Princess Kate has always been a budget shopping queen, from her pre-marriage days clubbing in Topshop dresses to dressing Prince Louis in supermarket sweaters. As her royal role evolves and she gets closer to one day being an actual Queen, her fashion choices have evolved and matured to include haute couture and high-end designers. It would be easy to understand how Princess Kate would give up her more affordable fashion finds, but 15 years after becoming a royal she is still mixing Victoria Beckham with Zara and picking up pieces at the local Marks & Spencer.
Kensington Palace released a photo of Princess Kate meeting Melinda French Gates, with Princess Kate looking crisp and professional in a navy suit. Royal fashion aficionados were thrilled to see that her blazer wasn’t another Roland Mouret or Alexander McQueen piece, but a classic, accessible navy blazer from Zara. The staple piece, which originally retailed for $90, is a past-season design that might already be in your closet.
Princess Kate is a big fan of Zara’s blazer, with ten different colors and cuts of similar classic blazers—from kelly green to classic navy. The latest addition to her Zara collection features large silver buttons and a double-breasted cut. Her closet must have an entire section for her Zara blazer collection, and it seems that she picks up a new style every season. The price point makes these blazers a low-stakes way to add a trendy color or pattern to an otherwise classic wardrobe, which is a tactic Princess Kate employs with seasonal colors or modern cuts.
This wasn’t the only recent reminder of Princess Kate’s love of accessible brands. In new portraits released to mark a new research project for The Centre for Early Childhood, the Princess of Wales was wearing a Marks and Spencer pie crust collared shirt under her Me+Em sweater. The frilled, floral shirt originally retailed for about $40 from a UK-based mid-level department store in every shopping center and high street around the country.
From $40 shirts to $90 blazers, Princess Kate reminds us that she’s still a little bit the girl next door—swapping ball gowns and tiaras for fashion finds from the mall.
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