The Sledge heels also accessorized the new Roksanda Ilincic dress worn to Uluru, as well as the green Catherine Walker coat dress, and the pink McQueen separates.James Whatling/Splash News

Kate wore another go-to shoe, her Minx Espadrille Wedges from Stuart Weitzman, for the Royal Easter Show, children’s hospice and Manly Beach engagements. The Minx were also worn on Easter Sunday for the Taronga Zoo visit.James Whatling/Splash News

We saw Kate in the ‘Harper’ style from LK Bennett on Easter Sunday, paired with her dove grey Alexander McQueen coat and dress.LK Bennett / i-Images

The Pied a Terre/Dune Imperia wedges were back for engagements in Uluru.Dune London/Stephen Lock/i-Images/www.i-Images.co

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We also have a quick sales & savings opportunity to pass along. Zappo’s outlet store, 6pm.com, is doing a discount of 10% off *everything*.  The special promotion is for today (Tuesday, May 20) only, ending at midnight. It is available to the “first 20,000 shoppers,” here is the promo code to use at checkout: 6PMAF52020141078.

6pm.com

6pm.com

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Kathy

Thursday 22nd of May 2014

I had to go with the Sebago Bala boat shoes since I have that same exact pair! All of her heels (court shoes in UK, I believe) looked basically the same except for the pair or two that had a platform. And I simply don't like the wedges.

ElizaMo

Thursday 22nd of May 2014

Thank you for such a typically warm and generous response, AshleyOlivia, and so glad to hear you’re still in the land of the living! I’m sorry if I butted in on a private family break, I was hoping I’d left enough time for holidays before alerting Search-and-Rescue, but no doubt failed to take in the length of the average academic leave.

I’m sure attempts may have been made to alert me to the “pretty/ugly” descriptor but I don’t recall it off-hand and probably struggle with tired terms like “edgy” or “weird” to cover the same ground. When something different is tried it all no doubt comes down to a matter of taste, and in this case it looks like I just failed to get it. I’m so glad you’re a fan of the Polly as I feel it needs all the friends it can get…

And Lili, I am indebted to you for life for the “jolie-laide” tag, it’s wonderful how the French language continues to add just a touch of class even to the most workaday expressions.

But, sadly, the more I look at the Polly the more the feathery effect starts to look creepily reptilian...maybe the fabric is a touch heavy to capture the delicacy of a fern. I’m so sorry folks, maybe I should brush up on my appreciation of all that’s weird, although Cressida Bonas for one can do weird to a tee for me, and I love it! Skinny mini-dresses and Doc Martens – she’s just one of those who can carry it off.

As you say, Prue, there’s plenty of scope for discussion!

Andrea

Thursday 22nd of May 2014

All those new shoes...never worn in....probably only worn a few times...imagine the pinching :(

AshleyOlivia

Thursday 22nd of May 2014

Actually, most of these shoes are tried and true favorites, by no means new. I believe the only new pair is the Jimmy Choo "Vikki." Though I imagine the Duchess trots out a new pair so rarely precisely to avoid the "pinching" you mention.

Prue

Wednesday 21st of May 2014

Not so many hats, and I couldn't get excited about any of them. Ditto the shoes. Kate has a wonderful collection of what I hope are comfortable shoes but they are all much of a muchness. The Jimmy Choo black with platform looked rather ugly to my eyes, and made me realised that the depth of the platform relative to the rest of the shoe makes a huge difference.

I was very tempted to vote for the corkswoons :) But only because they are very different from all those court shoes. Don't get me wrong, I think Kate has a wonderfully mouthwatering collection of shoes but there isn't much difference in them apart from the colour. Great to be able to match, or contrast, the colour with the rest of the outfit (I'm getting there on that one, but on a much cheaper budget!).

Having said that, the LK Bennet Harper style look so lovely. I'd like to see them in the 'flesh' to see if they really do look that good.

The Way We Were

Friday 23rd of May 2014

ditto every word, Prue~ I, for one, against the crowd, have always loved those corkswoons...I would have snatched them myself if I see one at the store...with more reasonable price, of course. Kate got me into buying suede pumps...but of course mine are all cheapos. :)

ElizaMo

Wednesday 21st of May 2014

The hat poll was nice and easy – the grey Jane Taylor wins hands down in my book. It was beautifully worn, original in design with just the right touch of élan while remaining within the classic lines of the whole outfit. A truly outstanding hat!

But hat designs are a perilous thing, and it’s almost hard to believe the same hatter could have come up with the very strange turquoise effort where I for one failed to connect with the interpretation of a fern-leaf which looked to me like some sort of unfortunate primeval growth. And I thought the Gina Foster red was a bit clunky and might look better if we see it again with some other outfit.

The navy Jonathon Howard was a near-miss for me. The base of the hat was a delight but the embellishment looked to have run away with itself and came too close to looking like sprouting wings which might take off any minute.

And then there are the shoes which, if nothing else, show Kate’s consistency in style. She has a mouth-watering collection of court shoes. I went for the very neat Emmy Valerie as I so liked them in carbon grey. I also loved the poll winner, the LKB Harper taupe suede, elegant and simple.

I don’t think of casual shoes as poll winners somehow, I suppose I feel they’re the sort of shoes any of us might wear on a break.

And what a glorious close-up of those poor old, battered LKB Sledges, giving chapter and verse on the scuffing and chipping on the heels. The close-up shots also show up how many pairs have been re-heeled, and we all know there’s nothing like a favourite shoe. But those LKB’s look too far gone even to be put out to the charity shop, and I find them inappropriate for smart royal use. They badly need a refresh, even if in the same style.

The other thing I noticed in the close-ups was how distorted Kate’s feet look in the Jimmy Choo’s – I do hope she isn’t building up too many foot problems for the future!

Thanks for another wonderful post – but where- oh-where, I wonder, is AshleyOlivia? She seems to have been absent from our polls round-up, I do hope she hasn’t been swallowed whole by a dissertation. If she’s out there and watching, this is just by way of a quick Hello!

Prue

Wednesday 21st of May 2014

*lol* Love your comment about the 'feather' looking like a primeval growth. I absolutely adore the colour but that 'feather' rated dubious in my opinion.

Still, it gives us plenty of scope for discussion :)

AshleyOlivia

Wednesday 21st of May 2014

I'm still alive and kicking, dear ElizaMo! I was just swamped by end of the semester grading, and I'm currently visiting the parents, so I haven't had as much time to keep up with the comments on lovely WKW... though I've been reading the posts, of course.

I had a hard time deciding on my favorite hat, but I ended up choosing the "Boutton" Jonathan Saunders. It's funny because I was actually most drawn to the two you dislike the most: the "Boutton" and the teal Jane Taylor "Polly." I certainly understand your criticisms; the "Boutton" does make Kate look a bit like a female version of the god Mercury and the "Polly" certainly appears to be sporting a sea anemone (it reminds me of the Little Mermaid...). However, I find the weirdness works for me, in that it makes the hats really eye-catching. Have you ever heard of the "ugly-pretty" syndrome? I get a touch of it sometimes in the accessory department in that I'm occasionally drawn to the unusual and slightly strange looking pieces ;) I did so love the gray Jane Taylor. It was a perfect hat to round out the divine Alexander McQueen ensemble. Understated was the name of the game for that outfit, so I'm glad she chose a more predictable--but nonetheless stunning--topper.

I also voted for the "Harper," as the pair are my favorite of all the Duchess's shoes. I always wonder how she manages to keep them looking pristine, which brings me to the Imperias... will she ever be able to get that red dirt out??

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