- The two wore almost identical outfits to the service at Westminster Abbey
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Few things are more mortifying than turning up at a function to find that you’re wearing the same dress as one of the other guests.
When that guest is the Princess of Wales, a woman who frequently tops the world’s ‘best dressed’ lists, the mortification can be multiplied ten-fold.
When not only the dress but the coat, hat and shoes are a match, you are faced with two choices: laugh it off, or leave the country.
As Deputy Prime Minister, the latter option isn’t really available to Angela Rayner, whose pillarbox red ensemble for the the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey was uncannily similar to the one worn by the Princess of Wales.
Kate’s red coat, by Catherine Walker, worn with a matching red £450 Gina Foster hat, marked a return to the chic, fashion-forward formal wear the Princess has recently eschewed.
After expressing a wish for the public to focus on her ‘substance’ rather than her style, she has mainly been pictured wearing dark, neutral hues such as brown and grey, colours that mirror her intent to focus on her charitable work, rather that draw attention to the provenance of her couture.
But no shade draws the eye more willingly than red.
Traffic lights and danger signs are coded red for a reason.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was caught in the mortifying position of wearing the same outfit as the Princess of Wales
The pillarbox red ensemble she wore for the the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey was uncannily similar to the one worn by Kate
Kate’s red coat, by Catherine Walker, worn with a matching red £450 Gina Foster hat, marked a return to the chic, fashion-forward formal wear the Princess has recently eschewed
And in a nod to regal heritage she donned the Collingwood pearl and diamond earrings, which once belonged to Princess Diana, and the late Queen Elizabeth II’s much-loved Japanese four-strand pearl choker
Red demands attention.
Whether Kate has softened her ‘substance over style’ stance or was simply honouring the formality of the occasion, her fans will be delighted to see her dressing like the princess she is – right down to her Collingwood pearl and diamond earrings, which once belonged to Princess Diana, and the late Queen Elizabeth II’s much-loved Japanese four-strand pearl choker.
She couldn’t have looked more regal.