While reflecting on the Princess of Wales’s recent style shift, British Vogue’s Sarah Harris called out one welcome change in particular: “She has embraced bolder colors: cue the Alexander McQueen red power suit she wore to unveil her ‘Shaping Us’ campaign, the cobalt-blue Catherine Walker coat dress for Easter this year, and the vivid blue 1995 vintage Chanel boucle blazer she wore to Coach Core’s 10th-anniversary celebrations.”
It’s fitting, then, that Kate chose to re-wear said Alexander McQueen red power suit to the Coronation Concert on May 7, accessorizing it with a necklace and earrings from Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhambra Collection. The jewelry set has become something of a favorite for the Princess, who has been spotted in it everywhere from the BAFTAs to the Bahamas.
As for the rest of the Wales family? William and George wore coordinating blue suits and ties—about as close as the heirs to the throne will ever get to festival dressing—while Princess Charlotte sported a dress by Self-Portrait, one of her mother’s favorite designers. In fact, Kate wore a royal-blue dress courtesy of Han Chong’s label to greet foreign dignitaries at Buckingham Palace on Friday evening.
The Princess’s fashion choices have run the gamut from haute couture to high street over the course of the coronation celebrations. Having attended the formal service in Westminster Abbey in a custom Alexander McQueen gown of ivory crepe embroidered with roses, thistles, daffodils and shamrocks, Kate turned to some of her off-duty style staples to greet the crowds during the Coronation Big Lunch celebrations in Windsor this afternoon, pairing a classic sky-blue blazer by Reiss with cigarette trousers and her trusty Veja Esplar sneakers. How long until Princess Charlotte is spotted in the kids version of the queen-in-waiting’s favorite trainers?