Monday Memory: October 10, 2018

We have a bit of a busy Monday here, since the Princess of Wales visited a farm market with William over the weekend and the pictures were just published today. More on that in an upcoming post, but I did not want to skip the Monday Memory, as I did last week amid the chaos of Kate’s Mother’s Day photo. Today, we are turning back to our regularly scheduled Monday Memory to focus on October 10, 2018.

On this autumnal evening in London, the then-Duchess of Cambridge attended the opening of the new photography centre at the Victoria & Albert Museum. This was the first event at the museum that Kate attended since being named the museum’s royal patron earlier that year. It was a special night for the museum, too, since Kate is the first royal patron the museum has had!

The princess chose a tweedy Erdem with seasonally appropriate berry accents. Every time I write about any of Kate’s Erdems, I note that they typically divide the fan base. I think this one was more uniformly liked? I can’t really remember. For me, it was a smash hit at the time, and I still love it.

The silhouette was perfect on Kate, highlighting her slender frame just six months after having Prince Louis! I loved that as Kate walked, the deep lining of the dress was visible, coordinating perfectly with her belt, her velvet Jimmy Choo heels, and Jimmy Choo box clutch—all in beautiful burgundy.

The only thing I did not love about this look was the earrings. I have never been able to get on board with these Erdem pieces. They retail at well over $1,000, but they just look like cheap (and garish) costume jewelry to me. That said, they did work well with the buttons on the dress.

In many ways, this was quite a quirky ensemble. The Prince of Wales check tweed, frayed edging, odd buttons, off the shoulder style, etc. I think I’d pass the dress up on the rack in a heartbeat. Yet on Kate it was stunning. This was and remains a huge hit for me.

Did you like this dress when she debuted it? Is it still a hit for you?