Kate Middleton Receives Backlash for Being ‘Out of Touch’ After Her Recent Royal Engagement Outfit
Kate Middleton, now the Princess of Wales, has been loved by the public since she married Prince William back in 2011. Kate has become a fashion icon, but she’s also proved that she can be a working mother in the spotlight and still keep her sense of self.
Through the years, Kate has become one of the world’s most influential women in fashion, and she’s gained brownie points from fans for repeating outfits rather than buying a new dress for every occasion. However, the princess recently came under fire for wearing a dress to a royal event that was strikingly similar to one she wore last summer — and opting not to repeat.
Kate Middleton’s Order of the Garter dress resembled a dress she wore in 2022
At this year’s Order for the Garter event, Kate donned an off-white Alessandra Rich dress covered in small, black polka dots. She paired it with a black fascinator, a pair of pearls, and a sophisticated updo. However, the look received some backlash on social media for seeming wasteful given that Kate had a perfectly similar dress that would have worked. At last year’s Royal Ascot event, kate wore the same type of dress, only it had larger, dark-brown polka dots and fit slightly differently.
Style expert Molly Elizabeth Agnew said that Kate’s new dress might have just been a way for her stylists to keep her looks fresh, but not everyone saw it that way. “It’s an accepted fact that members of the Royal Family buy and own far more items of clothing than the average person, and we do enjoy seeing them experiment with aesthetics and silhouettes,” Agnew told Express. “We take inspiration from them! However, when so many in the UK are struggling monetarily, it can come across as somewhat out of touch.”
Agnew also added that the princess’ decision to purchase a new dress when she already owns a similar style could seem “hypocritical” given that the royal family prides themselves on sustainability.
Kate Middleton is known to repeat outfits
Kate draws her fashion inspiration from the people around her, and she has mirrored the late Princess Diana’s style on several occasions. But she is also one to repeat outfits. Kate’s mother grew up loving a good sale and enjoyed saving money, and those values were instilled in Kate as well.
The princess has repeated outfits on plenty of occasions, even once wearing a dress a shocking 10 years after she first stepped out in it. Kate wore a lilac-colored floor-length gown to the 2011 BAFTA Awards, and she wore it once more in 2021 for the Earthshot Awards. While Kate doesn’t necessarily shy away from spending money, she has been known to shop more affordable brands, too. She is a big fan of Zara, an affordable women’s clothing store, which she often chooses for her business-casual outfits. Plus, when Kate dresses down, she enjoys wearing Gap or her signature Veja sneakers. Still, the princess is always being watched, and fans weren’t thrilled to see her buy two lookalike dresses only one year apart.
