Firstly, Happy Valentine’s Day lovely Kate fans!
This morning, The Duchess of Cambridge met the staff and students at Northolt High School in Ealing, West London, where she officially opened their new ‘Art Room’ facility. Of course, Kate is Royal Patron to the Oxford based charity with the same name.
The Duchess of Cambridge officially opens The ICAP Art Room at Northolt High School, Ealing, London, UK
As regular readers will know, The Art Room is a charity that helps struggling pupils and children from neighbouring schools through troublesome times using art therapy. We know Kate values and appreciates art, she holds a Masters degree in History of Art from the University of St. Andrews and she’s patron of the National Portrait Gallery too.
Today, Kate officially opened the charity’s seventh Art Room, which has been in operation since September 2013. This new room was only able to open after fundraising from an ICAP charity trading day back in 2012.
During her visit, Kate walked into the sports hall and met pupils, who cheered loudly upon her arrival. The Duchess headed into the Art Room where she took park in a class.
Here’s a fantastic picture from journalist Gordon Rayner (@GordonRayner on Twitter):
Kate speaks with children at The Art Room
Another image, this time from Clarence House on Twitter:
The Duchess chats with children during The Art Room class
Kate also cut a ribbon to officially open the school during a special ceremony. Here’s an image of Kate on stage, shared by Simon Perry from People Magazine:
Duchess Kate on stage at the official opening ceremony
Kate’s outfit:
For the visit Kate wore a vibrant blue dress from L.K. Bennett. The style name is known as the “Detroit” and the colour is called “Snorkel.” You can click to view the dress on L.K. Benentt’s site here.
Kate wears blue L.K. Bennett Dress to Art Room opening
The fabulous blue dress features 3/4 length sleeves and an interesting neckline (it almost looks like a jacket built in to the dress.) A perfect piece for the office – I’m a huge fan of this dress! It retails for £225 (which is around $376 USD) and comes in two other colourways, white and a magenta-pink colour.
L.K. Bennett describe the garment in the following way:
“For instant poise and confidence, slip into Detroit. This chic sheath dress is crafted from elegant crepe and hugs the figure just so, helped greatly by its expertly placed panels and cinched waist. While it flatters curves, Detroit provides stylish coverage with mid-length sleeves and a clavicle-skimming neckline. Simply add classic black pumps, a colour pop iPad case, and go”
In addition to L.K. Bennett, the Detroit dress can be purchased in a range of colours from John Lewis:
Kate’s Accessories:
Kate wore her black Episode Angel shoes and carried her mystery clutch bag (with a bow). She’s been carrying it for a couple of years and we’re yet to identify it!
Kate’s jewellery is a bit of a hot topic today, my good friend Anna and trusty jewellery expert who runs the page My Small Obsessions informs us that Kate is wearing Kiki Mcdonough earrings, which are square in design. The duchess owns a pair of these in citrine, but these seem to be a new blue or clear stone. As more photographs become available, we’ll be able to look closer and confirm this for sure.
The Duchess is also wearing her white gold Mappin and Webb “Fortune” circle pendant. Kate last wore this necklace back in December 2013 to visit South Africa House and sign the Nelson Mandela book of condolence.
Those who’re very observant will have noticed that Kate’s also wearing a new watch. Chris Jackson from Getty Images tweeted that the watch was a Cartier Ballon Bleu, which comes in a range of colours and styles, as you can see below:
Aaaand finally, those who are SUPER observant will have noticed Kate is wearing a thin diamond band next to her engagement and wedding rings. This could be an eternity ring, and gifted to Kate after the birth of baby George, or for her birthday. Visit Anna’s page for information.
Final thoughts:
Don’t forget Monday’s upcoming event, we’ll see you here again after the weekend!
Did you love Kate’s outfit today? Let us know in the comments – also feel free to post us links to repliKates!
Do you have any plans for tonight? And the question I’d LOVE you to answer: will you be replicating one Kate’s dresses for a date later? Let me know in the comments! If you have images of you repliKating tonight, feel free to upload them to our Facebook page!
I shall be back over the weekend with a beauty review, I was lucky enough to sample some Elemis products that Kate apparently used pre-wedding and I can’t wait to share my findings.
I’m also getting my bum into gear and starting the newsletter up again this month, if you’ve not already signed up, what are you waiting for? 🙂 You can do so in the box below:
