Celebration of Youth BBQ

An evening rain forced the 120 guests at a Celebration of Youth barbecue inside Rideau Hall (the residence of the Governor-General and Kate & Wills home during their stay in Ottawa) Thursday with William and Kate still mingling with ease among the crowd inside.

The barbecue was held to honour 100 Canadians under the age of 35 for their dedicated service both at home and abroad and it included athletes, business people and community leaders from across Canada.

Tonight Kate wore a black and white Issa bird print wrap dress with black Pied a Terre Ivy Canvas slingback wedges (£75 and sold out). Kate has worn this dress on previous occassions such as in 2006 and the day before her wedding.

The black wedges were seen last summer when Kate watched William play polo in Tetbury.

Kate kept her jewelry simple wearing a gold pendant necklace and small gold egg shaped earrings.

Update 7/2/2011

Kate's earrings (above) could possibly be by designer Vinnie Day. I have found pair on their website that have similar patterns. www.vinnieday.com/

Silver Simple Single Bali Earring with Vinnie Day logo leaf £64. These come in gold plate too £80.

Update 8/16/2011

A picture of the Vinnie Day logo leaf earrings in gold plate.

The Royal Couple Arrive in Canada

William and Kate touched down in Canada this evening as they began their first royal tour together.

The Canadian military plane that carried the couple landed at Ottawa's international airport. The smiling couple stepped off the plane into and shook hands with Canadian officials before leaving immediately for the National War Memorial.

Kate switched out of the blue Roland Mouret dress she wore when she boarded at London's Heathrow airport into a navy three-quarter-sleeved, lacy, form-fitting 'Cecile' shift dress (Resort 2012 collection - $2,850) by Erdem Moralioglu, a Canadian designer born in Montreal and tan pumps.

The dress had a scoop-back with contrast stone crepe and a navy lace overlay. The sheer lace sleeves have a scallop detail.

Kate accesorized with some old friends,  the LK Bennett Sledge2 pump in light taupe and carried the envelope clutch that we have yet to ID.

Kate had her tresses styled into a demi-chignon.

Below is a close up of Kate's bracelet

We're thinking that this bracelet looks like The Tiffany & Co Elsa Peretti® Diamonds by the Yard® bracelet $525. The bracelet is sterling silver with 3 round diamonds.

Update 10/22/12

Kate's earrings are Tiffany & Co. 18k Gold by designer Elsa Peretti. The stones are diamonds and cabochon sapphires. They match her diamond and carbochon sapphire necklace. Both are no longer available for purchase.

 

The first time we saw her wear the earrings and necklace was during the official engagement announcement at Clarence House on Nov. 16, 2010.

 

Update 11/19/2011

I have found some additional info on Kate's Erdem dress. Below is a decription from the Bergdof Goodman website:

 

Stone with navy lace overlay.

Bateau neckline; scoop back.

Sheer three-quarter sleeves; scalloped trim.

Fitted silhouette; straight hem hits at knee.

Hidden back zip.

Viscose/spandex; lace, viscose/polyamide; lining, polyester/spandex.

Made in United Kingdom of Italian material.

 

Kate & William Leave for Canada

Kate & William boarded a private plane at London's Heathrow airport on Thursday. Their desination: Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada, where the newlywed royals will kick off their 11-day tour of North America.

The Duchess's elegant outfit for the flight featured Canadian and French labels in a move apparently intended to please her hosts, including those in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec.

Kate wore a navy blue knee-length Manon dress by French designer Roland Mouret with a matching navy blazer with gold buttons by Toronto-based Smythe les Vestes
($585).

The stiletto heels on her navy Manolo Blahnik 'Calogera' court shoes caused her no problems as she climbed the stairs on to the aircraft alongside the Duke. In her hand, she held a £850 Mulberry Polly Push–lock handbag.

Kate kept her hair loose in simple waves.

