Busy Weekend for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Following her stunning social debut at the ARK Gala Dinner on Friday night, Kate spent Saturday attending the wedding of friend Sam Whaley-Cohen AFTER attending the Trooping of the Colour, a massive pomp and circumstance event, where her husband rode a horse and wore one of those giant fluffy hats.

Kate's wearing a dress she wore a few years ago on a night out with Pippa and the same hat she wore to the Trooping of the Colour earlier in the day (she's a super-recycler):

 

Kate's jacket is from McQueen. I love that she is wearing a lot of white - a new bride should!

Is anybody else just dying to get their hands on one of those giant fluffy hats? I just want to touch it - wear it around for a while, take some pictures. Then I would give it back. Maybe. I digress, the weekend was then capped off with the Duke of Edinburgh's 90th birthday celebration:

Kate wore a lovely periwinkle jaquard coat, previously worn to a friends wedding in 2009. We have also seen that dress before. It is the periwinkle pleated Zara dress that she wore the day after the wedding. I wonder if Will and Harry considered swapping ties considering how good Harry's looks with Kate's outfit. Do fancy royal people consider things like tie swapping? Doubtful.

I love how distracted she is in this shot. No time for clergy apparently. Harry seems really skeptical of this guy too. Well, that wraps up the whirlwind weekend of the couple royal. One more shot of the hat:

Tell me you do not want to touch that giant fluffiness. You know you do.

Kate Wears Kiki McDonough Earrings at Epsom

The citrine and gold drop earrings are from the Eternal Collection at Kiki McDonough. They retail for £495. Find them HERE.

photo via PA and Kiki McDonough

Duchess Catherine at the ARK Gala Dinner

Kate & Will made their social debut last night at a £10,000. per seat charity ball. The annual ARK Gala Dinner raises money to support programs for disadvantaged children around the globe. Kate looked stunning in a £3,800. Jenny Packham gown. It was a shimmery peachy pink covered in sequins.

photo via Daily Mail

I was so thrilled to see her wearing SANDALS! Still, from LK Bennett, but it's a step in the right direction (pun intended). The £175.00 suede "Agata" sandals are sold out online in pink-rose, but still available in a few sizes in black or red.

all photos via Daily Mail

Ooh - she wears my size!

Kate & Will at Epsom

Kate looked amazing and so appropriately dressed for the Epsom Derby. And the boys were dapper in top hats and tails.

photo via Daily Mail

photo via Daily Mail

I love this combination of flirty and flowy dress with tailored and trim jacket. The hat looks a bit too much like a beret, but her hair is amazing. The back is worked into a sort of a messy, braid/bun. The dress is from Reiss - no word on whether she crashed their website again. The "Nessie" jacket is from Joseph and the shoes and clutch are from LK Bennett. Her hat, or fascinator is from Whiteley. She really is a champion of High Street in this ensemble.

The jacket seems to be available at several online outlets in navy.

I do wish she would not wear the panyhose or tights as they are called here. Surely her legs are trimmed and tan enough to go without them. Could be a necessary thing for formality, but I think she could take the initiative to change that now.

Well done, Duchess Kate. Can't wait to see what your wear to Ark tonight!

Carole Outdresses Pippa at The Goring Hotel

Pippa & Carole Middleton attended the opening of Basil's Bar at the Goring Hotel last evening. Pippa is wearing a dress by the French brand, Maje. Unfortunately, she also chose to wear a cardigan and pantyhose. She clearly went for a double dose of spray tan for this event. It was a beach party after all, so why the pantyhose Pippa? The Middleton girls seem to wear these quite a bit. Again, I can see where this might be necessary for Kate in her more conservative role as a Royal, but Pippa could really do without. She is a 27 year old woman with fantastic legs, not a middle-aged office worker. Why pay to have someone spray a tan on your legs and then cover them up? Even her Mom is bare legged and frankly, more fashionably dressed on this occasion. Carole looks amazing in this flowing colorful frock. Pippa is straight up boring. And again, the shoes! Would someone buy these women a pair of sandals for goodness sake. Is this a British thing? Summer too short to invest in sandals? Maybe the Middleton women have hideously misshapen toes?

photo via Hello Magazine

Kate will be back on the scene soon, so stay tuned. Tonight, she and William will make their social debut at the "society event of the season" - the £10,000. annual Ark charity dinner. Here's to hoping Kate finds something more interesting than nude pumps to put on her feet.

Pippa in Animal Prints

Pippa has redeemed herself every so slightly with this outfit. Unfortunately, she is still carrying my grandmother's handbag.

photo via Celebuzz

Perhaps she feels indebted to Modalu, who has renamed an entire handbag collection in her honor.

photo via Celebuzz

I am partial to animal prints as they are both timeless and edgy. I love the sequin zebra dress, by Issa, that Pippa wore to a Saatchi Gallery party in 2007. But, again, the shoes - so conservative. The dress deserves better.

photo via Vogue UK

Pippa At The French Open

So lately I have been thinking - how great it must be to be "Pippa". She is suddenly, literally, one of the most famous women in the world. She gets all of the perks of her famous sister with none of the downside of the pressures of being a royal. She is at the top of the Google search engines. Women and men everywhere are watching her every move. She is 27, attractive, wealthy and connected. All of this being true, then why oh why, on God's green earth, would she show up at the French Open wearing THIS?:

photos via Daily Mail

photo via Mirror UK

This outfit might be worthy of a run to the corner market. Perhaps the world has thrust the moniker of style icon upon this young lady too hastily? I was already beginning to believe that we were giving these Middleton sisters way too much credit in the style department. The thing is, I can understand Kate's more conservative choices. I truly believe it will be interesting to watch how she meshes her personal style with being a royal. But, Pippa! Pippa has no excuse for wearing yawn inspiring frocks, boring shoes and a purse my grandmother would carry. The world is watching you Pippa. You can make that work for you or not. I'm not saying you need to start dressing for attention, merely that if you are already getting so much attention, for goodness sake - take the time to throw on a necklace! Give us something! Otherwise, we will start paying attention to someone else. Oh, wait . . . hmmm. Could be she is a very clever girl. No, who am I kidding? She just needs a stylist. Stat.