Everyone is a tiny bit obsessed with Kate Middleton's style choices. Fact. Even if you maintain that gawping at her endless parade of tasteful shifts and courts is beneath you, we bet the words "baby bump" and "new McQueen gown" will have you Googling in a nanosecond. And while we're accustomed to scrutinising everything from her bangs to her (inexplicable) commitment to nude hosiery, we have to give props to British Vogue for taking this obsession to forensic levels. The magazine's February issue features an oh-so-handy Katepedia, which allows royal style fanatics to answer all those pesky sartorial questions in one fell swoop. Like the precise measurements of Kate's preferred earring drop, and the exact dimensions of those bouncing curls.
Yes, it's an obscenely geekish and frighteningly obsessive — but trust us, it's completely compelling. Fashion editor Lisa Armstrong analysed nigh on every public outfit that the Duchess has worn since she exploded, sartorially speaking, back in 2011.
"Both she and William share a genius from coming across as down-to-earth — with just enough glamour for them not to look like the Dutch royals," says Armstrong. "It's the same knack that enables Kate to wear a high-fashion dress from Jonathan Saunders or McQueen, with her beloved courts and make millions of other women feel they could wear it too." While we wish Kate would give the nude courts a miss now and again, and we're not quite sure what's wrong with looking like a member of the Dutch royal family, we appreciate Lisa's dedication to the cause.
So, if conversation hits a lull at work today, here are a few little Kate gems to pull out the bag: Her favourite colour is blue, which she has worn on 24% of occasions, favouring anything between peacock and Prussian; she always holds a clutch bag with two hands; she's worn LK Bennett to 28 public engagements, and she favours a 50 degree tilt when wearing hats or fascinators. Also: There are 14 Alexander McQueen and eight Temperley gowns knocking around in her closet and it's estimated that the average cost of the Duchess' recent tour of South East Asia was £1,427 per outfit. Oh, and her arm-to-sleeve ratio averages 6:1. Feeling intellectually nourished? Us, too.
You can read the full Katepedia in the February issue of British Vogue, out Thursday.
Photo via the Mail Online