Kate Middleton is a style icon and she proved it –once again– during her visit to Ireland, where she absolutely shone in an emerald green dress from The Vampire's Wife. However, what most caught our attention was that the piece was shockingly similar to one worn by Princess Beatrice just a few months ago. A royal loan? Or perhaps they just share a fashion adviser.
The Duchess of Cambridge accompanied Prince William during an evening tour of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin wearing the Falconetti model ($2,045) made from iridescent silk chiffon, which features a boat neckline with ruffles on the hem and sleeves. This piece is by one of the British royals' favorite designers and is very similar to a piece worn by the daughter of Prince Andrew back in September.
The dress was surprisingly familiar to the outfit Beatrice wore to the wedding of Ellie Goulding and Caspar Jopling at York Minster, but –and here's the catch– she wore the The Veneration model ($2,170) which featured double ruffles on the skirt and various layers of ruffles on the ends of the sleeves, as well as a bow at the waist.
It's worth mentioning that as well as certain differences in the details of each dress, they also accessorized them differently. The Duchess chose Manolo Blahnik heels ($760) and the Wilbur and Gussie Charlie Gold Glitter Classic Clutch to complement her dress, while the cousin of the prince wore Reiss shoes and carried a Sienna Jones clutch.
When it comes to the outfits' final touches, Kate swept us off our feet with her creative capacity for combining luxury and affordable pieces. Her stunning eye-catching earrings are from H&M and cost just $7.50!
We don't yet know whether it was a recommendation from Beatrice that led the Duchess to choose this dress, but we're in no doubt that this brand is among the favorites of some of the most important British royal women, and it definitely won't be long before their millions of followers catch on.