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Kate In Zara, J. Crew, Asprey and Other Brands for Victoria Engagements

Kate was in “dressy casual” pieces for today’s engagements in Victoria, Canada.©Stephen Lock / i-Images

The Duke and Duchess started their day at the Cridge Centre for the FamilyThe Centre is a charitable agency offering shelter, care and hope for children, women, families and the elderly. Kensington Palace

More from The Daily Mirror:

The charity provides a range of services, including childcare and youth outreach.

It also works to support women who have experienced domestic violence.

The Centre is the longest operating charity in western Canada providing this range of services.

Kensington Palace

There were big crowds of people waiting to see Kate and William.Kensington Palace

The Cambridges were presented with mini jerseys for the NHL Hockey team, the Canucks.©Stephen Lock/i-Images/Polaris

After leaving the Cridge Centre William and Kate journeyed to a local café where they met families who have benefited from the services offered by the Kelty Mental Health Resource CentreKensington Palace

Kensington Palace noted that Kate and William were “keen to hear from parents what information and support is available for families dealing with mental health issues.”Kensington Palace

Later in the afternoon Kate and William toured Victoria Harbor aboard a Tall Ship piloted by a crew from the Sail and Life Training Society (SALTS), a charity using sailing to help build life skills. ©James Whatling/Splash

She stopped to chat with crowds waiting to see the royals.©Stephen Lock / i-Images/ Polaris

They toured Victoria’s Inner Harbour before heading back to Government House to change for this afternoon’s departure.Kensington Palace

Now to what Kate wore. She was in a creamy white jacket by Zara, discovered by SueBStyle on Twitter and Clare on the WKW Facebook page.©Stephen Lock, i-Images/ Zara

The jacket has two slanted front flap pockets, a welt pocket at the chest, a single button closure, triple buttons at the cuff, and a center-back vent.

Poshmark

Poshmark

It is made of a textured poly/rayon blend with a touch of Elastane. This offers a good view of the nubby fabric.  The jacket is a 2015 style that originally retailed for $129 / €69.©i-Images/Polaris

UPDATE OCT 4: It turns out the jacket has been offered more than one season. Kylie, also known as The Lady Wallace and an amazing repliKater, bought an almost identical jacket at Zara yesterday. Kylie says the cut, color and fabric are the same as Kate’s, but she noted her jacket is not lined, as Kate’s is.

The Lady Wallace Instagram

The Lady Wallace Instagram @TheLadyWallace

There are some similarities/differences in the buttons, and even the thread used to stitch the buttonholes! We made a little montage shown just below. From left to right you see the buttons on the cuff in Zara’s product photos, the original eBay auction buttons, Kylie’s buttons, Kate’s buttons and Kate’s buttons.

Zara/eBay/Kylie-The Lady Wallace/Polaris/Polaris

Zara/eBay/Kylie-The Lady Wallace/Polaris/Polaris

Observations:

  1. The buttons on the jacket Kate wore match the buttons on the jacket in the eBay auction, but they are different from the buttons on Kylie’s new jacket.
  2. The buttons came in two colors, a silvertone, and a goldtone.
  3. Kylie’s jacket and Kate’s jacket both have the center buttonhole stitched in grey thread.
  4. The Zara product photo and eBay photos do not have any grey thread, but both do have the top buttonhole stitched in black.

There is another difference. Kylie’s jacket has lining/padding on the underside of the collar, and it looks like Kate’s might as well, while the 2105 jacket does not.

Conclusion: This appears to be an item that Zara has manufactured for more than one season; my guess is that Kate’s jacket goes back to 2015, but it’s possible she has the new season piece being sold in Australia. Since her jacket has elements that match the 2015 jacket as well as Kylie’s new version I’m not sure we’ll ever know which it is unless she wears it again and somehow we can see if it’s lined or not. The different thread colors are a mystery unless Zara uses the different thread colors to mark specific seasons.

If you’re hoping to repliKate, I would do what Kylie did and buy the jacket at your local Zara, if/when they have it. Kylie’s in Australia and she says sometimes they will get new season merchandise a little ahead of other countries. Bottom line, she says they look the same – the cut, color, and fabric – so it’s possible the item has been reissued, although we won’t know if that’s the case in Europe or N. America for some time. BTW, Kylie reports her jacket was $139 AUD, at today’s exchange rates that’s roughly $105 USD. A big ‘thank you’ to Kylie for help with all this info, and sharing of her photos. And Kylie is always helpful when people have questions on her Instagram photos, here is a link to her Instagram page (I know the discussion of buttonhole thread colors is tedious, but accuracy is important and I would rather have too much information on the site than not enough, especially for those who are interested in locating and purchasing a product.)

