I've NEVER had a style icon. My default has been Grace Kelly, but that's because she's a New Look/early 1950s icon. I like the style of those years very much, but I also like other vintage styles (late 30s/early 40s) that don't have a single icon associated with them. I'd also search for style bloggers and didn't find one who remotely resonated. Even the vintage bloggers didn't hit the particular balance of current/retro that felt right for me.

However, I've started reading a few current royalty blogs. Mostly for the tiaras and jewels, but there's also clothing discussion of various royals in Europe as well as the rest of the world. I enjoy most of these for the evening looks. Formal royal events have a very different appearance than award show red carpets or the Met Gala. Daytime royal appearances aren't as interesting to me; I can appreciate, but mostly they don't appeal.

Until I realized that there IS a royal whose appearances I really do like. I'd happily wear 85% of her wardrobe if I could: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Is it too egotistical to say that this was an electrifying realization? Because it was! I mean, see above. I've never felt drawn to the current style of any living person. No one I've ever admired enough to emulate. Until now. I'm riding high!

Perhaps egotistical, but I find it interesting to compare.

1. We're almost the same age (I'm a year younger) and exactly the same height.
2. We favor the fit-and-flare aesthetic and defining the waist.
3. We tend to wear a lot of color and few neutrals.
4. We almost never wear trousers; only leggings or skinnies on occasion. We regularly wear hose and tights, depending on the temperature.
5. We can carry off hats and rock updos.
6. We favor medium-sized earrings and sometimes small necklaces.

But there are also differences.

1. Build: I'm much curvier. I'm short-waisted and she's long-waisted, though she positions waistlines to minimize that.
2. Coloring: She is more autumnal, a brunette, and green eyed. I suspect I'm wintry, with gold/brown/red hair and blue eyes.
3. Climate: Very different.
4. Hair: She's famous for her long loose curls, while I prefer shorter and curlier.
5. Boho: She does go boho on occasion. I have a hard time carrying it off, though it's a "wannabe" descriptor for me.

Many of these factors I've used in the past to explain why "I don't have a style icon." And somehow they don't make a difference here! Her perferences and mine still coincide. And the climate is different, but the variation is similar.

The Duchess has been touted as a style icon for years (rightly or not, and the Kate Effect is real). Of course there's tons of silly discussion about cost and re-wears, too. But others criticize that her outfits are decades too old for her, not daring, too conservative, too boring, too retro. They say she plays it way too safe and needs to "up her game" like Crown Princess Mary of Denmark or Queen Letizia of Spain.

So what I find charming and pretty and fun is old-fashioned and boring to others. CP Mary is gorgeous and I love her evening looks, but hers and Letizia's day looks are usually boring to me. Horses for courses, all right!

And I'm discovering this style icon business really can mean wanting to copy. I find myself browsing for affordable versions of her small hoop-and-dangle earrings, and wishing I could afford Aquatalia boots because she wears them so well.

In the long term, I'm really not sure how much of an effect the Duchess's style will have on me. My favorite particular garments are designer or bespoke (like the pink and white Alexander McQueens below), and the only way to copy satisfactorily is for me to make it. Which I could... I'm just short of sewing time these days! I'm not going to wear 4" heels, although I'm enjoying the refined silhouette of my 2" CH stilletos. A sneakier satisfaction is that I can now "justify" the way I dress. I'm not just "that vintage girl," I can say I admire the Duchess. And I may experiment with more updos. I prefer most hats with updos, and she's been pretty spectacular this summer.

Pictures!
#1 - Alexander McQueen, 2014 Australia
#2 - White broderie anglaise, 2014 Australia
#3 - Michael Kors, 2014 Australia
#4 - Alexander McQueen, 2016 Bhutan
#5 - Chelsea Flower Show, 2016
#6 - Lots of colors! This graphic is several years old, but I love it.
#7 - Red worn in Canada and for Garter Day this year. Amazing updo.
#8 - Maxi dress in New Delhi. I kind of want this or the cream variation.
#9 - Arriving in New Zealand, 2014. This is "too stewardess," but I'm in love.
#10 - Somme memorial, 2016. Missoni coat.