A New Red Carpet Engagement & Vote for Your Favorite 2016 Gown, Cocktail Dress & Coat

We are back with word of several new engagements for Kate, as well as a few polls. First, a look at an updated version of Kate’s Calendar:

• Sunday, February 5: Kate, William & Harry will take part in a Heads Together training day for the London Marathon. They will join 150 runners who are taking part in the Marathon. “The runners are fundraising for the eight Heads Together Charity Partners or the campaign itself and there will be a session to support their efforts in raising funds for the services and support giving vital help with mental health, day in, day out.”

• Monday, February 6: As part of Children’s Mental Health Week Kate and William take part in an assembly at Mitchell Brook Primary School. The event is part of the Big Assembly, Place2Be’s effort asking schools across the UK to take part in sharing a little kindness with pupils, families, and staff. The couple will also present the first Place2Be Kindness Cup to a pupil “who has shown exceptional kindness in their school community and beyond.”

• Monday, February 6: The Duke and Duchess and Prince Harry will attend a Guild of Health Writers conference. “The Duke and Duchess will meet members of the Guild of Health Writers, along with leaders of the Heads Together Charity Partners. After listening to the Heads Together runner speak at the conference, the Duke will give a short speech. The Duke and Duchess will then listen to the presentations of four experts on the conference theme.”

• Sunday, February 12: The Duke and Duchess will attend the British Academy Film Awards; Prince William is BAFTA’s President. The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and red carpet arrivals will be live-streamed from 5 – 7 pm (Noon – 2 pm ET) on Facebook. Click here for more info on where the broadcast will be aired.

The BAFTA Awards will mean an evening gown for the Duchess. Many will remember the Alexander McQueen dress Kate wore when attending a 2011 BAFTA dinner in Los Angeles with Prince William.

That gives us a nice segue to our next poll as it focuses on formal styles worn by the Duchess in 2016.

We begin with the Saloni London dress worn to a Palace reception in advance of the India/Bhutan tour. Kate wore the label’s Mary Flocked Chiffon gown, also called the ‘Mary Illusion Dot Dress.’ The frock featured a high ruffle neck on the front with a plunging vee in the back, nipped-in waistline, and sheer sleeves.

During the spring tour of India and Bhutan, we saw several formalwear looks. The first was this hand-beaded Jenny Packham gown and matching shawl/cape worn for a gala fundraiser.

For a party celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday at the High Commissioner’s New Delhi residence, the Duchess opted for separates by Temperley London. The Delphia cropped top and skirt both featured “opulent embroidery motifs of Indian Chintz and lattice.”

Kate surprised many of us with a dress by American designer Anna Sui when arriving at Kaziranga National Park in India. The floral Crinkled Silk Chiffon and Twill Dress had multiple panels defined by dimensional embroidery; it was from the designer’s a/w 2015 collection.

The next full-length dress we saw the Duchess wear on the tour was a Tory Burch piece. Referred to as the “Floral Mesh Gown” by Tory Burch, the style was called the “Embroidered Tulle Gown” at Net-a-Porter. The dress showcased “retro-inspired florals in shades of sky-blue, orange, green and brown,” with an embellished neckline, sheer sleeves, and a side slit.

Kate returned to a favorite label for an evening reception in Bhutan, wearing the Juliet by Beulah London. The gown showcased an abstract poppy print; the national flower in Bhutan is the Himalayan Blue Poppy.

The Duchess sported another royal blue gown last year, a ‘cold-shoulder’ style by Roland Mouret. At a Kensington Palace SportsAid party in June Kate wore the ‘Nansen’ gown from the Resort 2016 collection. The dress showcased a mermaid silhouette, multiple darts, tucks and fabric inserts.

Many enjoyed seeing the blush pink Jenny Packham gown make a return appearance at the EACH black tie dinner in June. From the designer’s spring 2011 ready to wear collection, the frock was first seen at a June 2011 fundraising dinner.

We saw the Duchess debut another new designer at a November film premiere when she wore the Pleated Crochet Maxi Dress by Self Portrait. The dress showcased guipure-lace on the bodice and sleeves, high neck, and shutter-pleated crepe skirt with a high slit.

In December at the Queen’s Buckingham Palace Diplomatic Reception Kate brought back the bespoke lace and chiffon Jenny Packham gown first worn to the China State Dinner in 2015.

Now it’s time to pick your favorite!

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We also have a poll for the cocktail dresses worn by the Duchess last year. For a July awards presentation, Kate debuted another off the shoulder design, this one by Barbara Casasola.

For William and Kate’s debut at Royal Ascot, we saw another lace dress from Italian design duo Dolce and Gabbana, the brand’s Cotton Blend Lace Dress. The piece showcased a fitted bodice, sheer sleeves and full, tiered skirt.

In July the Duchess was in a lace dress for somber events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. The dress is attributed to Jenny Packham, and it features a Peter Pan collar, peplum detailing at the waist, and three-quarter sleeves.

As many will remember, Kate wore the Finella dress by British luxury label Preen for a reception at Government House during the Canada tour.

The Duchess wore the black version of the Finella for November’s Place2Be Wellbeing in School awards. The black Finella dress is also made of matte stretch fabric, and features the same asymmetric neckline, draped bodice, and box pleated skirt. (Both the red and black Finella dresses remain available in limited sizes at Net-a-Porter.)

I was really torn about including the See by Chloé dress worn to the children’s party in Canada, as well as the McQueen worn for Princess Charlotte’s christening that we saw at Trooping the Colour in June. Ultimately I decided not to include them, but I can certainly understand if some feel they should be part of this poll.

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Now to our look at the new coats worn by the Duchess in 2016. The first was a distinctive Erdem design worn for the annual Commonwealth Day church service in March. The garment is a customized version of a style from the pre-fall 2015 collection.

In June the Duchess wore Catherine Walker for a church service honoring the Queen’s 90th birthday. The collarless coatdress was made of a soft blue wool crepe and featured a hand-applied lace border.

Kate chose a piece by M Missoni for one of the Somme commemorations in June. The Long Snake Stitch design showcased the distinctive Missoni zig-zag motif, accented by metallic threads in the fabric.

For a day of engagements in Manchester Kate was in an Erdem coat from the designer’s 2016 Resort collection.

Kate debuted a new coat from Temperley London at the annual Festival of Remembrance in November. The Duchess was in a piece from the 2014 pre-fall collection, the Callas Evening Coat, a fit and flare design crafted from a jacquard fabric.

It will be fun to see what you think of all these different looks from last year!