Kate Middleton has long been a fan of Self-Portrait’s smart silhouettes, and has worn the brand’s dresses on a number of occasions: in 2023, she chose a similar white outfit to attend the re-opening ceremony of the National Portrait Gallery and, the following year, she wore a blue cocktail dress for a reception at Buckingham Palace during King Charles’ Coronation. Her decision to wear an outfit from Self-Portrait on VE Day could be seen as more than a show of support for the great British high street – but an extension of her new dedication to more understated style.
The Princess of Wales previously wore the dress for the Party at the Palace, a concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee
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In a break from tradition, Kensington Palace announced earlier this year that it would no longer be releasing details of the Princess’ outfits during her royal engagements, in a move that many saw as signalling Kate’s desire to shift attention away from her wardrobe and onto the causes she serves. A source from the palace explained the decision: ‘There is an absolute feeling that it [the public-facing work] is not about what the princess is wearing,’ they told The Times. ‘She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting. There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that. But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No.’
Since Kensington Palace announced the step-change, Kate has been seen sporting a much more low-key wardrobe: for a trip to a children’s hospice in South Wales, she re-wore a black-and-white Zara dress and, for an outing to the National Portrait Gallery, she looked almost anonymous in a brown blazer and grey polo neck. During her most recent tour of the Isles of Mull and Iona in Scotland alongside Prince William, Kate’s outfits demonstrated a similarly casual intent: for several engagements, the Princess dressed down in jeans and boots, replacing the slickly tailored pieces she once favoured with a more down-to-earth aesthetic.