Kate recycles spotty Hobbs Dalmatian coat for Margate visit

Kate visited the seaside town of Margate in East Kent today for an arty day out! She toured the Turner Contemporary gallery in and the nearby Resort Studios.

You may recall Kate is very interested in art – she is Patron of The Art Room and the National Portrait Gallery. She also studied the history of art at the University of St. Andrews for four years.

At the Turner Contemporary, the Duchess visited the ‘Self: Image and Identity’ exhibition, which includes the last self-portrait by Sir Anthony Van Dyck, recently acquired for the nation by the National Portrait Gallery through a public appeal with The Art Fund. Here’s Kate viewing the portrait:

Kate met with artists whose works are featured in the exhibition. Below, Kate speaks with artists Trish Morrisey (left) and Gavin Turk (right).”

During her tour of the Turner Contemporary today, the Duchess also met with a group of local school children who use the gallery’s Clore Learning Studio. The children have been working on a “Selfie” project with local artist Felicity Allen. Kate joined in briefly with the activities:

During her visit, Kate attended a brief reception and met with staff and supporters of the gallery too.

Update: The Mayoress told those waiting outside the Turner Contemporary that Kate lunched inside the gallery.

Kate lunched in the Turner, I was told by the Mayoress, while I was waiting in the crowd. @KateMiddStyle. #kateinkent pic.twitter.com/VaTsnoBfER

— Bea Collyer (@BeaCollyer) March 11, 2015

After visiting Turner Contemporary, Kate made her way over to the nearby Resort Studios in Cliftonville, a space that offers high quality programme of events and workshops alongside art studios and exhibition space. Resort Studios aims to encourage experimentation and collaboration in an inspiring, professional and supportive environment.

The Studios quite literally hung out the bunting for their royal visit. This picture is from their Instagram account:

Inside Kate was met by 11-year-old Martin Slepcikova who presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Martin is helping artist Alex Sturock on an exhibition about their native home country of Slovakia. Martin showed the Duchess a montage of photos taken in Croatia. Photograph’s courtesy of Kent Online‘s live blog.

Kate also viewed an exhibition featuring photomontages of Cliftonville residents and local personalities, named “Souvenirs of Cliftonville”. Here’s Kate chatting with one of the subjects. Photograph via @KensingtonRoyal –

She also met with artists in residence to hear about their work with communities within Cliftonville. Here are some of the artists waiting to meet Kate:

Kate coos over newborn baby Eva, born just six weeks ago to architect Tamsin Landells and her husband Tim Ratliff.

Kate speaks with the artists about Thanet’s thriving art scene and speaks with an artist who makes woollen jellyfish (see below) –

Kate was given a full tour of the studios – she looked around a print studio, a project space and general workspaces.

Kate’s outfit:

Today, Kate wore a black and white spotty Dalmatian print coat by high street brand Hobbs London.

You may recall Kate wore this spotty Dalmatian-print coat during her previous pregnancy, with Prince George? She wore the coat to christen the Royal Princess ship back in June 2013. This was Kate’s final public engagement (with exception of an appearance at the Trooping the Colour parade) before her maternity leave. Here’s a reminder of Kate’s look for that event:

Here’s how the coat was described on the Hobbs website, back in 2013:

“Dalmatian is the print of the season. Be stylish and animal friendly with the Hobbs Dalmatian mac – a minimalist design that lets the print make the statement. Hanging to the knee, the collarless coat has a zip fastening and two front pockets. Wear it with a simple outfit to give the mac its full effect.”

The Dalmatian print mac is no longer stocked by Hobbs London, as you’d expect.

If you’re in the market for a new coat and you’re looking for something bold and spotty like Kate’s, Hobbs London have just added this fantastic “Ink Spot” coat to their website. It’s part of their spring collection and currently unavailable for purchase, but will be available very soon.

Kate wore familiar accessories today. First, she wore her Stuart Weitzman Power pumps in black suede. These are currently available in the USA for purchase and cost $355.