On Monday, the Princess of Wales wore a “bespoke” Patrick McDowell coat to Garter Day at Windsor Castle. Nevermind that she easily has three dozen coats in her closet which have a very similar vibe in color, cut, quality, fabric and button amount – she clearly needed yet another light-colored coat so she can promote the idea that she’s the savior of British fashion, that she has a Midas Touch for moving product. The opposite is true – countless brands worn by Kate have collapsed, gone bankrupt and/or folded. Just a short list: LK Bennett, Cefinn, Issa, The Vampire’s Wife, Tabitha Webb, Seraphine and Orla Kiely, and many more. That’s probably one of the reasons why Kate has weirdly started wearing California-based American brands in recent months. I mean, there are other reasons too, obviously. Well, even when Kate wears a bespoke piece from a British designer, she’s still getting backhanded criticism. The Mail had a piece where they flat out said that this McDowell cost would look more at home on Queen Camilla.
She is the Kate that got the cream. At the 2026 Order of the Garter Service at Windsor Castle, the Princess of Wales stepped out in a custom-made coat dress by Patrick McDowell, made from cream brocade fabric custom woven by Stephen Walters & Sons in Suffolk.
She completed the look with cream suede Gianvito Rossi 105 pumps, £710, a cream ‘Natasha’ clutch by Emmy London, £445, and topped it off with an ‘Enid’ boater, £1930, by milliner Jane Taylor in – you guessed it – cream.
Given that the coat dress was so restrained, sober and classically regal, royal watchers might be surprised to learn that its Wirral-born designer is only 31 years old.
Elegant as it was, it would have looked equally at home on Queen Camilla, a woman three decades older than Kate.
In fact, so tailor-made was the princess’s coat dress that it was even named after her. According to the description on McDowell’s website, the ‘Wales’ coat dress is “a beautifully tailored piece crafted from lightweight damask fabric designed to sculpt the body, featuring a nipped-in waist with elegant hip pockets”. A white version is currently available for pre-order, priced £1990.
Every designer feels grateful when the Princess of Wales chooses to wear their clothes. As one of the most closely watched women in the world, ‘the Kate effect’ has been proven to boost a designer’s profile – and sales – exponentially.
I’d really like to know if British brands and British designers even want Kate to wear their clothes at this point. Truly, Kate is damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t – either she becomes the harbinger of doom for every label she wears, or she’s criticized for not doing enough to “fly the flag” for a British fashion industry on life support. But pointing out that Kate wore a fussy brocade coat which would look more at home on a septuagenarian?? LMAO. What’s worse is that Camilla wouldn’t be caught dead in this style – Camilla prefers baggy housedresses and more modern lines. Still, that’s actually Kate’s default style when she’s not copykeening Diana or Meghan. Fussy, ancient, button-covered, unmodern.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
