By Wonderwall.com Editors
2:27am PST, Jan 8, 2022
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Whether in princess-worthy gowns, sweet daytime frocks, smart business ensembles or a jeans-and-cowboy hat getup, Duchess Kate always dresses to impress. Join Wonderwall.com as we celebrate the mom of three’s 40th birthday on Jan. 9, 2022, by looking back at her best fashion moments from over the years. Let’s start with this one that started it all… After Prince William and Duchess Kate — then known as Kate Middleton — announced their engagement at St. James’s Palace in London on Nov. 16, 2010, her $600 blue Issa wrap dress sold out in stores around the world within a day.
Keep reading for more of Kate’s best looks of all time…
RELATED: Kate’s fashion hits and misses of 2021
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Duchess Kate had a pitch-perfect red carpet moment when she wore a white-and-gold Alexander McQueen gown to to the 73rd British Academy Film Awards in London on Feb. 2, 2020. It was one of her prettiest recycles — Kate first donned the dress for a state dinner in Malaysia in 2012.
RELATED: The most stunning royal tiaras
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Duchess Kate sparkled — literally! — in an emerald green sequin-and-crystal-embellished Jenny Packham gown at the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Nov. 18, 2021.
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Duchess Kate wowed in a black Alexander McQueen gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline and floral embroidery at the 2017 BAFTA Awards on Feb. 12, 2017, at Royal Albert Hall in London.
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Duchess Kate was a vision in gold at the “No Time To Die” world premiere at Royal Albert Hall in London on Sept. 28, 2021. The glam royal rocked a glittering gown made by one of her favorites, British designer Jenny Packham, as part of a special collaboration called the Jenny Packham X 007 Collection.
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Kate Middleton shared a moment — and an eight-foot train — with sister Pippa Middleton at the soon-to-be royal’s wedding to Prince William at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011. Keep reading for a closer look at Kate’s most iconic look of all time…
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The Alexander McQueen ivory satin and lace dress Duchess Kate wore on her wedding day in 2011 was designed by Sarah Burton and featured a plunging neckline with lace appliqués that were painstakingly hand-embroidered by workers at the Royal School of Needlework. Keep reading for a close-up and some truly dazzling details…
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For her big day on April 29, 2011, Duchess Kate wore an ivory silk tulle veil and borrowed the Cartier Halo tiara, which boasts 739 brilliant-cut diamonds and 149 baguette diamonds, from Prince William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. Her “something new”? Drop earrings shaped like oak leaves with pave diamond acorns suspended in the middle — a gift from her parents.
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Duchess Kate turned heads and stepped into chic new fashion territory when she visited the Henry Fawcett Children’s Centre in London on March 12, 2019, in a purple silk pussybow blouse by Gucci and wide-legged black trousers from Jigsaw.
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Duchess Kate floated into the 100 Women in Finance Gala at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on Feb. 13, 2019, wearing an off-the-shoulder Gucci gown in shades of pink and mauve with a ruched bodice and a skirt made of layers of pleated tulle.
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Duchess Kate donned a red custom cap-sleeved gown by Jenny Packham — and the queen’s Lotus Flower Tiara — as she clinked glasses with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in London on Oct. 20, 2015.
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Duchess Kate always loves a good military-inspired ensemble — and this crisp Alexander McQueen blouse and Catherine Walker coat she wore to an event at the Imperial War Museum in London on Nov. 10, 2021, didn’t disappoint.
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Duchess Kate, who had announced her second pregnancy the previous month, opted for a shorter-than-usual hemline with this ice blue Jenny Packham dress and flesh-toned L.K. Bennett strappy sandals at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards ceremony in London on Oct. 21, 2014.
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Duchess Kate showed some shoulder in a cream Barbara Casasola dress at the Art Fund Museum of the Year prize dinner at the Natural History Museum in London on July 6, 2016.
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Duchess Kate chose a purple jersey dress by Issa — the same label she wore for her engagement announcement — and accessorized with Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond maple leaf brooch when she stepped out at a concert in Ottawa, Canadam on July 1, 2011.
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Grecian goddess alert! Duchess Kate rocked a white one-shouldered Alexander McQueen dress at the British Academy Film Awards at Royal Albert Hall in London on Feb. 10, 2019.
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Yeehaw! Duchess Kate went cowgirl chic in a Temperley London shirt, boot-cut jeans, a Western-style belt, cowboy boots and a white cowboy hat when she and Prince William led the annual Calgary Stampede parade during their Royal Tour of Canada on July 8, 2011.
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A white lace ruffled Alexander McQueen number was Duchess Kate’s pick for a state dinner at Buckingham Palace welcoming President Donald Trump to the U.K. on June 3, 2019. Kate (pictured with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin) wore her favorite Lover’s Knot tiara plus a sash and badge that reflected her new status as a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. Keep reading for a closer look at her regal accessories…
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The new sash Duchess Kate wore to the state banquet for President Donald Trump’s three-day visit to the U.K. in June 2019 was affixed to her Alexander McQueen dress with an acorn pin opposite the Royal Family Order on a yellow ribbon.
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She’s got that glow! When Duchess Kate and Prince William introduced newborn Prince George to the world at St. Mary’s Hospital in London on July 23, 2013, the new mama looked radiant in a bespoke silk crepe-de-chine Jenny Packham dress. She paired the cornflower blue and white polka-dot frock with comfy Pied a Terre Imperia wedge sandals.
