Thursday, September 27, 2012

Kate Middleton: Fashion Icon


Kate Middleton: Fashion Icon
{A guest post by Mamie Carlstrom} 

On November thirteenth, 2010, I left the United States with my Mother and brother to visit Spain. It was a very nice country, but I was very grateful to be with a friend who can speak Spanish.
A couple of days later, on November seventeenth, I boarded a plane headed to England.
I learned in the airport, and also on magazines everywhere, that the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton had been announced just hours before.

I walked into a country sparkling with the news of their new Princess-to-be.

It was interesting to hear the buzz of what everyone was saying. It was honestly the very first time I had ever heard of her. I wish I had paid better attention to what to locals were saying about this young lady about to become part of their Royal Family.


William’s choice in a wife was wonderful. Kate shows promise of being a splendid Queen one day.  Though I have of course never met her, she seems very sweet, kind, and willing to do whatever is needed for her country. She is a splendid helpmeet for her husband, always by his side.

  
And of course, beauty and loveliness incarnate.

The wardrobe of royalty, especially in Europe and North America, has always drawn the attention of women.  After the tragic death of beautiful Princess Diana, there has not been a young lady in “The Firm” for us to look to for fashion sense. Queen Elizabeth of course always had impeccable queenly clothes, but she is of a different era then the wife of her son or grandson would be.


Enter Kate Middleton.

One of the things that draw us to Kate even more is the fact that she is a commoner by birth. We place ourselves (be “we” I mean us females…I doubt any males are reading this) in her shoes. She was not born with royal blood coursing through her veins like almost all of the other Princesses before her. She possesses elegance that she developed herself.

Which means any one of us can be as poised as she. Cue the excitement!

(I kid you not; Kate is improving my posture a great deal.)


Kate focuses on natural beauty. Not excessive make-up or gaudy outfits. The fact that she was blessed with an extra dose of God-given physically beauty is a big help to her of course. When she was younger, she used this in a few ways that I do not believe were right, but now that she has matured, she seems to have seen this gift as something to be treasured and not completely exposed. Other than the occasional low cut neckline, I am very pleased with the way she uses her beauty now that she is the Duchess of Cambridge.

 
(Don’t get me started on how angry I am at the Paparazzi. In France.)

  
She does not ruin her prettiness with a bunch of decorations. It is real.  Even the homeliest face can be made beautiful with the right taste in adornment.




She combines modern and timeless fashion. 

This is one of my favorite dresses that she wore on their recent Royal Tour.
It was demure and yet radiant. She looked so attractive in the simple dress and color. I could very much see myself wearing a similar style.
She not only looks lovely in skirts, she pulls off pants quite well too.








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My sister has made the point to me on more than one occasion. “But her clothing is all designer! They are all super expensive!” And maybe so. She is royalty now after all. But I for one, watch her style, not to make myself desire exactly what she has been blessed with (I honestly don’t even pay much attention to the names of the designers,) but instead to get ideas about what looks classy and stylish, and find ways to emulate the quality of elegancy she brings to the world.

This brings me to the crux of what I’m trying to say in this article:
I love Kate because she is fully alive in her femininity.
She has accepted her role as a woman. She is not trying to push ahead of her husband or the male gender in general. This is such a breath of fresh air in this era of feminism, don’t you think?

I was reading a blog the other day, and someone made a remark about how they appreciate that Kate does not push for the spotlight. She knows that it already on her, so she does not try to draw more attention through flashiness. Her grace and poise speak for themselves.

What kind of style will you portray as a woman? Whether you wear a skirt or shorts, shop at a Thrift Store or Harrods, everyone can develop a sense of style that portrays elegance, classiness, and flair.

Let us learn from Kate that femininity is not lost. It is still fashionable to be ladylike.
Let us glory in our womanhood in just such the way that God created us to be.



 Mamie Rose Carlstrom is an eighteen year-old young woman seeking to devote every area of her life to Christ. She loves reading, writing, family, the color gray, music, the cupid shuffle, movies, travel, modest fashion, Adventures in Odyssey (don’t laugh), photography, the Green Bay Packers, meeting famous people, and healthy smoothies. Not necessarily in that order.  
She scribbles blog posts at www.ransomedbyone.wordpress.com
And her Pinterest page can be found here 

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