The royal look without the price tag, Duchess of Cambridge style

Kate Middleton’s latest tour attire shows how her look is easy to re-create on a budget.

While the Duchess of Cambridge was touring recently, watchful eyes were being kept on her fashion choices. During times of austerity measures, Kate Middleton proves that fashion can be affordable, practical,stylish and even break a few rules, while maintaining dignity.

Something which makes the Duchess accessible is, how she combines top designer brands with high the street, even going as far as wearing a Zara dress to her sister’s wedding. According to the Business Insider, Prince Charles who looks after royal payroll, allocates the costs of official duties , which includes a clothing allowance for public appearances and gives around £2.965 million to his wife and children. However Kate Middleton still wears high street brands and even wears the same outfit more than once. This is something she has passed onto her children too, as Princess Charlotte wore a hand me down outfit of her elder sibling Prince George.

Looking at some items from Kate Middleton’s recent tour attire, she wore a pair of wedge shoes which were in the £50 mark and a pair of skinny jeans costing £25. Designer items were also in her wardrobe but there is no snobbery about high street brands. Her clothing was both fashionable and practical. The Dolce and Gabbana Polka Dot dress the Duchess wore for Wimbledon recently can be found for as little as £11.

During her tour of India last year the Duchess opted for light weight fabric and maxi dresses. However Kate Middleton is not scared to break royal protocol when it comes to fashion, by going for short skirt lengths, slits in dresses and off the shoulder numbers.

The Kate Middleton look can be recreated using high street brands. Retailers like Peacocks and New Look even stocked their own versions of the Kate Middleton’s iconic engagement Issa dress.

Another humbling thing when it comes to the Duchess and fashion is how she also wears brands of new designers. This is useful to know in times of recession, a designer starting a new label could potentially have their careers made by Kate Middleton wearing one of their designs. When visiting the US in 2012, as a result of Kate Middleton wearing the brand LK Bennett, the label reached the American market.  Even the dress that Kate Middleton wore for a fashion show as a student  got auctioned for over $125,000, showing just how massive the “kate effect is”.

The way Kate Middleton’s look can be replicated with high street brands shows that austerity measures does not mean fashion has to go out of the window. The fact that a royal will wear high street brands, also wear an outfit more than once and even get her children to do the same also shows there is no shame in wearing hand me downs or the same outfit again while trying to remain stylish on a budget.