We are back with a couple of quick follow-ups, our look at some inventory updates/Sales & Savings opportunities, and then some Memorial Day photos.
We’ll start with the Erdem dress worn by Kate to the Chelsea Flower Show preview.
A number of commenters noted the dress was seen a year earlier, and worn by another royal. That was Katherine, Duchess of Kent, as she arrived for Meghan and Harry’s wedding last May.
The Duchess is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who is a first cousin of HM. For anyone noting the sneakers, I believe those were worn because of a health issue.
I received a few questions wondering if there was a side shot of Kate’s hair at the Chelsea Flower Show. These two pictures give us a pretty good look at the braid details.
In the flower show post, I mentioned the last-minute check William and Kate did to make sure the Back to Nature garden was tidy before the Queen arrived. This photo shows how intent the couple was on tending to details before she got there.
We have two notes about items worn by Sophie, Countess of Wessex. First, the Suzannah dress she wore to the flower show preview, the Stormy Hearts Midi-Length Tea Dress.
Many noted how much it looked like a Suzannah dress Kate wore for George’s first birthday photos, the Budding Hearts Tea Dress.
Many of us immediately thought of Kate’s dress when seeing Sophie. The fabric used for both garments is a rich green shade, but Kate’s pattern doesn’t have any black. The dresses also share similar bodice designs, but different sleeves, length, and I think the fullness of the skirts is different as well.
The second Sophie piece we’re covering is Emilia Wickstead’s Dionne Macramé-trimmed Crepe Dress, worn to last week’s garden party. 
Several comments on social media and here on the blog noted that Sophie was in the same dress worn to the first day of Royal Ascot last year. Thank you to Ashley for sharing a link to a Hello! story on Royal Ascot. 
Also related to the garden party, a question I received from several readers about the challenges encountered when walking on grass in heels.
There are products that provide some measure of assistance, although I can’t recall ever seeing Kate using anything like this when at an event. However, Natasha Archer, believed to be Kate’s stylist, wore them for part of her reception following her wedding to Getty royal photographer Chris Jackson. In this photo posted by Chris on his Instagram page, you can clearly see something on her heels. 
One of the products available to mitigate damage to your heels is by a company called Solemates.
A closer look. 
A single pair of heel protectors is $10; a set of three is $20. They come in clear, black, silver, and gold. 
There are two other products I have heard about. Below left, GoGoHeel Stoppers ($9.99) as shown at Amazon; on the right, Heelettos, $12 for a set of two at Walmart.
For me, posting about the items just underscores that I really don’t have a clue how Kate and many of the other royals manage heels in the grass!
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Also today, a few restocking updates and some Sales & Savings updates.
Our friends at Madderson London, long a favorite sponsor here at WKW, have some outstanding bargains in the Outlet section of the site. Some styles are discounted by as much as 80%. 
While not on sale, we do have news that Kate’s Smythson Midi Mayfair Bag ($645) can now be pre-ordered for mid-June availability.
And there are some cute styles on sale at Aspinal, including pieces from the Giles Deacon collection. Below left, the Silk Twill Pocket Square (now $45, was $75) and the Accordion Card Holder (was $150, now $75); in the center, the Micro Hat Box (originally $650, now $390); and on the right, the Regent Tote (originally $720, now $432).
Kate’s Gianvito Rossi ‘Piper’ pumps are in stock in almost all sizes at My Theresa. 
Roland Mouret has the spring/summer collection discounted 40%.
I’m including this for fans of eyelet fabric. Talbots has a selection of eyelet pieces. If you buy two sale items they’ll take 50% off; buy just one and the discount is 40%. There is also 40% off a single full price item. Use promo code SUMMER to receive your discount. They’re not stellar repliKates, but an option if looking for something summery.
At Stuart Weitzman, it’s the brand’s annual summer sale.
- J. Crew is promoting 50% off sale merchandise and 40% off everything else with promo code WEEKEND. This makes the price for Kate’s Mockneck in Supersoft Yarn just $34.49. One note about the sweater: not everyone has been thrilled with the quality.
