More Dates for Kate’s Calendar, Product Updates & One Sale Item You’ll Want to Know About

We are back with updates to Kate’s Calendar as well as several retail notes.

• Thursday, February 12: In her role as Patron of the 1851 Trust the Duchess visits the town of Portsmouth. She will visit the Trust’s new headquarters located at Ben Ainslie Racing, meet students who created a giant mural at the headquarters and add her own touch to the artwork.

• Wednesday, February 18: Kate visits the Emma Bridgewater factory in Staffordshire and watches mugs being made; sale proceeds from the mugs benefit the EACH Nook Appeal, a fundraising campaign for a new children’s hospice in Norfolk. The Duchess will meet children from the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice.  Kate’s second engagement today is at Cape Hill Children’s Centre, a project of the Action for Children charity, a group supporting the “…most vulnerable and neglected children and young people throughout the UK…”.

More about the Emma Bridgewater pottery unveiled at last November’s EACH luncheon, the reason Kate is visiting the Bridgewater factory. Below you see the Duchess with Ms. Bridgewater at that November event.

There was a spot of confusion for some regarding the tableware and its use for the EACH Nook campaign. Because the entire line of pottery showcasing two new Bridgewater patterns, “Ladybirds” and “Insects and Flowers,” was shown during the Nook Appeal luncheon, a few thought all pieces in both new designs were part of the fundraising effort. That is not the case, the event organizers merely wanted guests to see the full line of items being made in the new patterns.

It turns out that 2 mugs from the new patterns are part of the fundraiser, one in the Ladybirds design and the other in the Insects and Flowers pattern.

There is also a Ladybirds Baby Mug that will be sold as part of the campaign; £5 from the sale of all three items will go to the Nook Appeal. Items may be pre-ordered starting February 18, sales online and in-store start March 2nd. Here is how the things being offered are described on the EACH website:

The prices are as follows: Ladybirds ½ Pint Mug £19.95 with a £5 donation, Ladybirds and Insects & Flowers boxed pair £39.95 with a £10 donation, Ladybirds Baby Mug £15.95 with a £5 donation.

You can also sign up for the Emma Bridgewater mailing list here. I expect these will be very popular items; if planning to purchase any, pre-ordering may be wise. (Hopefully this lead time before Kate’s visit will allow the Emma Bridgewater internet pooh-bahs to reserve extra server space should the Kate effect strike, lol.)

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Next, word about what Kate wore on Mustique one day during vacation, for those few who may not have yet seen the information. As could be expected, photos have been published in a US newspaper of the extended Middleton family on vacation. The Duchess was wearing a local brand, Lotty B.

Owned by English-born Mustique resident and designer Lotty Bunbury, the label showcases Ms. Bunbury’s designs in caftans, dresses, sarongs and other pieces. Kate’s dress is 100% silk crepe-de-chine; it features a mandarin collar, three-quarter sleeves, and a button front. Originally offered at £302, but most recently selling at £108, the dress is now sold out. However, there are loads of other colorful pieces designed by Ms. Bunbury still available at the island’s Pink House Boutique. The brand is also carried at Selfridges, as well as other boutiques around the world. There is a list of retailers carrying Lotty B viewable here.  This is not the first time the Duchess has worn Lotty B.; WKW Facebook friend Trisha Snyder pointed out in this post that Kate wore Lotty B in 2006 when vacationing on Ibiza.

Kate accessorized with a panama hat and her ‘I am not a plastic bag’ tote, the bag that was a partnership between Anya Hindmarch and Sainsbury’s supermarkets (Whole Foods carried the bags in the US).

A special tip of the tiara to Ashley Marie for her quick identification of Kate’s dress and bag.

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Next, an update on the Kenneth Jay Lane earrings Kate wore with her Beulah London ‘Amara’ dress during the New York visit. Readers may remember this was Kate’s attire for a private reception and dinner hosted by the American Friends of the Royal Foundation.

The earrings are now available for purchase at the CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane website.  They have been renamed the Duchess Clover Earrings and they are priced at $175.

Also today, the Jenny Packham/Laura Mercier clutch is available again. This is the bag that is such a great ‘copyKate’ of the bespoke Jenny Packham bag Kate carried with her teal Jenny Packham gown at the 2012 Greatest Team Rising dinner. And it’s really better than a ‘repliKate,’ the product description explains why: “we are happy to be able to offer you the clutch in the same shape and identical silk satin…”, I can’t think of any Kate product replicas made from the actual fabric used in the Duchess’s original garment/accessory.

The bag is $95 and 100% of sales of benefit the Laura Mercier Ovarian Cancer Fund. Here you see the bag with the matching dress. (Yes, I’m seizing the moment to showcase this gorgeous gown again!)

We move now to an outstanding Sales and Savings Opportunity, this one about Kate’s Aquatalia Rhumba boots.

Nordstrom is offering the always-popular boot at 35% off its regular selling price of $725, it is now priced at $449.90  There seems to be an excellent selection of sizes as of this writing, the primary reason we referenced the Rhumba sale in the post title. BTW, shipping is free for the boots.

Next, Kate’s ME + EM Breton-stripe top appears to be restocked in all sizes on the ME + EM site. Below you see the Duchess wearing the piece during a yacht race in Auckland on last year’s royal tour.

For those interested in the retail trade, there is an interesting ME + EM profile in the Evening Standard, including coverage on how Kate’s wearing their top has impacted the business.

One more quick retail note: LK Bennett plans to open another US store. More from Women’s Wear Daily:

L.K. Bennett is taking Manhattan — again — with a store set to open at 59-60 Madison Avenue at the end of March. The unit, which spans about 2,000 square feet, will be in the former Brian Atwood space, across the street from Barneys New York.

The WWD story also references a collaboration between American actress and model Laura Bailey. More from LK Bennett:

The colour palette is taken directly from the beach, with ocean blue and sandy yellow in bold zig-zags and stripes alongside nautical tones of navy and red, punctuated with linen white. The limited edition collection…features a statement block heeled sandal, pointed crossover strap flat, ankle-strap kitten heel, playful summer flat and a sharper pointed stiletto”.

That collection launches on March 25th.