It’s Dolce & Gabbana for Kate’s Royal Ascot Debut UPDATED Jewelry Info

The Duchess wore Dolce and Gabbana for her debut at Royal Ascot.

Accompanying the Duke and Duchess in their carriage, Wentworth Beaumont and his wife. Mr. Beaumont is a London art consultant and dealer. Kate sported a new Jane Taylor hat and new earrings by Kiki McDonough (see jewelry update below).

From The Daily Mail:

Crowds cheered as the procession of the Royal Family – led by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in the first carriage – pulled into the parade ring.

 The 90-year-old monarch, who wore a cyclamen pink outfit by Stewart Parvin with a hat by Angela Kelly, arrived to see three of her horses competing.

Alongside her husband, the Queen was joined by the Duke of Argyll and William Farish in the coach.

Kate and William have previously been to the Epsom Derby, but not to this event. Below, the Duchess at the June 2011 Derby.

More about Royal Ascot from Simon Perry’s People magazine story:

The five-day horse race is one of the most prestigious events of the year. More than 300,000 people, including the royal family, make the annual visit to Berkshire for the popular outing.  Royal Ascot is one of the centerpieces of the royal social calendar – due in part to Queen Elizabeth‘s love of horses and her ever-present status at the festival…

A video of the arrival.

It’s wonderful to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to #RoyalAscot this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/p6xBSEAGW5

— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 15, 2016

The weather was hit and miss, with very heavy rain just as the royal carriages were starting their procession. Fortunately, it cleared up and the umbrellas weren’t needed for the rest of the afternoon. The royal family was very well represented, all four of the Queen’s children attended today’s event. Below, Kate with Princess Anne, who was in the ensemble she wore for Kate and William’s 2011 wedding.

There is almost always visiting royalty at Ascot. Below, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark arriving with Sophie, Countess of Wessex. The Countess wore Emilia Wickstead and Jane Taylor, while the Crown Princess was in a Marc Jacobs dress and Jane Taylor hat. Not seen in the photo, Crown Prince Frederik, who accompanied his wife to the races.

This offers a nice view of Princess Mary’s hair and Kate’s hat. But the Duchess didn’t just watch the races. More from an ITV story:

Kate also surprised racegoers by joining William to present the Duke of Cambridge Stakes trophy to the owner of Usherette – the winning horse – to Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Duchess was not expected to be assist in awarding the trophy, but entered the parade ring with her husband to cheers and clapping.

Another look at the couple just before the presentation. Here is almost a full-length view of Kate’s dress via Simon Perry’s Instagram.

And another view.

The Duchess wore Dolce and Gabbana’s Cotton Blend Lace Dress.

She first wore the dress to the Queen’s Birthday Spectacular at Royal Windsor in May.

It is described this way on the Net-a-Porter site:

Dolce & Gabbana’s white dress is a romantic choice for special events or brides. This exquisite design is crafted from pretty cotton-blend lace with sheer sleeves, a nipped-in waist and tiered, swishy skirt. It comes with a smooth satin slip for coverage.

In her Telegraph column today Olivia Marks suggests Kate may have been harkening back to the iconic Audrey Hepburn lace dress from My Fair Lady.

When it comes to occasion dressing, The Duchess of Cambridge loves a theme. And for her eagerly awaited first trip to Ascot today it seems as though Kate might well have looked to cinematic classic My Fair Lady for sartorial inspiration Kate’s long white lace Dolce & Gabbana dress and dramatic hat conjured up the famous scene in which Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle attends the races for the first time.

I forgot that when she was a child Kate played the role of Eliza Doolittle in a school play, many thanks to Bonnie, for commenting with that information and sharing video links. This offers a better look at the lace, as well as the badges worn by William and Kate.

The Telegraph piece has reactions from the designers to Kate wearing their styles:

“We are big fan of the Duchess Kate,” Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said to The Telegraph. “To us it’s a great honour to see her wearing our clothes.”

The frock is discounted by 40% at Net a Porter, priced at $3597. We saw the return of Kate’s Gianvito Rossi suede heels in the ‘Praline’ colorway.

It turns out that ‘praline’ is the correct color name, with thanks to Tiffany C. and Elizabeth of Kate’s Closet, they learned that info from Gianvito Rossi. We show the shoe at My Theresa, where it seems to be available in all sizes ($675). It is also offered at Net-a-Porter where the color is called ‘antique rose,’ and it is available in most sizes ($675).

Kate carried her LK Bennett Natalie clutch.

She had on a new hat by Jane Taylor, the designer’s ‘Una’.

The chapeau is described as an “elegant mesh saucer disc with angular printed feather, delicate rose & twist detail.” It retails at £1050, which is just a bit less than $1500 at today’s exchange rates. Many thanks to Marie-Andrée for sharing the hat ID with us.

UPDATE: It was originally thought Kate was wearing earrings by Kiki McDonough, but this was not the case. Anna of My Small Obsessions believes they are by Robinson Pelham.

It has been a splendid 6 days of appearances. Be thinking about a favorite, I sense a poll in the next day or two asking which look you prefer.

LINKAGE:

• The Daily Mail’s coverage is here; The Express story and gallery may be seen here;
• The Telegraph article about Kate’s dress is here; The Royal Order of Splendor has a fun post up about today’s fashions; ITV’s story is here; PopSugar’s gallery is here