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The Duchess Showcases British Brands for Final Day of Ireland Tour

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The Duchess wore a mix of British brands for Day Three of the Ireland Tour.

The Irish Sun reports today’s engagements, all in Galway, were “delayed after bad weather affected their flight arrangements according to an Irish Government spokesman.” 

The day’s first stop was a special event at Tribeton, an urban restaurant and bar, to mark Galway 2020 as it hosts the European Capital of Culture on behalf of Ireland. As part of that designation, Galway will produce a twelve-month cultural program that highlights the richness and diversity of cultures in Galway and across Europe. Below, the couple is with Josepha Madigan, Ireland’s Cabinet Minister for Culture, Heritage & Gaeltacht. (Gaeltacht refers to regions that are primarily Irish-speaking.)

Roya Nikkhah of The Times tweeted a video of the couple being welcomed. 

 More about Galway 2020 from The Evening Standard:

It will include more than 1,900 events and over 150 projects with local, national, European and international artists.  The event will celebrate every aspect of Irish culture, including music, theatre, literature, visual arts, dance, film, architecture and food.

 

The royals saw displays showcasing the important role of art & culture in promoting community spirit.

The activities were also designed to underscore how vital participation and social inclusion is, especially for young people in Galway. Below, listening to the band NØÖV. Kate Middleotn Galway 2020 Green Suzannah

Kate and William spoke with athletes from Hoops, a youth basketball project.  The Evening Standard reports Hoops “holds tournaments for children of all ages and playing abilities across Galway for the 3×3 “street version” of the game.”

And watched acrobats.  More from The Evening Standard:

William turned to Kate laughing, as Miss Mello performed a series of handstands, and said:  “Give it a go?”  Kate rolled her eyes, laughed and politely declined.

One of the performances was by a team of jugglers from the Galway Community Circus, and William decided to join in the fun.  Back to The Evening Standard’s coverage:

William, who said he had done “a bit of juggling” then took three balls, and chatting to the reporters and cameras, joked: “I’ll try this in front of a load of you and flashing cameras, ha! Here goes.”

More from this People article:

However, things went less smoothly when Prince William tried to incorporate a fourth ball into his routine. He threw two balls into the air, but when it came time to free his hands of the other balls, they went flying in different directions — including one ball straight at his wife!

Roya Nikkhan of The Times reports that after watching the circus performers Kate remarked that “Charlotte is really into gymnastics, she’s doing cartwheels, handstands, everything.” Roya says the Duchess also spoke about Prince George learning to play the guitar.  

The Duke and Duchess’s next stop was Tig Cóilí, a family-owned pub located in central Galway.

A traditional three-piece Irish band welcomed them.

Channel 5’s Simon Vigar tweeted a video of the couple enjoying the music. 

  As ever, the Duchess seemed to enjoy time with a little one.

Simon Perry reports the couple was gifted with “a $200 bottle of 2019 Midleton Very Rare whiskey, plus a pair of Tig Colli crystal glasses inscribed with their names and the date of the visit.” 

After their visit to the pub, it was time for a walkabout.

The picture above kind of looks like walkabout strategizing, “Okay, I’m going in this direction, do you want to take that direction?”

You can see the crowds were sizable. 

There were a lot of people on hand eager to meet the royals. People magazine’s Simon Perry tweeted a video. 

 A smile from Kate.

A lovely anecdote from the walkabout comes via Victoria Murphy’s Town and Country story:  

Angela Moran from Westport, County Mayo, was holding a commemorative banner from the 2011 royal wedding when she spoke to William. “He asked about the flag,” she told T&C afterwards. “I said to him that I really admired him and Catherine and he said thank you very much. I said I love her and he said ‘I do too, nice of you to say so.’”

About meeting the couple, she said: “It was amazing. It’s something you’d think will never happen. We came and stayed here overnight so that we’d be in a good position to see them today. We’ve had a long stand but it was worth every second.”

Latin Quarter Galway (what a great name!) Instagrammed a video of Kate chatting with some of the children. 

 

These students were really cute.

As is the little lamb stuffed animal.

Another view of the walkabout, this one via journalist Zara King.  

 

Kate was heard saying she would love to return to Ireland, bringing the children along. 

