From the day Kate Middleton stepped out of the car in her gorgeous Alexander McQueen wedding dress to marry Prince William, it was clear that she is one of those women who can totally pull off the color white. Not everybody looks stunning in that shade, because it can wash out some people, but Kate definitely does shine in that color. And fortunately for all of us fashion-obsessed royal fans, Kate wears white on a fairly regular basis. The color wasn't only limited to her wedding day.
From stepping out in white on the red carpet to picking white maternity gowns to enhance her natural pregnancy glow, Kate has rocked the white outfit game a lot during her time as a duchess. Here are 15 times she was a vision in white.
Wedding Dress
You can't talk about Kate being a vision in white without talking about her stunning Alexander McQueen wedding dress. The gown featured lace detailing, beautiful long lace sleeves, and a sweetheart neckline — all adding up to a breathtaking design. The duchess kept everything else about her look very simple that day in 2011 — such as wearing her hair down and doing her own makeup — to let the dress stand on its own.
Red Carpet Goddess
Red carpet fashion is a whole other ball game than it is for the events Kate usually attends — such as charity functions or meet-and-greets. But despite not rubbing shoulders with celebs all that often, the duchess sure knows how to dress like one of the stars. This Grecian goddess-style, one-shoulder gown is stunning.
So Detailed
We love the detailing on the bodice of this gown. It's a great juxtaposition to the simple, flowy skirt. Kate's actually not the only celeb to wear this outfit on a red carpet. Paris Hilton of all people wore the same white Self-Portrait dress a month before Kate stepped out in it. Who would have thought that Paris and Kate had such a similar sense of style?
Eye for Design
In this photo, Kate looks like a lace doily. Her white dress is made from eyelet fabric, so from far away it may just look like a basic white dress, but up close there's a very pretty pattern of flowers spread across the garment. Aside from the design, we also like the fit where it's cinched at the waist with a matching belt, but she's also showing a bit of skin with the V-neckline.
Maternity Wear
If the Duchess of Cambridge looks like she's glowing, it's because she was several months pregnant at the time. Kate always looked so great during all three of her pregnancies, and we particularly love this maternity dress. She was almost like a fairy tale princess in the flowy white gown that came complete with a cape.
Cozy Fabric
This maternity outfit is a total 180 from the flowy gown from the previous slide. It's a sturdy wool dress that looks like it would keep her and her baby extra warm. This is what we love so much about Kate's style. One day she's a dreamy princess in a flowy cape, and the next she's wearing what's essentially a thick, cozy sweater.
Christening Day
For all of her royal kids' christening ceremonies, Kate wore white coat dresses to match her little ones in their christening gown. This particular coat dress was reused when Kate decided to wear it to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding. Usually one doesn't wear white to a wedding, but she didn't overshadow the bride at all.
Button Up
The casualness of a button-up blouse was mixed with the effortlessness of a simple white dress to create this outfit. Kate looks both professional and casual, which can be a hard balance to achieve. Hopefully she reserved this dress for an event where no food or anything messy was involved. Keeping a dress that white is a challenge!
Black Piping
Black and white are diametrically opposed colors, which is why they stand out so much when paired together. The black piping on Kate's collar and bodice helps make the white pop even more and gives the coat dress the illusion of being cinched in at the waist. It's a clever style trick that makes for a very pretty garment.
Hard & Soft
Balance is actually one of Kate's best fashion skills. She knows when to coordinate colors and patterns but also when to mix things up — like she did here with the types of fabrics she wore. She paired a heavy, structured white blazer with a flowy, lace skirt so there's a bit of femininity and power at play. Masterful.
Modern Sleeves
Anyone can do sheer sleeves on a dress, but we love this take on negative space with the circular cutouts on the sleeves and peplum of this outfit. It's a visually interesting detail that stands on its own. The duchess didn't even need a necklace to spice things up. She just let the design speak for itself.
Cute Coat Dress
Everyone knows that the Duchess of Cambridge loves a coat dress. She wears them in winter, spring, summer, and fall, and she has them in every color under the sun. On this occasion, she wore a flowy white coat dress for a G7 leaders' reception with the Queen and Duchess Camilla. The other two women picked printed dresses, but we love Kate's simple white one.
Off-the-Shoulder
This is quite a spicy look from the duchess, who tends to play it on the safer side when it comes to showing skin. But though showing shoulders is typically not in line with royal protocol, we'll give her a pass. She looks amazing in this form-fitting striped dress. An evening out requires a hot outfit, and she found one.
Lacy Appliqué
Perhaps from behind or the side or from far away you wouldn't notice that this creamy coat dress is anything special. But up close you can see the lacy detailing down the front of the frock. It's so simple but elegant at the same time. We just wish she'd pulled out one of her matching face masks to complement the style.
Sporty Chic
Not all of Kate's prettiest white outfits have been dresses. While on her tour of Pakistan, Kate decided to wear a white tunic and pants to play a game of cricket. She even wore a pair of chic white sneakers to match. Because the shoes and pants were a bit more basic, the silvery floral pattern on the tunic stood out even more.
