Who Will Kate Wear in Canada?

With less than 24 hours until Kate and William’s arrival in Canada, we thought it time to update the possibilities of what we might see the Duchess wearing during the Royal Tour.

One possibility: Kate might wear the Queen’s Maple Leaf brooch, seen during her visit to Canada last year with the Duke of Edinburgh.

Some may recall that visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip coincided with Canada Day, just as Kate and William’s trip will, Canada Day is Friday. (Our thanks to a kind commenter for the brooch tip, shared following our previous post on this topic .)

As far as the clothing Kate may wear, we share outstanding insight from a recent story by The Canadian Press. Writer Lauren La Rose spoke with Barbara Atkin of Canadian luxury retailer Holt Renfrew. Ms. Atkin offers a few tips on what to look for:

• “She’s going to have a wardrobe of wonderful shirts (that) she’s going to wear casually or elegantly tucked with a jacket.”
• “Kate will also need luncheon-type looks like a printed or coloured dress paired with a cardigan along with more high-fashion attire for gala events, Atkin noted. And expect to see a topper or two, with Kate sporting a fascinator or wide-brimmed hat to round out her look.”
• “Atkin anticipates the duchess will opt for a variety of jackets and some of her go-to style staples like jeans and comfortable wedge shoes for her more casual outfits during the visit.”

The Canadian Press story also featured input from Sarah Casselman, a senior editor at Canada’s Fashion Magazine. Among Ms. Casselman’s ideas:

• “Kate typically goes for “power pigments” like brick red and bright blue, and that she has always been consistent with her style.”
• “Casselman hopes to see Kate go patriotic in red and white for Canada Day on Parliament Hill.”
• ” In terms of a homegrown designer she feels would complement Kate’s style, Casselman suggests longtime womenswear designer Lida Baday.”

Below, two looks from Lida Baday.

Lida Baday via Lyndon’s

Back to Ms. La Rose’s story:

“Both Atkin and Casselman think jackets from Canadian design duo Smythe would also be a good fit.

“(They) have those fantastic, fitted blazers, and tweed herringbone pieces” again, perfect for that horse and hound set,” Casselman said. “You could just see her strolling on the weekend with her Starbucks wearing skinny jeans and one of Smythe’s jackets with the elbow patches on them.”

Below, a look at two jackets from Smythe, each with its own quirky style.

Revolve Clothing

Here is a highly styled Smythe Blouse in cotton; on the surface it may seem too frou-frou for Kate, but we could actually see her trying something like this if she were feeling at all like experimenting. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Whistles blouse worn for one of the formal engagement photos.

Via Revolve Clothing

It’s not a look we think would be Kate’s best style statement, but we *can* envision the Duchess trying something along these lines.

Then there is a Canadian line we have mentioned previously in this space, Pink Tartan.  Below, two different styles from the spring collection.

Pink Tartan via Saks Fifth Avenue

Others have expressed hope the Duchess will try something by Montreal-born Erdem, now based in the UK.

Erdem

Those are merely a few of the possibilities, obviously, the speculation could go on for hours. But we’ll leave it for now with a promise to be back tomorrow with a look at just what (and whom) Kate wears.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Yours truly was also featured in the wonderful story by Lauren La Rose. We feel the two experts showcased here are much better at predicting more specifically what Kate may wear, thus our decision to focus on them. Besides, you hear from me all the time!