The couple then changed into casual styles for some sports events at Salthill Knocknacarra GAA Club. 

Richard Palmer posted a video of Kate and William heading to practice. 

 More specifically, the duo was at the Gaelic Athletic Association facility to watch traditional Gaelic football and hurling. 

More from The Evening Standard:

Then they had a go at handling the hurl – or hurley, depending on which part of Ireland you are in.

William asked the youngsters: “Can you show us how to do the drills? Are you guys really good? I’ve never done this before. I’ve played hockey, but I’ve never done this before. 

They also tried their hand at the sports. 

They both looked like they were having a terrific time.

The Mirror reports “They had a go at a number of the skills involved in the sport, with the Duchess gasping as she whacked a hurling ball into the sky.”

A lovely shot with some of the children taking part in today’s event. 

One final video from Kensington Palace.

 If curious about the meaning of ‘buladh bos,’ I looked it up and it translates to “banging the palms of the hands,” or applause.   

Now for our look at what Kate wore for Day Three of the Ireland tour, starting with her dress by Suzannah London.

It most closely resembles the label’s Valerie Midi Dress (£1250 / $1609).  

The dress is 100% silk crepe de chine with a silk habotai lining. It is described as “A vintage 1940s dress inspired design” with detailing at the shoulders bodice and cuffs.  It has “a slightly higher pitched waist seam, with the skirt being a soft a-line….the sleeves have a wonderful pleated sleeve head and playfully cut long sleeves. A romantic dress with a wonderful soft and flattering structure.” Below, you can see some of the detailing on Kate’s cuffs, the belt she is wearing and the pleats at a shoulder seam.

UPDATE Mar 7: The dress is now available for pre-ordering on the Suzannah site ($1634) with a lead time of eight weeks noted on the product page. Many thanks to Meg for her comment linking to the piece.  

Kate’s belt looks like it is by Sézane, the Artemis style ($90), with thanks to the UFO No More crew for the ID!

Atop the dress, Kate wore her Alexander McQueen coat.

We first saw the Duchess wearing the garment at a January away day in Bradford, West Yorkshire. 

Kate was carrying a new clutch, the Palace style ($581) by Jimmy Choo.

The leather bag has a croc-embossed design, an interior zip pocket, credit card slots, and the logo-embellished flap cover. It measures roughly 8″ x 5″ and comes with a detachable strap so it can be carried as a crossbody or shoulder bag. The bag is available at Harrod’s ($581). Many thanks to Middleton Maven for this ID. 

Kate brought back the Ralph Lauren Collection suede boots we have seen previously. 

Here is a look at the Duchess in her casual ensemble when she changed into the Zara skinny jeans we’ve seen previously on the trip and a familiar sweater from Really Wild.

The sweater is the brand’s Cashmere Mix Cable Crew ($242 / £225) in what I believe is the ‘coral’ colorway.   

The piece is a cashmere/merino wool blend in a chunky cable knit, created in Scotland by makers who run a zero-yarn waste production. It looks familiar because Kate wore the style in red during the Canada Tour in September 2016.  

We saw the return of the New Balance Vazee Transform trainers that Sweaty Betty carried.

Kate brought back the Daniella Draper Mini Cupid Hoops with Baby Shamrock Charms (£120, roughly $155 at today’s exchange rates) earrings seen yesterday, pairing them with the Silver Baby Shamrock Necklace (£75, about $100 at today’s exchange rates). 

There has been discussion about whether the Duchess is wearing the silver or gold earrings and necklace. Yesterday I was 100% convinced the earrings were the sterling silver version. In looking at today’s photo of the necklace, you can see more than a hint of gold coloring. I will look at more photos and also reach out to the folks at Daniella Draper. 

VIDEOS: 
The Royal Family Channel’s video on the Galway 2020 event runs about 3:20.
   

The RFC pub visit piece is roughly 2:20. 
 

Here is a 5 News piece on all the Galways events.
 

5 News also has nearly 15 minutes of video covering just the sporting engagement.
 
 And a 5 News voiced package on the entire day runs a bit more than 2 minutes.
 

The Telegraph’s piece on the day’s activities is less than two minutes.
 

Ireland’s RTÉ News has a 1:40 package on the day’s activities. 

