When it comes to fashion, the Princess of Wales likes to keep abreast of current trends. While it would be inaccurate to say that she is ahead of the curve, her enthusiastic patronage of creative, contemporary British labels including Roksanda, Erdem and her beloved Alexander McQueen prove she is certainly not behind it.
But there is one facet of her style that does, in fact, lag behind the rest of the country's — and that's her propensity to dress too formally for the day. While Kate's favored downtime look is a 'business casual' mix of skinny jeans, tailored jacket and a Breton tee, the rest of us gave up on such formalities ages ago.
Long before Covid, British women ditched trousers for Lycra leggings, while you could barely prize the trainers off their feet, be they serious running shoes by Nike or Hoka or less performance-based iterations by Veja, every middle-class mum's favorite brand.
And while we may no longer all be working from home, you would never know it from our attire. At school gates all across the country, the 'just off to the gym' look is still very much the thing to be seen in — even if the wearer plans to do nothing more strenuous than raise a latte to her lips. Which is why it's so gladdening to see Kate embracing a sportier look. For if anyone looks good in sportswear, it is she.
Kate is That Girl: the lean, strong and athletic one we all recognize from our school days, the annoyingly perfect one who shone with vitality like the gold cup she invariably held aloft at Sports Day after winning the 100m sprint.
She excels at all athletic pursuits, being as comfortable with abseiling as she is with archery, and as proficient at tennis as she is at tug-of-war.
While most of us would freeze in horror if we had to perform any sporting activity in front of a camera, so confident is Kate that she barely breaks a sweat. Woe betide those pitted against her in the mother's race.
While nobody is suggesting she should wear leggings every day like so many other 41-year-old mothers of three, we're all for encouraging her enthusiasm for sportswear. She suits it. She belongs in it.
She rarely looks happier than when she's wearing it.
When she does, she more often than not looks effortlessly fashionable — a modern princess who can dress down with as much aplomb as she can dress up.
Here, we hand out medals for her best sport-style achievements.