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The Princess Chooses Self Portrait for Ladies’ Singles Final at Wimbledon

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The Princess Chooses Self Portrait for Ladies’ Singles Final at Wimbledon

The Princess of Wales chose a Self Portrait dress for today’s engagement at Wimbledon. The Princess was at the All England Lawn Tennis Club for the Ladies’ Final match between Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.

The Princess is the All England Club’s royal patron. Above, you see her with Debbie Jevans, CBE, vice-chair of the AELTC, who will succeed the current chair, Ian Hewitt, after the Championships. She will be the first woman chair in the club’s history. 

Before heading to the Royal Box, the Princess spoke with several groups of people. Here, you see her with Philippa George, who performed the coin toss. 

Philippa is a member of the Riding for the Disabled Association—more from this Horse and Hound story. 

“I just can’t believe it still and I can’t wait for it. It’s going to be amazing,” said Philippa, who will enjoy a tour of the clubhouse and have lunch in the competitors’ restaurant before the match. She will be assisted with her on-court duties by championships referee Gerry Armstrong.

Philippa has been a participant at Park Lane for 15 years, starting as a rider and now also as a volunteer. Her role includes inviting and welcoming new people and organising social events.

And this comes via The Telegraph’s piece. 

The Princess asked about her Wimbledon-themed nail polish and whether Ms George had been practising for the toss.

Ms George, 27, said after the meeting: “It was so special. She was asking me about my nails and talked to me about how I like horses.

“She was really happy that I was here… It means so much. It is such an honour to be here and be part of all this. I am so grateful to have this opportunity.”

The Princess spoke with grounds crew workers, staff, emergency services personnel, and military representatives.

A quick video, with thanks to Christin. 

The Princess also chatted with ball boys and girls. 

Then she headed to Centre Court, escorted by Ian Hewitt.

Another view. 

Here you see her seated with tennis great Martina Navratilova (far left) and Mr. Hewitt. (You can also see Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, and Vito Schnabel behind the Princess.)

On her right, another tennis legend, Billie Jean King.

Then the players took the court. Ons Jabeur is seen in the front, and Marketa Vondrousova is behind her.

Here is Philippa George again, this time after the coin toss, posed with Marketa Vondrousova (r) and Ons Jabeur (r). 

There were many notable names at today’s match, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband, Nick Jonas. 

Dame Maggie Smith.

Lady Frederick Windsor, Sophie Winkleman at today’s match, wearing Catherine Walker. Rodrigo reports she is wearing the same dress she wore for the Gentlemen’s Final in 2018. 

Embed from Getty Images

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, and Vito Schnabel were also at the match this afternoon. 
Embed from Getty Images
And the view as play got underway.

Marketa Vondrousova’s forehand. 

And a forehand from Ons Jabeur. 

Ultimately, Ms. Vondrousova was victorious, beating her opponent in straight sets.

 She made history, becoming the first unseeded player to win at Wimbledon.

More from the New York Times.

Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic became one of the most unlikely Wimbledon champions Saturday, beating Ons Jabeur, a trailblazing Tunisian, in straight sets.

On Saturday afternoon it was Jabeur’s turn to have Vondrousova’s tricky and unorthodox game crush her dream.

For Jabeur, the loss in a second straight Wimbledon final against an opponent who had accomplished far less than other women she beat on the way to the precipice of tennis history, was nothing less than heartbreaking. Jabeur has now lost three of the last five Grand Slam finals, falling just short of becoming the first woman of Arab descent and from Africa to win the most important championships in tennis.

Like most tennis players she has long dreamed of winning Wimbledon and last year used a picture of the women’s trophy as the lock screen on her phone.

On her way to the trophy presentation, the Princess and Mr. Hewitt stopped to chat with ball girls and boys. 

Additional thoughts on today’s match via The Guardian’s article. 

Jabeur had played the best tennis of her life to return to the final, snatching incredible wins over title favourites Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.

But as she rounded on the final as the heavy favourite to become the first African woman or Arab player to win a grand slam title, playing for so much more than herself, Jabeur could not manage to find her best tennis under pressure.

Matchups are everything in tennis, and when her game is in full flow Vondrousova can be excruciating to play against. She not only constantly forced the Tunisian to take on so many more balls to finish points, but she constantly put them in awkward positions.

The Princess had a hug for the runner-up. A quick video. 

Then, it was time to present the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy to Marketa Vondrousova.

A round of applause for the two women. 

Ms. Vondrousova and the trophy.

Now for our look at what Kate wore today. 

We begin with her Lime Boucle Collared Chiffon Midi Dress ($615) by Self-Portrait. It includes design elements seen in other Self-Portrait designs worn by the Princess, including a tailored top with a full, floaty skirt and an appearance of wearing separates when it is just one piece, a dress. The fabric for the upper portion of the garment is a blend of wool, acrylic, and polyester. The skirt is polyester, as is the lining of the dress.

