Kate Sports New Dress, Shoes & Earrings (an £8 pair!) for Charity Cricket Match

For the afternoon’s activities, Kate changed into a dress by Anita Dongre, one of India’s best-known designers.

Together with Prince William they headed to Oval Maidan, Mumbai’s famed cricket pitch. 

There they watched a match with teams showcasing young people. They also met representatives of three charities and the children who benefit from their work. Tonight’s black tie party is a fundraiser for these three organizations.

• Magic Bus: Steers children “toward a better life with better awareness, better life skills and better opportunities.”
• Doorstep School: A literacy organization providing “education and support to the often-forgotten children of pavement dwellers, slum dwellers, construction site families and many other underprivileged families.”
• Childline India: A 24-hour helpline for children in distress anywhere in India.

As on other occasions, Kate was not shy about getting involved in exercises and games the children were playing.

The Duke and Duchess also played a little cricket themselves. More from ITV’s story:

They may not have been wearing whites, but the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge showed they were game for cricket on the first day of their Indian tour.

Prince William looked on as his wife Catherine, wearing a colourful summer dress and wedges, showed off her batting skills.

Below, the couple spending time with students from Door Step School.

Rebecca English tweeted images of some of the handmade gifts children created for William and Kate.

The royals chatting with other students.

Prince William and the Duchess also practiced their Hindi skills with some of the youngsters at today’s event.

And signed a cricket bat.

Following the sporting activities Kate and William took an open-air bus ride to the historic Banganga Water Tank.

From The Mirror‘s coverage:

The royal tour has stopped off at the Banganga Water Tank, where the couple received a special welcome.

They were given flower garlands and placed petals in the water during a traditional ceremony.

They also met representatives of children’s charity Smile; it works through “grassroots initiatives for effecting positive changes in the lives of underprivileged children, their families and communities.”

On to what Kate wore. We begin with the vibrant dress from Anita Dongre, in coral, red, and green Jaipur-inspired patterns. The dress is similar to a piece the designer showed at Lakmé Fashion Week in Mumbai (lower right), which was just last week. Called the “Gulrukh Tunic Dress,” the style was available for ordering earlier today. No one will be surprised to see that it is now sold out.

More on the designer’s reaction when she learned Kate wore one of her pieces comes via the Hindustan Times:

Mumbai-based Anita Dongre told us that she had no idea Middleton would be wearing her creation today. “This came as a total surprise to me! I honestly had no idea that Kate is going to wear the dress. Yes, someone from my team had mentioned that they had asked for our lookbook, but I never took it too seriously,” says Dongre. The georgette dress is from her summer collection, Love Notes and is Jaipur-inspired will all-over Mughal and architectural motifs.

“So many times people have asked me who I would love to dress, and it has always been Kate for me, I really admire her sense of style so this is super exciting! I think that fashion goes hand in hand with comfort, and I guess that is what Kate chose. I hope to meet her soon,” Dongre adds.

We saw Kate wearing a new pair of wedges, the Monsoon Fleur in taupe.

And she wore a new pair of earrings this afternoon, the Filigree Bead Short Drop style from Accessorize. We show them at the UK website where they are £8, about $11 at today’s exchange rates.

Kate wore Ray Ban sunglasses part of the afternoon, but I’ve not had time to look closely at them and see if I can sort out what model they are, or if we have seen them before.

Kate looked relaxed and as though she was reveling in her time with the children. The Anita Dongre dress was a solid look for an afternoon outside in the sun.

Many thanks to Marianna Bozzoli, My Small Obsessions, and What Would Kate Do for their great identification skills!

LINKAGE:

• You can see the Anita Dongre entire run of show at Fashion Week by visiting Vogue India here
• Kate’s Indian-Inspired Style Gets Thumbs Up From Fashionistas from The Daily Mail 
• Gordon Rayner’s story in The Telegraph is here, The Daily Mail’s photo-laden story is here, Richard Palmer’s story in The Express is here,
• The Mirror’s slive feed of coverage throughout the day is here
• The Mirror’s story about Kate “showcasing the best of British and Indian fashion” is here