Kate Middleton Channels Princess Diana's Pakistan Tour Style in Traditional Style — with a Twist!
Kate Middleton wasted no time in putting her own twist on traditional fashion during her royal tour of Pakistan!
Prince William and Kate arrived at the Pakistani Air Force Base Nur Khan on Monday for the start of their five-day tour of the country, with the royal mom stepping off the plane in an aqua blue bespoke dress and matching pants. The ombre look, featuring a draped neckline, is inspired by the traditional shalwar kameez, a lightweight outfit that pairs a loose-fitting tunic top with pants underneath.
The look was very similar to an ensemble Princess Diana wore during her visit to Pakistan in 1996. The royal also chose a long top over trousers in a similar shade of light blue during her visit.
Kate’s outfit was by Catherine Walker, one of her go-to designers that was also a favorite of Princess Diana .
The Duchess of Cambridge completed her look with nude heels and her signature bouncy blowout.
Susan Kelley, editor and founder of fashion blog WhatKateWore.com, predicted that Kate would try out more culturally inspired looks during this royal tour.
“I think we will probably see at least one traditional shalwar kameez — the top and loose trousers look — from Kate on this trip,” Kelley, who launched her blog that follows Kate’s fashion back in 2011, told PEOPLE. “Diana wore that look multiple times in Pakistan and I think she has on occasion looked to Diana for inspiration, while being careful not to copy her.”
While we haven’t seen this look from Kate before (although she did wear a floaty Beulah dress and headscarf to visit a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2012), Kelley says Kate’s confidence has grown significantly since then.
“I think we will see her branching out more and taking more risks — she has become so much more confident in her role, she’s willing to take more risks, wear new designers and she even wore a blouse backwards and it worked!” Kelley said.
Kelley has another prediction on Kate’s tour style: she’ll be wearing plenty of green. Princess Diana also wore green, seen to be a customary color of respect when she visited the country, nearly 30 years ago.
“I think we’ll see the color green incorporated [to represent the green flag of Pakistan], and I think we may see jasmine, the national flower, used somehow in her clothing choices,” said Kelley.
