Bill & Cathy Cambridge in Canada, Days 7 & 8

The Cambridges ARRIVE IN AMERICA TODAY OMFG SOMEONE HOLD ME CLOSE — sorry. The media freakout is infectious, apparently.

Anyway, let’s check out the last of their Canadian outfits for the trip.

PinPrince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive in Calgary, Alberta. Catherine wears a Jenny Packham dress paired with shoes and clutch by L.K. Bennett.

PinJenny Packham Spring 2011 Collection

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PinWe sighed in resignation when we saw these pics. Yes, it’s thrilling to see her embrace a color from the other side of the crayon box, but this dress is a pretty good summation of her official duties clothes. It’s low-key pretty and very classic, with virtually no design elements to speak of past the most basic ones. We keep saying this, but her official duties style is closer to Queen Elizabeth’s than Princess Diana’s. The problem is, Queen Betty is over a half-century older than Cathy. The more we look at her style, the more we think this isn’t so much a smart, savvy approach to her public looks; it’s more fear-based. She dresses like a woman who’s deathly afraid of criticism. And as a commoner married to a royal, that’s an understandable fear, but she’s really got to get over it. This is pretty and all, but it’s one step up from Amish. A belt, Duchess Cathy? Would that kill you? A bracelet maybe? Shoes that don’t look like silly putty?

PinCatherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge board a Canadian Airforce jet to Slave Lake at Yellowknife Airport in Yellowknife, Canada. Catherine wears white top paired with a Smythe blazer, J Brand skinny pants, Linda Camm belt and Pied a Terre Imperia L wedges.

PinPied a Terre Imperia L Wedges

PinThis is much better, but then again, if you’re skinny, it’s kind of hard to get the “blazer and skinny pants with wedges” combo wrong.

PinPrince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watch dancers with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta.

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PinAlice by Temperley London Resort 2012 Collection

PinAnd this is kind of endearingly adorable. You know how you’ll sometimes see stodgy royals forced to wear the ethnic or folk costumes of whatever country they’re visiting, resulting in hilarious pictures of Charles in tribal head dress or Philip in a silk gown? The only reason they’ve avoided that here is because they both actually look pretty good all duded up. That blouse she chose is cute. This just supports our theory that there’s a lot of fear on display in her official dress, because whenever she gets the chance to go casual, she looks infinitely better; relaxed and more stylish. It’s a lot easier for a young gal to put together a simple jeans and blouse getup without risking criticism.

[Photo Credit: Getty, elle.com, piedaterre.com, wwd.com]

• Alice by Temperley London
• J Brand
• Jenny Packham
• Kate Middleton
• L.K. Bennett
• Linda Camm
• Nine West
• Pied a Terre
• Prince William
• Royal Watch
• Smythe