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Sheer bliss! A confident Duchess Kate rocked a lacy Alexander McQueen evening gown with a black overlay atop a neutral underskirt when she hit the Royal Variety Performance in London on Nov. 18, 2019.
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An impeccable-looking Duchess Kate led her color-coordinated family from the plane as she, Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrived in Berlin on July 19, 2017. Kate wore a Catherine Walker coat and a coordinating lace dress with a scalloped hem — all in cornflower blue, a fitting nod to the national flower of Germany.
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Duchess Kate was the picture of confidence in a bold purple, blue and green tartan trench coat by Holland and Cooper when she hosted a drive-in screening of Disney’s “Cruella” for Scottish NHS workers at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 26, 2021.
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Duchess Kate looked effortlessly stylish at the Wimbledon tennis championship ladies’ finals in London on July 10, 2021, in a green fit-and-flare Emilia Wickstead dress and white Jimmy Choo pumps.
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Duchess Kate was a technicolor standout in a Tory Burch gown embroidered with retro-inspired florals when she and Prince William headed to dinner with the King and Queen of Bhutan on April 14, 2016.
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Duchess Kate chose a different silhouette for the opening of the V&A Photography Centre at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on Oct. 10, 2018. Her shoulder-skimming Erdem frock, a runway piece from the designer’s Spring 2018 collection, was made of a bouclé tweed in the Prince of Wales check pattern.
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Duchess Kate showed off some of her very toned leg in a white dress by Self-Portrait featuring a textured geometric bodice and a thigh-high slit at the U.K. premiere of “A Street Cat Named Bob” at the Curzon Mayfair in London on Nov. 3, 2016.
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Duchess Kate recycled a gorgeous teal lace-embellished dress by Jenny Packham when she attended the Tusk Conservation Awards in London on Nov. 8, 2018. She won raves the first time around when she sported the gown in May 2012 at the Our Greatest Team Rises BOA Olympic Concert in London.
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Duchess Kate stood out in a crowd in an Alexander McQueen dress during a visit to Vancouver, Canada, on Sept. 25, 2016. The pretty red-and-white frock was made from one of Kate’s favorite fabrics, broderie anglaise.
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She’s comfortable in solids, but Duchess Kate showed she can rock a loud print when she picked this bright Alessandra Rich floral dress with a pleated bodice and peplum waist for a meeting with the President of Ireland in Dublin on March 3, 2020.
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A radiant Duchess Kate wore a bespoke cream Alexander McQueen creation and a Jane Taylor hat for the christening of Prince George at the Chapel Royal in London’s St. James’s Palace on Oct. 23, 2013. Kate matched her baby’s traditional lace christening gown at the super-private ceremony.
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Duchess Kate chose a custom Alexander McQueen creation and a Sylvia Fletcher for Lock & Co. hat when she attended a service in Arromanches Les Bains, France, on June 6, 2014, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
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It was her sister’s big day, but Duchess Kate — seen with her little flower girl, Princess Charlotte — wowed the crowd in a blush pink silk Alexander McQueen dress at sibling Pippa Middleton’s wedding to James Matthews at St. Mark’s Church in Englefield, England, on May 20, 2017.
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Duchess Kate chose a stylish but subdued Michael Kors coat dress for ANZAC Day ceremonies, including a walk with Prince William along the World War I Wall of Remembrance, during their visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, on April 25, 2014.
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Duchess Kate was a ray of sunshine in a vibrant yellow Jenny Packham dress when she landed in Calgary on July 8, 2011, during a royal tour of Canada.
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Duchess Kate looked sophisticated and kept warm in a bespoke Alexander McQueen coat when she toured Bradford, England, with Prince William on Jan. 15, 2020.
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Duchess Kate, on the arm of King Harald of Norway at a state dinner in Oslo on Feb. 1, 2018, looked supremely regal in a blush pink gown with a sheer cape by Alexander McQueen. She was seven months pregnant with son Prince Louis at the time.
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Duchess Kate is known for her impeccable fashion on St. Patrick’s Day, when she traditionally presents the 1st Battalion Irish Guardsmen with shamrocks during the annual parade at the Household Cavalry Barracks in London. On March 17, 2017, she wore a forest green Catherine Walker coat with a matching deep green Lock & Co. hat.
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Duchess Kate looked radiant in a fitted patterned dress by Naeem Khan when she visited the Taj Mahal in India with Prince William on April 16, 2016.
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Who looks this good after a flight?! Duchess Kate looked impossibly put-together in Jenny Packham as she arrived with Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte in Victoria, Canada, for the start of of the family’s royal tour of the country on Sept. 24, 2016. As a tribute to her host country, Kate sported a platinum-and-diamond maple leaf brooch on loan from Queen Elizabeth II and a Sylvia Fletcher for Lock & Co. hat embellished with maple leaves.
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Lady in red! Duchess Kate was stunning in crimson at the launch of the “Taking Action on Addiction” campaign at BAFTA in London on Oct. 19, 2021. What looks like a dress is actually separates: a pleated skirt by Christopher Kane paired with a turtleneck sweater and finished off with neutral Ralph Lauren pumps.
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No collection of Duchess Kate’s best fashion moments would be complete without this look — a sheer black lace dress over a bandeau bra and black bikini bottoms, which the future Duchess of Cambridge wore for a charity fashion show at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on March 26, 2002. The catwalk confidence of the gorgeous coed, who went by the name Kate Middleton at the time, caught the eye of fellow student Prince William — and the rest is history.
