(Culture)

Kate Middleton Is The Queen Of Recycling Dresses — Here’s How She Refreshed This Blue Gown

by Olivia Young
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It's no secret that Kate Middleton loves to recycle outfits. This time, the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing the same gown she sported to an Olympics gala concert six years ago. But who could blame her? Kate Middleton's blue lace dress is simply too stunning to only wear once.

On Thu., Prince William and Kate Middleton attended the Tusk Conservation Awards in London, and the Duchess was wearing a rather familiar frock. The Jenny Packham dress was the exact one she debuted on the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall in 2012 — even the corresponding clutch was same.

The whimsical gown is teal and features elegant lace-capped sleeves, a plunging neckline, silk side panels, and an embellished belt around the waist. Form-fitting on the top, the dress bursts into a pleated skirt that floated behind the Duchess as she walked through the Banqueting House. She and Prince William both wore poppy pins as a tribute to the UK's upcoming Remembrance Day.

While Middleton pulled her hair back in a sleek low bun with the first look, she wore her usual loose curls this time. Even still, there were striking similarities between the two looks, from the strappy silver heels to the monochromatic fold-over clutch she carried on both occasions. So much has happened since she first wore the gown — the couple has had three children and Prince Harry has found a wife in that time — but the Duchess' sophisticated style has remained the same, thankfully.

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The Duchess is a serial repeat-wearer. Even the Alexander McQueen coat dress she wore to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding this past spring was one she had worn three times before. Middleton has worn the same boots for 14 years, but she's not afraid to rewear her most highly publicized formal attire, too. Take her famous scarlet-red Luisa Spagnoli skirt suit, for instance, which she's worn several times since 2011, or the stunning Temperley London lace-overlay gown she wore to three different events.

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British designer Jenny Packham is one of the royal's favorites, so of course she wears the label over and over again. About a week before the latest look, the Duchess wore a navy-blue Jenny Packham dress to London's Imperial War Museum, but first, she wore it during her tour of Canada in 2016. The Duchess has worn a tiara only seven times since being inducted into the royal family, and she wore the same red Jenny Packham gown on two of those rare occasions. Other favorites of the designer include Middleton's black off-the-shoulder silk gown and the nude-hued beaded number she wore twice (once in 2011, and later in 2016).

While Middle may only be a duchess by royal standards, she's certainly the queen of re-wearing clothes. It's not only proof that Middleton's style is timeless, but also shows just how much like the rest of us she really is. She wasn't always a royal, after all. And if the Duchess can wear her favorite wardrobe staples constantly, then so can you.