Costume Pavé Drops

In May of 2012 Kate donned this teal Jenny Packham gown for a pre-Olympic concert held at Royal Albert Hall.  (For my original post on that gown, see here.)

She chose to accessorise her custom designer gown with an up-do that showed off her minimal jewelry,   namely a set of pavé drop earrings.

While the exact brand of the earrings remains unknown, the eagle eyed jewelry spotter over at DianasJewels.net determined that due to their construction they were most definitely costume jewelry.

Image via StyleBistro.

Here are a few more angles and close-ups.  I'm glad Kate wore her hair up for a change instead of down which tends to cover her jewelry and thus negate the whole purpose of wearing any!

     

Above Left and Right via Zimbio.

What we have are very simple drops inexpensive in construction, and materials.  The design is very simple, an elongated tear drop with inset pavé synthetic crystals serves to lengthen her features and neckline without detracting from the dress.  Personally I prefer a bit more interest but Kate tends toward the streamlined and unfussy for her jewelry.

A pair of pavé drops aren't too difficult to come across but I stumbled upon this version by Charming Charlie.

This pair retails for approximately $15 USD.

Charming Charlie - "Twinkling Lights" pavé drops.

For you non-earring wearers or those who like their jewelry in sets, it also comes as a necklace pendant for approximately $10 USD.

Charming Charlie - pavé drop pendant necklace.

Kate-Inspired by... Lace Gowns

Full credit for this post goes to the eagle eyed commenter who alerted me to this look-a-like, thanks again!  Remember you can always leave a comment to submit your repliKates!

For reference here is the teal lace Jenny Packham gown from the last post.

This lace and chiffon gown from Tadashi Shoji is a dead ringer for Kate's original, save for the pale french blue shade of course.  I'll admit that the color was enough of a distraction that I can't say I would have picked up on the similar design myself, so thanks again to you commenter!  

Same pleated bodice and gathered skirt, strikingly similar lace raised neckline and sleeves, and an exact imitation of the jeweled waist and gathered skirt.

Credit: Tadashi Shoji, crinkle chiffon and lace gown in blue stone.

It also comes with a sheer back panel to boot.

This gown retails for approximately $488 USD.

Tadashi Shoji's website is filled with amazingly lovely gowns so of course I had a look around and one gown in particular struck a familiar chord.

This chantilly lace gown features a lovely contrasting lace illusion neckline, long sleeves, and a godet skirt and comes in a stunning "blue lagoon" color.

It retails for approximately $548 USD.

Credit: Tadashi Shoji, chantilly lace long sleeve gown in blue lagoon.

It is definitely "in the style of" Kate's navy lace Erdem shift dress but in a gown version.  It has similar sheer lace sleeves, a similar bateau neckline, and even a similar shift silhouette, with the addition of godets to add fullness and shape to the floor length skirt.
She most famously wore her lace dress on the Cambridge's 2011 (?) tour of Canada and at least one other time since.

Teal Jenny Packham Evening Gown

Here's one I thought I'd never have a repliKate for - Kate's teal Jenny Packham evening gown.  She debuted this gown exactly one year ago at the Olympic concert at Royal Albert Hall in May of 2012.

Credit - StyleBistro.

There are so many notable features to this gown but what seems to stand out is the neckline.  The Queen Anne style, which is how this neckline is called, features an open front with a high, raised collar at the back of the neck.  This was also the style of neckline on Kate's Alexander McQueen wedding gown.  In this case it is a low plunging neckline accented with sheer lace and a pleated bodice.  The skirt is also pleated and is finished in a jeweled belt detail.

The back of this gown is sheer lace with delicate crystal accents, as are the short sleeves, and it is finished in a button line closure and a bow detail at the waist.

Credits: StyleBistro.

Now the color of this gown just bowls me over.  I like Kate in a strong jewel tone and I think the gown is lovely - for a Hollywood starlet.  This plunge is little low-cut and daring (not in a good way) and paired with that sheer back it is just too filmy and bare up top for her position.  I would have preferred to have seen the neckline raised just a bit more so the emphasis would be more on her face, not the daringly low cut chest.

Credits: StyleBistro.

A version of this 2012 gown was featured in both the Jenny Packham Bridal collection in white with the style name "Aspen" and the Ready-to-Wear Spring collection in color as look number 8.  Customization to Kate's gown was most notable in the color of course, a pleated bodice and skirt as opposed to gathered in the original versions, and a slight raising of the neckline up from the waist a few inches.
Jenny Packham gowns range in price from the hundreds to the thousands.

Credits: left, Jenny Packham Bridal 2012 collection, style name "Aspen";

right, Jenny Packham Ready-to-Wear Spring 2012 collection, look 8.

The duplicate I have found is by none other that Allen Schwartz, the replica king famous for his accessible copies of the unforgettable red carpet gown.  Just check out his dupe of a famous Stella McCartney gown.

This is a very spot on look-a-like with few noticeable adjustments.  However the bold impact of the gown remains true to the original inspiration.

This gown retails for approximately $562 USD, on sale for approximately $268.

Credits: A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz via BlueFly, teal silk chiffon and lace embellished gown.

An identical short version of the gown is also available in black.

This gown retails for approximately $395 USD, on sale for approximately $239.

Credits: A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz via BlueFly, black silk chiffon and lace dress.