Alexander McQueen blush lace shift

Back in June of 2012 the Duchess donned a lace sheath for some final Jubilee festivities.

This one features nude/blush lace with a white underlay.  The long sleeved sheath is finished with a ribbon waist and KMidd accessorized with a Jane Taylor fascinator, Prada clutch, and her signature L.K. Bennett Sledge pumps in nude.

I mean the outfit is okay, its pretty, but its a snore.  The lace and the color is nice and the dress itself is modest.  

Credits: DM online.

I also happen to like Kate in fuller skirts because I feel it balances her long shoulder line and  straight hips better; if you're on the thin side like Kate a little optical illusion goes a long way in adding shape to your silhouette.  I also think high waists just further elongate her already long torso and think this might have worked better with no waist detail or something that sits just a bit lower.

I take issue again with the construction of this McQueen creation, namely that such such a slim pencil skirt as this has no slit or even a kick pleat to make walking easier.  Unless you are dealing with stretchy fabric that has some give, you have to compensate such a narrow skirt with some sort of slit to make walking easier; otherwise the wearer has to compensate in some way by either taking very short steps or angling the lower torso.  In the stair picture it looks like Kate had to compensate by angling her hip to be able to take a stair.  Miss Burton really ought to do better, both for Kate's ease of comfort and her own brand's sake.

I also take a bit of issue with that ribbon waist; if you look closely there is a part that was added to the back and I just think that's a bit messy.

I found was this Eliza J dress, very similar in that it has an almost identical neckline, silhouette, waist, and nude lace/white underlay construction.  The glaring difference is the sleeve length and of course the lace pattern - KMidd's has a bit of a scallop hem finish.

Boy Eliza J has really jumped on the Kate Replicas haven't they?

Credits: Eliza J via Macy's 3/4 length sleeve lace sheath, $199.

Another look-a-like is this Dorothy Perkins lace dress in pale pink.  This one is also similar in construction as Kate's with lace overlay and white lining and in a pencil silhouette; it also makes an effort of mimicking the original's scalloped hem.  This version also has 3/4 length sleeves.

Credits: Dorothy Perkins pink lace dress, $59.

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... graphic lace dress + blazer

For a December 2011 concert Catherine wore a Zara black lace Zara dress.  She accessorized the cream with black lace dress with lots of black-on-black, including her black Ralph Lauren cropped blazer, which we've seen before.

Eliza J, ever the Kate fashion watchers, has a  similarly styled outfit via Nordstrom.  The item listed is actually just the black jacket, which I don't even think is that similar to Kate's, and unfortunately there is no listed information on the dress.
But the styling sure is interesting and definitely very Kate Inspired.
The blazer retails for approximately $78, U.S.

Eliza J via Nordstrom - ruched sleeve blazer.

I did manage to find a dress that was similar to Kate's lace-patterned dress in this form of this long sleeved number.  Just add a blazer and the look is complete.

This dress retails for approximately $99, U.S.

Lovemarks via Dillards - floral print lace dress.

Just in case thigh high hemlines aren't your thing, you can even find a more appropriate for every day longer length like this Jessica Howard combo.  The black and white paisley print mimic the lace pattern of Kate's though this one is much more graphic.  And of course a black topper completes it.

This look retails for approximately $90, U.S.

Jessica Howard via Dillards - bolero dress.

Erdem navy lace shift

One memorable outfit from William and Catherine's Canada/USA tour was this navy lace sheath dress by Canadian designer Erdem.  Since the lace dress makes such a strong statement, Kate chose simple and understated neutral accessories, including her favored L.K. Bennett pumps.
As with many of her outfits Kate has opted to repeat even this look, wearing the dress again at a friend's wedding.

A bit of research leads us to find out that this dress from the Erdem pre-Spring 2012 collection is look #20.  Neiman Marcus is the only place I was able to find a(n expired) listing for the dress under the style name "Cecile", and curiously refers to the dress as being from the 2012 Resort collection.
The shift (or pencil) above-the-knee dress features all-over lace in navy with a cream lining to the shoulders with sheer 3/4 length lace sleeves.  It is a short boat-neck style with a scooped back.
This dress originally retailed for ≈ $2850 U.S., reaching as low as $997.

L: Erdem pre-Spring 2012, look #20;

Erdem via Neiman Marcus labeled "Cecile".

I actually found two very good looking repli-Kates!

First up is this JS Collections "royalty-inspired" (real subtle...) lace dress.  Of course the lace is not an exact match but it has many of the original details including the 3/4 lace sleeves and the cream lining.  It is perhaps just a bit shorter than the original.

Retails for ≈ $158 U.S.

JS Collections via Dillards - Royalty-Inspired Lace Dress.

The other is also a very good repli-Kate, this time for plus sizes.  Lucky you if this is your size because it also has the 3/4 length sleeves and the boat-neck neckline with slight scoop back.
Retails for ≈ $76.64 U.S.

ASOS Curve - exclusive midi dress in lace (navy).