Sisters are doing it for the High Street! Kate and Pippa both choose Zara for first appearance after royal wedding
By Deborah Arthurs
May 3 2011
They have multi-millionaire parents and royal relations. But as they stepped out in their Zara outfits the day after the royal wedding, it was clear that Kate and Pippa STILL can't get enough of the High Street.
Forgoing the designer labels both could no doubt afford thanks to their moneyed background, the Duchess of Cambridge and her younger sister proved they remain decent, down-to-earth girls with an eye for a bargain.
The two picked out perfectly pitched outfits for their first public appearance. Kate looked radiant in the £49.99 cornflower blue dress, pairing it with £129.99 black LK Bennett patent pumps (the same pair she wore on the eve of her wedding as she arrived at The Goring hotel), and a simple black jacket.
For her very public departure from The Goring hotel, Pippa chose Zara's classic royal blue double-breasted blazer costing £69.99.
People's princess: The Duchess of Cambridge chose a £49.99 Zara dress and £129.99 LK Bennett pumps for her first appearance following the wedding
The younger Middleton completed her outfit with a pair of figure-hugging white jeans, the Bristol bag in shark, £149 from Modalu, and £120 cream leather Riva ballet pumps by American label Tory Burch.
Whether or not the girls conferred is not known, though one would presume from the closeness of the girls' relationship - Kate calls Pippa her 'best friend - that there would have been some level of communication.
Coincidence or conspiracy, it was an excellent move.
The proletarian price of these outfits - Kate's came in at £180 and Pippa's totalled £340 - stands in sharp contrast to the cost of the girls' wedding outfits, a £60,000 bill that was footed by the Middleton family - and that's without the hefty bill for the evening gowns.
Kate's made-to-measure Alexander McQueen wedding gown cost £40,000; Pippa's a cool £20,000.
High Street girl: Just like sister Kate, Pippa Middleton chose Zara for her morning-after outfit, wearing a £69.99 Zara blazer paired with white jeans, a £149.99 Modalu bag and £120 Tory Burch pumps
This High Street love-in is no show of false parsimony though. Kate is known to champion the High Street and is fond of hitting the shops herself - a freedom some say may be difficult in her new role as a working Royal.
Ahead of her wedding Kate was seen visiting various stores to purchase summer pieces said to be for her honeymoon trousseau.
At Warehouse she picked up summer dresses and a simple embroidered blouse, spending £255.
At Whistles, one of her favourite shops, she picked up a duplicate of the cream blouse she wore for her Mario Testino engagement pictures (re-released and christened 'Kate'), a pair of blue and white spotty, high-waisted trousers and a lemon T-shirt.
And as well as those faithful patent LK Bennett wedges, Kate also chose LK Bennett shoes for her last official engagement before the wedding.
She wore the store's navy blue courts - £95 in the sale - with her 2007 midnight blue Amanda Wakeley suit, a look that was praised for being a savvy mix of High Street and designer (and the designer element was said to have come from retail outlet Bicester Village, a cut-price shopping centre).
As proof of her new-found sartorial clout though, despite many criticising Kate's comfortable courts for what they called the 'frumpy' heel, fashion forecasters now predict Kate's sensible shoes could even spark a court shoe comeback.
So now, with Kate hailed a style icon thanks to her highly praised choice of wedding dress, and Pippa with her new-found fame as Britain's most eligible woman, whatever either of the girls wear, the rest of us are likely to follow.
First stop to get the Royal look? Better make it Zara.
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