Kate in Hobbs and Jenny Packham for Place2Be Awards at Kensington Palace & An Exclusive Offer for WKW Readers

The Duchess mixed things up this evening for a Place2Be event at Kensington Palace, pairing an off-the-rack top from Hobbs with a designer skirt by Jenny Packham. Below, Kate chatting with guests; on the right, you see Benita Refson, founder and president of Place2Be.

The occasion was the first annual Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Awards, held in the State Apartments at the Palace, not Kate and William’s private home. More from The Telegraph’s story about the evening:

Ms. Refson said the awards were a fitting way to mark Place2Be’s 20th anniversary.

She said: “The Duchess’s support is enormous because of her total belief in the importance of children’s mental health. She has said really this is an important issue and gives a tremendous boost to the children, volunteers, staff and people involved.”

Below you see the Duchess meeting 12-year-old Ashantae Ahmet, a finalist in the Child Champion category.

Kate has been patron of Place2Be since April of 2013. Previous engagements on behalf of the organization include a visit to Willows Primary School in April of last year, as well as attendance at a forum just about a year ago. Place2Be offers mental health support for children in a school-based environment, boosting their social skills and confidence.

From Richard Palmer’s story in the Express also quotes Ms. Refson:

“This is a wonderful, exciting opportunity to honour our young people and schools in such a wonderful setting.  The Duchess’ total and utter belief in what we do and her commitment to children’s mental health is incredible.”

In a foreword to the awards program, Kate noted that Place2Be helps 90,000+ children cope with bullying, parental substance abuse, domestic violence, neglect, and other issues. More on tonight’s event from Place2Be:

The Awards celebrate those often unsung heroes who make a real difference to the life of their school community through their commitment to children’s emotional wellbeing. 

Place2Be posted a darling video shown this evening at Kensington Palace, children from Prestonpans Infant School in East Lothian provided some entertainment singing and dancing.

The Child Champion winner is Bailey Dunne, seen below on the far left in the blue sweater. More about Bailey from the Daily Mail:

The Duchess, who has been Patron of Place2Be since 2013, was scheduled to meet all 20 awards finalists, including Bailey, who has gone from being a quiet boy to one who shows confidence and determination.

His nominator said: ‘Bailey has taught his peers that it is okay to be individual and that you don’t always need to follow the crowd to be successful and popular.’

The other children seen in the photo are finalists for the award. The Telegraph has a video from the awards posted online.

Another look at the Duchess speaking with guests.

Kate wore a top by Hobbs, the ‘Emilia,’ from its Invitation line of occasionwear.

The top is described as “A textured crepe overlay and curve-enhancing cut are stunningly complimented by an embroidered polka dot design and subtle peplum waist detail.” The fabric is all polyester with a touch of elastene for stretch and comfort. It is a past-season garment, likely from the retailer’s a/w 2014 collection. These images, though smaller, give another look at how the peplum drapes when atop another garment. Most recently the piece sold at $120.

In addition to standalone stores, Hobbs is also carried at department stores like House of Fraser and John Lewis in the UK, as well as select Bloomingdale’s in the US.

The Duchess debuted a new piece by Jenny Packham, a full skirt in what appears to be a silk satin weave.

A tip of the tiara to Melissa J. on the WKW Facebook page and HRH Duchess Kate, they suggest the skirt is one of these from Jenny Packham’s a/w 2013collection. I think she is correct.

The Duchess accessorized with an Alexander McQueen belt we have seen before. We show Kate wearing the belt with her LK Bennett Davina jacket for a trip to Leicester in March 2012, as well as on a visit to Newcastle and Stockton in October 2012.

We are still awaiting better photos before identifying the shoes Kate wore, It looks like Kate is wearing her Vikki platform pumps by Jimmy Choo. The intrepid Ashley Marie believes Kate was wearing the Jimmy Choo Aimee, not the Vikki.

The Duchess brought back her Cassandra Goad Temple of Heaven earrings.

They remain available at the jeweler’s website (£1395).

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Next, what we thought was a new ID on the maker of a hat Kate wore several years ago. We’re talking about the aubergine hat the Duchess wore for her first Christmas at Sandringham. In a feature about Kate’s hats this week E! Online attributes the piece to London milliner Rose Cory. Several of us who follow Kate’s fashion were all a-dither learning about a new milliner the Duchess had used, especially for this ensemble, as her hat accessorizes the coat created by an anonymous “independent designer.”

Yours truly actually thought this was a new identification, but it turns out this is not the case. In a January 2012 blog post the Headwear Association refers to the piece this way:

“The hat was designed by Jane Corbett, who was trained by Rose Cory, the Queen Mother’s milliner.

And The Daily Mail described it as being by Ms. Cory in a photo caption accompanying a story that also ran in January of 2012. It appears that your fearless correspondent may have been one of the few unaware of the hat’s origins.  Ms. Cory has a fascinating background. More from the Love Hats blog:

A milliner for over forty years, Rose Cory is one of millinery’s all-time greats and best-kept secrets. A huge proportion of today’s leading milliners have at some point been trained by the iconic Rose Cory and use her as a benchmark by which to judge their own designs.

Ms. Cory continues to teach millinery classes today.

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We have some other news morsels that may be of interest, beginning with word that Nordstrom is making a significant change in its approach to sales. For decades Nordstrom has held sales twice a year. It turns out that is changing, more from a Huffington Post story:

For a certain group of shoppers, there’s nothing quite like a sale at Nordstrom. Alas, those days are over.  Now Nordstrom will put on sales just like all the other stores.

I had wondered about the increased volume of email from touting sales and markdowns, including one arriving int the electronic in-bin.

Now the additional discounting and markdowns make sense. What this will do for the brand longterm is a question mark; obviously most consumers will appreciate the year-round discounting. Nordstrom carries a number of brands and items that Kate wears, we will have to see if that merchandise is included in the sales.

Our other newsbyte involves a profile of Monica Vinader running earlier this week on the Business of Fashion website. Readers may recall that Kate wore a necklace and matching earrings by the company for an event at the Natural History Museum last month.

The profile includes a look at the brand’s expansion plans. Those plans include a move into the US market. More from Hettie Judah’s story:

Next up, Vinader has her sights on the US market: “We’re getting some very good traction both through Net-a-Porter and our own website. That’s going to be one of my focuses for next year, but we really need to have the team to be able to scale up to it.”

Those interested in reading the full profile can find it here.

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Our final note is about an exclusive offer for WKW readers. One of our favorite sponsors, Beulah London, is giving What Kate Wore readers a 10% discount on all of its dresses.

That includes Kate’s Sabitri dress in the powder blue colorway, as well as the new pattern, Navy Bright White Lights, and black.

As well as other beautiful styles like the new off-the-shoulder Moonbeam dress.

To receive the discount use promo code WKWDRESSES at checkout; the offer is good until December 1st.

 

LINKAGE:

• Learn more about Place2Be by visiting its website or Facebook page, the official news release about tonight’s event may be seen here.
• The Daily Mail’s photo-laden story is here, the Daily Express story is here, the Daily Mirror’s story is here and The Telegraph’s is here
• The Daily Mail has a video of the evening posted on its site