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Archive for Evening Gowns
The Duchess wore a new gown for tonight’s BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards ceremony.
The glittering gala was at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall.
Kate’s dress was a Jenny Packham design.
This is the second time the Duke and Duchess have attended the Awards.
Below, the couple is welcomed by the Academy’s Chief Executive, Amanda Berry.
Kate and William being greeted inside Royal Albert Hall.
Also attending this evening’s ceremony, Helena Bonham-Carter, winner of the BAFTA for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in recognition of her work in The King’s Speech. She will play the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, in Season 3 of The Crown. (On Twitter someone wondered if her handbag was a whimsical nod to that role.)
Others at the awards included Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lawrence, and Emma Roberts.
The duo on the way to their seats.
In this picture, you see Kate’s private secretary, Catherine Quinn, standing on the left.
Prince William has been President of the Academy since 2010. In his foreword to tonight’s program, he referenced the ongoing turmoil within the industry regarding sexual harassment and assault:
“As President, I am proud of the leadership BAFTA has shown; in a year which rocked the industry as many brave people spoke up about bullying, harassment and abuse despite the risk to their professional careers and reputations.”
Tonight he presented Sir Ridley Scott with the Academy’s Fellowship; more from BAFTA:
Awarded annually, the Fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television. Fellows previously honoured for their work in film include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Lee, Martin Scorsese, Alan Parker, Helen Mirren and Sidney Poitier.
Here you see Kate with Sir Ridley after the awards.
For last year’s Awards, Kate was in an Alexander McQueen piece that turned out to be a reader favorite, taking first place in our poll on your favorite 2017 evening gowns.
At the 2011 BAFTA Brits to Watch celebration in Los Angeles Kate wore another Alexander McQueen dress.
Now to what Kate wore for this year’s awards ceremony.
She was in an off-the-shoulder Jenny Packham dress with an empire waistline and deep vee neckline on the front, with a full, flowing skirt.
The draped neckline on the back has a shallow scoop; there is a hidden zipper closure with and hook & eye. Kate also wore a black velvet band that is tied into a bow at the center back. 
In this photo you can see how the frock floats, I think the fabric is most likely a silk chiffon; you can also see the small train a few have mentioned in their comments.
Michelle of Perth’s Fashion discovered some Jenny Packham styles with design elements similar to those used for Kate’s gown. From left to right we show the Velvet Trimmed Ruffled Silk Chiffon gown at in kingfisher blue at Net-a-Porter; a Spring 2015 bridal design; a dress from the 2017 Pre-fall collection, and a wedding gown from the Jenny Packham Wonder Collection at David’s Bridal, the Hand Beaded Cap Sleeve Sheath.
The dress color selected by Kate this evening was a topic of much discussion ahead of the event. From a People story:
Similar to the Golden Globes in January, attendees of this year’s BAFTA Awards were encouraged to wear black in support of the Time’s Up initiative, which stands against harassment, assault and mistreatment of women.
More from a Daily Telegraph story by Hannah Furness:
The Duchess of Cambridge has given just a nod to the Time’s Up movement in a sombre dark green dress with black sash, as she eschews an unofficial all-black dress code for this year’s Bafta ceremony.
In the event, she took the middle ground, wearing a dark green Jenny Packham gown with a black sash to blend in with the dark dress code.
And from Vanity Fair:
By wearing dark green, and that very visible black sash, Kate managed not to stand out against all of the other black gowns on the carpet, stayed within royal protocol, and still made a statement for anyone looking for it.
The Duchess of Cambridge has defied the Time’s Up protest by arriving at the BAFTAs in a green dress, instead of the black worn by the majority of the red carpet.
Film stars and directors made the one-colour statement to show support for the fight against sexual harassment against women, however only the ribbon around the pregnant Duchess’s Jenny Packham dress was black.
This is from The Sun’s coverage:
For the 2018 Baftas, Kate wore a dark green gown – not quite the black dress code worn by those supporting the Time’s Up movement. However, she wore a black sash with the dress which is an acknowledgement without making a political statement.
Kate could face repercussions if she had worn black as it may be seen as a political statement, which is against the Royal Family’s rules. She was in a difficult position as if she completely refused to wear black, she could be open to criticism for not using her platform to make a stand against sexual harassment and women’s rights.
