8 times Kate Middleton altered & upcycled outfits

Did Kate Middleton’s recent Trooping the Colour dress look familiar?

I think it strongly resembled the garment she wore at King Charles’s Coronation celebrations last year:

It’s the same silhouette, the seams are in identical places, the length looks the same, etc etc. The Palace confirmed both were by Jenny Packham.

We’re wondering if the Princess upcycled the dress by adding a bow to the collar and swapping the plain black belt for a striped design:

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Kate had a garment altered or amended. As you’ll see below, she’s been known to have buttons moved, sleeves added and dresses refashioned, giving a new lease of life to older clothing items for new events.

But why, with her unlimited funds, would she do this? With the world’s top designers on speed dial, why wouldn’t she just order a new dress for a grand occasion like Trooping?

I guess that planning outfits and arranging fittings hasn’t been high up on her to-do list over these last few months following her surgery, diagnosis and treatment for cancer. She might have found it easier to update an old ensemble rather than commissioning a whole new look this time round.

Or, perhaps she intended to rework and re-wear the white dress from the outset, to get plenty of mileage from an otherwise plain dress. We know Jenny Packham provided the bow and belt to Kate, as the ribbon features in a recent collection the designer launched with Net-A-Porter (see below):

Upcycling certainly would be the sustainable choice, something we think is important to Kate. Since the launch of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize in 2020, we’ve noticed she’s become more conscious with her clothing, gravitating towards slow fashion labels, buying items made from sustainable materials, and wearing more pre-loved/vintage pieces (i.e. the Chanel jacket below).

I love that Kate could easily acquire the most exquisite garments for new engagements, but she chooses to edit and upcycle from her wardrobe instead.

It’s fascinating to see Kate’s savvy approach to fashion. Let’s take a quick peek at the eight pieces we know she’s had tweaked:

1) The Dress-To-Skirt Transformation

In 2011, Kate wore a radiant red suit by Luisa Spagnoli for her second-ever official public appearance:

She visited the University of St Andrews in Scotland with her then-fiancé William. The duo had attended the university as students a decade before.

In 2014, Kate wore the ensemble for a second time in public—to visit Christchurch in New Zealand:

Did you spot the hemline? We did—it’s a good few inches longer. The change left us stumped for a while. Surely you can’t let down a hem that much?

Fellow blogger Ayvee solved the mystery. Kate had worn a Luisa Spagnoli dress under the jacket in 2011, which she’d had refashioned into a skirt by 2014. You can see where the skirt’s waistband sits on her hips, under the jacket, below:

Notice the diagonal seams across Kate’s hips? They were on the Luisa Spagnoli dress, not the skirt. You can see Ayvee’s evidence on this Facebook thread.

2) The Grecian Gown Restyle

Kate wore an ethereal one-shouldered gown on the BAFTA red carpet in 2019. It was by Alexander McQueen:

Four years later, she wore the dress again, championing the idea that you don’t need a new outfit for every occasion. This time, she replaced the floral shoulder appliqué with an elegant drape and bow.

The change, coupled with dramatically different accessories, gave the gown a whole new look. Genius.

3) The Bold-To-Modest Makeover

Speaking of the BAFTAs, the Princess dazzled at the 2017 Film Awards in a tiered, floral, off-the-shoulder gown. It was another stunning creation by Alexander McQueen:

The dress was a real style departure for Kate, who hadn’t worn anything so bold until now. She wowed fans as she walked the red carpet in the eye-catching frock.

Two years later, she reprised the gown, wearing it at the 2017 Portrait Gallery Gala. This time, the bodice had been reworked, and cap sleeves added.

The alteration gave the dress a more formal and modest look, fitting perfectly with the gala’s tone and setting.

4) The Subtle Sleeve Change

In 2012, Kate visited Malaysia to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th year on the throne. She wore a stunning cream and gold gown to a state dinner at the Malay National Palace:

Eight years later, she brought back the dress for the 2020 BAFTAs (I’m noticing a theme here!):

2020 was the year BAFTA launched a drive towards more sustainable awards ceremonies, even going so far as to issue a guide for guests detailing how to dress sustainably on the red carpet. Kate stuck to the brief by re-purposing a nearly decade-old dress.

However, she didn’t wear the dress as-is. She had it altered to her liking. You’ll notice she had the sleeves lined and narrowed for a more streamlined, elegant look.

While the original sleeves looked perfectly fine to me (and I struggle to comprehend the change), you can’t deny the alteration shows her commitment to sustainable fashion. Why buy something new when you can take a perfectly good item from your wardrobe to a seamstress alterations?

5) The Post-Pregnancy Coat Refit

Kate was 6-7 months pregnant during the mini tour of Scandinavia in 2018. She had a “tourdrobe” designed to accommodate her growing bump, including this vibrant blue coat by Catherine Walker & Co. She wore it in Oslo, Norway:

Two years later, Kate wore the blue coat again, surprising us all! It’s clear she wanted to make the most of a perfectly good coat that had only been worn once.

She wore the coat during the two-day train tour of the UK in December 2020. Having it tailored to fit her post-pregnancy figure was a smart move, highlighting her commitment to slow, sustainable fashion.

6) The Post-Maternity Makeover

Kate repeated this savvy approach a second time in 2023, further demonstrating her knack for giving new life to cherished wardrobe items. This time, she had her red and white houndstooth coat from the 2018 visit to Stockholm, Sweden tailored to fit post-pregnancy. Here’s a look at Kate in Sweden:

As above, she was 6-7 months pregnant with Prince Louis at the time. The coat was also by Catherine Walker & Co. A view of Kate’s ‘bump’:

Kate brought back the coat in February 2023, for the England vs Wales Rugby match at Principality Stadium.

7) The Length Adjustment

Remember Kate’s first official royal engagement in February 2011?

The then-girlfriend of Prince William attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in North Wales two months ahead of the highly anticipated Royal Wedding. The Princess chose a smart beige coat by Katherine Hooker for the occasion.

Eagle-eyed fans figured out that Kate first wore the coat in 2006, at the Cheltenham Gold Cup:

You’ll notice the coat became dramatically shorter between 2006-2011! It looks like Kate had it tailored for the lifeboat appearance.

Ironically, Kate would probably choose the longer version of the coat today. She wore a lot of knee-length coats in the early days of her royal life. But today, she almost exclusively wears longer silhouettes.

8) The Button Adjustment Trick

And finally, when Kate attended the Cheltenham Festival in 2013, we thought her pink coat looked familiar:

A few super fans remembered the garment from paparazzi photos taken between 2007 and 2008. (Click here to see.)

It was a delightful surprise to see the coat again in 2013, especially as Kate was about five months pregnant with Prince George at the time. She’d had the coat altered to accommodate her changing figure. Several buttons had been repositioned, leaving noticeable indentations on the fabric:

The Princess kept the modified coat and wore it during a subsequent pregnancy—in 2018 while pregnant with Prince Louis—more than a decade after we first spotted her wearing it! Very thrifty.

I think that’s a pretty comprehensive round-up of outfits that Kate’s had altered—can you think of any I’ve missed?

I have plenty more thoughts on why Kate does this, so let’s take the discussion to the comments below. Let me know what you think.