It also features bodice darts, four decorative pocket flaps, self-covered buttons, and a self-belt. Thank you to Emma for today’s dress ID. 

Another set of images showing today’s outfit.

Thoughts on the look from Caroline Leaper, The Telegraph’s senior fashion editor, in this column.  

Leave it to the Princess of Wales – arguably the best ‘literal dresser’ Wimbledon has ever seen – to pull something special out of the wardrobe for the tournament’s final weekend.

On a previous visit to the All England Club last week, the Princess channelled ‘umpire chic’ in a Balmain blazer and long white pleated skirt.

But to watch the women’s singles final match on Saturday between Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur and the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova, the Princess trialled a new trick; wearing tennis ball green. 

The Princess brought back her Natasha handbag ($425) in blush suede by Emmy London. It was first carried for a Grenfell Tower memorial service last May. Unusually, the Princess carried the bag by the goldtone metal and leather chain that comes with the piece, instead of holding it like a clutch.

The Princess wore her hair partially pulled back. 

She sported a new pair (at least to us, we’ve not seen them worn previously) of sunglasses by Victoria Beckham. They look like the Denim 53MM Square Sunglasses ($279), with thanks to Middleton Maven and UFO No More for their ID.

The sunglasses appear to be available at Designer Frames Outlet ($185) and at EZ Contacts ($192). 

The Princess wore a pair of Gianvito Rossi Ribbon Sling Pumps in the 85mm heel height. The slingback style features a 3.3″ heel, pointed toe, and the signature “GR” ribbon buckle on the strap (inset photo below right). We haven’t been able to locate the exact suede color worn by the Princess, but it’s clearly the brand’s Ribbon Sling design.

For comparison’s sake, I show the pumps at Farfetch ($753) in leather. Thank you to Middleton Maven for the ID work on today’s heels. 

We saw the return of the Cassandra Goad Cavolfiore Studs (£5430, roughly $7100 at today’s exchange rates) featuring seven pearls set with diamonds in 18K gold. 

The Maya Torque Aquamarine & Gold Bangle by Halcyon Days was also brought back for today’s ensemble. The Princess wore this bracelet for last year’s Ladies’ Singles Final. UPDATE JULY 16: With thanks to Royal Fashion Police for the heads-up, it turns out the bracelet is a newer style, the Salamander Torque Aquamarine and Gold Bangle ($215), as seen in the photo below.

The Princess also wore her purple and green AELTC committee of management pin. 

We’ll see you tomorrow when both the Prince and Princess of Wales attend the Gentlemen’s Final match. Here is a video Kensington Palace posted on social media after today’s match. 


VIDEOS: 

Ons Jabeur spoke about her encounter with the Princess. 

The Royal Family Channel offers about three minutes of coverage in this video. 

 Wimbledon posted a video of the Princess speaking with the new Ladies’ Champion. 


 

 

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Donna

Wednesday 19th of July 2023

I am a huge fan of pleated skirts, in this length, even gausey/floaty ones like this. And I like to pair them with this length of a fitted or belted jacket, it's very retro or vintage and I like that style so I should like this outfit, but I don't. I loved the white version of the dress (although I disliked those bow-backed shoes with it) the princess wore to the Portrait Gallery opening. So, maybe it's the color. It is headed towards neon, as someone said, but at the same time looking washed out. The jacket part does remind me of the smock my dental hygienist wore at my recent visit. Similar color too . . . maybe that's it.. Rare miss for me.

Rebecca

Monday 17th of July 2023

One of my fav outfits ever. I love her hair half up half down

Annie

Monday 17th of July 2023

Her hair looks marvelous. I do like the cheerful lime color of this. There's no denying it isn't her best color, but she is tanned which helps mitigate it and looks beautiful and happy as always. I still can't decide if I like these dresses or not. I like the jacket and the skirt, but keep going back and forth over whether I like them together.

I'm frequently stunned at the prices they charge for designer clothes when they don't even use good materials. $600 and they used a polyester lining! Even nice Bemberg rayon lining, which is far more comfortable for wearing, is only around $12 a yard. It's almost a scam on the part of the dressmaker.

Zanne

Monday 17th of July 2023

I love this outfit.

There's a freshness and energy about it that I find youthful. The collar, pocket, covered buttons and belt are smart, crisp details that just sing.

I would have preferred a swishy high ponytail to echo the movement in the skirt, and shine the focus squarely onto the earrings. A minor quibble, though.

Izzy

Sunday 16th of July 2023

Good colour, bad collar (too big for her neck)

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