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.

Roland Mouret cream slit gown

On May 8, 2012 the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at for a dinner in William's honor at the Thirty Club at The Claridges Hotel.  Kate wore a cream Roland Mouret gown.  Despite a high neckline and long sleeves, the modesty was contrasted by a thigh high slit and Jimmy Choo platform stiletto sandals.

Via - StyleBistro.

Via - InStyle. 

Via - William and Catherine Tumblr.

I found this Bisou Bisou long sleeve dress available at JC Penney.  With its round neckline, long length sleeves, and high slit, this version definitely resembles Kate's, although unfortunately only comes in black.

Strangely it seems to be unavailable on the website right now.  Maybe its a black Friday thing because I still saw it in-store today, but you can check out the line of Bisou Bisou dresses here.

Bisou Bisou at JC Penny - long sleeve dress.

Temperley black lace gown

The Duchess wore this black lace gown with nude lining back in January for the "War Horse" movie premiere.  She recently made headlines for re-wearing the gown at an event at St. Andrews University.

The first time around Kate wore the dress simply, with her hair in her trademark loose curls and accessorized with a black clutch and diamond bracelet.  I actually thought this version was tame but stunning in its simplicity.

The dress itself is fine and the lace is lovely, but there is something about the angled seam on the skirt that I don't like.  I guess I just prefer the Duchess in fuller skirts!

Credits: Instyle.

The second time around she wore it pretty much the same way, very simple except for a bright red Alexander McQueen clutch (the same one she took on the Jubliee boat parade.)

For some reason I don't like the dress as much this second time around.  I think she already wore it this way once and it looked nice so she could have mixed it up a bit.  I like the use of color and I think the red clutch was a way to tie in the red poppy pin, but its a shame that she didn't even bother to wear her hair differently so we could actually see the pin.

Credits: DailyMail.

The gown is the long sleeved "Amoret" gown by Temperley, from the Autumn/Winter collection.
It is still available and retails for £2900, or approximately $4,600 U.S.

Temperley - "Amoret" gown.

While the following gowns are not exact look-a-likes, they very much capture the essence of Kate's with the use of lace.
This first one is the only one I could find with sleeves and is probably closest to Kate's version of sleeves and v-neckline.  This version is also lighter on the lace, with spaced out appliques.  It is Somerset by Alice Temperley collection, and Temperley is a well-known Kate favorite so perhaps its not too far off the mark?
Retails for approximately £249 or about $395 U.S.

Somerset by Alice Temperley via John Lewis - long lace black dress.

Here is a lovely one shoulder version from Dessy.  There is a bit more variation here with the one shoulder, but Dessy is primarily a bridesmaid gown source.  The fun part about this particular gown however is that the bottom slip color is completely customizable in a wide array of 83 colors.

Dessy Collection - style no. 2850.

This version features a bateau neckline and sleeveless bodice with a waist detail.  I really think the A-line silhouette make this dress in particular more wearable for "real life" ladies than Kate's version anyway.  And apart from the sleeves and neckline, this is a pretty good repliKate.
Retails for approximately $218 U.S.

T by Tadashi Shoji via Dillards - boatneck lace dress.

This gown, alsy by Tadashi Shoji is similar but features a blouson style bodice and long waist ribbon.  The blouson bodice is particularly favorable if you need a more forgiving silhouette.  Not all of us have Miss Kate's figure!
Retails for approximately $388 U.S.

Tadashi Shoji via Von Maur - lace gown with grosgrain ribbon.

Finally, and probably my favorite is this scoop neck gown with cap sleeves.  I particularly like it because of the scallops at the neckline and the more covered shoulders.  It is petite size so even smaller girls are able to get in on Kate's look.
Retails for approximately $408 U.S.

Tadashi Shoji via Von Maur - lace overlay gown in petites.

Kate loves her lace so don't forget to check out her other lace looks here!

Kate-Inspired by... Gala Gowns

Most of what the Duchess wears is well-received but a couple of Jenny Packham evening gowns in 2011 particular thrilled fashion aficionados.

