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Kate in Max Mara & Seraphine for Visits to Emma Bridgewater Pottery & Cape Hill Children’s Centre

Kate wore a rich blue Max Mara coat for today’s engagements, a vibrant look on a brisk, sunny day. Her first stop: the Emma Bridgewater factory in Staffordshire.Duchess of Cambridge in Stoke-On-Trent

The Duchess was on hand to commemorate the debut of two Emma Bridgewater mugs being sold as a fundraiser for the EACH Nook Appeal, a campaign raising money to build a new children’s hospice in Norfolk.

Emma Bridgewater

Emma Bridgewater

Below, Kate and Ms. Bridgewater.Splash News

EACH needs £10 million for the new children’s hospice facility; Kate has been involved with the campaign since its launch.EACH/The Nook Appeal

Below you see Ms. Bridgewater and her husband Matthew Rice giving the Duchess a tour.Oli Scarff/WPA Rota/Nunn Syndication/Polaris

More from Gordon Rayner’s story in The Telegraph:

The Duchess of Cambridge was pronounced “a natural Stokie” as she tried her hand at pottery on a visit to the Emma Bridgewater ceramics factory.  She was not afraid to get her hands dirty as she had a go at making a plate from a disc of clay.

Warning on-lookers to “watch out”, the Duchess managed to hit the mark first time as she threw the clay onto a machine, although she remarked “it’s a little lop-sided”.

Kensington Palace shared a brief video of the Duchess trying her hand at decorating some pottery.

Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace

From the Daily Mirror’s coverage:

The Duchess wasn’t afraid to get messy as she had a go at painting one of the mugs at the Emma Bridgewater factory.

Surrounded by the iconic British earthenware and Union Jacks, Kate smiled and joked as she was shown by a staff member how to make the print.

Oli Scarff/WPA Rota/Nunn Syndication/Polaris

While at Emma Bridgewater Kate met children and families from the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice. More on the visit from Hello!

As Kate admired the ladybird-printed crockery, she chatted to staff who worked at the factory as well as volunteers and children from EACH’s local centre the Donna Louise Hospice. The royal was presented with a beautiful gift from one kind teenager Chloe, who gave Kate a painting of the Lake District she had done herself. The sixteen-year-old is just one of the young people being supported by the Donna Louise Hospice.

Below, Chloe with her painting.

Kensington Palace Instagram

Kensington Palace Instagram

The mugs are now available for pre-ordering. There is a Ladybirds Baby Mug (£14.95, with a £5 donation to the Nook appeal) as well as a Ladybirds 1/2 Pint Mug (£19.95, with a £5 donation to the Nook appeal). Additionally, there is a special 2 Mug Set (£39.95, with a £10 donation to the Nook appeal), as shown below.

Emma Bridgewater Pottery

Emma Bridgewater Pottery

WKW friend Micki Maynard noted that because she signed up for the Emma Bridgewater mailing list she received a 15% off first-time purchase code, helpful for her order of two mugs, as shipping to the USA ran $30.

As one would expect at Emma Bridgewater, there was a colorful plaque to commemorate today’s Duchess’s visit.Stephen Lock / i-Images

Kate was also given some lovely flowers.Stephen Lock / i-Images

Kate’s second engagement was at Cape Hill Children’s Centre northwest of Birmingham. The charity is part of Action for Children, an organization providing support for the “…most vulnerable and neglected children and young people throughout the UK…”. From the Action for Children website:

Chief executive Tony Hawkhead, our chair of trustees John O’Brien and Operational Director Jan Stoll showed her around the building, then she met with parents who are working with our Sandwell Family Partners project.

For staff at the service, it was a fantastic chance to show the whole of the UK what great work they do.

The Centre offers a variety of programs, everything from adult employment assistance to speech therapy and healthcare assistance.  Kate looked very relaxed and eager to listen during her time at the Centre.

Back to the Hello! story about Kate’s engagements:

Perhaps the highlight of her visit, however, was taking part in a play session with the children and parents who use the Cape Hill Children’s Centre. A young girl grabbed the opportunity to high-five Kate as she sat next to her, while the royal also sang along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with the group.

ITV has video of the youngster’s celebratory sentiments.