Kate wore the Troy London parka first noted yesterday when out fishing in Haida Gwaii. This link takes you to the navy version of the parka (on sale), as we do not have a photo of the khaki color Kate has worn.

The Palace said Kate is wearing Zara trousers, but we’ve not yet identified them.

The Duchess opted for a new pair of shoes by J. Crew, another great block heel style.  It is Crew’s Avery, a point toe design in a cotton tweed fabric with shades of brown, red and blue. The stacked heel is 2″ in height and the shoe has a manmade sole. It retails for $278, and is still available in several sizes, but is (of course) selling at a speedy clip.J Crew/Polaris/J Crew

The Duchess changed into a pair of sneakers before sailing, opting for the Superga 2750 Cotu Classic in white canvas.Superga/Polaris

It is one of Superga’s signature styles, with a canvas upper and natural rubber sole. Bloomingdale’s has the shoe in most sizes ($65); Shopbop also has it in most sizes, ($65), along with Zappos, where it seems in plentiful supply ($65), and Nordstrom has it discounted by 25%, making the price $48.71.

Kate brought back the Asprey Woodland Charms necklace, a piece we haven’t seen for several months.i-Images/Asprey

She also wore her Annoushka Pearl Drops and Kiki McDonough Diamond Hoops.

Annoushka, Kiki McDonough, i-Images/Polaris

This is our preliminary pass at the post, it will be updated with new photos shortly. A quick reminder: Kate, William, Charlotte, and George are due at the Victoria Harbour seaplane terminal at 3:40pm PDT, which is 6:40pm EDT. 

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TravelingBlush

Tuesday 11th of October 2016

J Crew has a smashing collection of shoes this fall! I really this this one, would pair well with her many single-color frocks, so hopefully will see this often.

Anne

Friday 7th of October 2016

Love the J. Crew shoes! They were such a cute surprise. Kate's hair looked perfect in the low ponytail and the skinny pants worked well here, I thought-- possibly because they were very dark.

Kate Middleton's Jewelry

Thursday 6th of October 2016

I'm a steadfast fan of Kate's casual style, and this look doesn't disappoint me either. I'm pleased to see her wear those cute shoes! I never thought she would pull her feet out of her basic pumps.

Sophie

Wednesday 5th of October 2016

Dear Susan, Thanks for the update on Kate's Zara blazer and all the great articles and fun you provide in my life... Really... I along with another WKW reader on the FB page pointed the differences out on the very day you published the article. We noticed the buttons were silver and also I pointed that the extra stitching on one of the sleeve's button hole was not the same on the paisley-lined version as the one the Duchess wore... My theory is that Zara has different batches (hope it's proper English) in its production, hence the différence in the buttons. Also, you can clearly see that there is an extra padding underneath her collar and I would be curious to know if Kylie's collar is also lined. You very accurately pointed out that her blazer was lined (you can clearly see a white lining on stock pics as is the paisley one) My second guess is in accordance with yours ...Zara reissued this blazer many times in its Spring Summer collections along with a grey one (I'm a big fan of Zara lol!) so when does hers get back to? Still a mystery... But it is what makes this page so exciting!! Kindest regards, Sophie (France) xx

admin

Wednesday 5th of October 2016

Hi Sophie, and thanks so much for the input! I feel *dreadful* I missed your comments, I got to a point where I really struggled keeping up with everything on Saturday. (That's not meant as an excuse, not at all.) What you say makes sense, it was so weird looking at all of the closeups and realizing the differences. I just added the collar lining/padding info to the post, I completely forgot that part of the discussion. Kylie's jacket *has* the padding/lining, it looks like Kate's might have it, and the 2015 jacket does not. I didn't realize until talking about this jacket with friends and repliKaters that Zara re-issues so many pieces, that was completely new to me. Thank you for all the help you provide Sophie! :)

Sophie

Wednesday 5th of October 2016

PS- by the way Susan, I have the jacket from EBay so if you need any close pics from the buttons which are indeed different from both Kylie's and Kate's...feel free to ask... Last, I remember ordering a navy jacket which was supposed to come with gold buttons on the website and which were indeed matte grey when it arrived... On a fun note, I also wondered if Kate doesn't sometimes try to trick us... The buttons might have been changed and the stitching added (hers is thicker than on Kylie's jacket )

Sarah

Tuesday 4th of October 2016

Hi! Do you know where the jacket she wore this day is from - the beige jacket with front pockets that she wore with white sneakers and black skinny jeans?

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