I tried on Princess Kate’s most famous affordable party dress and here’s my honest opinion….Read More

Remember the red Needle & Thread party dress Princess Kate wore? I decided to give it a try.

I’m going to start by saying that I’m not usually a dress person. I wish I was but I struggle feeling comfortable in a dress, and find myself feeling a bit conscious of the tummy area. But in the name of research, and mild curiosity, I wanted to know what it would feel like to wear a dress loved by Princess Kate.

Y’see, this is a dress 42-year-old Kate has worn on a couple of occasions, so it’s obviously a dress she feels confident in and comfortable wearing. The dress in question is the £460 red sparkly Needle & Thread dress ($719 if you’re reading this in the states) she wore at a reception for heads of State and Government at Buckingham Palace in London back in January 2020, and again in 2022, for her ‘Together At Christmas’ Christmas Carol Service. What an absolute treat for the eyes!

Catherine looked sublime on both occasions, and because the dress is still stocked on the website and is still super popular, I thought it was about time I gave it a little try on to see if a midsize woman like me could pull off such a dazzling gown.

I actually requested this dress to try on for a bigger feature for The Royal Club (PS. if you’ve not joined HELLO!’s Royal Club newsletter Substack, you’re missing some amazing posts about our beloved royal family). If you want to see the post I wrote about Kate’s festive wardrobe, you can read it here.

To be transparent, I returned the dress back to the brand as it was just a loan, and I am under no pressure to give a positive review about the dress, I will share the positives as well as the negatives.

So let’s start at the beginning, shall we?! The dress arrived so fast and it was packaged so beautifully. It came wrapped up in a box and it was a joy to open. It felt a bit like Christmas Day actually. After seeing the photos of Princess Kate wearing this dress, you can’t help but feel almost starstruck when you see it in real life.

I immediately went to try it on. It’s a heavy dress (it’s like an arm-workout just carrying it upstairs) but bizarrely it doesn’t feel overwhelming when you try it on. I ordered a UK size 14 (US 12) and I would say it’s true to size.

I usually wouldn’t want something so tight on the body but it’s a flattering cut, and I felt very regal as soon as I added heels – Manolo Blahnik’s – another favourite brand of Catherine’s. While she opted for red suede heels, I went for black. I also wore a pair of Soru earrings for the perfect RepliKate moment.

I will say that Kate’s dress looked like a brighter red than the one I tried on. I assume that’s down to the camera flashes. But regardless, there’s no denying it’s an exquisite garment and one to consider if you have a formal gathering over the holidays. I think it would be incredible for New Years, but if the dress is too bright for you, it also comes in dark green.