LINKAGE:

  • The official Kensington Palace account of the tour is here
  • The Evening Standard’s story on the Galway 2020 event is here; a Daily Mirror story on the full day is here; The Belfast Telegraph’s story and gallery may be seen here; The Evening Standard’s piece on the sports engagements is here 
  • Victoria Murphy’s Town and Country piece is here; Simon Perry’s People article is here; the Fug Girls post is here
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Larissa

Monday 13th of April 2020

This post is a good example of what I've been thinking of while catching up on this Ireland tour. Kate's wardrobe is always a treat on international tours – Canada, Australia, India, and most recently Pakistan brought some really breathtaking looks no matter the event. But for some reason, I feel underwhelmed whenever the Cambridges do a tour in Europe. It seems like on European trips Kate does a great job with her casual ensembles (perhaps because she is always in her element for those kinds of events) but I find she misses the mark a lot on the fancier occasions. The 2018 tour of Sweden and Norway was probably my least favourite tour in terms of fashion, with the Burberry coat and Fjällraven sweater worn to play hockey sticking out as the bright spot in my mind. I loved the Heidelberg outfits the most when Will and Kate were in Germany and Poland but found a lot of the evening ensembles questionable.

And now, I feel the same way on this Ireland tour. The sporting/farm-visiting/cooking outfits were Kate in her element and looking perfectly appropriate for the occasion. The dresses, on the other hand, I all found to have something a bit off. Overall there was just too much green – I love the colour on Kate, but it was overkill as a salute to the host country. I would have much preferred to see another Irish designer instead.

As for the Galway outfits, again I don't like the dress. It looks frumpy and I still hate that length of skirt over tall boots; I guess I just don't see the point in boots being so high if you can't see them. I also don't think the belt goes very well with the dress. But for the sporting activities, Kate shines! That Really Wild Clothing jumper is timeless, and the coral colour is fresh and flattering, a great choice to transition to spring. I'm so glad I watched parts of the longer video from that engagement and saw Kate struggle with her first two hurling attempts – I thought she was super-human when she nailed what looked like her first shot in the Twitter video!

Thanks for the wonderful coverage of yet another tour, Susan. :) I am always so impressed that you can get all of these posts out so quickly with so much detail. I can't even keep up with reading them that fast!

Ellen

Monday 9th of March 2020

Off topic Small addition to Kate's calendar: the Emperor and Empress of Japan will make the state visit to UK approximately on May 4-7th, 2020. So there can be banquet, tiaras, senior royals etc.

admin

Monday 9th of March 2020

Oooh, thank you, Ellen, I missed this! :)

BerlinLondon

Sunday 8th of March 2020

Her wardrobe for this tour gave me some 1980s-Diana-vibes. I think the rather bold colours, generous cut and (apart from the McQueen coat here and some other pieces) the impression of a feminine but more casual fit. Maybe this is just in my mind but I like that I always get different associations with her wardrobe choices.

Christina

Monday 9th of March 2020

I got the Diana vibes as well, especially with this Suzannah dress and the vintage Oscar de la Renta! Even the Vampire's Wife evening dress had a 1980's feel to it.

Ashly

Sunday 8th of March 2020

I love love that dress and she styled it with the belt and boots which make it youthful and fun. That coat...... those pockets could go away and then it might work. Or maybe it’s the color of green. With so many other green coats she has, interesting she chose to bring along this one.

Sally

Saturday 7th of March 2020

Very interesting that when you hear some of the top designers and fashion critics applaud Catherine’s choices as being on point for trends, stylish designs and current fashion I get quite dismayed at then reading some of the very negative comments on this site. I know it is personal opinion but I can’t believe there is such a huge divide. No right or wrong and makes interesting reading. I think Kate looks amazing, love the colour and style and what a horrid conundrum she faces every time she walks out the door to be judged on her clothes. Love the coral jumper and skinny jeans as well and saw a wonderful photo un the press today whilst Kate out buying books, fabulous coat, jeans and flats. Wow

SaraF

Sunday 8th of March 2020

Just goes to show you that not everyone shares the designers' and critics' taste! ;) I see lots of things in the shops that some designer clearly thinks are lovely and I think are worse than awful. I am glad to be able to retain my own critical faculties and not kowtow to some guy-who-doesn't-know-me's taste.

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