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Dark academia on the street in London
Catherine, Princess of Wales, first shot to stardom in 2004 when she and William, Prince of Wales, announced their relationship while the pair were still in college. The following year, Kate moved into a London flat and paparazzi snapped shots of her wearing this dark academia look, that included a Longchamp bag hooked over her wrist. The bag would go on to be an oft-worn favorite for the future-princess, who knew how to embrace a designer piece even while her repetition of beloved favorites made her relatable to fans.
This snap also captures Kate’s revival of the “Sloane Ranger” style. The ’80s trend, a favorite of fashion icon Princess Diana, blended British heritage brands with an approachable city style. The Sloane Rangers, largely upper-middle-class women in London’s Chelsea and Kensington neighborhoods, dressed as if moving effortlessly between their city homes and country estates. The preppy style, which in some ways anticipated the current “quiet luxury” movement, emphasized traditional British labels like Burberry, Barbour, and Hunter. Kate’s polished, minimally made up, and country-coded style generated renewed interest in the vintage trend — sometimes rebranded as “English rose” aesthetic for the new generation.
Fur hat at the Cheltenham Races
In 2006, Catherine, Princess of Wales, turned heads at the Cheltenham Races when she made an appearance, giving Anna Karenina in a coat dress and a Russian-style hat. She accented the chic look with leather gloves, a silk neck scarf, and a shoulder bag.
In true Brit fashion, Kate has always had great hat game. But the fur hat went beyond the realm of creative fascinator. The bold hat made a strong counterpoint to the delicate tweed-pattern of her coat — and established her as fashion royalty, long before she and William, Prince of Wales, ever tied the knot.
Brocade coat dress for Laura Parker Bowles nuptials
In many ways, Catherine, Princess of Wales, made fashion choices during her tenure as royal girlfriend that would predict her choices after her wedding to William, Prince of Wales. In 2006, she attended the wedding of future stepsister-in-law Laura Parker Bowles alongside William — a landmark moment for their unfurling relationship — in a brocade coat dress with a dramatic, feathery fascinator har.
Kate would rewear the same cream and gold frock for the wedding of Zara Phillips in 2011. At the 2011 nuptials, Kate’s royal makeover was evident in the details — she had shinier hair and nicer shoes. Still, we love a princess who shops her closet. The repeated dress, already classic in 2006, is proof that her style sensibilities have stayed true to her pre-royal roots.
The blue dress for a wedding with Prince WIlliam
Catherine, Princess of Wales, stepped out for a friend’s wedding in 2010 looking very demure and very mindful. From the wide-brimmed hat to the crisp jacket, she already looked the part of a royal. Today, she often favors tea-length skirts, which reflect the royal family’s more conservative and modest aesthetic, but in the days when she was still simply just Kate Middleton, she appeared in knee-skimming skirts like this blue dress. Still, a wildly short skirt it is not. An insider source told People, “She looked incredibly demure by his side.”
The blue wrap dress that sold out in minutes
The first glimmers of Catherine, Princess of Wales’ stunning style transformation were on display when she and William, Prince of Wales, announced their engagement on November 16, 2010. With glossy, blown out curls, Kate appeared in a sophisticated, dark blue silk-jersey wrap dress from Issa London. The dress perfectly accentuated the ring shimmering on Kate’s finger — a stunning 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire ringed with diamonds that originally belonged to the late Princess Diana. The dark blue frock was also a nod to history, as it recalled the blue skirted suit that Diana wore for the announcement of her engagement to then-Prince of Wales, Charles.
The designer behind Issa London, Daniella Helayel, was caught entirely unawares by the dress style’s high profile appearance. “We didn’t have a TV at the studio and this was pre-Instagram, but we soon knew Kate was wearing Issa because at four o’clock the phones began ringing and didn’t stop. It was bonkers,” she told the Daily Mail (via Elle UK). The dress sold out in minutes, an early example of the “Kate Middleton effect,” a term for the economic impact that the stylish young royal could bestow upon the brands she favored. It turns out, even before she was royal, lots of shoppers wanted a piece of her style.
