Duchess Catherine has been at the forefront of the fashion-verse for a decade now, but it would be safe to say the last 12 months have been somewhat of a style hiatus for the royal, who like the rest of the world, has remained cooped up at home throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
But not anymore, folks. Finally, the Duchess has made her first formal public appearance for 2021 (three months into it, no less) and boy, was it worth the wait.
As she and husband Prince William made a joint appearance to mark the re-opening of schools following lockdown, Duchess Catherine picked out a wintry outfit that has, quite frankly, given us all of the wardrobe inspiration we need for the cooler months ahead.
Wearing a long, pink chesterfield-style coat by Max&Co, Kate paired the statement piece with a gorgeous matching pink Boden knit, featuring a delicate high shell neckline.
She finished the look with a pair of flared black trousers from Jigsaw – as for her hair? A casual up-do ponytail. Perfection.
Of course, all eyes were on the royals more so than ever given Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, which aired earlier this week.
There’s more about what Prince William had to say about that here, but for now, we’ll also take a short moment to appreciate and celebrate the fact we’re now getting back to a semblance of normality in this post-COVID world – that being, taking all the fashion inspiration we can from Kate Middleton.
While Kate’s pink coat doesn’t come cheap (Max&Co’s styles usually range from the $300 and above mark), there’s plenty of other woolen winter coat options to choose from in Australia that are super affordable.
And if pink’s not your colour, take head from the style itself – we took it upon ourselves to get your mood board, and possibly your winter wardrobe going.
Keep scrolling for our favourite Kate-inspired long coats.