After arriving at the airport to fly home yesterday I plugged in the iThing and had a delightful surprise: Kate and George joined other family members at a charity polo match.
The event was the Festival of Polo, running both Saturday and Sunday at the Beaufort Polo Club.
It was very much a family affair: Zara Phillips & Mike Tindall were on hand with daughter Mia; Autumn and Peter Phillips with daughters Isla and Savannah were also there; Prince Charles came to the event as well. George seemed happy entertaining himself or playing with cousins.
The Duchess was in casual pieces, many of them things we have seen her wear before. We’ll begin with Kate’s shoe, the ‘Bala’ style from Sebago. The moccasin-style shoe is suede, with a non-slip rubber sole and cushioned lining.
Sebago
For anyone interested in purchasing a pair, now is a good time to buy, the shoe is on sale at quite a few locations: Shoes.com has a good selection of sizes and the style is $70.99; at Amazon the price is also $70.99 (that’s 25% off) and shipping is free; Sebago has the shoe priced at $95.
NOTE June 18: Our friends at People report that Topshop says Kate is *not* wearing their jeans. I am looking through photos and will probably be downloading others in an effort to discover just what brand Kate is wearing. In rare instances retailers have made mistakes when verifying whether or not Kate is wearing their brand. By no means am I suggesting Topshop is mistaken, I just need more time to do some research. Of course, if you have any thoughts or insight on the subject, please email or comment or both!
UPDATED JUNE 20: People Stylewatch has done a column about the ‘mystery jeans, and it has generated some helpful comments here and also on the WKW Facebook page. Our thanks to Ashley Marie for noting that I used the wrong Leigh photo in the original portion of the post, when I should have used the older photos of the Leigh. Below, a look at the 2013 Leigh Maternity Jeans from Nordstrom.
Nordstrom
This is the pair we actually linked to back in a 2013 post about the Ring of Fire race Kate started with William when Kate wore Topshop’s black version of the Leigh maternity jeans. These next photos have been digitally lightened to better show the product detail of Kate’s black pair. A newer version of the black Leigh jean is available at Nordstrom, but it does not have the cuff seen in Kate’s older style.
Back to the blue pair from last Sunday; below we show the 2013 version in a side-by-side comparison from the front. Both the black and blue styles came from Topshop’s Maternity collection at Nordstrom.
The style is described as a “pair of medium-rinse skinnies is crafted with a tonal band to accommodate your growing bump for supportive comfort without sacrificing modern style.” As noted by Nat in a comment, it’s possible the jeans are from Kate’s previous pregnancy and very well worn. The jeans are a cotton/poly/elastene blend, a fiber mix that would guarantee comfort and stretch. One more set of comparison shots.
Now back to our original content, showing a comparison of the current Topshop Leigh at Nordstrom to Kate’s pair at the Polo. The current style Leigh jeans are also a cotton/poly blend, with a touch of elastane for stretch, and they have a wide elastic waistband. This contemporary style is available in limited sizing at Topshop ($70).
The Topshop Leigh comes in other colors; Nordstrom also offers a solid selection of the Maternity Moto style.
Topshop remains firm in their statement that the Duchess isn’t wearing a Topshop product. As I noted above, in rare and isolated instances a retailer might be mistaken when responding to media inquiries about their products. It’s possible this is the case here, and Kate is wearing the 2013 Leigh shown in photos above. My gut instinct says that is the situation here, but it’s possible I am wrong and Kate is in a pair of jeans we’ve yet to see identified.
UPDATED June 2015: As we thought possible, Topshop acknowledges Kate was wearing their merchandise. People magazine’s Monique Jessen received confirmation June 23rd from the brand.
Now we move back to our originally published content unrelated to Kate’s jeans. Below, Kate and George with Autumn Phillips.
The Duchess was in another Breton stripe top from a brand she is fond of, ME + EM.
ME + EM
UPDATED JUNE 16: While currently out of stock, ME + EM is taking pre-orders for the top with expected delivery mid-September. The top will be priced at £48, the same cost as the other Breton stripe styles, shipping to the US is an additional £20; this page has more specifics on international shipping. Another graphic from ME + EM.
ME + EM
Our thanks to Valerie, she left a comment on the blog alerting us that ME + EM is re-issuing the piece. If not crazy about waiting several months for one of the brand’s Breton stripe pieces, ME + EM offer a variety of other colors and stripe styles (£48, about $75).
ME + EM
Here is another ME + EM style Kate has worn during last year’s royal tour.
My friend Gracie Beth suggested a few copyKates for that version of the classic piece, including Target’s Merona Boat Neck Tee ($12, or 2 for $20). Another good stand-in: the Elbow Sleeve Breton Stripe Top from the Nautical Company (£45).
Target/The Nautical Company
WKW friend Natasha also suggested this as a copyKate: the Breton Stripe Jersey Top top is by UK retailer La Redoute, and comes in two colors. The top is $13.64 in the USA, it is £13 in the UK.
The Duchess wore her folding Ray Ban Wayfarers, many thanks to Anna of My Small Obsessions for the ID assistance.
Readers will remember this wasn’t George’s first time at a polo match. Below we show him almost exactly one year ago, on June 15th of 2014. The Duchess’s outfit that day was almost a precise match to what she wore Sunday.
