Kate Middleton Is “Very Much in Control” of the “Messaging” Behind Her Fashion Choices

The Gist

• Kate Middleton, in addition to her other royal duties, serves as her own stylist following the departure of longtime stylist Natasha Archer last year.

• The Princess of Wales is “very much in control” of her wardrobe, a new profile of the future queen details.

• As she’s grown in confidence as a woman and as a royal, so too has her fashion confidence grown.

On the cusp of her 44th birthday on January 9, Kate Middleton has unlocked a new level of confidence—and that includes being “very much in control” of her wardrobe, a new profile on the Princess of Wales details.

Following the departure of Kate’s longtime stylist Natasha Archer last year, sources told The Times for its new piece on the future queen that no one has replaced Archer in the role—and that Kate is adeptly handling diplomatic dressing. The Daily Mail reported that the Princess of Wales is sending brilliant deeper messages through her clothing choices, like when she chose to wear a gold Phillipa Lepley gown for the U.S. state visit in September—because she knew it was President Donald Trump’s favorite color. Per the outlet, the charm offensive worked, as Trump called the future queen “so radiant and so healthy and so beautiful.”

Likewise in July, when the royal family hosted France’s President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, Kate wore a dark red silk crepe gown designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy—the same designer behind Kate’s 2011 wedding dress, back when Burton was at Alexander McQueen. With Kate in red, Queen Camilla in blue, and Brigitte in white, the three women’s color choices made up the colors of France’s flag, as well as the colors of the Union Jack. “This time,” The Daily Mail reported, “a wink from Emmanuel across the table” was what “signaled Kate’s success.”

Then, in December—for an unprecedented third state banquet, the first time this has happened since 1988 in the U.K.—Kate dazzled once again, that time in a pale blue Jenny Packham gown, a longtime favorite of the Princess of Wales. As the royal family hosted Germany, celebrity stylist Clare Chambers told The Daily Mail, “Kate’s state banquet evolution has been playing out for years, but last night’s appearance proved beyond doubt that she is now the unrivalled architect of modern couture diplomacy.”

The so-called “Kate Middleton effect” nets a reported £1 billion to the British fashion industry annually, and Bethan Holt, fashion director at The Telegraph and the author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Style, told People that, when it comes to the Princess of Wales, “I think there is a subtle style evolution. She just seems to be broadening her horizons a little bit, but mostly all three [state banquet] looks were simply a masterclass in sartorial diplomacy.”

“I think she does recognize that, as a princess, the public will want to see her looking like a princess every so often, and for a state banquet, she can really tick that box—and she did,” Holt continued, adding, “Kate knows that interest in her is going to be there for years to come and that she needs to keep gently moving things on and doing something different, but nothing too surprising that it feels unsettling. It’s a very fine line.”

According to a source speaking to People, “Kate has always loved shopping online and spends a lot of time researching brands that are meaningful. She chooses looks and often keeps them until just the right moment before she wears them. She’s not interested in trends—it’s about what she feels comfortable in and the messaging.”

“Kate has always been very involved in choosing her outfits for royal engagements, but now she is so confident, she knows exactly what suits her and what doesn’t,” the insider said.

As royal biographer Catherine Mayer told the outlet of the Princess of Wales, “She is in this confident phase where she is able to define who she is, what she does, and how much she does. In that sense, she’s approaching her prime.”

Read the original article on InStyle