With leading designers lining up to dress her, Catherine, Princess of Wales can wear a brand new outfit to every single appearance if she so chooses.
But Kate took a different approach, reusing signature dresses and accessories from when she first appeared on the public stage.
Kate’s key to recycling is to breathe new life into an old piece, using a simple change to a hat, hairstyle or clutch bag.
With some clever styling, it can sometimes look like a completely different outfit.
Acting this way also helps him relate to the public.
Day burger and Mikkelsen cream coat
The stylish cream coat appeared at the 2006 wedding of Laura Parker Bowles and Harry Lopes at St Cyriac’s Church, Lacock, near Camilla’s private home.
It was seen again in 2010 when Kate and Prince William were guests at the wedding of Oliver Baker and Melissa Nicholson at St Salvator’s Chapel.
When Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attended the Olympic reception in 2012, the knee-length coat reappeared, this time without a hat.
Catherine attends the Secretary of State’s annual garden party at Hillsborough Castle on June 14, 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A matching rose-design hat, like a shamrock brooch, is very popular this time
Kate Middleton’s cream and gold day burger and Mikkelsen jacquard coat have been a go-to piece for weddings, often layered over a lace dress by Collette Dinnigan.
First seen at the wedding of Laura Parker Bowles and Harry Lopes in 2006, she accessorised it with a feather fascinator, later opting for a contrasting black Jane Corbett hat to celebrate Ollie Baker and Mel Nicholson in 2010, and big shoes for Zara and Mike Tindall in 2010 and Bennett’s big shoes in 2010. tch
Later in 2011 the £395 coat was seen at the opening ceremony of the London Paralympics with a gold Wilbur and Gussie clutch and finally in 2016 at a garden party in Northern Ireland with a Lock & Co hat and LK Bennett shoes and clutch.
Alexander McQueen skirt and blouse
Kate visited Birmingham in 2011 wearing an Alexander McQueen dress with a nautical feel.
She wore the same outfit three years later to Bletchley Park, where her grandmother was a codebreaker
The nautical theme seemed fitting when Kate met yachtsman Ben Ainslie and the 1851 Trust – an educational charity – in Portsmouth, 2016
We first spotted the £795 nautical chic styled Alexander McQueen dress on a visit to Birmingham in 2011 following the riots in the city.
Kate wore a navy trimmed blouse and £580 wool crepe skirt for a nostalgic visit to Bletchley Park in 2014, echoing Alexander McQueen’s military-style shirt and skirt.
It reappeared in 2016 on a trip to Portsmouth with Rupert Sanderson Hill and a Jaeger bag. On that occasion he met Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie.
Luisa Spagnoli red suit
The striking red Spagnoli suit was on display when Prince William and Kate Middleton visited the University of St Andrews, where they met, in 2011 as part of its 600th anniversary celebrations.
The suit toured New Zealand in 2014. Here, Kate is at Wigram Air Base in Christchurch
The suit catches the eye again, this time in the winter sun at London’s Mitchell Brook Primary School, 2017
The Princess of Wales favors traditional skirt suits and the buttoned silhouette has become a signature look.
The Luisa Spagnoli ensemble features a wool jacket cinched at the waist and was first debuted with black leather gloves, a roll neck and suede boots during her first official outing following the news of the royal couple’s engagement in 2011.
The next time she wore a £335 jacket and £160 skirt was on a tour of Australia where her Mulberry Bayswater clutch and Episode pumps were complemented by a bow-detailed belt and the hemline appeared to be lengthened.
Finally, Catherine chose to recycle the sophisticated suit while visiting an elementary school in 2017, this time pairing it with black Gianvito Rossi pumps and the same mulberry clutch.
Missoni Blue Coat
The Missoni coat first appeared on the Fortnum & Mason tour in 2012, with Camilla
She wore it again in 2014 for the wedding of Lucy Meade and Charlie Budget at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Marshfield. Harry was among the guests
Royal stuns in Berber outfit for official opening of each new charity shop in Holt on March 18, 2016
As Duchess of Cambridge, Kate first wore her blue Missoni coat in a boucle-textured fabric for a visit to Fortnum & Mason in 2012, styling it with Rupert Sanderson gray suede heels.
Fast forward three months and she paired the item with a Jagger bag and Jane Taylor hat for a Jubilee trip to Nottingham.
The £670 collarless coat was later worn to the wedding of Lucy Meade and Charlie Budget in 2014 with a Lock & Co hat and Whistles dress. And again in 2016 to open a charity shop with general navy goods.
Stella McCartney Blue Dress
Kate looked radiant in blue Stella McCartney as she attended the ‘Road to 2012: Aiming High’ exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery on July 19, 2012.
A mother of three at Hampden Park to watch athletics during the 20th Commonwealth Games on July 29, 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland
Kate and William are visiting Canberra, Australia with their son George. Both George and William match McCartney’s outfits
The Princess of Wales wore the same outfit for the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in 2016.
We first saw Kate wearing the Stella McCartney Ridley dress – complete with a Cartier necklace – for an Olympics-themed exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in 2012.
Stepping off the plane in Canberra during her 2014 tour of Australia, she matched the royal blue frock with Prince George and William’s tie.
