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A Return to Red for the Duchess as She Debuts a Carolina Herrera Design

We saw Kate return to red for Day 5 of the Canada tour.kate-whitehorse-red-carolina-herrera-day-5-canada-sept-28-2016-j-what

The Duchess wore a coat by CH Carolina Herrera for today’s engagements in Whitehorse, Yukon.Andrew Parsons / i-Images/ Polaris

Kate and William started their day at the MacBride Museum of Yukon History. Today’s reading session had a unique twist: the book being read was translated into the Southern Tutchone language. That is a big deal because only about 1000 people in the world can speak the language. From a Maclean’s story

All the kindergarteners and Grade 1 children in the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, who speak Southern Tutchone, will get the books.

Providing ways for children to learn and speak their native languages will help ensure the language stays alive.

While at the Museum the Duke and Duchess mixed some old and new technology to send a tweet.Kensington Palace

More from the Press Association via The Daily Mail:

William and Kate’s foray into the world of social media had a twist as they used old technology – in the form of a morse code telegraph machine – to send their virtual message.

Their brief words – effectively an electronic signature – were transmitted to the world during a visit to a Canadian museum telling the story of the Yukon, famed as the home of the Klondike gold rush.

The gentleman operating the telegraph is Doug Bell. More about Mr. Bell’s conversation with William via that same story;

Mr Bell went on to tell the couple about the time he chatted to William’s parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, when they visited Ottawa in 1981.

The 90-year-old said: ”I met your parents” and the Duke replied: ”It seems pretty much everyone has met my family here.”

Mr Bell added: ”I asked your father if he’d been to Yukon and he said no, and I said we ought to do something about that so I called the governor general and we made arrangements. Then I got a call saying ‘They can’t go, the princess is pregnant’.”

”Wow, that must have been me or Harry,” said William.

©Andrew Parsons / i-Images

It turns out the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have also been at the Museum building, back in 1959. But when they visited the building was actually the town’s telegraph office. Following their museum visit, the Duke and Duchess went to a festival in downtown Whitehorse.©Stephen Lock / i-Images/ Polaris

William made a special friend; we learn more about him from The Mirror:

He told fur-clad Leo, who is five months old: “That is definitely the best way to be dressed today.”

Kensington Palace

Both Cambridges are clearly in their element when working the crowd. This offers a side view of Kate’s updo.©James Whatling/Splash News

As mentioned above, the Duchess wore a CH Carolina Herrera coat. As far as we know it is the first time she has worn a piece by the designer to a public engagement. 

The coat is new season CH Carolina Herrera, it only recently arrived in-store. It has a classic Herrera silhouette and design elements: a fitted bodice and full skirt, pockets at the hip, double-breasted styling, and an oversized collar. For a reference point on how “classic” the piece is, the coat on the left is from 2014, and the navy coat on the right is from 2013.kate-red-carolina-herrera-coat-comparisons-canada-day-5-sept-28-2016-2013-2014

Photos of the coat Kate is wearing are not yet online, but the piece is available in-store. It is a double-faced wool/cashmere blend and priced at $1915, according to Middleton Maven. Thank you to Perths Fashion for her help on the coat research. If interested in the coat but perhaps not as familiar with the brand, here is a tip – CH Carolina Herrera and Carolina Herrera are separate collections and stores.

This one surprised me, it is not a brand I envisioned the Duchess wearing. I have long hoped we would see her in a Carolina Herrera design (I am an enormous fan), but presumed patience was required on this front, there were too many other designers Kate would want to explore before getting to this brand. Kate is an amazing advocate for the British fashion industry, as well as sensitive to promoting that industry for many Commonwealth countries. We’ve seen evidence of that already on this tour and will have a few more examples in the next post, as the Duchess wore new Canadian brands for her afternoon engagement. My hunch is the combination of the rich red color and Kate’s appreciation of the design prompted its inclusion in the royal wardrobe. If it were any other color, I don’t think it would have made the cut for the tour – Kate may still have purchased the garment, but it would not have been worn on this trip.

Regardless of my idle speculation, I do think she looked lovely in the coat. As always, this shade of red is very good on the Duchess. The fit and flare lines work well on Kate, and she seemed quite comfortable in the piece. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the coat itself, as well as any input on Kate adding Carolina Herrera to her roster of designers.

