Fashion
I’ve spent £3k copying Kate Middleton’s style – I’ll trawl eBay for hours to find her sold-out looks
FROM her dazzling gowns to her savvy high street buys and even recycling her look, Kate Middleton is the ultimate queen of fashion.
Matches of her outfits sell out within minutes and Google searches for the Duchess of Cambridge number in the millions every month.
M&S pink suit… Kate’s suit is £158 from M&S and Eleanor’s suit is an exact match from eBay
Blue dress… Kate’s dress is £685 from Stella McCartney and Eleanor’s dress is from Miss Metier, free as gifted on Instagram
Midi dress… Kate’s printed dress is £1,420 from Prada and Eleanor’s lookalike is £26 from online retailer Missguided
White blazer… Kate’s blazer is £2,270A from Alexander McQueen and Eleanor’s blazer is £196 from Karen Millen
Hashtags including #KateMiddletonStyle and #KateMiddletonFashion account for 1.3million monthly Instagram posts linked to her, according to digital marketplace Design Bundles.
The duchess, who turns 40 on Sunday, has been known to boost a designer’s popularity tenfold by stepping out in one of their outfits.
Eleanor Jayne, 30, an investment manager, has been copying Kate’s look for five years and has spent £3,000 imitating her fashion choices.
The mum of one, who lives in Cambridge with her 35-year-old husband and their son Freddie, born in December, is a so-called ‘Repli-Kate’ — a nickname coined by super-fans who share their obsession with her online.
Eleanor says: “I’ve always been a big fan of Kate Middleton because she carries herself and dresses very well. She also does a good job of pairing designer clothes with high street fashion, which I really like.
“When I started working in finance ten years ago, there wasn’t much inspiration for women’s outfits in a formal office job.
“I started copying Kate’s looks that I saw her wearing on TV and in magazines.
“Kate made midi dresses and heels cool and her look is perfect for work because it’s comfortable yet stylish. If she wears a gorgeous midi dress, I’ll always hunt for it afterwards.
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“Five years ago, she wore a pink dress from Hobbs and it sold out instantly. I remember trawling eBay for hours trying to find it but I never did — I was gutted.”
As well as owning ten identical outfits worn by Kate herself, Eleanor models all of her outfits on the Duchess and even replicates her hairstyles, including her bouncy blow-dry or half-up-half-down dos.
When she spots an item of clothing on Kate that she wants to copy, she sets up online alerts to ensure she doesn’t miss out.
Eleanor says: “Most of my clothes are inspired by her. I’ll set up an alert on the second-hand shops for ‘blue midi dress, Coast’ or whatever she’s wearing. eBay, Vinted and Vestiaire are my favourite websites.
Vestiaire sells second-hand designer clothes and it’s good because it covers lots of different countries.
“In England Kate’s clothes sell out straight away but sometimes they’re a little slower abroad, which means I can get them shipped over from countries like France.
“Since Kate started getting a bouncy blow-dry, I’ve copied that too. It’s how me and all my friends do our hair now.”
Among Eleanor’s Duchess-inspired wardrobe is a pair of £229 court shoes from LK Bennett, Aquatalia Pasha pumps that cost £220, and a £39.50 M&S printed dress, which Kate wore during Zoom calls last summer.
I try and set myself a monthly limit of £300 for clothes shopping and the most I’ve spent on one of Kate’s dresses was around £300
Eleanor
She also owns the Duchess’s M&S Autograph wool-blend blazer and matching trousers, £158 for both, plus her £50, 2750 Cotu Classic Superga white trainers.
Eleanor has learnt some tricks along the way to get Kate’s look at the lowest possible price, sometimes paying between 20 and 30 per cent less.
She has found exact matches of the royal’s jumpers using Google image searches, which flag up sites selling the same product but cheaper — saving up to £225 per item — and sets herself a monthly budget to avoid overspending.
Eleanor says: “Sellers on sites like eBay tend to mark things up immediately after Kate’s worn them, but if you wait a couple of months and then go back and search for that item, you can find it below retail price.
“I try and set myself a monthly limit of £300 for clothes shopping and the most I’ve spent on one of Kate’s dresses was around £300.
“When Kate wears M&S, I tend to be able to find the clothes online. With LK Bennett, I’ve had more luck by visiting the London store.
“My favourite ever outfit was the dress Kate wore to the No Time To Die premiere, which was by Jenny Packham and cost £4,000.
Once, I was told I looked like her, which was huge — I wish I got told that every day
Eleanor
“She looked stunning. I don’t copy her high-end designer outfits as that’s not in my budget, but I’ll find a replica. When she wears stuff like M&S, LK Bennett and Hobbs, it’s more affordable.”
Eleanor, who shares her outfits on her Instagram page @sqHERmile, also turned to Kate for inspiration on how to dress during her pregnancy with son Freddie.
She says: “I looked back through the outfits Kate wore during her pregnancies to give me ideas.
“She wore a lot of floaty midi dresses which I tried to emulate rather than staying in jumpers and leggings. Dressing up made me feel better about myself while I was pregnant, and I got a lot of compliments.
“Once, I was told I looked like her, which was huge — I wish I got told that every day.
“Her fashion is more accessible than lots of celebs. She always looks polished, but her outfits aren’t straight off the runway and she’s not like a Kardashian with loads of flesh on show.
“Kate’s proved you can still look gorgeous, sexy and beautiful while covering up.”
White collared blouse… Kate’s shirt is £75 from Ghost London and Eleanor’s shirt is an exact match, bought on Asos with 15% new customer discount for £67.15
Chevron jumper… Kate’s jumper £275 from Tabitha Webb and Eleanor’s jumper is an exact duplicate found on Trouva with Google image search for £49.50
Houndsooth Blazer… Kate’s jacket is £651 from Smythe and Eleanor’s blazer is from Zara for £59
T shirt and trainers… Kate’s white top is £98.99 from Ralph Lauren and Eleanor’s top is an exact match
