Kate Update, UFO’s Identitified, WKW Meetup & More

We are back with a few updates to share, including tidbits that didn’t make it into previous posts because of timing (during the Tour) or space constraints.

The most important update involves Kate, she continues to struggle with HG (Hyperemesis Gravidarum) to an extent that prompted William to cancel his plans for attending the British Military Tournament today. More from the Telegraph:

But at lunchtime on Sunday, St James’s Palace announced that the Duke would be spending Sunday privately with the Duchess instead of going to Earls Court.”

Last night the Prince did attend the Winter Whites Gala, a fundraiser for Centrepoint. Below we see Prince William and others at center court, Novak Djokovic was being presented with an award for his work with UNICEF. (A number of tennis matches are played at the Gala.)

This was William’s first formal engagement since news of Kate’s pregnancy and illness was revealed last week, from the Telegraph:

He looked relaxed as he spoke to fellow guests, including Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe, many of whom congratulated him on the news of the Duchess’s pregnancy.

The Duke said that his wife was beginning to feel better after suffering from acute morning sickness, which saw her admitted to hospital for three nights.

Speaking to Michael O’Higgins, the former chairman of Centrepoint, he joked: ‘I don’t know why they call it morning sickness, they should call it all day and all night sickness. It’s a long process but she is getting there. She feels like it is going to go on forever.’

It appears this could be a very long haul indeed for the couple, many WKW friends on Facebook who have coped with the disease report they struggled with symptoms for several months. Some had to endure the symptoms throughout their entire pregnancy. A refresher on HG from the HER Foundation (Hyperemesis Education and Research):

HG is a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease marked by rapid weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration due to unrelenting nausea and/or vomiting with potential adverse consequences for the newborn(s).

A note about Palace updates over the long haul: there won’t be many, if any.  Back to the Telegraph story:

A St James’s Palace spokesman said: It is well known that hyperemesis gravidarum often recurs and, until further notice, to allow the Duchess a degree of privacy during her pregnancy, we do not intend to offer regular condition checks or advise of routine developments associated with it.

Kate’s next scheduled appearance is at Wednesday’s premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I can’t imagine she will be well enough to attend. I know everyone sends continued best wishes and good thoughts to the couple.

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As mentioned, we do have a few style-related tidbits to share, we’ll start with the gloves worn by Kate on Remembrance Sunday. It turns out those are not by Black, as we were previously advised, they are actually by Cornelia James. The Duchess was wearing the Cornelia James Pure Wool Glove with Side Bow.  The photo below includes another color on the right to better show the bow detail, the detail making these such a lovely accessory.

The gloves come in a wide range of colors, and are priced at £52, roughly $80 at today’s exchange rate.  The company tells me they are crafted from wool that is made at a mill in Yorkshire, then made into gloves at the Cornelia James atelier in Sussex.

Kate wearing gloves by Cornelia James makes perfect sense, the company has held a Royal Warrant since 1979. More from the firm’s website:

We are glove manufacturers by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen. Our association with the Queen goes back to 1947 when Norman Hartnell, who had been asked to make the young Princess going away outfit following her marriage to Prince Philip, asked Cornelia to make the gloves that she would wear.

The Queen has a style which is beyond fashion. An abiding memory of a Royal visit is the gloved hand waving at the window of the great black car and we are proud to have provided the glove on so many occasions. God Bless Her Majesty!

We have updated our original post with corrected information, but wanted to pass along the particulars here as well to ensure everyone is aware of the proper provenance on the gloves.

The original misidentification on Black’s part may well have happened because Cornelia James actually manufactures two styles of the glove, the wool Kate wore and a satin version that Black sells. It is difficult to tell from the photos available to us they were satin, although Cornelia James points out it is highly unlikely Kate would wear satin in the daytime, a material appropriate for evening occasions.

Cornelia James makes a variety of lovely accessories, including Tartan Silk Scarves. I am sharing these because so many enjoyed Kate’s Black Watch coat, below we see the Black Watch and Dress Stewart patterns in 100% silk.

There are also some lovely pashmina pieces the company offers in a beautiful range of colors, very snuggly this time of year.

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Another update comes via Emmy, this one is about that oft-carried brown suede clutch, seen most recently William and Kate visited Cambridge.

We knew the piece was by Emmy but wanted to pass along the formal style name, it is ‘Natasha’.

Good news about Emmy (a brand Kate wears frequently), the company will be unveiling a new website soon offering e-commerce on all of its merchandise.

One more item about that trip to Cambridge, it turns out Kate’s dress has been identified, it was also by MaxMara.  A WKW Facebook friend discovered the piece in a feature by the Telegraph on looks that are “Night Time Knockouts“. The dress is shown at £615 in the Telegraph article, you can see the fabric is the same print and weight when compared to these two photos showing what Kate wore.

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Because so many are traveling this time of year I wanted to quickly share a word for anyone in, or headed to, the greater Boston area. The Mario Testino show is still underway at the MFA, the British Royal Portraits exhibit runs through June.

WKW friend Jenna highly recommends this one, but also wanted to point out there is a second show at the MFA featuring Mr. Testino’s work, “In Your Face“.

Testino’s first US exhibition represents the brilliant range and quality of his thirty-year career and includes striking, larger-than-life images of international superstars such as models Kate Moss, Stephanie Seymour, and Gisele Bündchen, actors Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, and Gwyneth Paltrow, musicians Mick Jagger, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, and athletes David Beckham and New England’s own Tom Brady.

Jenna tells us admission to both shows is covered by the general Museum ticket price. She attended on a weekend so the Museum was busy, but she felt the lines moved along at a good pace.

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Frequently we enter online giveaways but don’t see anything more after the winner(s) are chosen. We had *so* many enter our Links of London contest that I thought you would enjoy seeing a little follow-up.

Nadia, who won the Effervescence Bubble Earrings and Big Bubble Necklace shared pictures of her prizes on the WKW Facebook page, above we see the distinctive Links packaging, below, her new goodies.

She was even kind enough to model the necklace for everyone.

Thank you Nadia!

A sizable number of entrants commented about the Links Friendship bracelets.  For a limited time, those bracelets are 25% off regular retail prices, use promo code FRIEND25 to receive the discount.

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A very quick tidbit from our pals at Grazia, something we didn’t have time for during Kate & William’s Jubilee Tour, involving the Prabal Gurung dress worn to the State Dinner in Singapore.

Grazia spoke with designer Prabal Gurung to hear his reaction to news the Duchess wore one of his designs.

‘This is the ultimate honour,’ he said. ‘I had been hoping that she would wear one of our dresses but for it to happen while she’s visiting the part of the world I was born in and right in the midst of New York Fashion Week, is an absolute dream come true.’

It is always fun to hear from designers reacting to news Kate wore one of their designs. Grazia’s full story is here.

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Our final note today is a reminder about this week’s What Kate Wore meetup at LK Bennett’s newest US store.

Calling one, calling all Kate fans in Michigan, northern Ohio and Indiana, and Ontario: join us for some fun and fashion! The party gets underway at the company’s new Somerset store at 7pm, there will also be reps from Wolford (you can guess what I’ll be asking about!) and Aveda.

With apologies for the mish-mash of topics, we’ll see you in just a few days!