In a fitting tribute to her host country of the last eight days, Kate chose a deep red Catherine Walker coatdress for the afternoon’s activities in Calgary and departure from the airport.
The couple waving goodbye. 
The Duchess wore the “Marianne” style in lightweight wool with self-covered buttons, three-quarter sleeves and shawl lapels. The color sent a wonderful message to Canadians, a lovely gesture at the end of a long haul for everyone involved. The princess seaming along with the fit and flare style created a substantial amount of volume. Despite the fact it is said to be very lightweight, the effect was of a heavier garment.
I posted this Catherine Walker dress on Twitter before I had a good look at Kate’s dress. Clearly there are significant differences between the two garments.
Via Catherine Walker
The Duchess accessorized with the same brooch she wore on Canada Day,
R. Chiang/Splash News
That glittering diamond Maple Leaf loaned to her by the Queen.
She paired it with the same earrings worn on Canada Day, the studs from Kiki McDonough’s Grace collection. Once again we saw the LK Bennett Sledge2 pumps and coordinating clutch.
Today’s photo-that-has-nothing-to-do-with-Kate’s-wardrobe involves Frances Miller. But before you see today’s picture of Frances you need to see this picture taken 72 years ago.
The Canadian Post
Frances was selected to give that bouquet of flowers to King George and Queen Elizabeth (the mother of the reigning Queen) when they visited Canada in 1939. Unfortunately the train carrying the royals never stopped as expected, Frances was literally left standing at the train station with her bouquet, broken-hearted. Today Frances finally had her chance.
The 81-year-old was able to present flowers to Kate and William as they prepared to leave Canada.
It was a wonderful idea to top off an enormously successful tour.
Now it is on to Los Angeles. If there is a change of wardrobe we’ll be back with another post. Otherwise we’ll see you tomorrow.
Stunning Catherine Dress in red. The most beautiful of the entire trip.
Thanks for this photo blog. It was great to get details on Kate’s wardrobe. One error, though: They did not fly commercial at any time during this trip. The Canadian air force tansported them from London to Ottawa, all over Canada, to Los Angeles, then waited with the plane there until they departed LA for England.
I loved everything she wore. I am from Calgary and got to see Kate and William at the Stampede parade in their Western attire. She looked so beautiful and even dressed down like that looked amazing. I also have just seen what the Toronto Sun published and was very upset. I wrote to the Sun condeming that photo there was no need at all for that low approach. Kate is pure class.
I don’t usually read fashion stuff but have been for the Royal tour. I’d check out several sites and then condense the info to give my mom, who’s blind in one eye and doesn’t see well out of the other, the scoop on what Kate wore. I like your site.
No one seems to mention that Kate wore female designers probably 90 percent of the time on her North American trip. She wore Erdem from Canada, but I think the rest of the clothes designers were women. A nice soft way to support feminists without shouting in your face. Way to go Kate.
Colleen from Canada
This outfit, particularly the coat is pretty much the same one as designed by Catheirne Walker that Lady Gabriella Windsor wore to the Royal Wedding on 29th April, however hers was light blue/green
Her outfit today was wonderful, and so very appropriate for the occasion. Like someone else said, a wonderful end to a wonderful tour. And it has been all the more enjoyable thanks to this blog.
love this coat dress. and the diamond brooch adds some lovely sparkle to take the outfit up another notch.
i wish she’d worn this for canada day.
I love this post!! Great job 🙂 Such a sweet story at the end with Mrs. Miller. That was so precious that they let her meet William & Kate. She finally got to give her flowers — and to an extraordinary royal couple!
You’ve probably already figured this out, but the shoes looked like her Rupert Sanderson Winona at My Theresa ones…
sorry, should clarify — her shoes at the LA arrival
Your blog is absolutely wonderful. I love it. I discovered it yesterday, and I wish I had known about it before now, but now I do.
I am a former TV journalist, too and you do a great job reporting on what Kate wore. I have a blog, and I featured you today because I just had to tell everyone about this website.
Packing Up, Heading Out, But Not Before Checking “What Kate Wore”
http://www.hinessightblog.com/2011/07/packing-up-heading-out-but-not-before.html
What a touching story for Ms. Miller & perfect ending to the Royal tour . . . whoever set their itinerary gets an A+ in my book for style points.
Adore that red on Kate, but think I actually prefer the Catherine Walker you’d previously identified . . . something about those bulky shoulders wears Kate a bit vs. the other way round.
Thank you so much for your site – I love knowing that at the end of a long work day I can enjoy something created just for the sheer joy and beauty of admiring such a lovely and poised young woman.
well said, Danielle.
What a nice gesture for Frances.
I love the red, outgoing outfit, perfect. The arrival in LA outfit is pretty.
OMG the story about the young Frances Miller is the saddest story in the world. The picture of her shaking Wills’ hand is so touching when you know the back story!
Beautiful dress. I had to tear away from the TV and get things done so missed the sendoff ceremony.
Hah! There’s a Calgary lawyer on the supper news right now who’s name is Kate Elizabeth and she is absolutely an identical twin of Kate Elizabeth Cambridge People on the street ask her to pose for pictures with them!
A beautiful coat dress – the color was stunning (is there a color that Kate cannot wear?) and the diamond brooch glittered in its setting. I like the fact that she is doing what many do as they travel – wear some items (in this case shoes, jewelry) multiple times though each occasion the items look fresh.
I also like the fact that she is wearig items that she has worn on previous occasions, I loved the knit ceme and blue dress that she wore on PEI. She looks stylish, modest, comfortable, and appropriate each time. I hope that young women will take a page from her book and see that very short outfits, lots of skin, and weird styles do not need to be worn to attract attention.
Very fitting for her to wear red today. In Canada, we wear red on Fridays to honour our military, and show support to the families waiting at home.
I looked at the website from catherine walker (it’s sad that she died last year and don’t know now that kate is also wearing her clothes) and I also only saw the dress you posted, not kate’s dress.
I like the dress that kate is wearing a lot more.
What a finale! Stunning! And the maple leaf brooch stands out so well against the red. Catherine looks so good with her hair half up and a flared skirt. I prefer that style on her to the straight dresses she’s been wearing.
I love your blog!
A question I have is: does the Duchess wear hose? It seems like no one under the age of 40 does here in the U.S. so I was wondering about HRH.
Thanks!
Hi! I’m not one of the blog writers, but I did recently read a piece on why Kate always wears hose and closed-toed shoes and it’s because of royal protocol – royals are not supposed to show their legs or toes…kind of a bummer, since I’d love to see which sandals she’d pick out. I’m just hoping sheer nylons don’t become a trend in the US because of this!
Here is the article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2011197/Kate-Middleton-How-sparked-American-Tan-revival.html#ixzz1RHYsEWfR
Kate’s hair is AMAZING omg…she’s perfect!