The See-Through Dress that caught a Princes' eye

The silk barely-there sheer dress is what caught Prince Williams attention as Kate wore it down the catwalk in 2002. It was designed by fashion student Charlotte Todd. The dress which originally cost £30 in 2000 to construct was intended to be worn as a skirt but because Kate has such an incredible sense of fashion style, she decided to wear it over a lacy underwear ensemble as she sashayed down the runway.

Kate's Favorite Designer: Daniella Issa Helayel

Daniella Issa Hlayel or otherwise known to us as 'Issa' is the designer that Kate selected to design her engagement dress that would be seen by the world. Issa is based in London and has long been a favorite of not only Kate but other celebs including Madonna, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lopez.

We have seen Kate wear Issa's designs in the past. Who is Daniella Issa Helayel?
Issa is a Brazilian-born designer who formally studied law. She decided to give up her then chosen profession and move to New York to study fashion. For ten years she worked as a fashion consultant and then moved to London in 2000 to set up her label Issa.

The wrap dresses denote the signature of the line. Issa strives to provide her clients with an effortless elegance that is universally flatterng. Since her first catwalk show in 2003, sales have rocketed.
http://www.issalondon.com/2009/

Claudia Bradby Necklace Designed by Kate Middleton

 

 Jewelry designer Claudia Bradby is releasing a necklace that she collaborated on with Kate Middleton during the time the future princess was an accessories buyer at Junior Jigsaw. Apparently the idea was to create something that could be worn by both mothers and daughters.

While we appreciate the sentiment we can't say we looove this style. Cute, but pretty generic.

Fun Fact: Claudia Bradby's husband Tom was the journalist who interviewed William and Kate on the day their engagement was announced.

[Vogue UK]

Kate Middleton is Officially Engaged wearing an Issa London Dress

The beautiful Kate Middleton officially announced her engagement to Prince William and wore an Issa London dress to her first press conference. The tight-fitting royal blue jersey and silk dress with a gathered front was appropriately named 'Sapphire.' It has been reported that her dress sold out in the UK within hours. The dress was priced at £385 or about $615. It is not available in the US.

For those of you wanting a replica you better move quickly! A knock-off is being sold by Tesco.com for £16 or $25.

Welcome To My Blog

Welcome to my blog!
This is a FAN site devoted to the style and fashion of Kate Middleton.

When I was a child, Princess Diana was my idol. I collected pictures of her, I recorded her royal wedding and watched it countless times and hoped one day to meet her. Since her death and in my opinion, there has not yet been another style icon. No one can replace Princess Diana but Kate Middleton can carve out her own path and become the fashion icon of the 21st century.

Kate Middleton and *That* Sapphire Engagement Ring

We've slept on it and we still can't shake that icky feeling when it comes to Kate Middleton's engagement ring. Sure, there's soon to be a run on 80s-style sapphires surrounded by diamonds, and, yes, it's nice that William was thinking about his mother, but the whole thing just feels wrong to us.

First off, poor Kate has enough to deal with walking in Princess Diana's shadow. While these two are seemingly as different as can be you just know that some people are going to compare them to the break of dawn. Giving Kate the ring once worn Diana is only going to make things worse. Poor KMidd doesn't need to be labelled the "Next Diana." Let the girl be Kate or Catherine or whatever she wants to call herself these days.

via iamsupergorge.com

Second, while we love coloured stones and precious gems other than diamonds for engagement rings, we can't say we love the design of this one. It's kind of...old fashioned, no? Yup, we're going on record to say we're not fans.

Third and, to our minds most importantly, this ring is a symbol of a marriage that was, in short, disastrous. Why, why, why would you want to start out a new, fresh union with that kind of baggage?

And, we're keeping it real here, AAKers, we believe in omens, bad luck and jinxes. Superstitious? Maybe, but we believe in better safe than sorry. And right now we're thinking that this ring should have been buried somewhere so as not to get an opportunity to taint another happy bride-to-be.

Frankly, none of this makes any sense to us, and FYI Wills, saying you gave Kate the ring so you could feel your mother was a part of everything is nice, but we're not really buying it. Even using the stones in a new, modern design would have been better than this lazy choice. Hopefully Kate gets some nice jewelry in future to make up for this.

Kate & Wills' First Interview

As all the engagement hoopla starts to die down we've had a moment to stop and reflect. You know what we realized lovelies? We've never actually heard Kate Middleton speak. Until now. Directly after the official engagement announcement press conference Prince William and Kate sat down together for the first time to be interviewed. You can watch the entire interview here.

Our feeling is that they both came across quite well, even if soft spoken Kate seemed a tad nervous. They appear to be natural with a real, normal relationship. There was some teasing and, especially when their infamous breakup was mentioned, the same kind of knowing reactions that many couples have when discussing issues that will never really be 100% put to rest between them.

There are quite a few unique aspects to this duo. They're a royal couple who has dated for nearly a decade and even lived together and Kate is said to be the first commoner in more than 400 years to marry the future King of England. In the interview William describes Kate as having a "naughty sense of humor" and discussing his desire to prepare her for life in the royal fishbowl and shield her from some of the things that hurt his own mother. Kate describes the proposal as a "total shock" and practically squeals with glee when describing her excitement over the betrothal.

Engaged! Prince William & Kate Middleton Make the Big Announcement

After nine years of dating Prince William announced his engagement to Kate Middleton. These photos of William and Kate at the official engagement announcement were beamed around the world; the press finally getting the news they've been salivating over for so long.

Us? We were interested in the important stuff. Namely what is Kate wearing? Answer: Issa London, one of the future princess' favorite designers.  Congrats to Daniella Issa Helayel, who just hit the sartorial jackpot. We give Kate two big thumbs up for this deep blue jersey number, which was gathered in all the right places. Of course, the dress also perfectly matched Kate's new--and most important--accessory.

Which brings us to Big Question Numero Dos. WHAT DOES THE RING LOOK LIKE?! And then we saw it. And we were all, "Oh, well, that looks awfully familiar..." Yup. Kate is now the proud owner of Princess Diana's sapphire-and-diamond stunner. We're kind of, well, stunned. More on that later, lovelies. We need to gather our thoughts.

Kate Admiring Her New Bling

We were also keen to know just where and how William popped the question. Apparently the smitten prince asked for his lady's hand in a remote cabin in Kenya. We say better Kate than us. That girl sure is a trooper--long wait and all--and deserves whatever diamonds and sapphires have come her way.

The date of the royal nuptials is still unknown. We're doing our best Waity Katie impersonation and patiently anticipating the announcement so we can clear our calendars. There's not much more in this world that we love as much as a good wedding.

Except maybe shoes. And chocolate. Definitely chocolate.


Photos by Getty Images

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