Kate Middleton’s top looks: The shocking style highs and those lows in pictures (plus Prince Harry looking fit)

Posted by Gilly Ferguson on 14 September 2012 10:52 Comments

Style icon and Duchess she may be, but Kate Middleton still loves to shock… and shop.

Kate has been welcomed into the fashion fold - thanks in part to her love affair with Brit’ labels and some savvy sales shopping to boot.

But the Duchess isn’t afraid to rock the, err, style boat every once in a while. No longer just all LK Bennett classic courts and A-Line dresses, Catherine (or Kate to those of us who just. cannot. let. go) has come up trumps in recent months, be it discount M by Missoni or (steady yourselves) nude accents, lace Zara and sheer!

Truth be told, the Duchess has a healthy frock collection with designers queuing up to dress her. But which dress looks best? What’s been her most shocking moment to date? And how do YOU rate Kate’s style?

Have a look and a smile at her royal fashion flashback below, then let us know your thoughts.

*curtseys*

Gallery

Okay, that barely works. But it's Kate! Back in the day (2007) Wearing a maxi skirt! And waay ahead of the fashion curve too. Applauds.

This is what Kate is wearing right this second (well, depending on when you're reading this, obvs). The Duchess and Prince William are mid-Diamond Jubilee Tour. Here she is looking elegant in a mosque in in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...

Before Kate married Wills, she wore cork wedges and belted green dresses to the polo...

That barely works either, but LOOK! It's Kate pre-wedding and wearing sparkly bits for a roller disco! Nice to see she's remained faithful to the nude tights too...

The Duchess delighted onlookers when she wore this almost-backless Jenny Packham gown earlier in 2012.

Worth nearly £5,000 it's heatworld's fave Kate dress to date - and it's racey lace (someone alert the elders etc). Do you love it!?

Granted, Kate was never really a yoof yoof but she did dress down every once in a while.

Here she is wearing slacks! And a loose-fitting short! She was out shopping - in the rain - with Prince William, who will one day reign. Which is as exciting as seeing old pictures of Kate.

The coat's from Hobbs, it sold out in under an hour after Kate popped it on for a charity event oop north on Valentine's day, 2012.

Who needs chocolates on V-Day when you have chocolate-coloured coats, eh Kate!?

And Beyonce. Kate and her lil' sis' Pip' (Pippa Middleton to pedantic types) hit the tiles for a night out at Boujis in 2007.

We love this picture...

Kate's Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding dress HAS to go into her style files. It's basically the law.

Move over Phillips, there's a new Zara in town

Well, for one day only. The day that Kate wore a £69.99 Zara HIGH STREET dress and the world stopped turning, for a second at least.

Then Amy Childs copied her and normal service resumed.

Oh and William too. It wasn't really a competition either but Kate's Candian royal phwoar-drobe really was something special, right down to the so-fash Anya Hindmarch raffia clutch.

Or is it black? No matter, it's just nice to see Kate getting a taste for sumptuous royal fahhhbrics (and Boujis) as early as 2007.

And a ROYAL garden party at that? A £1,200 Emilia Wickstead baby pink dress complete with pleats, if you're the Duchess of Cambridge that is...

PS: IYA CAMILLA! You look nice too.

Kate n' Wills cut a very handsome pair (only she's more stunning than handsome) at the Jubilee Pageant in June 2012. She wore Alexander McQueen - as previously seen on Kim Kardashian and, err, Tulisa. He wore? Um, a sexy military suit. Woof (RAF) woof.

It's less of a trick, they've just popped them on their heads mid-Canadian tour. But it's just a CUTE PICTURE. That's all, y'all...

Post-wedding day (PWD) Kate upped the fash' ante and then some, this time wearing more McQueen for a day trip to Birmingham.

Sorry, but it's easy to forget that Kate used to love a mini dress or five! Here she is leaving The Ritz in 2007, wearing a suitably glitzy dress plus THOSE knee-high boots. Ahh the boots, wonder what they're up to these days... We miss them every once in a while. Like now.

When Kate stepped out in this grey pleated Orla Kiely dress, well, we just saw a nice grey pleated Orla Kiely dress.

Since then, statement necklaces have become AW12's biggest fashion trend, this week, SO PROVING THAT KATE MADE IT HAPPEN. Kind of.

The Duchess, embarking on a tartan fling with, err, tartan? Yes, yes she did, back in January 2008.

Hell, Kate even kick started the fash' pack's love affair with sharp Peter Pan collars... she wore hers waaay before Victoria Beckham sent simialr styles down her AW12 catwalk. So, you know, Kate wins, again.

This Jenny Packham gown is often touted as Kate's best dress yet (bar that wedding one, obvs). Do you agree?

Kate's worn this Missoni boucle coat a handful of times - and earned herself the nickname Discount Duchess in the process. Whaddya reckon, fashion hit or Miss(oni)?

Yup, you read it here first. The Duchess even looks glamorous while seated. Also, pine green is THE colour of AW12 (that and burgundy) so, you know, Kate wins at this thing called fashion once again.

*That would work SO much better if she were skating. She's not, she's skiing. But you know, it's still cold and Kate still looks cool. Even in 2007...

And other rubbish tennis gags. Kate looked great in this knitted dress at Wimbledon in 2012 - probably why she's worn it twice then...

As sure as the Duchess' wedding dress has to be included in Kate's style files, so too does the above dress. Said to be the frock that won William's heart, it's an iconic frock. But is it YOUR favourite? Wills? We're talking to you too... PRINCE WILLIAM!? Oh never mind.