Here is a close up look at the Roland Mouret dress ($935 on sale). It was available at Selfridges but looks like it's currently sold out.

'A crepe wool a-line dress by Roland Mouret. Sleeveless. Gathered shoulders lead into a cowl neck. The cowl neck has two black ribbons that tie across the shoulders. The tabard style front is sewn a little in from the left edge to create a draped effect. Seams running diagonally across the front allow the material to fold. Longer at the back than the front. The back of the dress drapes at the neckline. Exposed hemmed seams all over. Unlined. Generous fit. Hemline finishes at the knee.'

And a closer look at her jacket:

'Single breasted long sleeve crepe blazer in navy. Peaked lapel collar. Padded shoulders. Single button front closure. Welt pocket at bust. Welt pockets and button-fastened coin pocket at waist. Curved seams at front and back. Cutout back waist. Four button sleeve cuffs. Gold tone emblem-embossed buttons. Fully lined. Shell: 100% cotton. Lining: 97% polyester, 3% elastane. Dry clean. Made in Canada.'

Wills & Kate make an unannounced stop at Wimbledon

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watched from the front row of the Royal Box on Monday as the fourth-seeded Murray beat Richard Gasquet to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

The visit wasn't announced in advance and wasn't part of their official royal duties. They arrived at about 12:30 p.m. and were given a warm ovation by the Centre Court crowd when they took their seats in the Royal Box 25 minutes later.

The couple stayed through Venus Williams' loss to Tsvetana Pironkova and most of defending champion Rafael Nadal's win over Juan Martin del Potro.

In keeping with Wimbledon's all-white dress theme, Kate wore a summery Temperley London 'Moriah' off-white, knee-length dress with three tiers of knife pleats and embroidered straps (was on sale for £395.00 but at the time of this writing is sold out).

Below is a closer look at the detailing of the disks/petals adorning the front and back of the dress.

Finishing off her look, Kate accessorised with some old friends -- a nude snakeskin clutch and L.K.Bennett Sledge2 pumps. As she arrived/left, I noticed a chocolate colored jacket/blazer in her hand. Kate kept her jewelery simple and wore diamond and sapphire earrings to match her engagement ring and her gold engraved disk bracelet. Her glossy hair was down.

Update:

The latest reports about Kate's new gold bracelet (seen in the picture above) is that it was a gift from her step-mother-in-law Camilla. As to where it was bought, this is still unknown.

Kate & Wills Celebrate Armed Forces Day

This morning, the Royal couple celebrated Armed Forces Day with soldiers who had recently returned from fighting in Afghanistan. The ceremony was held at Windsor Castle.

Kate presented Elizabeth Crosses to families of three members of the regiment who were killed during the six month operational tour.

The duchess wore a chic figure-hugging, dark navy, wool crepe double-breasted coat by Alexander McQueen with gold buttons that finished just above the knee. The epaulets and double row of buttons gave it a distinctly military feel. The topper is part of the designer's pre-fall 2011 collection (said to retail for about $1,840). I was not able to find an exact picture of the coat in McQueen's new collection but there are some similiar styles below.

Kate chose a small matching Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat which had the feel of a military beret in size and slant, but the bow embellishment gave it a glamorous look.

A gold Irish shamrock brooch was pinned to her lapel. This is the emblem of the Irish Guards and one of the flowers included in the lace detail of her wedding dress. The brooch was loaned to her by the regiment and has previously been worn by Princess Anne and the Queen Mother.

Kate accessorised her outfit with simple blue shoes (reportedly Prada but not yet confirmed), a blue Anya Hindnarch 'Marano' clutch (£995.00), gold link bracelet with single engraved charm (resembles her official seal), and Kiki McDonough citrine drop earrings.

The Anya Hindmarch clutch is covered in blue shagreen (stingray). Description from the Anya Hindmarch site:

'This Marano is crafted from Shagreen set on a pale gold box clutch. Features clip clasp closure with discreet bow logo, suede lined inner with card pocket.'