Kate Middleton’s most iconic fashion moment of the year

Who can forget the beautiful young woman who posed so elegantly with Prince William for their engagement photograph announcement in a blue Issa dress? Young, fresh and vibrant, she was quickly courted by a slew of designers.

Learning the royal dress code

Since marrying Prince William, Kate has had to relearn the rules of fashion, so that she can showcase the best work of numerous designers without ever compromising her elevated position in the public eye. In the early stages of her marriage, she often got it wrong, with hemlines that were too short, and skirts that were too floaty, causing unseemly glimpses of the royal legs when the wind whipped her hemlines even higher.

When Prince Harry married Meghan Markle, fashion pundits expected Kate to fall by the wayside in the fashion stakes. After all, Meghan was an actress, who used to have her own highly popular blog, so she’s far more accustomed to being photographed than our home-grown Kate. Yet Kate seems to have acquired a new sense of style in recent months, constantly being lauded in the press for her fashion choices.

Kate’s top fashion moment

According to a recent article in People, Kate reached new heights earlier this year when she stepped out in a red Catherine Walker double-breasted coat for the Westminster Abbey Commonwealth Service. Demand for similar garments rose by as much as 225% immediately afterwards, showing just how much her fashion choices have come to influence royal watchers.

In fact, the Duchess of Cambridge has inspired huge numbers of fans, known as CopyKates, many of whom post photographs of themselves in similar clothing on social media channels, under the hashtag RepliKate. The aim is to dress just like her, although not all of her followers have access to the sort of money needed to acquire designer fashion.

But for those who like wearing elegant maxi dresses, for example, there are plenty of options to be found online. For example, AX Paris maxi dresses tick all of the high fashion boxes but without the associated price tags, so keeping up with Kate doesn’t have to break the bank.

Fashion pundits claim that Kate is having a ‘fashion moment’, so we wait with bated breath to see what she’ll be appearing in on her next public engagement.