The Duchess of Cambridge visited the V&A Museum in London

Kate Middleton wore a houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich, and earrings from Other Stories. Jennifer Chamandi

On May 19, 2021, The Duchess of Cambridge visited the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London, as Covid-19 lockdown restrictions eased across the country this week. The Duchess visited the two new exhibitions the "Raphael Cartoons" and "Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser". The historic building reopened for the first time since December 2020 amid the pandemic. The Duchess became the V&A's first patron in March 2018.

Kate Middleton wore a houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich, and earrings from Other Stories. Jennifer Chamandi

Kate Middleton wore a houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich, and earrings from Other Stories. Jennifer Chamandi

Kate Middleton wore a houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich, and earrings from Other Stories. Jennifer Chamandi

Kate Middleton wore a houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich, and earrings from Other Stories. Jennifer Chamandi

Kate Middleton wore a houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich, and earrings from Other Stories. Jennifer Chamandi

Kate Middleton wore a houndstooth silk midi dress from Alessandra Rich, and earrings from Other Stories. Jennifer Chamandi

Kate Middleton wore Alessandra Rich Red Pleated Houndstooth Silk Midi Dress
Alessandra Rich Red Pleated Houndstooth Silk Midi Dress

44 Comments

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  1. Anonymous19/5/21 16:43

    Positives: beautiful hair and make up, nice choice of jewellery. I am also quite drawn to the china set on the table, it looks gorgeous, wish I had it on my dining table ;-)

    Negatives: the dress! Oh dear, it is not the right cut for her figure, she should avoid it at all cost. This drop-waist style needs more curves especially in the hip area (not a lot, just the right amount of curve to accentuate the waist). The absence of hips makes her already long and linear torso look endlessly and unrealistically long in an unflattering way. It looks like those funny tricks people use on tik-tok to elongate their pictures in a caricature style. A-line is her best buddy. I hope she ditches this dress pronto!

    Mimi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @ Mimi: agree, my thoughts exactly!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19/5/21 21:23

      @Mimi: I agree with your assessment. Drop waisted dresses - nice as they are - are not suited to Catherine's lean figure. Also agree with you on the caricature type of look. She's a beautiful woman with a very good figure, but there are plenty of other styles that complement her far, far better.
      - Anon 9:13

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19/5/21 21:43

      It's a nice dress, but it's more suitable for Fall/Winter. And it doesn't flatter her figure at all, to put it mildly.

      Delete
    4. Agree with you, Mimi. In the first photos, from a distance, I liked the look of the dress, but close up the shape is not the best for her. The neckline is very flattering and if the waist was at normal height, it would be a real winner. Love the shoes.

      Delete
    5. Mimi you are spot on. That dress is just awful on her and the length she has taken to wearing just does not flatter her. Donate it please duchess. Her hair is her saving grace.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous19/5/21 16:44

    The waistline is dropped way too low, making her look misshapen--too straight up and down. DIQ

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous19/5/21 16:44

    Catherine is slim and elegant as usual. However, the off-set pattern makes me a bit dizzy. With that said, maybe it is fine for others, but it is not my cup of tea, even though over all it looks lovely one her. God bless her, I don't understand how she can be comfortable in the sky high heels. Love her hair, beautiful. Anne

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  4. Anonymous19/5/21 16:57

    A beautiful dress! One of my favorite styles from my early years..I haven't seen in quite a few years. The colors are pretty as well as the accessories. And always for a great cause!

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  5. Cette lumineuse couleur rouge s'adapte très bien à ce modèle pied-de-poule mais je pense que Kate avec quelques petites rondeurs en plus serait vraiment superbe --et toujours sa superbe chevelure - J'aimerais mieux voir ses boucles d'oreilles peut-être des créoles qu'elle a déjà portées ?!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cette lumineuse couleur rouge s'adapte très bien à ce modèle pied-de-poule mais je pense que Kate avec quelques petites rondeurs en plus serait vraiment superbe --et toujours sa magnifique chevelure - J'aimerais mieux voir ses boucles d'oreilles peut-être des créoles qu'elle a déjà portées ?!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous19/5/21 17:32

    She looks beautiful, but the dress strikes me as more appropriate for December/holidays.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was my thought too. It is a great winter pattern. However, her hair looks fantastic!
      Chel

      Delete
  8. Anonymous19/5/21 17:34

    I really don't like the cut of this dress - the dropped "waist" makes her look all torso and strangely proportioned when actually I think she has a lovely figure. However, love the check and the top part around the neckline. Her hair looks nice and healthy - I would prefer it a couple of inches shorter but that's just my personal taste.

    Bee

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  9. Wow. I am not used to these types of dresses, but it is stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous19/5/21 17:59

    No, I don't like that dress.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous19/5/21 18:29

    I really don't like this outfit. I can't even describe why, there's literally nothing to like about it. Despite the female cut of the dress, she has a very boy-ish silhouette in it. But I very much like her hairstyle like this, and her jewellery and make-up. The V-neck suits her (something I like about this dress!).

