Kate's killer heels: The Duchess of Cambridge's maternity style impresses the fashion world
The Duchess of Cambridge is one of the most photographed women in the world with all eyes on what she's wearing and being over eight months pregnant hasn't put a dent in her sense of style.
Prince William and his wife Catherine are expecting their second child towards the end of April and Kate's been quite daring in her maternity wear this time round.
In October last year Kate showed off plenty of leg in a Jenny Packham baby blue gown. At another black tie event she wore a daring black cocktail dress by Temperley with slashed nude panels.
"She's got such a great figure that she can really show her legs, she can show her figure even though she's got the bump. But I also think that Kate's a young woman of her time and now the trend is really not to wear big voluminous kind of tent-like dresses, it's much more about celebrating your pregnancy, feeling attractive even while you are pregnant," said Emily Zak, Porter magazine's executive fashion editor.
Everything she appears in sells out within minutes as women around the world emulate her style.
She shuns leggings, smocks and flats in favour of neat, tailored coats that skim her bump and smart dresses with wrap styling, of course topped off with a killer pair of Jimmy Choos.
"I think it is really interesting that she's making some different choices than she did in her first pregnancy and I've noticed first and foremost she is a bit more confident, a bit bolder, more figure-hugging, more colour, bolder designers, stronger choices overall," said Zak.
The Duchess favours British designers and brands. She wears a lot of Alexander McQueen and looked pretty in pink in a pale McQueen coat during a Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey earlier this year.
"I think the Duchess of Cambridge wears fashion very well, particularly through her maternity. She's always incredibly stylish and chic," said Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council.
Jenny Packham is another British favourite along with Matthew Williamson and Alice Temperley. The Duchess also wears a lot of British-based, New Zealand-born designer Emilia Wickstead.
It's a real boost for a new designer to be worn by the Duchess and Rush hopes Kate will continue to support British fashion.
"We of course would love to see her wear more British fashion and to embrace more of our designers, but she does a great job and of course has such an incredible international profile and influence that it is very important that she is wearing our designers," Rush said.
Porter magazine's Zac personally likes to see Kate in Emilia Wickstead and Alexander McQueen.
"Because they are modern, they are tailored, they are elegant. To me they really epitomise her role and her character and they are great on her, they look great," she said.
Kate still likes to mix up inexpensive off-the-peg high street items with expensive designer clothes.
During a visit to the TV studios of Downton Abbey the Duchess wore a £69 ($100) cream tailored coat from high street chain store Jojo Maman Bebe. Last month during a visit to a children's centre in London, she wore a polka dot dress costing just £35 from online clothing store ASOS.
She's recycled some of her looks from when she was pregnant with Prince George in 2013. A Dalmatian print coat from chain store Hobbs made an appearance again during a visit to an art gallery in Margate in March.
During her last official public engagement before she gives birth, on 27 March, Kate chose a fushia Mulberry coat that she wore during the couple's visit to New York late last year.
The world is showing no signs of tiring of wanting to know what and who Kate is wearing and the Duchess has proved that pregnant or not, she hasn't put a fashion foot wrong.
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