Kate returned to some of her older styles for today’s garden party in Northern Ireland.
The function was at Hillsborough Castle, located not far from Belfast. The Castle serves as Northern Ireland’s official royal residence, as well as the Secretary of State’s residence.
Everyone stands to attention as a bugle rings out over the steps of the Castle pic.twitter.com/L5p8t7ynDc
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) June 14, 2016
The current Secretary of State is Theresa Villiers, seen below in the yellow dress.
The Belfast Telegraph reported that about 2,500 guests were invited to the function, “with attendees drawn from a wide cross-section of Northern Ireland society, including the voluntary and community sectors, local charities and youth organisations.”
Senior members of the royal family usually attend the annual party. Last year Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex took part in the event. In 2014 HM and the Duke of Edinburgh attended. The Secretary of State has hosted the party since the mid 1980s.
The couple planted a tree to mark their visit.
A look at the ensemble again. 
We have seen Kate’s coat and dress previously. The frock is a Collette Dinnigan lace dress dating back to at least 2006; here’s a quick list of occasions when Kate has worn it before:
- the 2006 wedding of Laura Parker Bowles and Harry Lopes
- the 2007 launch of ‘Young Stalin,’ a book by Simon Sebag Montefiore
- to May 2010 wedding of Charlie and Lucy Savory (photos here)
- the 2011 wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall seen below center (click here for our post)
Below left, the book launch. On the right, the Zara Phillips/Mike Tindall wedding. 
There have been a few questions about how we know which dress is underneath Kate’s coat; here is a sliver of a high res photo.
The coat is by Day Birger et Mikkelsen, a Danish brand founded by Malene Birger and Keld Mikkelsen in 1997. As best we can tell the coat has been worn on four previous occasions:
- the 2006 wedding of Laura Parker Bowles and Harry Lopes, seen below left
- the 2010 wedding of Mel Nicholson and Oli Baker (photos here)
- the 2011 wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall seen below center (click here for our post)
- to the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, seen below right (our post is here)
Splash
After leaving Day Birger et Mikkelsen the designer launched By Malene Birger in 2003.
In an eBay auction, the coat was described as “made from a stunning brocade fabric with a subtle gold paisley trimmed with champagne colour net. It is long sleeved with a single breasted, off-centre, three button fastening. It also has two flap pockets.”
eBay Auction
Lady Carrickfergus (as she is titled in Northern Ireland, William is the Baron Carrickfergus) accessorized with a new hat by Lock and Company. 
It is the Morning Rose Perching Hat. 
From the product description:
“Swirls of pillarbox-red sinamay circle around a draped centre, inspired by the morning rose flower. The hat sits neatly on the side of the head with the tip of the teardrop shape adding elegant height to the wearer.
The chapeau is £645. Thank you to Me and My Mum Kate for the speedy ID.
Kate’s hair was up again today.
She carried her Nina clutch and wore her Fern heels, both LK Bennett items. The heels are not yet available in the US (expected almost any day), but they are still offered in very limited sizing on the UK website.
Kate wore new earrings today, they look like a customized version of Kiki McDonough’s Eden Diamond Flower Drop Earrings, with citrines instead of the lemon quartz stones shown online. Thank you to Irish Sara and Christin for their help on this ID.
The brooch is the piece Kate has worn (and others before her) on St. Patrick’s Day when presenting shamrocks to the Irish Guards.
It is actually owned by the Guards and loaned out at their discretion. We show Kate wearing it atop a Catherine Walker coat on St. Patrick’s Day 2015.
It looked like it was a lovely day for the party, with sunshine and moderate temps. Kate and William first visited Northern Ireland back before they were married, in March 0f 2011.
From The Belfast Telegraph:
Royal watchers will be hoping today’s engagement is as memorable as the last time William and Kate visited Northern Ireland in 2011 when they arrived as part of a UK tour ahead of their marriage.
On that occasion Kate wowed crowds at the City Hall in Belfast when she flipped pancakes to mark Shrove Tuesday.
We will update with more photos and information in several hours. (There’s a commitment taking me away from the computer.)
NEW at 7 PM: Emily Andrews of The Sun reports Kate & William will be at Royal Ascot tomorrow (Wednesday.)
LINKAGE:
- Visit the Hillsborough Castle website here; there is a Castle Facebook page here;
- The Daily Mail’s coverage is here;
- The Mirror’s fashion story is here; People magazine’s story is here; Pop Sugar’s photo gallery is here
Jennifer 1
Wednesday 15th of June 2016
I think it's time to gracefully retire this coat. While I appreciate the Duchess' recycling as it shows a down to earth side, this has never been one of my favorite looks for her. There's just something about the material and cut that strongly reminds me of dresses that were in style when I was in high school circa 1991-1992. IMO it's a very dated look. On the positive side, love the updo and new earrings.
PS. I've noted there is another Jennifer posting of late, so I've tried to clarify things by adding a 1 to my nom de plume.
Sharkushka
Thursday 16th of June 2016
I agree. I think this fabric, the brocade, is aging, and the coat ages her unnecessarily.
Karenina
Wednesday 15th of June 2016
Mmm, not my favorite coat but today is the best it's ever looked in my opinion, with the Tindall wedding a close second. The brocade just screams Granny's drapes, and it feels like their is to much beige/nude/tan going on. I still can't decide if I like the hat or not, but it's certainly unusual and just like Brooke said, the pairing with that chignon is very clever. Speaking of which, I am still loving the sophisticated updos, her hairdresser must be having so much fun these days!
As for the new earrings, I wonder if citrine was the best choice. I wonder if the green amethysts in her other Kiki McDonough earrings would match the brooch's emerald? She has 3 pairs with green amethysts to pick from :)
Raman
Wednesday 15th of June 2016
Spotting the ID of that dress is a stroke of genius! Just made me realize the detail in which you go to examine the pictures. How beautiful Kate has been looking in the last few engagements! Exquisite!
Even the most loyal Kate fanatic (like me!!) will find it hard to appreciate this coat. It looks really ill fitted, even though I know nothing about tailoring. But I think it is quite a favorite of Kate.
Would be awesome to have a post on all Kiki Mcdonough earrings that Kate owns. :)
To see one chignon after the other has been a real treat! Waiting for the Royal Ascot post. No pressure though ;)
Jordan Parks
Wednesday 15th of June 2016
I have always loved this coat and I like how she changes it up with each hat(or lack of) she pairs with it. I do think it would stand to fit a little closer to her body and be more like a dress than a coat, but still its lovely none the less. I liked the new hat and the asymmetrical chignon to go with it. The hat is unique, but just small enough not to be too over the top. I will say that Zara and Mikes wedding is still my favorite outing of this ensemble, I to this day adore the hat she wore!
Jamie
Wednesday 15th of June 2016
I wish she had worn the red version of the hat with her new red heels--that would have been stunning! Or the hat she wore to Zara's wedding. As it is, she blends in to the crowd too much. The coat and hat are gorgeous, just not together.