- J. Crew Factory is promoting 60% off all women’s and men’s clothing, with 50% off children’s items. That brings the price on the 3-Strap Scalloped Suede Heels to $57.50. The style was suggested by Audrey as a repliKate for both pair of Prada sandals; I think it was a terrific find!
- The Hobbs US site is promoting 30% off a select line of merchandise, no promo code needed.
- Nordstrom has a sizable amount of merchandise discounted in its summer sale
- Nordstrom Rack is taking an extra 25% off sale merchandise in its Clear the Rack Event
- Boden is taking 30% off Women’s, Men’s, and childrenswear styles.
- Net-a-Porter is offering up to 50% off in its sale section
- The Outnet (Net-a-Porter’s discount arm) is doing its end of season sale, with an extra 50% off a sizable group of merchandise.
- At Neiman’s Last Call everything is an additional 40% off, with an “extra 60% to 75% off clearance goods”
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For those here in the US, we’ll wrap up the post with images from Memorial Day activities honoring those who died serving our country. Below, headstones at Arlington Cemetery.
Soldiers from The Old Guard, the Army’s official ceremonial unit (officially the 3rd US Infantry), placed flags in front of more than 228,000 headstones on Thursday.
It takes about four hours to accomplish the task.
Once the flags are placed it is time to put flowers at headstones. 
Here you see US Naval Sea Cadets with flowers.
4-year-old Matthew Murphy helps his father Kevin place flowers. 
Some of the 70,000 riders taking part in Rolling Thunder as they arrive in Washington, D.C.
As part of the ride, boots symbolizing fallen soldiers are displayed by the road. 
Here you see the USAA Poppy Wall of Honor, with more than 645,000 poppies behind glass on the National Mall. Each one represents an American service member who has died since World War I.
Here is a video from Arlington National Cemetery.
The boots photo always makes me cry. You’ll notice the boots are different sizes and in different conditions; the military tries to use the boots of the fallen soldier if they can (with the permission of the family, of course.) I always, always cry if I look at pictures of soldiers’ boots too long.
The Countess’s green dress is also very similar pattern-wise to the dress Meghan wore to the Australia House last May.
This was a great post! Lots of interesting bits to enjoy until our next royal sighting.
I surprise myself by thinking this, but I actually love the look of white sneakers with this long floral dress. I think it tones down a potentially fussy floral with some casual ease. I guess the Duchess of Kent was on to something. Remember those white sneakers Kate wore with those linen trousers? Just an out-of-the-box idea.
And I did especially enjoy those shots of Kate’s braided hairstyle. What a perfect complement to such a lovely garden dress.
Thanks for featuring the 2 Sophie dresses. She always looks fabulous and dressed for the occasion. I just wish she’d better coordinate with Edward color-wise but he seems to like his novelty ties.
Fun photo of Kate and William preparing the garden for The Queen.
I thought the green dress reminded me of when she went to the Garden for the anniversary of Diana’s death (20 yrs)….
Susan, the first photograph you published of Kate in the garden is beautiful. The dress was made for that landscape.
I believe Kate’s braided hair matched with Charlotte’s hair! A fun mother-daughter twinning moment!
Thank you for reminding me of eyelet and Talbots! The photo of Talbots white eyelet blouse paired with a classic white blazer is a beautiful summer look. They carry so many favorites.
Also, thank you for the coverage of Memorial Day celebrations in the US. I commented on WMW my little story about wearing my red crepe paper poppy yesterday and how I secured it with a brooch as I learned to do from photos of the Queen and Kate. You never know what tips you’ll learn here!
Maybe I’m silly for saying this, but when I have been in grass with spiky heels, I just lean most of my weight on the sole. Since most of my weight is forward, my heels don’t sink into the ground. Kate is in great shape, so I can envision her doing the same thing.
