Kate chose Stella McCartney for today’s visit to the National Portrait Gallery.

James Whatling / Splash News

Above she is seen with Gallery Director Sandy Nairne. The Duchess enjoyed a private showing of Road to 2012: Aiming High exhibition, featuring photos of athletes and those working to “make the London 2012 Olympic and Paraympic Games happen.” Kate was actually acting in two roles, she is an official ambassador for the London 2012 Games, as well as a patron of the Gallery. More on her visit to the exhibit from The Standard:

Gallery director Sandy Nairne said: ‘We know she [the Duchess] loves taking photographs. She was very intrigued about how things got taken and why they got taken. She was on very good form and she was asking lovely questions.’

Another view of Kate and Mr. Nairne.

National Portrait Gallery Facebook

The exhibit showcases stunning photographs taken over a three year span; many offer an inside look at athletes pursuing their rigorous training regimes.

National Portrait Gallery

This black and white image of the Duchess taken by Jillian Edelstein during Kate’s visit to the Olympic Park in March is on exhibit at the Gallery. (Our post on that event is here.)

© Jillian Edelstein

Kate wore Stella McCartney’s Ridley Stretch dress for this morning’s appearance, it is a piece from the designer’s fall 2012 collection.

James Whatling / Splash News

The most distinctive feature of the dress is the darts on the outside of the garment, usually they are concealed inside a piece. The form fitting dress is made of a viscose/acetate blend with a touch of elastane for stretch, it features short sleeves and a hidden back zipper frock.

Stella McCartney

The piece is priced at $885 on the Stella McCartney US site but could be found priced as low as $625 at other online retailers. It is no longer available on the UK McCartney site, but Selfridge’s still shows it online in a few sizes.

Kate’s decision to wear Stella McCartney makes perfect sense, she designed Team GB’s Olympic uniforms.

Courtesy Photo

Those uniforms were not warmly received when unveiled in March, many felt the colors don’t accurately reflect the Union Jack. Andy Murray in the official styles.

Courtesy Photo

One of the jackets athletes will wear for medal presentations, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Kate in one of these.

Courtesy Photos

The Games are only 8 days away. Kate, William and Harry welcome Olympic Torchbearers to Buckingham Palace next Thursday as the Relay makes its way through London. The Opening Ceremonies follow the next day, Friday, the 27th.

Kate accessorized with earrings and a necklace we haven’t previously seen.

Splash News/Cartier

The necklace turns out to be by Cartier, from the jeweler’s Trinity collection. Described online as “The pure simplicity of three magically intertwined circles of pink, yellow and white gold,” the circles are set with shimmering diamonds.

Cartier

The electric blue dress was ideal as a backdrop for the glittering necklace. Our friends at Grazia report the piece retails for a whopping £49,000, roughly $78,000 at today’s exchange rates; that price tag ignited an online debate about appropriateness in such austere times, others merely didn’t like the design.  Richard Palmer of the Express tweeted that the necklace is a personal item.

Richard Palmer/The Express Twitter Feed

The design of the piece does echo an Olympic rings look, we are presuming the necklace was a gift but have no other information on its provenance. Princess Diana was also a fan of the jeweler’s Trinity collection, Diana’s Jewels shows the the Princess wearing a ring from the line in 1983.

Rebecca English of the Daily Mail was kind enough to share some of her own photos from the event via Twitter.

Rebecca English Twitter Feed

The Duchess did not carry a bag this morning, we did see the return of her black Prada heels.

To learn/see more about today’s event:

• Visit the NPG’s Road to 2012 page
• Visit the official London 2012 website
• Take a look at the official London 2012 Facebook page
• Read the Daily Mail’s story on the visit
• See 51 photos from today’s event in Socialite Life’s gallery
• Watch The Telegraph’s video piece on the appearance

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Also today, an update on a dress many Kate fans are fond of, the black lace Temperley London gown she wore to the premiere of War Horse.

Shopbop

More on the gown from Temperley, officially called the Long Sleeved Amoret Dress:

…Amoret Dress is made using luxurious French lace underlaid with a silk contrast lining that accentuates the floral design. A broad scallop edges the v neck line and continues round  to the nape of the neck where the dress fastens with a keyhole detail. The body is fitted to just below the hip where it flares into a full length skirt while both the skirt and elegant long sleeves are finished with a delicate scalloped edge.

The dress is available in just one size on the Temperley website ($3995), I no longer see it on the Shopbop site where it was selling at $2520. Our thanks to Gena, she left a comment alerting us to the availability of the dress. Below, photos better showing the level of detail in the lace as well as other elements of the frock.

Temperley London

Our original post on the War Horse premiere may be found here.

We’ll see you again shortly, we hope before next week’s Olympic events.