Kate-Inspired By... Reiss "Shola" dress

I recently put together a post on the Reiss "Shola" dress that the Duchess wore to greet the Obamas.

Below is the dress, a neutral tan, short sleeve shift dress with lots of interesting wrap details.

In my search for the repli-Kates I also came across a couple of nice dresses that while they were not exact or even similar look a likes, I felt they were in the same style of the "Shola" and in a neutral palette.

This Jones Wear dress is one of them.  It has a slight scoop neckline, short sleeves, and an interesting pleat-wrap detail at the top of the skirt.  Its less intricate than the original inspiration but captures the essence in a ore minimalist way.
It retails for approximately $50 U.S. (!!!)

Jones Wear via J.C. Penny - short sleeve belted dress.

This Black Halo dress is also has a lot of interesting sculpted detail going on.  It has cap sleves and a more open scoop neckline, with diagonal bias strips.
Retails for approximately $375, which I guess is a bit pricey but hey it might be in someone's price range.

Black Halo via Bloomingdales - sorrel tweed.

Reiss "Shola" bandage dress

One of Catherine and William's first engagements as a married couple -- fresh off their honeymoon no less! -- was giving U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle the royal welcome to England and Buckingham Palace.  Will schmoozed with Barack while Kate and Michelle talked it up, natch.

Kate wore a Reiss dress, a sculpted sheath style called "Shola" with cap sleeves, a square neckline, and an above the knee length.  She paired it with a shell style necklace and black accents.

I'll say right not that I'm not too big a fan of this dress.  She was freshly tanned off her tropical honeymoon so I think it was a wasted chance to wear brighter color.  Also I'm not sure the dress does her figure much favors.  She just looks so thin (probably all the wedding stress!) so something a bit fuller could have helped give her a bit of shape.
Its described as a "bandage" dress but I find the strategic pleats more sculptural and origami in style.  (Also "bandage style" in the U.S. usually refers to more body conscious "second skin" styles.)
This dress is no longer available but it sold for ≈ £175 or ≈ $274 U.S.

Reiss - "Shola" bandage dress, no longer available.

This amazingly similar repli-Kate was found on Topshop.  Of course it is not as detailed as the original but its a pretty good version in its own right.  The "honey" shade dress features a pleat bodice detail with cap sleeves and a slim pencil style skirt.

This dress retails for ≈ $92.

Topshop - v neck ponte pencil dress in "honey".