One was this beautiful rose-gold version to the ARK Gala on June 2011.

It is a great color in general and with Kate's coloring its just a smidge similar to her skin tone but not so much so that it washes her out much.  I think that slightly angled waistline does work really well with her long torso and the bias drape of the skirt really helps give shape to her narrow frame.  The dress has such detail and such a soft and lovely neckline that I wish she would have chosen to have her hair off her shoulders for once to show it off.

Now I'm going to nitpick my personal pet peeve here and comment for a bit on the strong shoulder line here.  Kate's athletic frame needs a bit of help shaping a feminine figure and softening the strong angles, especially at the shoulder line.  I just feel the puffiness of the top of the bodice adds sharpness to those angles instead of softening and minimizing them.  The dress is really amazing and with a bit of tailoring it could have really flattered her strong, angular frame.

Credits: Reuters via I.B. Times.

The second was a silver one shoulder Grecian style gown, worn to a gala held at St. James' Palace.
Now this one is much more flattering to her figure because it softens a lot of her hard angles.  I think the full volume of this gown really helps evens out her top and bottom halves as well; she still looks super-slim and athletic, but more proportioned and her waistline here sits just right.
The only good front side pictures I could find are below -- I particularly like the one on the right with Kate in the "boys club" since it looks like they're sharing a joke that seems to have passed her by!
From what you can see, the asymmetric one shoulder really helps narrow out that wide shoulder line, and the one draped sleeve really helps soften those arms.

Credits: Reuters via I.B. Times.

I found a few gowns that are not exact repliKates but are very much in the "Kate-inspired" style of these designer original inspirations.

First up is this embellished Adrianna Papell draped gown.  (Its two different pictures from two different retailers but clearly the same gown.)  The bodice is a draped and blousy asymmetric one sleeve style with bias godet skirt.  I think it has a bit of elements from both, as if this would be the result if you meshed both gowns together.
Retails for approximately $340 U.S.

Adrianna Papell gown - left via Von Maur; right via Macy's. 

This grey gown, also by Adrianna Papell, clearly mimics the Kate's silver Grecian gown above.  It is a matte chiffon with asymmetric detail and draped shoulder with gathered skirt.

Retails for approximately $158 U.S.

Adrianna Papell via Dillard's - draped grecian gown.

Last but not least is this lace Tadashi Shoji gown.  It is a champagne colored lace overlay full length gown with one shoulder.  It is probably the least similar of the gowns but it still shares elements of both, such as the one shoulder and the metallic shade.
Retails for approximately $400.

Tadashi Shoji via Bloomingdales - one shoulder lace and sequins gown.

Alexander McQueen lavender gown

Will and Catherine attended the BAFTA Brits to Watch gala towards the end of their North American tour.

Kate relied on her trusty Alexander McQueen, wearing a lavender gathered gown - I'd call it almost Grecian style - with sparkly waistband across the natural waist line.  The neckline appears to be a wide boatneck style with set in style cap sleeves (it kind of looks dolman in style only very short.)

I will say right now that this is not my favorite gown for her.  Kate already has a wide and long shoulder line so between the wide neckline and heavy shoulders, the gown adds too much bulky width.  It almost looks like linebacker padding.

However I really like the gathered skirt since a slim body type like hers becomes so much more proportionate with the added volume those gathers provide.  The volume of the skirt helps even out the wideness of the top, I am just not a fan of the heavy neck and shoulder line on her.

Since I am almost sure this gown was custom the only price approximation I can muster for an Alexander McQueen evening gown is obviously well into the thousands.

J.S. Collection has come out with a similar light lavender pleated gown in polyester chiffon, with one retailer even outright calling it a "Royalty Inspired" look.  It is very true to the original inspiration with the exception of looking just a bit more sheer in the bodice.

This gown retails for ≈ $250 U.S.

J.S. Collection - "inspired" poly-chiffon pleated gown via Dillards (left) and Macy's (right).