ITV

ITV

People magazine’s Simon Perry shared several photos on his Instagram feed of Kate and the children.Simon Perry, People Magazine Instagram (@SPerryPeopleMag)

Now to what Kate wore.©James Whatling/SplashNews.com

The Duchess was in a coat by Max Mara. If not identical to the coat seen below, then a cut that is very similar.Kate Max Mara SportMax Sport Max Blue Coat Emma Bridgewater Side by Side i-Images

Today’s tip of the tiara goes to Carly at Kate Middleton Style, a reader tipped her the coat was from the a/w 2014 Sport Max collection.  Irish Sara let us know the style name is Gerbera; she and Carly fiendishly searched and came up with what we think is the coat Kate was wearing today.Max Mara

If not this precise garment, it is very close.James Whatling/Splash News

Matches Fashion describes Sportmax as “the brand’s slick, urban line. Graphic dresses in bold prints, precision tailoring, and crisply cut jackets and trousers amp up city dressing for the fashion conscious.” The company confirmed Kate was wearing their coat on its Facebook page.SportMax Facebook

The coat features an oversized collar and lapels, princess seaming, on-seam pockets, and a hidden front closure. Ashley Marie reports that she was told by Max Mara the garment is “double-faced wool, sewn by hand, comes with a belt, originally priced at $2490.”©i-Images.co

It’s interesting the style name is ‘gerbera,’ as it looks like Kate’s bouquet has a gerbera daisy among the other flowers.i-Images

Kate wore her Seraphine Florrie dress.Seraphine

From the retailer’s ‘Luxe Line’ of maternity wear, the Florrie is a rayon crepe de chine, with a curved empire waistline, short sleeves, and full skirt. The dress is available for pre-ordering, it is expected to start shipping to customers in March ($179/£99).

Kate accessorized with her ‘Frome’ navy clutch from LK Bennett.i-Images/i-Images

Product shots.LK Bennett 'Frome'

And her ‘Georgia’ suede heels from Jimmy Choo.i-Images/

The Duchess wore her hair partially up, which showed off her sapphire and diamond earrings nicely.

While there are no formal engagements currently on Kate’s calendar at the moment, I expect we will see her carry out a few more appointments prior to her April delivery date.

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The Way We Were

Thursday 26th of February 2015

I don't know anything about kate in real life but every time when I see her with children (in these shots) I find her sincere and kind, at least it appears so to me.

I have said so many time and I will say one more time: I wish I could see the entire coat collection in her closet.. so many mouth watering pieces...

Lavender

Saturday 21st of February 2015

Oh, doesn't Kate's hair look particularly luxuriant these days, particularly on the bottom lengths/layers. (I noticed a post on the day she wore the John Lewis sailboat dress that mentioned her hair & a headset, I submitted my post but going through the pics later,only fully realised then that it was Kate wearing the headset!!!!!!!!!) Stunned! I hadn't recognised her, the hair looked lighter and like a Hair Dye/Shampoo/Hairspray advert, it was that lovely!!! Her hair looks like this in some of these pictures today too when 'walking away'. She may have got some layers cut in. It looks glamorous (can you feel my jealousy yet!). Kate has a long body/torso so doesn't show pregnancy until later than most of us,it stops that leaning back look too and looks elegant for longer (though I think ALL pregnant women look beautiful!). Lovely shade of cornflour, Kate obviously likes her blue - my favourite spectrum shades of purple, grape, lilac, lavender, grape, burgundy, aubergine, bright pink & aqua rarely get a look in. I think Kate's favourite shades are white, cream, beige and blue (this is not a criticism as we are all different). Kate is also working until later towards the due date this time, more confident, perhaps. A final word on the grey hair, it happens to us all, perhaps she's too tired to dye/have it dyed/worried about chemical transfer to the baby etc, but she still looked fresh & happy to be where she was, particularly a feat if she was feeling tired/under the weather. Good on you, Kate, I can't do it!!!

Hilary

Friday 20th of February 2015

Has anyone else had any luck with receiving a 15% off code for signing up for the newsletter? I would love to purchase the mugs but the $30 shipping is pretty difficult to swallow and a discount would help.

Margaret

Friday 20th of February 2015

Kate looks lovely in this outfit - wonderful colour and the length is perfect.I like the style of the coat and it works beautifully with the dress. A very elegant look, something not easy to achieve when you are seven months pregnant.

AshleyOlivia

Friday 20th of February 2015

This outfit gets 5 gold stars from me... All of the pieces, including accessories, work well together here to create a stunning, flattering outfit. (And no blue and black! Yay!) Of course, at this stage in the pregnancy all coats are coming off a tad tent-like, but that's to be expected. I also agree with those commenters who point out that the Duchess is doing a much better job dressing her pregnancy this time around. Hemlines have been longer, and she seems to be purchasing pieces that actually fit her as opposed to altering her already extant wardrobe. I know that she is generally applauded for her thriftiness in the wardrobe department, but I think as a public figure purchasing new pieces that actually fit her while pregnant is to be recommended.

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