Kate Mixes a Moloh Coat with Older Pieces for 2014 Christmas Day Services (Updated with coat & scarf ID)

Hello, and greetings to all celebrating the holiday! We pop in for our annual post sharing what Kate wore for Christmas services at Saint Mary Magdalene this morning.

Victoria Murphy of The Daily Mirror shared this photo on Twitter of the royals on the Sandringham grounds as they walked to church, you can just see the Duke and Duchess holding hands in the middle of the picture.

Here you see HM after the service concluded, resplendent in a matching coat and hat by Angela Kelly.

Sky News tweeted a video of the royals leaving church and greeting well-wishers.

William speaking with those waiting to see the Royal family following church services.

For those wondering where Prince George was, The Sun’s Emily Andrews shared this on Twitter:

And this from Victoria Murphy of The Daily Mirror:

What did William and Kate expect to find when they returned to their new home at Anmer Hall? From Victoria Murphy’s story in The Daily Mirror:

William told well-wishers it was a bit cold for George but they had left him in his nursery and were looking forward to seeing what “destruction” he had created when they got home.

Now to what Kate wore. The Duchess was in a coat we’ve not seen previously.

The coat is double-breasted, tapering from wider embellishment to a narrower positioning of the buttons. It also features an oversized stand collar with small lapels, epaulets at the shoulder and cuff, and slanted flap pockets.

While the natural inclination is to presume this is a Katherine Hooker piece, I don’t believe that is the case. The coat uses shiny metallic buttons; traditionally, Hooker pieces have horn buttons. The nubby fabric looks like a Harris Tweed from Scotland. This material isn’t shown anywhere on the Katherine Hooker site. And while many styles from the brand are authentic Harris Tweed, I just don’t recall seeing a garment from the company in this sort of fabric, Katherine Hooker pieces generally have a softer, flatter texture.

By no means does it mean this can’t be a Katherine Hooker piece, the coat does have many of that label’s signature elements, including lined flaps for the pockets and what could be a matching scarf, although the flap lining appears to have more red than the scarf does.

It does bear minimal resemblance to the Catherine Walker Russian Great Coat, a style Kate has worn before, but I do not think it is by this brand either.

The buttons are likely the key to identifying the piece. We’ll keep looking for the coat, but at this point we’re dashing out the door for Christmas commitments.

UPDATED: We have a comment from Dorothy suggesting the coat is by Moloh, the brand’s ‘Turpin’ style from 2013. It certainly looks like this is the coat; the only distinction is that the coat seen below is ankle-length, while Kate’s is not. It’s entirely possible Kate purchased the piece and had it shortened, it wouldn’t be the first time the Duchess has dramatically altered the length of a coat.

Having returned home and being able to look at photos on the desktop (as opposed to the iPhone or iPad), it seems clear Kate is wearing Moloh’s Turpin coat.  The piece was featured in the February 2013 Belgravia Residents’ Journal, along with Moloh’s Downton House Coat.

This isn’t the first time Kate has worn Moloh. Below you see her in the brand’s ‘Workers’ coat, worn when visiting Glasgow in April 2013.

Looking at high-resolution images of Kate’s cuffs, one can see the fabric of her Animal Print shirtdress from Hobbs; the dress was first noted when the Duke and Duchess visited Wales in November.

The dress is shown as still being available at Hobbs at a greatly reduced priced: it is £75, discounted from £169. It is also still being offered at John Lewis in larger sizes, where it is also on sale £75.

Many readers will recognize Kate’s hat.

It is the ‘Betty Boop’ from Lock and Company. Below you see Kate wearing it for a wedding in Switzerland, and also in 2012 when visiting the Irish Guards on St. Patrick’s Day.

UPDATE DEC 29: Kate’s scarf is by Really Wild Clothing, the brand’s Silk Scarf in Autumnal Partridge.

The scarf measures 90 cm x 90 cm, about 36″ square.

A tip of the tiara to Betty Wales on the WKW Facebook page for letting us know that Really Wild had posted about the scarf.

The Duchess wore her ‘Valerie’ heels by Emmy Shoes.

Kate was wearing her Cornelia James ‘Imogen’ gloves.

She also wore her Catherine Zoraida Double Leaf earrings.

Another look.

We take a quick look back at other ensembles, for Christmas Day last year Kate wore the Black Watch coat by Alexander McQueen (below left), and the as-yet-to-be-unidentified (aka UFO, Unidentified Fashion Object) coat on the right.

In 2012 Kate and William attended services with the Middleton family.

Some will recall that on Christmas Day 2011 the Duchess wore the ‘Angel’ Fit & Flare coat by Reiss, and an aubergine coat made by an ‘independent dressmaker’.

We hope everyone who is celebrating today has a very Merry Christmas!

LINKAGE:

• Victoria Murphy’s story in The Daily Mirror is here, the Daily Mail’s story is here
• The Queen’s annual Christmas message may be seen here