Red and yellow and pink and green.... maybe not purple, or orange, but definitely, absolutely blue. Yes, Kate Middleton paints a rainbow with her coats - and most important, her coat-dresses - and has been doing so for years now. Some people have separate closets for shoes or furs, but the DoC must have a storage facility for the many colourful coats that make up 80 per cent of her public outing outfits. (There's another 10 per cent for sensible shoes, 5 per cent for clutch bags and 5 per cent for hats). Her coat-drobe is as impressive as her glossy, swishy hair and both of those things have been in major play during her tour of New Zealand.
Kate wears blue Emilia Wickstead as she arrives in Dunedin [Getty]
Most recently the overseas coat-a-thon has included turquoise fitted pleats from London-based couturier and K-Middy fave, Emilia Wickstead, two cabin chic air hostess-inspired creations (one post-box red button-up number from MaxMara and a powder blue design from Alexander McQueen), plus a kerry green zip-up style from Erdem. Two have been topped off with millinery flourishes, two have been left to stand the style test alone. But this is only a recent flurry of four in the history of La Mid's lifelong outerwear extravaganza: remember that pastel-punching coral collarless piece from Tara Jarmon? Or the soft green satin evening one from Christopher Kane?
L-R: Carven, Emilia Wickstead, Christopher Kane, Celine [Catwalking]
As you can see from the montage of Middy coats, she doesn't discrimnate when it comes to price-points either. The Duchess will be just as happy in dark green tailoring from Reiss as she will be in a custom made piece from an independent dressmaker. However, when it comes to the next season Autumn/Winter 2014's landscape, Kate-friendly options have grown in number.
In fact, her coat-dress idea (which has been a firm royal favourite with the Queen throughout her reign) has really caught on: as you can see from the selection above, Celine, Emilia Wickstead, Christopher Kane and Carven have all dabbled in these double-duty numbers. Will Kate further update her wardrobe come September? Could she start working on a one-in-one-out policy for her heaving closet?
See Kate's greatest outfits in the gallery below...
Kate Middleton Style - Best Dresses & Outfits
1 of 291 Kate Middleton style green coat
2 of 292 Kate Middleton style wimbledon 2014 dress
Kate Middleton at the mens singles final of the Wimbledon Championships - July 6, 2014
3 of 293 Kate Middleton style pink dress
Kate Middleton visits an M-PACT Plus Counselling programme - July 1, 2014
4 of 294 Kate Middleton style anzac day coat
Kate Middleton at the ANZAC Day commemorative service - April 25, 2014
5 of 295 Kate Middleton style d day blue coat
Kate Middleton at a service during the D-Day 70 Commemorations - June 6, 2014
6 of 295 Kate Middleton style military outfit
Kate Middleton during an official visit to Bletchley Park - June 18, 2014
7 of 296 Kate Middleton style prince george jeans
Kate Middleton and Prince George of Cambridge at the Royal Charity Polo - June 15, 2014
8 of 297 Kate Middleton style white black dress
Kate Middleton at the Ben Ainslie Racing America's Cup Launch Event - June 10, 2014
9 of 298 Kate Middleton style jonathan saunders
The Duchess of Cambridge wearing Jonathan Saunders in Scotland - 29th May 2014
10 of 299 Kate Middleton style hobbs
The Duchess of Cambridge in Hobbs at Ayers Rock - 22 April 2014
11 of 2910 Kate Middleton style lela rose dress
The Duchess of Cambridge in Lela Rose in Canberra - 24 April 2014
12 of 2911 Kate Middleton style pink dress alexander mcqueen
The Duchess of Cambridge in Alexander McQueen at Adelaide - 23 April 2014
13 of 2912 Kate Middleton style green dress
The Duchess of Cambridge in Catherine Walker in Canberra - 24 April 2014
14 of 2913 Kate Middleton style yellow dress sydney
The Duchess of Cambridge at Taronga Zoo in Sydney - 20 April 2014
15 of 2914 Kate Middleton style grey dress
The Duchess of Cambridge in Roksanda Ilincic in Uluru - 22 April 2014
16 of 2917 Kate Middleton style white dress manley beach
The Duchess of Cambridge in Zimmerman at Manley Beach - 20 April 2014
17 of 2915 Kate Middleton style alexander mcqueen
The Duchess of Cambridge in Alexander McQueen at Easter service, Ausralia - 20 April 2014
18 of 2916 Kate Middleton style white blue dress l k bennett
The Duchess of Cambridge in L.K. Bennett at Amberley Air Base - 19 April 2014
19 of 2918 Kate Middleton style red outfit
The Duchess of Cambridge in Christchurch, New Zealand - 14 April 2014
20 of 2919 Kate Middleton style yellow dress roksanda ilincic
The Duchess of Cambridge in Roksanda Ilincic arriving in Sydney, Australia - 16 April 2014
21 of 2920 Kate Middleton style prince george rebecca taylor
The Duchess of Cambridge in Rebecca Taylor leaving New Zealand - 16 April 2014
22 of 2921 Kate Middleton style diane von furstenberg
The Duchess of Cambridge in Diane Von Furstenberg in Blue Mountains, Australia - 17 April 2014
23 of 2922 Kate Middleton style zara new zealand
The Duchess of Cambridge in Zara wine tasting in New Zealand - 13 April 2014
24 of 2923 Kate Middleton style jonathan saunders
The Duchess of Cambridge in Jonathan Saunders at rugby in Dunedin, New Zealand - 13 April 2014
25 of 2924 Kate Middleton style erdem green coat
The Duchess of Cambridge in Erdem at Avanti Drome in Hamilton, New Zealand - 12 April 2014
26 of 2925 Kate Middleton style emilia wickstead blue dress
The Duchess of Cambridge in Emilia Wickstead at Dunedin - 13 April 2014
27 of 2926 Kate Middleton style zara
The Duchess of Cambridge in Zara and J Brand at Auckland harbour, New Zealand - 11 April 2014
28 of 2927 Kate Middleton style jenny packham new zealand
The Duchess of Cambridge in Jenny Packham at State Dinner, New Zealand - 10 April 2014
29 of 2927 Kate Middleton style prince george tory burch
The Duchess of Cambridge in Tory Burch in Wellington, New Zealand - 9 April 2014