Mrs. Cathy has been a very busy duchess!
Mark this one down, because when they someday do a style retrospective on the Duchess, this one will rate very high. We place it in her top five of all time. What a stunner of a look. Blue is her signature color but the ombre effect here takes it to a different level. It’s clear there is some high-level thinking going on behind the scenes regarding her style choices. The message here couldn’t be more clear as she steps off the plane wearing her favorite British designer paired with a culturally appropriate pair of pants from a Pakistani designer. The entire look says “I am coming from Britain as a guest to your home and I honor you as I approach.” It’s a transitional ensemble. And kudos to her team for securing the exact right shape of dress to wear with those pants. So many traditionally western dress designs don’t have the right proportions or silhouette to work with pants, but this is perfectly paired.
Once she’s on Pakistan soil, she quickly embraces the local. This is lovely and of course very much on point.
To be fair, Cathy didn’t invent culturally appropriate royal dressing. There has been the usual chatter from the royal watching press comparing every one of her tour outfits to something similar Diana wore on her 1996 visit to Pakistan. For the first time, we have to admit some of this stuff does track. But we don’t like to assume that Cathy is spending her royal career cosplaying her dead mother-in-law and we often find it strange that her most ardent watchers insist that she does.
Here, she returns to that blending of British and Pakistani design, showing a high level understanding of proportions and pairing. The Catherine Walker tunic is exactly correct in proportion and style to go with those pants. The high-contrast pumps are unusual for her but they complete the outfit perfectly along with that stunning scarf.
We saw a lot of praise for her coming from Pakistani social media accounts because she wore the colors of Pakistan’s flag. She must know what she’s doing because our first thought was, “Isn’t that a bit too on the nose?” Shows what we know. Besides, it’s not like she doesn’t wear green when she visits Ireland.
Style Credits:
First Look: Catherine Walker Blue Dress and Trousers | Zeen Earrings | Rupert Sanderson Shoes
Second Look: Maheen Khan Periwinkle Blue Silk Shalwar Kameez and Two-tone Chiffon Scarf
Third Look: Catherine Walker Tunic | Maheen Khan Trousers | Satrangi Scarf | Zeen Earrings
[Photo Credit: Pa Images/Instarimages.com, Owen Humphreys/Pa Images/Instarimages.com, Ian Vogler/Pa Images/Instarimages.com]
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