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At first glance, one would think Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was fashion’s most unlikely (and rather surprising) proponent of the dress-over-pants revival.
Arriving in Pakistan with husband Prince William (ahead of a five-day royal tour), the Duchess of Cambridge departed their private jet in a blue ombré dress by Catherine Walker over matching tapered trousers. The long-sleeved boatneck frock, which progressed from an icy blue at its draped neckline to a brilliant aqua at its kick-hem, was worn over a pair of pants of the same aqua hue, which peeked out from beneath the dress’s mid-calf finish.
And despite fashion’s current resuscitation of the ’90s dress-over-pants trend, Kate’s iteration was in fact a cultural homage to the visiting country’s traditional dress. Honouring the Asian tradition of ‘Shalwar kameez’, whereby both men and women wear a tunic-style dress atop pants, the Catherine Walker ensemble was a subtle homage to such.
It has also drawn inevitable comparisons to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, who wore a powdery blue button-up top and trouser during her 1996 Pakistan royal tour.
As for whether it was intended a tribute or not, Kate Middleton made it her own by pairing her blue ensemble with a patent nude pump and tear-drop diamond earrings, indeed a beautiful way to begin her Pakistani tour.
