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Kate Glitters at Gala Fundraiser in Royal Blue Jenny Packham

Kate hit a home run with tonight’s look for a gala fundraiser in Mumbai.Taj Palace

The dinner was the hottest ticket in town, attended by a who’s who of Bollywood stars, athletes and other celebrities.  More on the event from The Daily Mail:

This evening’s event is being thrown by The British High Commission in partnership with the British Asian Trust – Prince Charles’ charity – and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where the Duke and Duchess are staying in Mumbai after arriving in India this morning for a seven-day trip.

The Mirror has more on the origins of tonight’s party:

The fundraising event has been organised by the British Asian Trust whose members include Syco executive Sonny Takhar who works with Simon Cowell and One Direction.

Sonny said: “It would be remiss of them to go to India and not experience Bollywood culture because it’s such an important part of the cultural fabric of the country.

The Duchess chose a piece from her go-to party frock designer, Jenny Packham, but it had a local element.Splash News

The material was hand-beaded in India, a significant undertaking wherever it was accomplished. The bodice of the gown was covered in beads and sequins.©Splash News

While a matching cape was also embellished with the shining, shimmering beads, but with a very light hand, creating a soft, almost ethereal effect.©Splash News

Once again that rich, regal blue was an outstanding color for Kate.

After dinner William delivered remarks.UK in India

From The Mirror’s coverage:

…he revealed that Kate told him when they were married that India was at the top of the list of places she wanted to visit.

“When Catherine and I were married, India was the first place on Catherine’s list that she told me that she wanted to visit,” he told attendees.

“Two children and five years later, we have finally made it – and we are both honoured to be here.”

A closer look at Kate’s hair.Stephen Lock / i-Images

The Duchess accessorized with a custom bag made to go with the gown.© Splash News

And she wore a new pair of evening sandals, you can just see a bit of them below.©Splash News

Here are two different styles by Prada: on the left, a higher-heeled Blue Version (€620, about $700, at Prada online); on the right, almost the same shoe, but in black with a slightly lower heel ($750 at Neiman Marcus). I really can’t tell which Kate might be wearing from the one photo I have. Tomorrow I will effort another look at things.Prada Wavy StrappY Sandals Kate Blue Pakcham Gown Heels Mumbai April 10 2016 Bollywood Gala

There was another local element incorporated into tonight’s ensemble. The Duchess’s earrings are by Amrapali, an Indian company.James Whatling / Splash News

They are something of a departure for Kate, with a heavier appearance than many of the earrings she is most often seen wearing. We thought that perhaps a match was found for the style; but while close, it wasn’t a perfect match. Below you see a pair of Amrapali earrings recently sold on flash sale site Gilt.com.i-Images/Gilt.com

That pair was described as “lapis and diamond double oval drop earrings”. Input from those more experienced with this sort of thing noted that Kate’s pair (you see just one earring in the image above, on the left) has a small stone in between the upper and lower portion of the earrings. The shape of Kate’s is a little different as well.Splash News

And a look at the gown without the cape covering it.

Thanks to Susan Courter Christin Zipfel and What Would Kate Do for their ID skills today!

Do you have a favorite of today’s three looks?Splash/Splash/Splash

Here is tomorrow’s agenda from our Royal Tour 2016 section of the site.

MONDAY APRIL 11: MUMBAI / NEW DELHI

  • GREAT campaign event at a bar/restaurant/internet cafe called The Social where the couple will meet young entrepreneurs
  • Flight to New Delhi
  • India Gate: Kate & William lay a wreath at this site, a war memorial.
  • Gandhi Smriti Museum: The Museum houses Old Birla House, where Mahatma Gandhi lived the last several months of his life and where he was assassinated in 1948.
  • Queen’s Birthday Party: This event at the British High Commissioner’s residence will be “Attended by hundreds of VIPs from the world of government and politics.” William delivers remarks allowing him to “personally pay tribute to his grandmother.”

: Please forgive any typos, errors or other issues; it’s been a longish day and I will handle any such challenges in the morning.

LINKAGE:

  • A Mirror story titled ‘Kate Middleton showcases the best of British and Indian fashion’ may be read here
  • The Daily Mail’s photo-heavy story is here,
  • People magazine’s story is here, PopSugar’s photos are here,
  • The Hindustan Time’s photo gallery is here,
  • Click here to read The Mirror’s piece with a look at some of the biggest stars at tonight’s gala

 

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Sandhya

Monday 26th of December 2016

Hi! Just wanted to pop in and add that in the picture with Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan, you should also probably add the name of the person to Khan's left, the incredibly glamorous actress Madhuri Dixit, probably one of the biggest female stars India has ever seen. Cheers!

Gabrielle

Tuesday 12th of April 2016

As usual Catherine looks stunning & I adore the sapphire blue. The earrings are perfect - so Bollywood. Someone mentioned she should be wearing diamond earrings -- no, no - they would not be right. I for one like the cape/shawl. And her intricate undo is lovely. Huge win.

Hannah

Monday 11th of April 2016

So excited to see an updo. I get frustrated that she doesn't do up or half-up more since she seems to have hair wrangling issues so much of the time when she wears it down.

The blue of this dress is gorgeous! And she knows what works for her. As someone with a similar long-waist-ed figure, I know that this kind of high-waist-ed style makes me look much more proportional - so I'm sure that's why she goes for it again and again.

My favorite detail of the whole thing is how the sleeves of the shawl/cape fall against the plain fabric of the skirt. Just gorgeous! I do agree with other comments that I think a contrasting clutch would have played better here.

Brooke

Monday 11th of April 2016

Love this dress! Agree with most of the comments - the shawl was overkill. Glad she's picked out some new shoes as well. Would have loved to see her in a Sari, but since I've actually worn a Sari for a wedding before, I can tell you those garments are NOT easy to wear. I'm sure she picked this because it's effortless.

Susan - you're killing it with this coverage! Thank you for all your hard work!

TravelingBlush

Monday 11th of April 2016

From the side, it does not look like Aish Ray - it looks like Kajol. *but too lazy to google pics*

Love all the looks of first day. My fave is the McQueen dress. What a striking red, and peplum and a front split, who'd have thought! Two of my favorite dressing elements.

The Dongre dress is nice, although it would have been more interesting to choose one of the shalwar kameez. But perhaps she does not want to look too costumey, too soon. The evening dress is not a standout in my opinion. Lovely and striking color, but the style could have been more daring considering she's mingling with the Bolly elite.

Her evening makeup, however, is very interesting. It has the usual elements of dark liner, but her lip color is a peachy gold, not something I recall seeing previously.

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