How Kate Middleton has her clothing tailored to fit her modest royal wardrobe fit for a Princess
The Princess of Wales made a stunning appearance in a pink dress when she joined Prince William to attend Crown Prince Hussein’s lavish wedding with Rajwa Al-Saif.
Kate Middleton, 41 wore a custom Elie Saab gown to Zahran Palace. The dress featured long sleeves, an intricate bodice and a high ruffled neckline.
Eagle-eyed fashion insiders may have spotted something in particular about her look – that it was yet another example of the way that Kate’s dresses are adapted from the catwalk to make them more suitable for royalty.
As seen on the catwalk, this dress features sheer panels in the skirt and upper area.
The Princess of Wales put on an elegant display in a soft pink dress as she joined Prince William for Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding to Rajwa Al-Saif in Jordan
The dress was seen on the catwalk in the Fall 2017 Ready to Wear collection of the Lebanese designer (pictured). It featured sheer panels. Kate’s dress did not have these panels.
Kate’s, however, has been changed to remove these transparent elements.
The mother-of-three has developed a trick for making sure her off-the-peg garments are tailored before wearing them, to remove revealing hemlines to suit her regal and elegant style.
Kate is a beautiful woman when she wears clothes by the best designers in the world. But less modest clothes on the catwalk do not always meet the dress code.
According to reports, the British Royal family follows a strict style guide that excludes inappropriately short skirts and day dresses with plunging necklines. It also prohibits fabrics that wrinkle, as well as slits which gape when you bend over or sit down.
Kate Middleton’s perfectly tailored clothes have never faltered since her marriage with Prince William in 2011.
Kate’s No Time To Die premiere gown is an example of Kate making simple but effective changes. British label Jenny Packham dressed Kate in a dazzling gold number for the film premiere at the Royal Albert Hall back in 2021.
The £4,000 gown, which was originally thought to be a custom creation, featured one small change in comparison to its runway edition – an altered neckline to add a touch of modesty.
In December 2019, the mother-of-three transformed an Alessandra Rich dress before wearing it for the ‘A Berry Royal Christmas’ programme.
By removing a waist-high slit and a Kate and her stylists gave the dress a royal touch by revealing a keyhole at the neckline and adding a large bow around the neck.
For the No Time To Die premier in 2021, Kate donned a stunning £4,000 gown, which was originally thought to be a custom creation, by Jenny Packham – but made a few alterations to the neckline to make the piece more modest
Kate is known to alter and customize high-street items and designer clothes to fit her own style, before adding them to the royal wardrobe. A good example of this is her Alessandra Rich gown. The original dress (left) had a large opening in the neckline that the Duchess removed before adding the large bow.
During her royal tour to Pakistan in October, the Princess of Wales turned a chocolate utility shirtdress purchased from the high-street retailer Mint Velvet and made it into a top.
Modest alterations can also be made to clothing, including the change in style or shape of the sleeves.
The royal received much praise for her custom-made Elie Saab two piece, which was rich in tulle and exquisitely embroidered.
Although the sheer sleeves and pussy-bow neckline gave this piece a chic, standout look, the original garment actually had shorter sleeves, with lace panels along the hemline as opposed to the shoulders.
The royal also made a small design modification when she wore an altered dress from Beulah in January 2019.
When visiting the Family Action Charity in London, Princess Diana wore an elegant forest green dress. Instead of the original garment’s fluted sleeves, three buttons were added.
The royal transformed the Chocolate Utility Shirtdress from the high street retailer Mint Velvet into a top during her trip to Pakistan in 2019 (pictured left, the original garment, and right, how Kate wore the garment)
Kate Middleton, Duchess Of Cambridge, stunned in an Elie Saab outfit for the Royal Ascot, June. The sleeves were re-sized from the original designer piece.
Not all changes are big! The royal made a small design alteration to the sleeves of the Beulah London dress before wearing it to visit the Family Action charity in London in January 2019 (pictured left, the original gown with fluted sleeves, and right, Kate’s version differed slightly from the original)
It was thought that the royal also had a Emilia Wickstead-designed Christmas lunch for Queen Elizabeth in December 2019 tailored.
It is believed that the original garment was stripped of its sheer sleeves in favor of a tartan finish.
The royal is also believed to have had another of the designer’s pieces tailored ahead of the Wimbledon final four years ago, with some speculating she’d had the fullness in the skirt removed to further flatter her figure.
Kate’s personal style isn’t just about the cut and form of her royal clothing.
The royals regularly change the design of pieces prior to stepping out.
While visiting Wimbledon with sister-in-law Meghan Markle, the royal wore a Dolce and Gabbana dress, which was amended from the designer’s original piece to remove a large embroidered clock on the right-hand side of the bodice.
Kate is said to have removed the sheer sleeves from the Emilia Wickstead design before wearing it to the Queen’s Christmas Lunch in 2019. (left, the original design and right, the Princess of Wales).
