What Was Kate Middleton Just Spotted Wearing From Over 10 Years Ago?
Recycling and upcycling clothing is all the rage in Tinseltown and beyond. Angelina Jolie made huge waves when her children upcycled her threads from past public outings at Marvel's "Eternals" events, with Jolie telling British Vogue in March that she purchases "quality pieces, and then just wear them to death." Across the pond, Kate Middleton is proof this trend has stretched beyond the borders of Hollywood. The Duchess of Cambridge has made a name in the fashion world for repeatedly recycling outfits worn in public. At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Scotland, Kate stayed on-theme by wearing an 18-month-old Epione coat dress and re-wearing a pair of navy blue Rupert Sanderson heels she's been photographed in at least a dozen times (per the Daily Mail).
To represent Generation Earthshot (Kate and husband Prince William's organization designed to teach kids about the planet's protection) at a children's school in October, Kate re-wore a green Erdem blazer first seen in public on a 2014 tour of New Zealand with William. The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge are definitely ardent environmentalists, tweeting for the occasion of the Climate Change Conference that if humanity is "to achieve our goal to repair our planet in what is now less than a decade, it is our shared responsibility to continue thinking differently, acting boldly, and making the impossible, possible."
Clearly, Kate's fashion choices personify their green philosophy — and her outfit at a November outing was the latest to follow suit.
This isn't the first time Kate wore a decade-old outfit
For two historically significant gallery openings at the Imperial War Museum on November 10, Kate Middleton stayed her socially conscientious self by re-wearing a white button-up Alexander McQueen shirt (pictured above), first seen on her in 2011, according to the Daily Mail. The Duchess of Cambridge was in town to open the museum's Second World War Galleries and The Holocaust Galleries. In an emotional moment during the visit, Kate reunited with two Holocaust survivors — Stephen Frank and Yvonne Bernstein — whom she photographed in 2020 for the "Generations: Portrait of Holocaust Survivors" project to mark the 75th year of the liberation of Auschwitz. "I want to give you a big cuddle," the duchess was overheard warmly telling Frank.
The duchess' crisp white shirt, complete with striking military-style embellishments, was first worn during a trip with Prince William in August 2011 to Birmingham, per the Daily Mail. One month prior on October 17, Kate also rocked a 10-year-old garment at the Earthshot Prize Ceremony, per People. As the environmentally focused event specifically requested its guests not buy new wardrobe for the event, Kate went for a lilac Alexander McQueen (clearly a personal fave) dress also previously worn in 2011. The fashion maven also recycled the Kiki McDonough earrings first worn to sister Pippa Middleton's May 2017 wedding.
The green-conscious royal is certainly leading by example!