Kate Middleton Debuts A New Look With Sharp-Shouldered Tuxedo Jacket

Kate Middleton has proved she’s no slouch when it comes to waist-up dressing. But she’s also shown that it’s an opportunity to pull something new out of the bag.In a post on @kensingtonroyal earlier today, Middleton appeared wearing an outfit that’s quite a departure from her customary shirt dresses and smart coats. Filmed at the Natural History Museum, in a teaser clip from tomorrow’s broadcast to announce the winner of this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award, she chose a tuxedo blazer from Alexander McQueen.

It’s a look that her sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, is fond of. She also owns a tuxedo trouser suit from Alexander McQueen, which she first wore to attend 2018’s Endeavour Fund Awards, and has subsequently slipped the blazer over fluid floral dresses.

Middleton has worn trouser suits in the past, but rarely wears head-to-toe black, except for ceremonial events, and hasn’t explored the tuxedo blazer. Until now. In the clip, we can’t sadly see the shape of the trousers, but the blazer has sharp (dare we say it, slightly padded) shoulders to give an extra pointed shape and a nipped-in silhouette at the waist. She paired it with, what looks like, a square-neck top, a black belt and a pair of hoop earrings embellished with pearls.

Princess Diana was also a fan of the tuxedo, pairing hers (which, incidentally, was by Catherine Walker, a firm favourite of Middleton's) with a green waistcoat and bow tie for a greyhound racing event in 1988.

Many of us have stashed away our ‘power suiting’ since working from home kicked in. But if this isn’t a call to dust off your tailoring, I don’t know what is.