This is from a BBC story:
Bethan Holt, fashion news and features director at The Telegraph, told BBC News: “The Royal Family very rarely get involved in political messaging, so perhaps it’s not such a surprise that she didn’t join in with the rest of the women and wear black tonight.”
And this via The Express:
While many of the stars tonight chose black gowns to support the Time’s Up movement, the Duchess of Cambridge is forbidden from taking a political stance on issues.
Royals usually stay clear of making political statements, while the monarchy’s website reads: “As head of state, the Queen has to remain strictly natural with respect to political matters.”
Tonight’s gown is quite similar to another Jenny Packham frock the Duchess has worn, an inky blue dress seen on three occasions.
In fact, the last time we saw Kate in that inky blue gown she was also wearing pieces from the same emerald and diamond jewelry set. That was at the 2014 fundraiser for Sat. Andrews University at the Met in New York.
That is the perfect segue to coverage of tonight’s jewelry. Apparently sartorial support of the Time’s Up movement isn’t limited to the color of one’s clothing. Something I entirely missed in coverage of the Golden Globes and other awards was the number of women accessorizing with emeralds. More from W magazine’s coverage:
Black dresses on the 2018 Golden Globes red carpet weren’t the only symbolic look of the night—plenty of actresses also wore emerald jewels, a stone which signifies “hope, renewal and growth” and marks a symbolic element of the Time’s Up initiative protest on the red carpet, which aims to combat sexual assault and gender disparity in all workplaces, not just Hollywood.
And from the Today Show:
Emeralds have long been associated with divine feminine power — birth, fertility and creation — and often, they were associated with goddesses, like Venus and Umina in the ancient Peru,” Anna Sheffield, founder and creative director of her eponymous jewelry line, told TODAY Style. “They nod to the power and creativity attributed to females since the dawn of time, and evoke the reverence with which women should be treated.”
Many thanks to Jennifer F. on the Facebook page for pointing out the emerald jewelry information.
A closer look at tonight’s pieces.
We have seen the shimmering diamond and emerald bracelet before, and the earrings as well, but worn in a different style.
A closer look at the necklace.
The earrings are convertible; you can see in this photo that tonight’s earrings are the bottom portion of the drops worn in 2014.
More about the pieces from Ella Kay of The Court Jeweller:
The pieces are set with white diamonds, yellow diamonds, and square-cut emeralds, which are set within a floral border of diamonds.
Kate tonight and in 2014.
The bracelet as seen in 2014 (l) and again tonight (r).
This is a set believed to belong to Kate; it is not on loan from HM, most believe it was a wedding gift. At one time there was some thought these were from Diana’s emerald and diamond set, but both The Court Jeweller and the Royal Order of Splendor have explained this is not the case.
Kate’s shoes are the Prada wavy cutout style we have seen previously.
She carried the velvet Pretty Ballerinas/Mascaró clutch first noted at the Sun Military Awards in 2011.
Almost every article written in the run-up to tonight’s Awards, and most written this evening pointed out Kate’s conundrum: regardless of what color she wore there would be repercussions. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision.
A word about comments on tonight’s post: this is the first, and may well be the only time when we will publish comments with political content. I’m not encouraging it by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t know how it can be avoided and I know almost every reader will have their own thoughts on what Kate wore. Some will wish she had worn a black gown. Others will be pleased she did not. Some will find the black sash and emerald jewelry to be the best solution to the dilemma confronting Kate when selecting an ensemble for tonight’s engagement. We all bring our own experiences, strength, and stories to this point and have our own thoughts on the topic. If you disagree with someone’s comment, please respond politely, personal attacks won’t be published.
We are back with an overview of a busy ten days for the Duchess, as well as some poll results.
We begin with the multiple additions to Kate’s schedule. Following is info on several of the engagements, a bit more than what is in the individual listings on the Kate’s Calendar page.
Tuesday, February 27: The Duchess will visit the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to learn more about ways to reduce newborn and maternal mortality rates around the world. Kate will hear more about the RCOG’s Leading Safe Choices program in South Africa and Tanzania, and also take part in a roundtable discussion on the stigma which surrounds women’s health, and in particular maternal mental health.
