For today’s engagement at Blessed Sacrament School Kate wore a dress from Goat Fashion.
The Duchess was at the school to get an update on the progress of the M-PACT (Moving Parents and Children Together) program, designed to help children ages 8-17 who are coping with the effects of parental substance abuse in their home. The young lady on the right gave Kate her flower bouquet.
Simon Perry, People Magazine Instagram
All of the students were eager to see Kate.
From Rebecca English’s story about today’s visit in The Daily Mail:
Kate asked a group of flag waving youngsters why they were so happy. And a little girl, Seyi, six, told her: ‘I said it was because she has come to Blessed Sacrament school. I said I liked her dress.’
And beaming Abigail, seven, said: ‘She looks good in pink.’
The MPACT Plus program is a joint project of Action on Addiction and Place2Be; Kate is royal patron of both organizations. She was on hand last year to officially launch the MPACT program with John Bishop of Comic Relief. Below, the Duchess and Mr. Bishop at last year’s kickoff.
And here is that duo this year, with Mr. Bishop at the podium. Comic Relief explained on its Twitter feed that the comedian had a special request for the media today: “@JohnBishop100 asks the press to focus on the issue & not just the style icon in the room. Or the Duchess.” More from Action on Addiction:
Funded by The Royal Foundation and Comic Relief, the project, which involves training school staff to identify children affected by addiction, and bringing families together for an eight week pilot intervention, is delivered in schools by us and our partners, charity Place2Be who already work across 210 schools
Clarence House
The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English has more on today’s meetings in her story:
Inside the school, the Duchess sat in on a steering group comprised of head teachers and charity workers involved in rolling out the M-PACT Plus scheme.
Kate, who had her hair half swept from her face, listened intently as she was updated about its success so far and was clearly interested as she asked several pertinent questions about its workings.
‘Were the parents quite surprised by the things their children were saying?’ she asked.
Nodding intently, she continued: ‘Have you found it difficult to attract parents given the stigma that can be associated with these issues?’
As Kate was leaving the school today she was presented with a gift by a student named Rosie Nee. It is an abstract portrait of the Duchess with her son, Prince George. To see all of the photos from today’s visit Place2Be shared on its Facebook page, click here.
It is widely believed this is the dress worn during the May visit to Scotland, beneath Kate’s Jonathan Saunders ‘Athena’ coat, shown below left. Many readers will remember this isn’t the first time the Duchess has worn Goat; below right you see her in the brand’s Redgrave coat during an engagement last March. (If interested, our post on that event is here.)
BOTH PHOTOS BY James Whatling/Splash News
Kate is wearing Goat’s ‘Scarlett pleat front dress’ today, in ‘geranium,’ one of Goat’s strongest colors for the spring 2014 collections. The Italian wool-crepe dress features a round neck, half sleeves, an optional belt, diagonal pleats/darts at the front waist area, a hidden back zipper and back slit.
This offers a better look at the waistline detailing.
James Whatling – Splash News/Goat Fashion
The Scarlett is a signature design for Goat, it is available in other colors, including a ‘charcoal-teal’ color at Matches Fashion ($680), as well as basic black, also at Matches (on sale for $480). I’ve not put together photos of the two and posted them because I really can’t discern any color difference between the two on my desktop, nor on the ipad, it seems a bit of a futile endeavor.
For jewelry, Kate wore her Cartier ballon bleu wristwatch. She also had on a somewhat surprising pair of earrings, her Links of London Bubble Effervescence earrings. We’ve not seen the Duchess wear these for at least two years by my records.
The Duchess carried her LK Bennett Natalie clutch.
She also wore her Jimmy Choo Gilbert heels.
There seems to be a good size selection for this style at Jimmy Choo online, where the pair is $575. Net-a-Porter continues to have a very good selection of sizes ($575), as does Neiman Marcus ($595) and Bergdorf Goodman ($595).
We’ll leave our coverage of this morning’s event by sharing a brief video of Kate arriving from Simon Perry of People magazine.
