Erdem, Holland Cooper, and a Wetsuit for Sailing Engagement

The Duchess was in sporty separates for engagements today in Plymouth, England.

She was there for Sail GP races in her role as patron of the 1851 Trust. (I do not have any information on the artwork the Duchess is holding in this photo.) UPDATE: With thanks to Dragonzflame and hrhdhd for their comments, it turns out the artwork was a gift from the New Zealand sailing team and its charitable partner, Live Ocean.

More about the day’s races from The Daily Mail: 

The SailGP competition, which is being held in Plymouth for the second year running, will see nine international teams take part in short races on high-speed Catamarans.

Sir Ben Ainslie will be leading the Great Britain SailGP team in the short races, in which the catamarans can reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour. 

Below, the Duchess with Sir Ben and Hannah Mills, OBE, a two-time world champion sailor.

The 1851 Trust is the official charity of Great Britain’s Sail GP team.  The Trust was started in 2014 by Sir Ben and Sir Keith Mills; the name comes from the year of the first America’s Cup race.

Before taking part in a race, the Duchess met with young people participating in some of the Trust’s activities to promote sustainability.

More from The Evening Standard’s story. 

Kate met excited youngsters who told her how they were growing seagrass, and took part in activities educating young people about sustainability.

Carnegie Bedlow, 12, from St Helier in Jersey, said: “I was a little bit nervous but she did what I told her and she was very good.

“She asked me if I was interested in sailing. I do sailing camps in the summer, I love the ocean.”

Here is a quick video.

#ProtectOurFuture https://t.co/qw9nj9OvEz

— Great Britain SailGP Team (@SailGPGBR) July 31, 2022

The Trust’s Protect our Future initiative encourages young people to engage with, and support, climate action. Kensington Place notes, “Protect our Future programme equips young people with skills and knowledge to understand climate science and take positive action, protecting nature, people, our oceans and the planet.”

Below, the Duchess and others work on an exercise making mats out of seagrass.

The Telegraph reports:

The Duchess’s mat will form part of an ambitious National Marine Aquarium (NMA) scheme to restore four hectares of lost seagrass meadows, equivalent to 10 football pitches. The NMA says seagrass is crucial to the health of British waters, providing a haven both for commercial fish stocks and rare marine animals such as seahorses and stalked jellyfish.

Then it was time to get changed for the race.  You’ll note the earrings are gone, and I believe the engagement ring was also removed before the race.

The Duchess in her wetsuit, all set to get out on the water. 

Team members were taken by launch out to the racing catamarans.  Here you see the Duchess with Georgie Thompson, Sir Ben’s wife.

Another view of the Duchess as she is ferried out to the catamaran.

And one more. 

Great Britain and New Zealand teams took part in a ‘friendly Commonwealth Race.’ Below, the Duchess gets her headset set up.

The Evening Standard notes,” ‘She’s a really good sailor in her own right, she has sailed with me on foiling boats as well and we’re expecting a little bit of extra help, given she’s sailed across the Atlantic,’ Ainslie said.”Below, the Duchess and Sir Ben.

The teams are racing F50 foiling catamarans, described as the “sailing equivalent of a Formula 1 racecar” by Yachting World.

Below, Team GB’s catamaran on Plymouth Sound.

More from the Plymouth Herald’s coverage. 

The Duchess of Cambridge inspired Team GB to victory over New Zealand at SailGP in Plymouth. She joined the British racing team on their F50 catamaran in a friendly ‘Commonwealth Race’ vs Team NZ with Sir Ben Ainslie.

The race, which took place ahead of the official final day’s racing, saw Great Britain take on UN Patron for the Ocean Lewis Pugh alongside Peter Burling and Blair Tuke on the New Zealand F50. And it was a triumph for the British Team as they sailed to an easy victory in front of thousands lining the Plymouth coast.

Now for our look at what Kate wore today. 

We begin with her first ensemble featuring Holland Cooper’s Tailored Shorts (£199, about $240 at today’s exchange rates).  The high-waisted design is made of a linen/viscose blend and features front pleats, wide belt loops, side pockets, a front zipper, and the brand’s signature gold buttons and rivets.  They are fully lined. Thank you to Innominate93 for this ID.

A closer look at the details. 

The Duchess also sported an Erdem Lotus Stripe Cashmere Sweater (past season).

If it looks familiar, the Duchess also owns this piece in the ivory colorway, seen here when worn in May 2021 for a visit to St. Andrews.

It looks like the Duchess has an updated version of the Superga Cotu Classic sneakers ($65).  The design we’ve seen her wear previously had five eyelets (shown below when worn in March).

Today’s shoes have six eyelets, shown below. 

The Superga UK site shows the trainers with six eyelets. Most photos on the Superga US site show five eyelets, with the exception of the photos with a model wearing the shoes. My guess is that we’ll see the six-eyelet style eventually replace the current version.  The five-eyelet style remains relatively easy to find at Superga, as well as retailers like Nordstrom and Zappos. 

The Orelia Chain Huggie Hoops ($22) returned.

Now for the sailing look. 

The Duchess was in a wetsuit by O’Shea (thanks to UFO No More), a baseball cap by Henri Lloyd (thank you to KatiesRoyalLove), and her Adidas Performance Pureboost X trainers, shown below in 2016. 

She also had on what looked like a pair of SunGod Sierras ($120), with frames made of 100% recycled plastic waste.  This is the Great Britain Sail GP limited edition style.  Thank you to Remoulade Sauce & Dagmar of Denmark, as well as Elizabeth of Kate’s Closet for the ID!

After the race, the Duchess changed into a different look.
Embed from Getty Images
She wore a Henri Lloyd Team GB shell atop a white tee and a pair of Helly Hansen Maridalen Hiking Shorts ($75).  Made of quick-drying stretch fabric, the shorts have cargo pockets with hidden snap closures, a zippered front pocket, and a zip front.  I show them at Helly Hansen, but they are also offered at Back Country USA ($75), at Amazon ($75), at TrekkInn ($45.99) Many thanks to Carly at Kate Middleton Style for this ID.

Here is a closer look at the Henri Lloyd Team GB baseball cap ($40). 

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A very quick note about a cute video posted on Kensington Palace social media accounts this morning, with Prince William and Princess Charlotte showing their support for the Lionesses (England’s women’s football team) ahead of tonight’s European Championship Final match against Germany at Wembley.   

Good luck tonight @Lionesses, we’re all cheering for you! pic.twitter.com/ATsLg6QHIF

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) July 31, 2022

There was speculation Princess Charlotte and/or Prince George might attend the match, but neither child is at the match.

The Lionesses proved victorious, taking the match with a 2 -1 final score.  

Here is one more photo from today.

I’ll see you Tuesday for the Commonwealth Games. 

VIDEOS: 

The Royal Family Channel offers 3+ minutes of coverage in this video. 

 Here you have about 2 minutes of video from The Telegraph.