Kate Middleton made a strong style statement at Royal Ascot on Friday (June 23rd 2023).
The Princess of Wales wore a bright and eye-catching red ensemble as she attended the horse racing event for the fifth time since joining the family in 2011.
The Princess’s look comprised a flowing v-neck maxi dress from Alexander McQueen, chunky statement earrings from the Paris-based brand Sézane, a flower-trimmed wide-brimmed hat from Philip Treacy, sleek new heels from Jennifer Chamandi, and a coordinating vintage clutch by the French luxury house Hermès. (Full outfit breakdown further down the page.)
Kate at Ascot:
The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived in style, taking part in the traditional carriage procession that marks the start of each day at Royal Ascot. They shared the second carriage with Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. The four royals followed behind King Charles and Queen Camilla, who travelled with the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
Princess Beatrice was a vision of summer elegance in a Monique Lhuillier lace dress (Thanks Laura for the ID). The chic cream dress was beautifully accentuated with a delicate floral and foliage print. (Mini dress version still available here. )
The Duchess of Edinburgh rode with The Earl of Caledon, Prince Michael of Kent, and Princess Michael of Kent in carriage three. Sophie looked like elegance personified in her blush pink dress by Suzannah (ID credit: UFO No More). After a similar dress for an event this summer? I found this affordable dupe at Coast.
Dame Judi Dench, David Mills, Mr William Farish and Mrs William Farish occupied the the fourth and final carriage. It appears Kate and Dame Judi got on well. Photos show the two VIPs chatting and laughing in the Royal Box.
During the afternoon, William and Kate took to the stage to present a trophy. They awarded the Commonwealth Cup to the connections of Shaquille. The horse, ridden by Oisin Murphy, beat odds-on favourite Little Big Bear.
Ascot is a notable part of the royal family’s summer diary. The late Queen Elizabeth II, known for her love of horse racing, attended all five days of Ascot prior to her passing. King Charles, with Queen Camilla at his side, has continued this tradition, attending each day of the event so far this week.
Today, the King viewed a special photo exhibition created by Ascot in his mother’s memory:
Let’s run through Kate’s gorgeous red-on-red look today.
Kate’s outfit at Ascot:
Kate opted for an all-red monochrome ensemble for this year’s Royal Ascot:
It was a surprising departure, given her past penchant for softer palettes (she’s opted for white three times, and subdued pastel blue once.) It was an unexpected but refreshing change. The bold and vibrant hue marks a new chapter in Kate’s Ascot appearances!
The red frock features a v-neckline accentuated with wide tapered tucks, pronounced shoulders, an inset waistband, long cuffed sleeves and a calf-length pleated skirt. It was an Alexander McQueen creation according to journalists briefed by the palace.
I suspect the dress is bespoke (made just for the princess, not available off the rack) as I’m not seeing any similar pieces when I search Google images. Kate has a close relationship with the fashion house, she’s commissioned bespoke dresses and coats for various events over the last 12 years (most notably, her wedding gown, of course).
UPDATE: Royal Fashion Police believe we’ve seen this dress before, sort of. They think the princess wore the red frock under a coat on St David’s Day earlier this year. Click here to see their comparison photos and comments. (Opens in a new tab).
Alexander McQueen is a British luxury fashion brand known for its innovative designs and impeccable craftsmanship. I recently counted the brands, labels and companies behind Kate’s dresses and Alexander McQueen came out on top—the princess has worn over 40 of their dresses (excluding coat dresses) since joining the Royal Family in 2011.
Let’s take a look at Kate’s statement earrings now. The Princess chose a pair of chandelier tassel drop earrings crafted from gold-plated brass and finished with black beads. They’re from Parisian brand Sézane. (Thanks to UFO No More for finding the earrings first.)
Unfortunately, the boho style earrings (pictured below) are no longer available to buy.
I found a similar pair at Phase Eight for just £19 for anybody who needs this style in their jewellery box but doesn’t want to wait and see if Sèzane restock. I thought they were a pretty decent ‘repliKate’ —
Kate’s quite the fan of Sézane’s earrings. This is the seventh pair she’s worn over the last few years, making them her second favourite earring brand (Kiki McDonough is her most-owned brand to date.)
Sézane, a distinguished French fashion brand, was established by Morgane Sézalory , a self-made fashion maven. Sézalory launched her fashion career with an eBay shop, selling carefully curated vintage items before creating her own online platform in 2013. Today, Sézane is celebrated globally for its combination of contemporary femininity, wearability, and vintage inspiration, reflecting Sézalory’s unique aesthetic vision.
Let’s move on to look at Kate’s hat now. The design is by esteemed milliner Philip Treacy.
The wide brim saucer hat is topped with a coordinating red flower. This listing at Bonham’s shows a Philip Treacy hat in a similar design, though the crown on Kate’s hat has a softer shape. But it features a similar ‘double layer’ on effect on the brim and large accent flower detail.
Unfortunately, I don’t know anything else about Kate’s hat at present.
Philip Treacy is an Irish milliner renowned for his imaginative hat designs. His creations, which can be seen as artworks in their own right, have graced the heads of royalty and celebrities worldwide.
Let’s shift our focus to Kate’s footwear now. The Princess wore a pair of red suede heels designed by Jennifer Chamandi (thank you to Middleton Maven for the ID). The heels are specifically identified as the Lorenzo 105 pumps.
