Last week, Kate Middleton (or, if you must, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) was inducted into Vanity Fair‘s Best-Dressed Hall of Fame. This surprised absolutely no one. But lo, there comes a brave voice from the furthest reaches of the Commonwealth, daring to question the princess’s fashion bona fides.
SEDITION! TREACHERY AGAINST THE CROWN!
Elizabeth Clarke of the Sydney Morning Herald has thrown down the gauntlet. She wants to know why exactly Kate deserves to share billing with Karl Lagerfeld. Forget that whatever she wears instantly sells out. “Do cap-sleeved shift dresses, nude hose and cork wedges a fashion icon make? Not in my style bible.” Decisions like her 2012 Alexander McQueen nude lace getup receive props, but, “Whilst these moments may earn her a best-dressed listing, her love of electric blue lace, stretchy wrap dresses and inexpensive shoes do not.”
Oh, and then Clarke throws shade because she’s not her dead mother-in-law. Ouch:
She will forever share her walk-in wardrobe with a ghost: Princess Diana. Not only the people’s princess, she was a style maverick, especially in the 1980s when she reigned supreme as Dynasty Di. A game changer and fashion risktaker, this was a woman who thought nothing of dressing like a military soldier or wearing a choker around her head. Diana lived life on the fashion edge with her penchant for sequins, one shoulder ruffles, mad polka dots and giant shoulder pads.
But being boringly charming is basically Kate’s job. Produce some heirs, turn up at the appropriate national holidays, look lovely but never outré. And who’s to say the basic don’t deserve their own style icon?
Nevertheless, Ms. Clarke might want to keep her eyes peeled for the Queen’s elite team of ninja corgi enforcers.
Photo via Getty.