Some believe that the royal made a similar adjustment to an Emilia Wickstead dress for the Wimbledon Men’s Final in July 2019. They suggest the fullness was removed from the skirt (pictured on the left, the original gown and the right, Kate’s version).
Not just the clothing fits! Kate Middleton wore a modified Dolce & Gabbana dress to Wimbledon, while Meghan Markle wore the original version.
She wore another bespoke dress from Ridley London when she visited the Royal Photographic Society once again in 2019.
Kate’s version was created in a Liberty of London print called ‘Peach Flourish’, with Kate’s skirt detailing also differing slightly from Ridley’s original dress.
Kate chose a dress in soft tones and an oriental print for an event in Singapore during a tour in South-East Asia. The floaty dress appeared to be adapted from the Meryl dress from Erdem’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection.
Both had the same pattern, pleating and waist detail, but while the original dress was sleeveless and sheer, Kate’s featured a wider neckline, revealing her collarbones, and chiffon sleeves to give a softer look.
Kate’s white slip also changed the background colour, making the print stronger and more vibrant.
In the summer of 2019, Kate wore a pretty Ridley London dress which had been created in a Liberty London fabric, with the hem detailing of her piece also differing from the company’s original (pictured left, another of the designs from Ridley London, and right, the Duchess of Cambridge in her bespoke piece)
Kate chose a soft-toned dress with an oriental print for an event in Singapore during a tour to South-East Asia. The floaty dress was adapted from Erdem’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Both have the same pattern, pleating and waist detail, but while the original dress is sleeveless and sheer, Kate’s has a wider neckline and a white slip
For the Queen’s 90th Birthday Commonwealth service in March 2016, Kate wore a £2,500 grey coat by Erdem, a bespoke version based on one from the London label’s Pre-Fall 2015 collection
For the Queen’s 90th Birthday Commonwealth service in March 2016, Kate favours a £2,500 grey coat by Erdem, a bespoke version based on one from the London label’s Pre-Fall 2015 collection.
Kate’s design removed most of the detailing, making it appear sleeker and simpler.
On a seven-day tour to India and Bhutan in April 2016, Kate looked stunning in Temperley London’s Desdemona design for a lunch with the Indian prime minister.
The 100% cotton jade dress featured a high-neck, fitted waistline, a fluted hem, and cotton voile pleats.
But the original had a bodice that’s predominantly sheer — far too risque for Kate — so a modesty panel was been added across the bust, and the underskirt lengthened so it is only sheer from the knee down.
On a seven-day tour to India and Bhutan in April 2016, Kate looked stunning in Temperley London’s Desdemona design for a lunch with the Indian prime minister. Kate modified the sheer dress to add additional panelling, making it more modest.
Kate wore an Alexander McQueen dress adapted to her specifications in September 2016 while touring Canada. The original version was a tiered mini-dress with cropped bell sleeves, but Kate’s version featured a lengthened skirt lengthened
Kate wore a custom-made Alexander McQueen dress, adapted from the Resort 2017 Collection. She was on tour in Canada during September 2016.
The original version was a tiered mini-dress with cropped bell sleeves, but Kate’s version, which she wore for a visit to Vancouver with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, featured a lengthened skirt, so it stops just above the knee rather than mid-thigh.
The full-length sleeves with white cuffs were also chosen to replace the voluminous tiered ones. The Princess’s silhouette was transformed into a more elegant and sophisticated one with the safer, more sophisticated option.
Kate chose a Jenny Packham dress she wore at the Royal Albert Hall, May 2012 for the Tusk Conservation Awards.
Compared to the original, Kate’s was much more conservative — and a much more striking colour. The bodice was stitched to show a peekaboo of details rather than being a full lace.
Kate chose a Jenny Packham gown for the Tusk Conservation Award ceremony in 2018. Her version was more vibrant teal than the original and it had some minor changes to the design.
For her first engagement after her latest maternity leave, Kate chooses grey tweed Erdem for the launch of a photography exhibition at London’s V&A Museum in October. The catwalk version includes a risque cut-away detail in the designer’s spring/summer 18 collection. Kate’s has the keyhole detail removed and a plum belt added, ensuring her midriff is covered up.
For her first engagement after her latest maternity leave following the birth of Prince Louis, Kate wore grey tweed Erdem for the launch of a photography exhibition at London’s V&A Museum in October 2018.
The catwalk version included a risque cut-away detail in the designer’s spring/summer 18 collection, but Kate’s had the keyhole detail removed and a plum belt added, ensuring her midriff is covered up.
Since 2014, her personal stylist Natasha Archer has made the sartorial decisions for Kate’s wardrobe.
Natasha, who works on catwalks almost a full year in advance of production, will choose styles, prints, and patterns, and then discuss them with Kate, before designers are contacted.
Natasha is likely to make small changes such as sewing up plunging collarlines. More fundamental changes are made by the designer who created the piece.
This is a collaborative project to preserve the design while maintaining royal modesty. It will cost more than buying off-the-rack ready-to-wear outfits.