Since then, she’s worn a £685 dress with a Smiths blazer and Russell & Bromley wedges at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and nude LK Bennett pumps at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2016.
Alexander McQueen tartan coat
Catherine Pangbourne wears a tartan coat for a day out at St Andrew’s School in Berkshire, 2012
The following year, Kate spoke the coat of arms for the Christmas Day service at Sandringham on 25 December,
She also wore the coat when she opened V&A Dundee with William in 2019
As a nod to Scotland, Kate first wore an Alexander McQueen tartan coat during a visit to St Andrew’s School in 2012. It was later seen on Christmas Day 2013 in the same Russell and Bromley boots with a Gina Foster hat.
The Black Watch tartan is a navy and green pattern belonging to the 3rd Battalion Regiment of Scotland, making it the perfect choice to wear again for a trip to Dundee in 2019, accessorizing with a Manu Atelier bag.
Paule ka red suit
Kate looked elegant in Paul Ka while visiting the famous Middle Temple at the Inn of Court in 2012.
The royal looked radiant in red as she visited the Caerphilly Family Intervention Team (FIT) in 2017 to learn about working with children with emotional and behavioral problems.
The Duchess of Cambridge wore the suit to University College London in 2018
Kate first wore Paul Ka’s double-breasted jacket and short flared skirt to an engagement in London in 2012. Several years later in 2017 she reached for it again, this time layered under a roll neck and paired it with Russell & Bromley suede boots.
A year later she wore it again at UCL with the same sweater, but instead wore some Toad’s heeled pumps and a mulberry clutch.
Alexander McQueen Blue Coat
Kate wore McQueen in Blenheim, New Zealand in April 2014
Again in June of the same year. She looked dapper next to Prince William at the commemoration of the Normandy landings at Gold Beach in Arromanches, France.
Catherine looks resplendent in blue for the 75th anniversary of the RAF Air Cadets at St Clement Denis in 2016
Kate wore a blue coat with navy block heels and an asprey clutch to RRS Sir David Attenborough’s naming ceremony in September 2019.
Kate first wore her sharply tailored Alexander McQueen coat, which originally retailed for £2,345, during a visit to New Zealand in 2014.
She wore her hair pulled back, a Stuart Weitzman clutch and Alexander McQueen heels to keep the look simple and sleek. Later that year when for the D-Day service in France, the bespoke coat was paired with a Lock & Co fascinator and black accessories, the look was recycled for mourning occasions.
A few years later the coat was repeated for the 75th anniversary of the RAF Air Cadets in 2016, this time with the addition of an embroidered badge, another Lock & Co hat and Stuart Weitzman heel.
Most recently, in 2019 she wore a cornflower blue coat with navy block heels and an asprey clutch to RRS Sir David Attenborough’s naming ceremony.
Emilia Wickstead teal dress
Emilia Wickstead is one of Kate’s favorite designers. She wore this teal dress in Dunedin in 2014
It reappeared for the Action on Addiction, 2015 visit to Wiltshire
The same outfit appeared again in 2018 to visit Broadcasting House
This pleated wool Emilia Wickstead crepe dress was first seen in New Zealand in 2014 with a Jane Taylor hat when the princess landed in Dunedin.
The £1200 teal dress was seen again in 2015 during a visit by Action on Addiction, this time with a black mulberry clutch and heels.
Most recently it was paired with black Gianvito Rossi pumps and her signature wavy locks for a surprise appearance at the BBC in 2018. This is clearly a favorite silhouette for Catherine as she owns the pink version which has been worn to many occasions.
Alexander McQueen cream coat
The coat was part of an all-white outfit for Princess Charlotte’s christening at Sandringham in 2015.
Catherine and Princess Charlotte leave St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle after Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018
The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium to attend a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of Passchendaele – the Third Battle of Ypres – in 2017
The McQueen coat was chosen for the 2018 Trooping the Color
The enduring princess wore a cream Alexander McQueen coatdress while attending a service to mark Anzac Day in 2022 with a Jane Taylor halo headpiece and Gianvito Rossi pumps, the same piece she first wore for Princess Charlotte’s christening in 2015, although she did rock out at the occasion.
In between we saw her wearing an open collar £2400 coatdress with a pink floral Philip Treacy hat for Trooping the Color in 2016 and a Lock & Co hat and the same Balenciaga pearl earrings in Belgium the following year.
In 2018 she opted for a flared skirt coat for Harry and Meghan’s wedding, this time with a cream Philip Tracy hat and Jimmy Choo heels.
Catherine Walker Gray Dress
The belted dress was first seen during a visit to the Foundling Museum in 2019
It made its second appearance in January 2020 during a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Central Hall Westminster.
Kate wore a gray Catherine Walker dress to visit the Prince’s Foundation in 2022
The belted dress was first seen during a visit to the Foundling Museum in 2019.
Although the accessories were the same, her side parted hair gave the outfit a different look.
Most recently, she wore the dress while visiting the Prince Foundation in 2022.
Wearing the recycled favorite with a black collar and flared skirt, she teamed it with a Mulberry Amberley bag and Gianvito Rossi heels.