We also saw a new pair of heels, the Tod’s Fringed Leather Pumps.Tod's/

The shoe is from a 2015 collection and all leather with a 4″ heel. More about the style from Net-a-Porter’s product description:

 Tod’s’ versatile burgundy pumps have a sturdy block heel and cushioned footbed for round-the-clock comfort. This Italian-made pair is finished with an elegant gold buckle and the brand’s signature pebbled sole.

I believe the shoe originally retailed for $645. A big thank you to Bojana for her ID of the shoes, and also to Lizelle for her DM with the style name and link. The shoe color name per Tod’s is eggplant/cherry (always helpful if you’re trying to locate it at some point down the road.) The style is still available in brown at Italist, where it is on sale for €232, about $260. The shoe also came in navy blue, we show it at Bluefly, where it now appears to be out of stock.Italist/Bluefly

The Duchess carried her Mulberry Bayswater clutch in conker suede (that really is the color name), as well as the Maple Leaf Tartan scarf we first saw last night. There is a little logo peeking out of the scarf that I believe still isn’t identified. (I inserted it at the bottom of the photo.)Mulberry/

We saw Kate’s Annoushka Pearl Drops and Kiki McDonough Diamond Hoops for the first time on the trip.Annoushka/Kiki McDonough/Splash News

The Duchess also wore her Cartier Ballon Bleu watch.

One quick item to mention to cover. A tour usually brings new readers to the site; we love ‘meeting’ new friends and hearing different perspectives on what Kate wears. A request/heads-up on our comment policy.

Healthy, respectful discussion is not only desired, it is encouraged. A debate on the length of a hemline or the merits of a sheath over a fit and flare silhouette isn’t just enjoyable, it’s educational. In those instances, and almost all others, people agree to disagree. They do so politely, even warmly. It is not okay to refer to someone as a fool. Nor is it acceptable to belittle another’s opinion, or to label it as stupid, idiotic, ridiculous or to use any other pejorative term in responding to someone’s comment.

The site’s primary purpose is style-related; this is not the place for discussion about Kate and William’s marriage or Kate’s weight. Trial and error over the years has shown that weight debates have a propensity to go off the rails very quickly. Saying “I think the dress is too big on her” or “the suit jacket should have been taken in” is different from “She looks gaunt,” or “Kate’s bones stick out,” or comments of that nature. It’s a fine line, but one we’re sensitive to here. 

Of equal importance: maintaining a respectful tone when sharing your opinion. Comments referring to the Duchess as a moron, a nitwit, a disgrace or other derogatory terms are simply deleted. That doesn’t translate into sycophancy. It’s merely the difference between saying “I don’t think the dress is cut right” or “it’s not a flattering look” and saying “She looks like an idiot” or “I can’t believe she would wear such a trashy dress”. In some cases it’s a matter of tone; because this is the written word we need to remember one can’t hear vocal inflections.

Sometimes I can edit a comment, but rarely have the time needed to do it properly, so I try to avoid it if possible. Thank you for understanding our efforts to maintain a respectful and fun community!

We’ll be back shortly with our look at what Kate wore in Carcross this afternoon!

Emily Andrews, The Sun @ByEmilyAndrews

Emily Andrews, The Sun @ByEmilyAndrews

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TravelingBlush

Tuesday 11th of October 2016

New shoes, yasss! And a very cute one! I hope we will see this often, it's such a great business-like addition to her shoe repertoire!

Melissa

Tuesday 4th of October 2016

I like the CH Caroline Herrera coat pictured on the left in the collage. I wish Kate has a coat that fits more like that with that 1950s high fashion poof shape. It might be a bit shorter than she usually wears, but it would change things up a bit. Because as many have said, this is a gorgeous coat, but she has so many. Though again, I am all for her keeping to her classic style.

Margo, Thrift at Home

Sunday 2nd of October 2016

Love the elements she paired here! The classy yet modern-heel pumps, the classy red coat with the maroon clutch - nothing very daring, but yet not predictable either. I'm impressed. I wish she would dress with this much shrewdness all the time.

Faith Poole

Sunday 2nd of October 2016

FINALLY!!! Something besides nude pumps.

Célie

Saturday 1st of October 2016

I can't help it, I need to begin with the shoes. I love them ! And love is a small word considering how much I think they're wonderful ! I used to be so bored with the Duchess's nude shoes, so those one seem fantastic to me ! Well Done Kate for surprising us with this kind of shoes !

I love the coat too, this is really the kind of coat I would buy for myself, I really love the cut and I think it fits the Duchess very well.

Just a last word, congrats Kate for this great look !

Oh and I know it's not Kate related but where are Lili's comments ? I miss them !!

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