Simon Perry, People Magazine Instagram
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As it turns out, Kate and William were at a function yesterday that related to today’s activities, they attended the annual Place2Be conference in London. More from this story:
Kate… and the Duke were said to be keen to widen their knowledge of child mental health issues, specifically regarding the transition years between primary and secondary education, as well as the importance of early intervention in schools.
The Duchess wore another Tory Burch piece, the brand’s Chrissy dress.
To see all of the photos of Kate leaving yesterday’s Place2Be conference, click here.
- There are still items available in the same print, ‘Madura Ocean Mist’: from left to right we show the Brigitte Shirt Dress ($295 at Saks, limited sizes available), the Tory Tunic (no longer available), the Madura Short Caftan ($210, on sale from original price of $350), and on the far right, the Madura Silk Scarf (now selling at $77.50, reduced from $150).
LINKAGE:
- Place2Be’s website is here, the organization’s Facebook page can be see here, a photo album with images from today’s event can be seen here
- Kate is also Patron of Action on Addiction, its website is here, its Facebook page is here, and the dedicated info on the M-PACT Project may be seen by clicking here
- You can learn more about Comic Relief at its website here, the group’s Facebook page is here, its Google+ page is located here
- The Daily Mail’s photo-laden story from Rebecca English is here, the Daily Express story about today’s events may be read here, Simon Perry’s People magazine story is here, the Daily Mirror’s live blog and photo gallery can be seen here , the Daily Standard’s article is here
- ITN”s story can be found at its Royals page, look for the title “Duchess of Cambridge Visits School, Islington” the story is 5 minutes long
- Comic Relief has posted a story you can watch by clicking here
Elizabeth G from Tennessee
Tuesday 8th of July 2014
The Goat dress color is very pretty and it's nice to see a new color on Catherine. I actually thought this dress was red until it was pointed out that it actually is a pink hue. I think the cut is very nice, but the bust part would look all wrong on me! I have a hard time with belted dresses too as I have a very short waist! I think the belted dresses can be very tricky for those of us that have either long torsos (such as Catherine) or short ones like myself! I still think she looks good in the dress though :) I love, love, love the Tory Burch dress. The pattern is so pretty and I can see where a lot of people find it too busy, but for some reason it doesn't look that way to me, and I often find that print to be just that! This is a great cause she is working with. I have worked with children of all ages with special needs for years now, whether it be mental health issues, physical disabilities, etc. I think this program will likely be very successful working with children early on that have one or both parents with substance abuse issues. God bless them for bringing attention to these issues.
YankLynn
Saturday 5th of July 2014
I agree with your comment about her hair. I winced seeing the one shot taken across the table from her. And I'm not talking about how any of us might look in harsh flash lighting, but the long limp curls hanging over her shoulders and the wan look that maybe was exagerrated by the pull of her hair hanging so limp. I wonder why you have personal hairdressers if you don't get some gentle advice on things like this.
M.N.M
Friday 4th of July 2014
Love the abstract mother-and-child portrait by student, Rosie Nee. If I were Kate, I'd buy that and keep it for my own.
Fashiophile
Wednesday 2nd of July 2014
The Goat dress is a safe and popular cut and suits the duchess but not one of her best looks. Don't like her hair - wonder if her hairdresser did that or did she do it herself. The Tory Burch dress is such a busy dress - not worth its price and few if any would look great in it. It's such a beachy print. I don't like to jump on the pregnancy bandwagon but I wonder if the Duchess is pregnant. In these photos she does not look particularly well even though she still has her million dollar smile.
Minda
Wednesday 2nd of July 2014
The main issue with the hair is really that it falls over her ears. Just pulling that small section back, too, would have made the whole style less childish- and, therefore, kind of aging. It is a case of one tiny detail throwing off the whole look. She does also look tired. So I can't help but wonder if she had a late night with the baby, or maybe another baby-related reason. :)
I am not sure about the color of the dress, on her. It's one of my best colors, so I actually love it, but I am not sure it works right up against her face. It could be the lighting or just that she looks tired in general? it's hard to tell. But, that said, I love the dress. The style of it is flattering and classic.
This all sounds so negative. I actually think she looks rather nice, just not one of her best days. And I kind of love her more for having one.