Kate Picks Packham Again for Fundraiser, UPDATED: Earrings Identified

Tonight’s evening gown was something of a departure for Kate, she went with a one-shouldered Jenny Packham gown for a reception and dinner at St. James’s Palace.

The satin chiffon gown in silver was a one-off, made especially for Kate. Our thanks to the one and only MrsRegalEyes, she identified the dress within minutes of seeing it, here is the confirmation from Jenny Packham:

“The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton arrived in at tonight’s dinner wearing a stunning silver chiffon satin asymmetric gown by British designer Jenny Packham.”

Below we show a very similar Jenny Packham dress available at StyleBop, it is $2130.

Shopbop

It looked like Kate brought back her Jimmy Choo Vamp Sandals ($750), and her glittering bracelet is also familiar to many fashion fans.

UPDATED: We did see new earrings from the Duchess, more shining, shimmering diamonds. The earrings clearly have an art deco look and feelit’s possible they are from that era, a gift from the Queen, or possibly the much-discussed-but-never-verified gift from Prince Charles.  We want to thank commenter “French Girl” for leaving this link to the earrings seen below, they were part of a blog post last December featuring estate jewelry pieces that were going to be part of a trunk show. They were described as “Paste & silver art deco drop earrings, Mid-European c. 1930, $775”.

Metier San Francisco Blog 12/2/2010

After posting the photo and information on the WKW FB page we heard from two amazing jewelry experts, Ayvee of Diana’s Jewels and Anna of the My Small Obsessions FB community, we were all thinking this was the actual pair of earrings, but then we heard from another FB member, who said they were actually exclusive to Jenny Packham, by London’s Beaut Jewellery.  I got in touch with the company and today (Saturday) they posted a news release on their Facebook page.

We can confirm that the earrings worn by the Duchess of Cambridge on Thursday are from Beaut’s Vintage Collection. The design worn by the Duchess of Cambridge is part of the collection supplied exclusively to Jenny Packham.

The earrings are silver with 9ct hoops with crystal paste stones and hand set in London.

Beaut is a small concession based in Grays Antique Markets who specialize in bespoke, bridal and vintage style jewellery.

Beaut is managed by Fran Codd, originally from New Zealand, she has previously worked for Cartier and Harrods.

The function was in support of the National Memorial Arboretum Appeal, Prince William is a patron. In fact, the trees used as decor for tonight’s function will be replanted at the Memorial.

NMA Photo via Legion Live

The Arboretum is where the Armed Services Memorial is located. Fundraising efforts were launched back in 2009 to raise £12 million for construction of an outdoor covered pavilion as well as build other facilities.

National Memorial Arboretum Appeal

About £6 million has been raised thus far; click here to learn more about the Memorial or to make a donation.

The Memorial is a cause close to William’s heart, as is another: allowing English, Welsh and Scottish football (soccer in the US) players to wear a poppy on their uniforms this weekend in honor of Remembrance Day.  When the request was first made FIFA, the governing body, said “no”.  After hearing that answer both PM David Cameron and Prince William got involved.

Most will recall both Williams and Kate wearing poppies when visiting Copenhagen last week, they could be seen wearing them in formalwear tonight. By all accounts the Prince was not pleased with FIFA’s refusal to allow players to wear anything in honor of Remembrance Day. More from the Daily Beast:

… enter stage right, amidst a whir of helicopter blades and a blast of dry ice, a livid Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who just happens to be president of the British Football Association. He wrote to FIFA asking for, an exception in this special circumstance.

…William has done something no Englishman has ever done before, taken on the famously intransigent Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and won.

Here is an early look at what players will wear.

England Football Team

A few other tidbits:

1) The stream of designers weighing in on Kate’s style continues to grow, it is a logical question for the media to ask. Vogue UK spoke with Scottish designer Christopher Kane:

“It’s a shame she doesn’t wear more designers,” he said. “I don’t really like the high street getting so much of the credit. I understand that there would be an array because you need to relate to so many people in the market, but she is a princess. If I were a princess, I’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, bring it on.'”

2) The Ministry of Defence announced that Prince William will be deployed for 6 weeks to the Falkland Islands, he will be gone in February and March. The tour of duty is no picnic; more from the Telegraph:

Under luxury items, the Duke is advised to take with him lavatory rolls, tissues, washing powder, toothpaste and his favourite shampoo.

3) Our final item is not in keeping with the more businesslike tone we like to maintain here on Planet Kate, but I can’t resist sharing these, they are just too outrageous to leave out. Behold, the Kate and Pippa dolls from Hero Builders.

Hero Builders

From the Daily Mail’s story:

Sporting manic smiles, blindingly white teeth, perma-tans and ripped bodies these action figures have been created by the U.S. based company Hero Builders which claims to specialise in custom-made toys.