Splash News
Canadian author Margaret Atwood isn’t impressed with the Duchess of Cambridge, and thinks she’s failing to follow in the fashion footsteps of her late mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales.
“I think she dresses quite uneventfully,” Atwood said, according to the Daily Mail. “I think she’s watching her back, I think she probably has people who pretty much tell her what is appropriate for her to wear.”
Atwood accuses Catherine of being too cautious with her sartorial choices at the advice of courtiers.
“I don’t think she’s become the fashion plate that Diana was, and I think she’s probably doing that advisably,wouldn’t you say?”
“Let’s pretend you’re meeting a person for the first time, as you do when you meet a character in a book, Atwood said during a talk at the Victoria & Albert museum in London. “What do I see? Your dress, I see your face of course, I focus on that. I see your earrings, I see your necklace, and those are all part of you. They are all part of the total image of who I’ve just met.”
Atwood is just the latest in a string of women who have criticized Catherine’s “safe” wardrobe choices.
Hilary Mantel once called Catherine a “shop window mannequin” and thought her “machine-made” appearance as a princess was put together by a committee.
Editor Simone Kitchens had this to say in 2012:
The appeal of Kate Middleton’s style is lost on me. It’s always felt just a little too… safe? Yes, she’s refreshingly down-to-earth and sure, her ability to incorporate mass retailers like Zara is relatable to many. But iconic? No. I think ultimately, for me, it’s that Kate Middleton doesn’t really take chances with her clothes, or hair or makeup for that matter. Admittedly, she’s someone whose every move is watched, and she is a member of the British monarchy, but she needs to “loosen up a bit” or “change course.” Perhaps she should first look to Princess Diana for a few pointers
The debate over Catherine’s clothes isn’t something new. In fact, the Twitter community was hopping mad back in December when HRH rewore an ink blue Jenny Packham gown to the St. Andrews gala at the Met.
Majesty Magazine’s editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward defended Catherine in the great thread debate.
“You’re a bit limited if you’re a member of the Royal Family. You’ve got to dress as if you’re going to a wedding every day,” she told Richard Palmer of the Daily Express. I think Kate’s style is really classic and elegant.
“Diana did quirky things – like wearing one green glove and one black glove or tights with one leg a different colour to the other – but I don’t think she was a fashion plate.”
I’d like to hear what you all think. Does Catherine play it too safe? Does she have a choice?
I don’t think Atwood was being “critical” of how the duchess dresses. Rather, she was indicating the Duchess was dressing “advisedly”, which means tactfully. I don’t see any criticism here at all. How anything got that Atwood was criticizing the Duchess, just because she dresses “safely” clearly lacks an ability to discern the meaning. To be safe and not create waves is “advisable” for someone in Kate’s position, because she is not out there to be a “fashion icon”, but a cultural locus. While I am often “bored” with how the Duchess dresses, that says that I’m expecting Kate to be something other than what she actually is supposed to be–a cultural ambassador, a moving gear that creates national or international unity. It is far more boring and irritating to have people misread Atwood, in the end all, than it is to see how the press focus so much on what the Duchess wears, over how she interacts with others.