It’s not silly, AL. I was just thinking today that that is the technique that The Duchess probably employs to prevent sinking into the grass. For some of us, especially those of us who are carrying more weight than we should be for our frame, that would be difficult, but for someone fit and slim it is probably less tricky.
I’ve often wondered if anyone could make leaning work, in my own case I can too easily overbalance or else simply forget — one false step and I sink… I agree that athletic Kate could pull it off, though, there seems to be no other explanation.
I’m so glad you mentioned this. I do the same thing! I have had a lot of practice with this technique since I’m rather short and wear heels ALL the time (or at least 9-5 on weekdays :D). It’s not hard with practice!
As someone who used to wear stilletos daily, I can say Kate might not be using anything to protect her heels. She’s in incredibly good shape and could easily be shifting her weight forward. If you keep your weight in your toes and don’t press down on your heel, the heel doesn’t sink into the grass. This is also how you successfully walk on uneven surfaces like gravel or cobblestone, all the weight in the balls of your feet.
I am greatly enjoying the Duchess of Kent’s fascinator.
Thanks for all the updates. It’s interesting how the focus is moving on to other royals as we go on, since it’s hard to separate them when they all turn up at events together. I’m impressed at just how similar those two Susannah dresses are, I hadn’t seen such a clear comparison illustration before.
I am astonished by the heel protectors. However I’m pretty certain that I’d still manage to sink into soft earth even with these on lol.
Many thanks also for bringing me up-to-date with what Memorial Day really means to you all over there. I’m sorry to say it hadn’t sunk in before. As we have our remembrance in grey November, I haven’t so far associated the month of May with the same theme and must revise my views.
Thanks for information on heel protectors, I have damaged many of my slim heels. I am so happy for the information, because when I read about this product that the woman were wear at the outside grass garden parties, I was saying to myself, I would love to know more about it and where to purchase these heel protectors. 🎉
Also it was very nice to see what is done and how we go all out for the fallen soldiers on Memorial Day in the USA. 🇺🇸
Love all updates on outfits that were previously wore. In my observation the pink and black accent outfit with hat that Princess Sophie worn is one of her best outfits, it is perfection.
Thank you Admin. for the research and taking the time for this really great post. Bravo!
There’s also a different kind of heel protector called Kiix which might be worth a try. Unlike the other types, they stick on to the shaft of the heel and form a protective barrier. They certainly appear to be less noticeable than some of the other types, but you would have to try them to see if they really work. Apparently they can be removed without damaging the shoe as well, (hopefully that is the case), but they are not suitable for use on suede for obvious reasons.
What a terrific post, very interested in the Memorial Day activities. I had no idea amazing. Thank you so much
Wonderful post! I like how all the details are brought together.
The dress HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex is wearing looks very somilar to one that The. Duchess of Sussex wore last summer, is it the same?
I’m not sure which event you are referring to that Meghan attended, but she has not worn the Emilia Wickstead piece, the Dionne dress. Hope that is helpful, but if not, just let me know. 😊
I also recall Meghan wearing a very, very similar print dress at a public event she attended with Harry. It was after the engagement was announced but well prior to the wedding and her becoming the DOS.
I believe Janice might be referring to Self-Portrait’s Cold Shoulder Floral Printed Dress? It has a strikingly similar print, but it is not the same as Sophie’s. Meghan wore it during a visit to Australia House in April 2018.
Of course, that green is similar. 😊
I also remembered that Meghan wore a dress with a similar fabric. In looking at the details though it’s definitely different than the other dresses. https://whatmeghanwore.net/2018/04/21/meghan-in-springy-green-self-portrait-dress-for-invictus-reception/
I think the dress that Janice is referring to is the green self-portrait dress Meghan wore last year. Referencing this post:
https://whatmeghanwore.net/2018/04/21/meghan-in-springy-green-self-portrait-dress-for-invictus-reception/
Thank you, now I remember! 🙂
I thought of that dress too. it was self-portrait that she wore in april
Thanks for all the tidbits. I like a good round up!