Duchess Kate surprises in a fashion head-scratcher on Nordic trip
Ordinarily, Duchess Kate of Cambridge rarely puts a foot wrong when it comes to fashion, but Tuesday night in Stockholm left some style watchers scratching their heads.
Her evening gown seemed a tad outside her usual comfort zone.
It was by a big-name: Turkish/Canadian designer Erdem. It was pricey: about $2,300. And it was opulent and shiny: She glowed in the silk satin Stephanie gown in gold Winterbourne print, featuring jewel-tone florals, an Edwardian high collar, button-down bodice, semi-trumpet sleeves and a trimmed skirt with a gathered hem and a detachable belt.
But it might have been mistaken just a bit for luxurious upholstery or fancy drapery, especially when set against the room where she was photographed: in the British ambassador's Stockholm residence, chatting with Swedish leaders in gold-colored overstuffed chairs.
"Eye-catching," said the tabloid Mirror's headline.
Since she married Prince William in 2011, Duchess Kate's style has been notable for not attracting the wrong sort of attention: Her sartorial choices are generally simple but elegant, streamlined, non-distracting, and thoroughly modern royal. On her foreign trips, she often picks designers from the countries she's visiting.
So it was a surprise to see her in the Erdem in Stockholm. Will and Kate, who is pregnant with her third child, due in April, are on a four-day official trip to Sweden and Norway that started Tuesday.
Their first day in Stockholm concluded at a black-tie dinner at the ambassador's residence attended by Sweden's royals (such as Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel), government ministers and Swedish stars such as Stellan Skarsgård and Alicia Vikander.
The young British royals started their first day in Stockholm playing "bandy hockey," a popular winter sport in Europe that shares similarities with ice hockey and soccer.
Kate, a field-hockey enthusiast in high school, tried her hand, looking entirely fashionable, and warm, in a fur-lined Burberry coat and a sweater from Swedish designer Fjallraven, with stylish boots and a knit cap.
Later, the British royals had lunch at the Swedish Royal Palace, hosted by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia and with a dozen other members of the Swedish royal family attending.
Then they took a stroll through the cobbled streets and historic squares of Stockholm to the Nobel Museum, where they met with a number of Nobel laureates.
According to the blogs that track her fashion, Kate wore a new Catherine Walker coat and dress ensemble in forest green, topped with an alpaca fur hat by Peruvian Connection plus a faux fur collar and faux fur cuffs.