Another look at Kate and George today.
Jason Dawson/Nunn Syndication/POLARIS
After yesterday’s match was concluded Kate and George spent some time with William.
George was reveling in the fresh air yesterday.
It seemed this was one of those times when Mom appeared to be having as much fun as her child.
We have all the details on Prince George’s ensemble at our sister site, What Kate’s Kids Wore.
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One quick note about today’s annual Order of the Garter ceremony and parade: Kate did *not* attend this year.
Richard Palmer, The Express (@RoyalReporter)
NOTE: Yours truly is still playing catchup on email and updates to all the other weekend posts.
LINKAGE:
- PopSugar‘s photo gallery is here
- The Daily Mail story is here
- The Telegraph’s story is here
- The Daily Mail’s video is here
- The Daily Mirror’s story & video are here
The Nautical Company
Monday 22nd of June 2015
Bonjour and well done on a very detailed & extensive post where full credit is given.
Thank you so much also for including one of our elbow sleeve Breton tops as an alternative. As a specialist of original Breton tops labels, we have to say that she looks great. That top really suits her, the neckline and the 3/4 sleeve are spot on. However, the Duchess is very tall (1.75m, 5"9 we believe) so if you are petite, this top may go down to your trouser crutch ? We would recommend to check that up.
Another great alternative is our fitted navy and white jersey striped top, not sure whether you noticed it but would love to hear your feedback. It is a shorter one in length, starting from 22 inch, best for petite ladies.
Little bonus, if we get out of stock, you rarely have to wait more than a month for our tops, that's because most of ours are produced throughout the year and mainly in France, just a little swim across the English channel ;-)
Thanks again,
A bientôt :-)
Brenda
Monday 22nd of June 2015
Is it possible TopShop is insisting those aren't its jeans, because it doesn't have them in stock and doesn't want to remake a previous model? The lead time for manufacturers in revving up out-of-date protection can be months. By the time TopShop could re-stock the old model, the interest might be gone.
I think Susan is right and that Kate is re-wearing a previous jean. She seems to have lost her baby weight so fast (or never gained that much to begin with) that there's no need for a fresh-post maternity wardrobe.
Sydney Redfearn
Monday 22nd of June 2015
I saw a post on Instagram saying the founder of ME & EM publicly stated that Kate brought a pair of their jeans, they look really similar to the ones she had on at polo. Its under a username "katemiddstyle"
admin
Monday 22nd of June 2015
Thanks for your comment Sydney! They do look very similar in the pix Carly (@KateMiddStyle) posted, I initially was excited thinking the mystery was solved! There's a very tiny distinction, and it doesn't show well in all of the photos: the ME + EM have belt loops, where the Topshop Leigh do not have them. But it's great RepliKate, don't you think? Thanks again for the input! :)
Nancy
Sunday 21st of June 2015
I appreciate your attention to the small details that will help ID these jeans, but I have to say all the close-up shots of Kate's back side may be a wee bit too much. I know no harm is meant, but I wonder if Kate saw this post if she might cringe slightly, especially when everything else on this blog is so tastefully done. Sometimes when you are looking so closely at the details, you forget what the picture really is, I think.
Emily
Monday 22nd of June 2015
I completely agree! At a certain point, giving up on ID'ing the jeans for the sake of the Duchess's dignity wins in my book. Also, who cares what jeans she was wearing? She's not "working", she is not representing the Royal family at an official event so let's leave it be.
ElizaMo
Monday 22nd of June 2015
I agree it's a tricky topic to focus on concerning the lady's anatomy but equally it's a hard one to avoid when the ID of the jeans comes into question. I find discussion here is pretty good at sticking to the tailoring technicalities and I appreciate the hard work admin puts in in keeping the discussion discreet. I think the tone of discussion on this page continues to set it apart from the worst the web has to offer elsewhere.
In fact I salute anyone trying to ID a single pair of jeans out of the ocean of styles out there, especially as Kate has a fondness for keeping older styles of clothes and bringing them out long after they have become unavailable. I notice several comments here are unhappy with her still wearing skinny jeans -- a view I would agree with. However I breathe a sigh of relief when I see them as relatively loose as this pair since she's worn tighter in the past, There's more decorum in wearing a longer top over them as well.
Plus I fear we may try to over-think a simple casual outfit which was never meant to make a particular royal fashion statement, but simply popped on for a playdate with an adorable tot!
admin
Sunday 21st of June 2015
Hi Nancy, and thanks so much for commenting. I also find it cringeworthy and appreciate your input on the pictures. Your thoughts nudged me to eliminate what I thought was the most offensive photo montage, and minimize/re-edit others. All of which is only minor mitigation, measured merely by degree. But, in light of the desire to best illustrate and identify the jeans I have left several photos up, albeit in smaller sizes. (You can probably tell this isn't a part of the job I relish, and I am grateful that you commented.) :(
Ashley
Saturday 20th of June 2015
Anyone know anything about the black bag she was carrying? This is the only photo I can find. http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/640x/10/04/f6/1004f6cfc3ebd715abc748c76affd484.jpg
admin
Saturday 20th of June 2015
I don't believe that was her bag, I think it belonged to someone else who was there and not seen in the photo. It does look like a great bag though, I wouldn't mind know whose it is as well! :)