Catherine Finds Unlikely Outfit Inspiration For Day At Wimbledon With Prince George
There's nothing Brits love more than a weekend playing tennis. Scratch that, actually they might love seeing what royals wear to tennis matches more. The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, has been pulling out all the sartorial stops for Wimbledon this year. The 40-year-old has shown up in tons of different perfectly posh pieces, but, as Vogue found, she's stepping into a different era for inspiration. There are a few reasons why the styling inspiration could be coming up, and each one is better than the last.
It's not often that the royal family steps out into public, so naturally people notice when they show up to Wimbledon. The two-week long tennis championship concludes with a weekend of great tennis and a spot filled by the royals in The Royal Box (via Vogue). The Duchess of Cambridge, who herself is a member of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, presents the final trophy for the weekend (via People). She also shows up to watch much of the final weekend, and this year she did it in style.
Here's a close-up look of Middleton's look, which you might notice looks a little bit out of her usual modern era dressing.
Kate Middleton opts for '80s sillhouette and print
At first glance, Kate Middleton's Wimbledon outfit looks like your classic royal attire. The navy blue is super regal, the polka dots are great, and the details really bring home the fact that it's a royal look. But upon looking closer, you'll see that there's actually a whole lot of the 80s conjured up in this look. The peplum-style middle, slightly padded shoulder shape, and oversized pearl buttons are enough to give you flashbacks. Her navy outfit also coordinates with Prince William, and Prince George, who made his Wimbledon debut this year (via People).
According to Vogue, the look was an Alessandra Rich Chelsea-collar polka-dot silk-crepe dress that retails for a whopping $1,865 (via Matches Fashion). While the dress is technically not vintage, there does seem to be a whole lot of inspiration from the 80s, whether it's intentional or not.
It is completely possible that Middleton just binged watched "Stranger Things" and got inspired by the iconic styles. After all, "Strangers Things" brought back some 80s trends like mullets, leather, and fun prints. Something tells us that polka dots and shoulder pads are coming back now too. People from both sides of the pond love to recreate the Duchess of Cambridge's style (per Insider), so it would come as no surprise if we see this look everywhere this summer.
She's been loving polka dots lately too
Nothing is ever done on a whim when you're royal. There are tons of rules outlining what they can wear and when. Heck, many of them even have their own royal fashion stylist, including Kate Middleton (via Newsweek). So Kate's outfits are just about always intentional. That being said, she's worn a whole lot of polka dots lately, which, according to Suggest, could mean that Middleton wants to be a bit more fun.
"When you go for polka dots it's very playful, it opens up conversation, it makes you give off a sort of warm feel," color psychologist Tash Bradley tells Suggest. "It's interesting that they've all gone for polka dots because that straight away just screams out fun . . . That you're there to have a bit of fun, you're not trying to take yourself too seriously, you're trying to be softer in your approach I would say."
Considering that the royals have made a push to modernize the monarchy, the polka dots could be a strategic move for the Duchess of Cambridge (via Marie Claire). She and Prince William have even gone so far as to say they want to be referred to as only their first names to be more relatable. New name, new fashion sense, who knows what's next for Middleton.