Turns Out, the Palace Is “Refusing” to Give Details on Kate Middleton’s Outfits Due to Optics
It looks like we might know why the royal family is (kinda out of nowhere!) “refusing” to give details on Kate Middleton’s outfits. To catch everyone up real quick, earlier this month The Express reported that Palace officials are “refusing” to provide details on Kate’s looks “amid frustration that so much media coverage is focused on what she wears.”
This marks a huge change because in the past, the Palace has provided a rundown of Kate’s outfits for “every official engagement.” But now? Now it’s “routinely refusing to say” unless the event Kate is attending involves “deploying fashion diplomacy”—like an overseas visit where she’d wear an item designed by someone in the “host nation.”
While it initially seemed like this move was a way to focus attention on Kate’s charitable engagements (although there’s nothing wrong with enjoying her fashion at the same time!), royal expert Richard Palmer says it might have more to do with optics.
“I think the cost-of-living crisis may well be part of that as well,” Palmer tells The Express. “It’s not a good look, is it, to turn up to a food bank in a £3,000 coat. But again, there’s always that difficult balance because people expect princesses to look like a princess. To look glamorous and to look something different from the people you see in the high street. You know, as ever, with her, I think she’ll mix and match. On some occasions, she’ll wear a £35 dress and then occasions where she’ll wear a £3,000 dress.”
FYI, Kate works with stylist Natasha Archer. Back in 2014, a source told Vanity Fair that the duchess was initially “a reluctant fashion icon,” but Natasha “persuaded Kate to take some more risks,” and thanks to her, “the hemlines are shorter and Kate’s really pushing the boat out in the fashion stakes.”
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