Kate’s opted to forgo the removable ankle strap. This strap threads through Chamandi’s distinctive “Eye of The Needle” detail on the heel, which you can just make out in the photo below (on Kate’s back foot) –
It was the ‘Eye of the Needle’ that served as the key clue for the shoe’s rapid identification.
This is the second pair of Jennifer Chamandi shoes Kate’s debuted this week, and the third pair we’ve seen her wear to date.
Jennifer Chamandi is a British shoe designer of Lebanese descent who transitioned from a thriving career in banking to pursue her passion for footwear design. After intensive training and full immersion in the world of shoes, she launched her own successful brand.
Let’s move on to Kate’s handbag. The second Parisian piece in her outfit! It’s the iconic Rio clutch from luxury French design house, Hermèz. We have several ladies to thank for this fab find: Susan, Laura and Eva (via Middleton Maven).
This rectangular piece boasts a fold-over top, a subtly curved edge, and a snap closure concealed under the flap. Each Rio clutch is embellished with the classic black and gold ‘H’ logo.
A Vestiaire Collective listing (below) for a bag in a very similar colour lists the item as “Ashen Rogue/Bordeaux”. I’m assuming this is an official Hermès colour name?
The listing shows the bag sold for £246 in April 2022.
You can explore the vintage Rio bag in other styles and check the current availability at Vestiaire Collective.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve seen Kate with an Hermès piece.
Hermès need little in the way of introduction. They’re a world-renowned luxury goods manufacturer, best known for their high-end fashion accessories, including scarves, ties, watches, and handbags—most notably, the iconic Birkin and Kelly bags.
I don’t believe she is wearing hose today! I think smooth leather cream colored accessories would have set off the red of the dress and hat better. But it of course the outfit is gorgeous.
The outfit is gorgeous. I wasn’t a fan of Kate’s white lace looks from previous Ascot visits (nor Zara’s from this week to be honest) = give me jewel colours any day. This is a lovely swishy fabric.
I also really like this hat. It is bigger than the blue saucer from 2019 and the recent garden party, and I like that the flowers on top are balanced by ribbon bows under the brim, rather than more flowers.
Wonderful.
I like Catherine all in red today. She is lady in red I hope she likes the horse it seems to suits you her.
Kate looks fabulous as usual effortless chic and exudes confidence -no faux pas dress and shoes perfectly matched !!! She has every right to express herself and own style in what she is wearing big love Kate XX
Carly, your post is marvelous, as usual.
I know the Ascot enclosure has some major restrictions. For that reason, if I was there I wouldn’t be carrying a Hermes bag with an obvious logo. They frown on designer logos. Personally, I wouldn’t spring for that particular bag, it’s not worth the pricetag.
The dress is too big for her in the shoulder area. Too wide. That said, I don’t care for the sleeve design or that pleated bodice thing that is going on. As a seamstress, I am curious about the fabric – hopefully it is silk? If it’s a polyester (cringe) I would be dying wearing that in warm weather. But at that designer scale, hopefully it’s a silk crepe.
The color is great. If I was Kate, I would have worn this to the Trooping event because I think it would have looked great with all the other garments the family was wearing. It would have looked fantastic for the family balcony photo.
That aside, the hat is beautiful, the column of red is nice on her. (I’ll make my usual gripe about the shoes though – I would have found something more interesting to wear on grass with this ensemble. I’m a shoe person and that is my disclaimer. . . hahaha)
The earrings do not work with this ensemble AT ALL. OOF! I would have suggested some pearl studs or diamond studs. Those boho earrings do not work this, the outfit, th situation. Better save those for a different engagement.
beautiful in this color change for Ascot. the dress is definitely mcqueen, it is not the style of the brand but it is the style that they usually make for her, like the pale pink dress at pippa’s wedding, which only differs in the cut of the bust that is more similar to that of wallis simpson. the new brand of shoes is divine, what a pity she don’t take risks by using them in their most provocative version, they look like one more of her giovanito rossi. the earrings don’t like , and I think the bag is a nod to the queen’s scarves, a nice touch from the well-known diplomatic kate. Finally, I very much doubt that it is the same dress or suit that she wore in Wales. I think the ascot dress is longer, because in Wales the shaft of the black boot is much more tight. and perhaps it is a very fresh and light dress for the cold of last March. It may be an optical effect of the angle of the photo, as it is known and demonstrated this week that Kate usually repeats her dress patterns with small variations. thanks for your great coverage.
Andrea, totally agree with you on the shoes. I took a look at the brand Carly linked and the strap through the “eye of the needle” is a cool design — and it’s too bad Kate didn’t wear them that way. The brand also has a lower heel and even a pair of flats with that design and I love them. I would have gone for the 65 mm heel for myself. I do wonder how these women wear spike heels in grass, or on cobblestones for that matter. I’d be concerned my shoes would be ruined.
I also wondered about the similarity of this dress to other McQueen dresses and when I ‘googled’ Kate in McQueen dresses, that pale pink one she wore to Pippa’s wedding popped right up.
I doubt we’ll see this red ensemble again anytime soon, which is a shame. She seems to be dressing in a column of color lately. Wonder why?
The hat is gorgeous and, gigantic flower aside, the decoration has a red Welsh dragon vibe I think..! I wonder if we’ll see it again, in Wales…?
La robe est trop grande pour elle au niveau des épaules.
Et puis ces manches bouffantes, pas fan pour une tenue de printemps. Le style des boucles d’oreille ne va pas avec le reste.
Et puis, trop de rouge…tue le rouge !