A New Designer for the Duchess as Prince George Has a Playdate UPDATED

For today’s event showcasing New Zealand’s successful well-baby program Kate chose a somewhat unexpected designer.

This afternoon the two Princes and the Duchess returned from private quarters where they stayed Monday & Tuesday evening, to spend the afternoon with other parents of babies about George’s age, 8 months. The function was a playdate for the young ones, but also an opportunity for William and Kate to learn about the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society, simply called Plunket by most.

The organization describes itself this way:

We are New Zealand’s largest provider of support services for the development, health and wellbeing of children under 5. Plunket works together with families and communities, to ensure the best start for every child. Whānau āwhina – caring for families.

A group of parents and ten children roughly George’s age were selected to meet William and Kate while their children played with George; we show them below.

More than 90% of babies born in New Zealand are helped by the organization, in areas from education and childcare advice, to in-home visits from Plunket personnel. More about the families selected for the playdate from the Daily Mail:

Tristine Clark, New Zealand president of Plunket, said: ‘The parents are a spread of all the communities in New Zealand, including Maoris, Samoans, people of Chinese descent and gay couples. This is a very multi-cultural country and we wanted the Duke and Duchess to meet people from all backgrounds.’

The afternoon function gave William and Kate the chance to hear from parents how the program has helped them, and also speak with nurses and other staff about services offered through Plunket.

Richard Palmer’s story in The Express shared Prince William’s reaction to seeing so many little ones all playing together.

“It’s madness, there are babies everywhere!” he exclaimed.  He was soon telling another parent that he likes to help Kate out by giving George his night time bottle.

As William, 31, and Kate, 32, compared notes with other parents, it emerged that George, who has two bottom row front teeth, has another four or five coming through.

George was given his very own Well Child book as an honorary Plunket baby.

He appears somewhat nonplussed by his Plunket bear.

Toys on the floor and other playmates may have been more enticing than the big bear.

Kate wore the ‘Paulina’ dress by Tory Burch, from the Resort 2014 Collection.

It worked well for today’s function.

The dress is a cotton blend in a knit material described as being mid-weight and stretchy, clearly a plus when one expects to be on the floor corralling a rambunctious baby. We show it at Farfetch, where it is called the Perforated Stripe Knit Dress, selling at $556.

The garment has a fitted silhouette with front pleats, a banded waist, hidden zipper and fringe detailing at the sleeve and hem.

It may be difficult to see in the photos, but the white fabric is an open-weave knit, while the black material is solid.

I say ‘surprising designer’ because we’ve not seen the Duchess in Tory Burch before; it is a good label for Kate. Seeing her wear something by this designer was a pleasant surprise for those Kate fashion followers who have thought Tory Burch a label well-suited for the Duchess. Today’s style is what I would call “very Kate,” incorporating elements the Duchess appreciates in a dress: a slim fit with a fuller skirt, a geometric print in black and white, and added touches like the banded waist and fringed hems.  The dress is still available in very limited sizing at Net-a-Porter, although that could change by the time I hit “publish” and you see the post. And there was also some stock remaining at the UK Tory Burch site online, it is priced at $390 there.

UPDATED: After yesterday’s screed suggesting a cultural reason influenced Kate’s decision to wear red for Monday’s arrival ceremonies, it completely escaped me that today’s black and white might also reflect respect, it is a mainstay color combination.

Kate kept her accessories simple, wearing her Ballon Bleu watch by Cartier  and Annoushka Pearl Drop earrings.

Kate was also wearing black pumps that may have been new, it was difficult to tell from the available photographs. They appeared new to me, but because of the hour, I am going to save that search until later in the day.

UPDATE WEDS. APRIL 9: Wardrobe whiz Michelle at PerthFashion identified the shoes, Kate wore the Jimmy Choo ‘Vikki’ style in black suede. This style has a 4″ heel and small platform, less than 1/4″.

It is $595 at Jimmy Choo, but it appears to be out of stock. The pump is described as “For elegant day time chic, Vikki is the perfect round toe pump with a slim internal platform for added comfort. For elegant day time chic, Vikki is the perfect round toe pump with a slim internal platform for added comfort.” Elsewhere we’ve seen it as having an “almond toe,” a term I had never heard before, but very descriptive.

UPDATED NOV 20, 2014: Eagle-eyed Ashley Marie believes Kate was actually wearing the Jimmy Choo Aimee.

The get-together looked like a lovely time for everyone. But after all of that exertion, one young man seemed quite happy to be back in his mother’s arms.

WHAT GEORGE WORE: There have been so many requests to know what George wore, until we have What Prince George Wore fully up and running this weekend (or sooner, fingers crossed), here is a quick overview of his darling outfit.

The Prince was very fashionable, and spot-on with this year’s nautical trend, wearing the Sailboat Smocked Dungaree in navy & ivory from Rachel Riley, a British luxury brand.  It is 100% cotton with an elasticized waist and adjustable straps on the back. This item sells for £75 in the UK, on the US website it is $129. The company does have a store in the US, in New York. Our thanks to HRH Prince George Pieces for the great information about his darling Dungaree and the Bodysuit.

George’s bodysuit with the Peter Pan collar was the Milo style from the Chelsea Clothing Company, sold at Trotters in the UK. The piece retails at £14.99, about $25 USD. I’m not including a photo of this item because it is almost impossible to see. (I’m thinking everything tastes better when you’re well-dressed, no?)

George wore another pair of Early Days shoes, this time the leather Alex Pre-walker. They are available at Trotters(£24.99), as well as Childrensalon (£27).

As an FYI, the What Prince George Wore Facebook page is fully up to speed, as is our WPGW Twitter account, while the WPGW Pinterest page is about halfway where we would like it to be. But do come and share the fun with us, as precious as the Sailboat ensemble was, can you imagine some of his other outfits?

Our thanks to the Office of the Governor-General, sharing some wonderful images from the event on Flickr.

 

THURSDAY’S ITINERARY: times shown are (left to right) the local time in New Zealand, EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) and PDT (Pacific Daylight Time):

• Travel from Wellington (which is on New Zealand’s North Island), to Blenheim, located on the South Island
• 10.45am / 6:45pm EDT / 3:45pm PDT –  The Duke and Duchess will drive from Woodbourne Royal New Zealand Air Force Base to Seymour Square in Blenheim.
• 11am / 7pm EDT /4pm PDT – Attend wreath-laying ceremony in Blenheim, where Kate and William will also spend time with some of the WWII veterans at the event, along with those serving in more recent conflicts
• 11:30am / 7:30pm EDT / 4:30pm PDT – Public walk through Seymour Square
• 1:15pm / 9:15pm EDT / 6:15pm PDT – Begin visit at Omaka Aviation Heritage Center
  • tour Knights of the Sky exhibit with Sir Peter Jackson, seeing his collection of WWI aircraft and artifacts (many may better know Mr. Jackson as the man behind The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its prequel, The Hobbit Trilogy)
  • weather permitting there may also be a display of classic aircraft
• Evening:  Prince William meets with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition 
• Attend State Reception at Government House hosted by Governor General

LINKAGE:

• Learn more about Plunket by visiting the group’s website here, following them on Facebook here, or following the Plunket Twitter feed here
• watch a TVNZ NewsOne video by clicking here
• the Daily Mail’s story is here, the Mirror’s live blog is here, Victoria Murphy’s story in the Mirror is here and Richard Palmer’s piece in The Express may be read here
• New Zealand’s 3News posted this video story, ITN’s story is here, and the Telegraph’s video story is here
• The New Zealand Governor-General’s Flickr feed is here