Tuesday, February 27: Kate will visit St. Thomas’ Hospital to launch the Nursing Now campaign, created to raise the profile of nursing worldwide. She will visit a specialist ward, take part in a roundtable discussion and deliver a speech to mark the launch of the Nursing Now campaign.
- Kate’s participation and speech are part of a global launch for the campaign, with other activities scheduled in Geneva, Switzerland.
- There will be a live stream available from both the London & Geneva locations. (It will be shown on the Nursing Now website. The site notes that events are slated to run from 1300 – 1500 GMT / 8 am – 10 am ET.)
- Kate’s great-grandmother, Olive Middleton, was a nurse. More from a Daily Telegraph story by Hannah Furness: “Olive Middleton, is known to have worked as a nurse, caring for wounded servicemen after the Leeds estate belonging to a cousin was turned into a field hospital. There, in Gledhow Hall, she is reported to have nursed men severely wounded on the Western front, learning the full horror of war.”
- The Telegraph story also notes that when looking at this function in tandem with the RCOG engagement shown above, “The combination of events appear to be a clear new direction for the Duchess, aligning her more closely than ever with serious women’s issues.”
Wednesday, February 28: In her role as Patron of the National Portrait Gallery, Kate will visit the ‘Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography‘ exhibition. Below, Kate at a March 2017 NPG Gala.
- The exhibit includes the Gallery’s first “Patron’s Trail,” featuring works Kate has selected and also written personal captions for that will be displayed alongside specific photographs.
- The Duchess has also written a foreword for the exhibition catalog. This is a good fit for the Duchess; more from an Artnet story: “Her interest in 19th-century photography dates back to her time studying art history at the University of St. Andrews where she chose the topic as the subject of her undergraduate thesis.”
- An article from Artlyst reports that in the catalog foreword Kate “…explains that photographs of children, which feature predominantly within the exhibition, are of particular interest to her. The Duchess also points out that Queen Victoria and especially Prince Albert, became enthusiastic patrons of the new art form following its invention in 1839.”
Kate will have six engagements between Sunday night’s BAFTA Awards and the NPG event on the 28th.
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Now we have some poll results! We’ll begin with results for the Favorite Evening Gown category, which saw your favorite well ahead of the second and third place choices. The surprise for me with this vote was how close the blush pink Marchesa dress worn to the Spain state dinner was to the blue Jenny Packham dress, especially considering the poor photos we had of the Marchesa. (I did not include a photo of the Marchesa gown here because the pictures were so dreadful.)
This is how the voting turned out. 
You might remember that for this year’s polls you could also vote for “other,” and leave comments. The feedback on evening gowns included three “none of the above” comments, one expressing “hope she goes back to more classic styles,” as well as one in favor of the red Alexander McQueen dress from the tour.
Next, the Cocktail Dress you liked the most from Kate’s 2017 selections.
I liked the way the voting came out in this group because three very different dress styles were selected. “Other” comments were limited to one liking “all” of the dresses and one expressing a desire for more “classic, timeless” dresses. Below, the votes for this category.
When it came to your Favorite Day Dress, the Erdem Evita was the clear winner.
But look how close the other three dresses were – each garnering 9% of the vote. Comments accompanying the “Other” votes in this collection included several liking “all” and one saying “none of the above.”
And now for your votes in the Favorite Hat poll. This is quite a mix in terms of design; the first and second choices are distinctive in their difference from the other three hats.
Those picking “other” and leaving comments were vocal in saying “none,” while the Alpaca Fur hat seen at Christmas was also mentioned in one comment. I know a few comments wondered why that and/or the grey alpaca hat from last January weren’t included. They were not part of the poll because I was trying to limit the voting to the more formal, or dressier, hats. You see here how close the voting was on the third, fourth and fifth place finishers.
How are you feeling about a Favorite Jewelry and/or Favorite Shoes and/or Favorite Suit polls despite how deep we are into the New Year? If those are something you would like to see, let me know in comments. I am still planning the “Things We Missed During the Tour” post as well.
That is it, for now; we’ll see you Sunday for the BAFTA awards at Royal Albert Hall. There will be a live stream from the red carpet starting at 1700 local time, that is Noon ET/9 am PT in the US. We will be able to watch the feed on the BAFTA Facebook page and Twitter account.
I will keep an eye out for any more details on the feed; if there is more info I will add it here, as well as on the Facebook page and Twitter.