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous19/5/21 19:10

    Oh no, this is a dress that does not flatter her proportions. It emphasises her long torso too much. Add to that her thinness ... no, she can do better. You can see well here that her proportions (torso compared to legs) "are not right" and that this is otherwise well concealed by her choice of clothes. Frieda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree totally. Exactly my thoughts! I hope that the duchess will not re-wear this dowdy 1980s dress again as it does nothing for her.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous19/5/21 20:43

    The upper half of this lovely retro- style dress is made too tight and makes her body too thin and flat.
    A higher neckline would help to make it a more “ round”.
    Nevertheless: spotless and stylish as ever.
    Josh

    ReplyDelete
  14. This dress is a horror. It looks old, old, and doesn't suit Kate's body style. She has a strange body in the shape of a triangle and this dress, apart from being ugly, does her no favors.
    Horrible.
    Why doesn't she ever do anything with her hair? A pickup every now and then would do you good.
    A middle-aged girl who looks like a lady in her 70s.
    Susana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kate knows her hair is her best asset,so she flaunts it. Other then that I totally agree with you. J

      Delete
  15. Anonymous19/5/21 21:20

    Beautiful dress and fits Catherine perfectly!

    Renee

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  16. Make up, hair and jewellery: perfect.
    Dress a total fail - the dropped waist is just not working. In fact, I don't really see it working for any body type.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gemma, I totally agree. What kind of woman could wear a dress with this dropped waist? Who was the designer thinking of?

      Delete
  17. Anonymous19/5/21 22:35

    Oh this looks terrible on her. I think Kate knows better. I can't imagine why she would wear this. It reminds me of something Diana would have worn. She doesn't have the figure for this, and needs to purge it from her closet. As has already been mentioned, she is all torso, very little leg. The dress has a lot going on, in my opinion, with the plaid, exaggerated collar, puffed sleeves, dropped waist and pleats, not to mention the visible buttons down the front. This all adds to the 80s vibe I get from this dress. ~d

    ReplyDelete
  18. This dress does not only look like a nod to Diana, it looks like it was actually Diana's dress and with a little tuck it's here again.

    When the Duchess was younger she wore very similar skirts but at the waist and short. The waist here cannot be raised without making the hem quite high.

    Maybe if the Duchess had worn a bit of hair jewelry to raise attention to her face instead of the thigh-,waist

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous20/5/21 01:00

    Love the pattern gives it a Scottish tartan feel. She looks beautiful &, elegant as always. Mary I

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous20/5/21 01:18

    I don't like the dress at all; it makes her look elongated & too skinny (to be blunt). She apparently said it's a "good time to visit museums and galleries as they are not full of tourists coming in." The lower neckline, waist almost at her knees, & too-long length draw my eyes downward away from her & all I see is a dress. ~Laurel~

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sorry, she got this wrong.
    Colour is okay, she suits stronger colours, like the purple she once wore on tour lifts her skin colour.
    This dress is too long with dropped waist and hem, it gives a sausage effect unfortunately.
    Why do these stylists not tell them the truth regarding their outfits.
    It's a shame she has upped her style lately but this is not a good design on her.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous20/5/21 01:55

    Terrible choice she made today. Not at all suitable for her figure. Unflattering and inappropriate for the season. Maybe with a turtleneck at Christmas.

    CH

    ReplyDelete
  23. I don't particularly like the dress--although I love the color and fabric. But even without a not-so-great dress she manages to look poised and elegant.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The Duchess looks lovely, but not a fan of this dress at all, from the midsection down. Love the subtle pieces of necklace jewellery.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow!! Her hair is so gorgeous!!! Her make up and jewerly are good too but that dress 😒

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous20/5/21 05:27

    I actually love this dress on the model, very retro and definitely different, unfortunately is just not a good fit for her, the low waist only emphasizes her very long torso and the fact that her waist and hips appear to have the same circumference, also is just too tight around the bust, the button is about to explode… the shoes are a very good match for this outfit, the hair is healthy and beautiful, a little too long for my taste, but that’s just me, she looks good with this length anyway.
    Cherry

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous20/5/21 06:46

    This dress is really unfortunate choice. The cut is completely wrong for her body and the pattern and the style do not match. - Siri

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous20/5/21 07:11

    When I saw the first photo I thought "dark red dress, ok",. The other photos made me think of queen Alexandra's dresses from the early 20th century. Of course A had more curves and wore a corset (and never a hound's teeth fabric), but something...
    And then a personal opinion: I wouldn't say the dress has a dropped waist, but more like "the princess line" (Alexandra's favourite) with very high "basement". I have used to call a pleated part near the hem a "basement". Its a literal translation of the word used in my native language. I do not know how do you call it in English.
    Margot

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous20/5/21 07:58

    I think the dress would have been better with a slightly shorter hemline, e.g. knee-length. Now this length and style gives impression of longer torso and shorter legs which isn't very flattering.
    Also I'm surprised how tight the dress is on her. Catherine is super slim. So how the buttons are gaping?? Whoever designed the dress didn't know that women have breasts??
    Catherine's hair look gorgeous. Also I like her eye makeup. Its very flattering and show her beautiful eyes. Love the 4th photo of her.
    Karin

    ReplyDelete
  30. A rare miss for me - even though Kate is so slim, the buttons down the front seem to pull especially across the chest.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Bella la stampa, ma il modello non le dona

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous20/5/21 22:45

    The dress looks okay, although the length and fabric make Kate look schoolmarmish, and I agree it's better suited to the fall or winter. My real thought when I first saw these photos was why she doesn't re-wear her clothes more often? How many red (blue, black) dresses of a similar style does she need, how many pairs of black (neutral, navy) shoes does she need? Most royal ladies have been re-wearing clothes on a regular basis at least since the pandemic began. I wonder why everything Kate wears seems to be one-time only. Even QE2 re-wears her clothes. S.M.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23/5/21 13:36

      S.M.
      She has been recycling clothes for quite a long time.
      She can wear something new every now and then, even though I am a fan of this dress.
      P.

      Delete

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