Kate Middleton Rewears Elegant Wickstead Dress for Heartwarming Visit With Families at the Anna Freud Centre

Kate Middleton brought back a past favourite for today’s visit to the Anna Freud Centre.

The Princess of Wales refreshed the Emilia Wickstead houndstooth print dress she wore to visit Harvard University in 2022 by pairing it with grey heels and a new brown handbag.  (Click to jump to full outfit analysis.)

She chose the polished ensemble for a morning visit to the charity’s London base, to support a new early-years project co-led by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

The Early Years Project:

The new initiative hopes to strengthen health visitors’ skills in supporting babies’ and young children’s early social and emotional development. Anna Freud will design a training program to deliver to front-line practitioners.

The programme is being developed in partnership with the Institute of Health Visiting.

A little note here for my overseas readers, in the UK, health visitors are medical professionals who visit mothers in the days and weeks after childbirth. Mothers can phone or visit health visitors at children’s centres for advice until the child reaches two years old.

Today’s Visit:

As Kate arrived at the centre’s HQ today, she met with Chief Executive, Professor Eamon McCrory.

The professor explained how the charity is transforming mental health care for babies, children and young people through science, clinical innovation and close collaboration with families.

Kate interacted with babies and toddlers as she spoke with some of the families that are helping to shape the new early-years project.

The Princess thanked father-of-three Andrew Apraku for taking part and noted the importance of including fathers in early-years conversations “right from the get-go”.

He agreed, noting that men can often feel “silent” in this space, and praised the project for helping change that.

Mid-conversation, Andrew’s eight-month-old son Judah grabbed the Princess’s finger and tried to put it in his mouth. Kate turned to him and said, “You’re very smiley”.

During a discussion on the practical realities of health visiting, Kate heard how health visitors don’t often have enough time with families. She also raised the issue of support after a child turns two. She asked whether more regular check-ins would be helpful, highlighting a common gap between the toddler years and the child starting full-time education.

The Princess also reflected on the value of inter-generational support within families while speaking to a group that included a grandmother involved in shaping the project.

With another group, Kate explored how early-years support can be strengthened across communities and schools. The Princess emphasised the need for flexible approaches in educational settings and asked whether teachers have the time required to build meaningful relationships with children.

Kate also chatted with Dr Alice Haynes, the charity’s head of implementation, discussing how research can be made accessible to families.

Kate’s been Patron of the Anna Freud Centre since 2016.

Let’s begin the fashion portion of the post now.

Kate’s Outfit:

For today’s visit, Kate built her look around a houndstooth print dress by Emilia Wickstead:

Regular readers will have recognised the distinctive garment instantly. The Princess debuted it during a visit to Harvard University in 2022. Here’s how she styled it for that engagement:

A fan favourite at the time, Kate paired the chic dress with black heels and a blue handbag. Today, she remixed it with the softer grey and warm brown tones.

If you’ve read my post covering Kate’s best looks of all time, you’ll know that I love this dress. I am pleased to see it again. It’s a beautifully made piece that deserves another outing.

And, if I’m honest, it’s a welcome break from her recent suit streak too:

Though not a suit, the dress still sits within the tailored, boss-leaning aesthetic Kate favours for her work with her Centre for Early Childhood.

Right, let’s go through each item, starting with that Emilia Wickstead dress.

It’s based on the designer’s Miles silhouette from the designer’s ready-to-wear pre-fall 2021 collection. Kate’s version is bespoke, made to order, with added sleeves.

The fitted, tailored midi silhouette features a collar and pencil-style skirt, with a belt around the midsection.

UPDATE: I thought the houndstooth print was blue and black, as Kate paired the dress with black shoes during its first outing. I’m now leaning towards the print being blue and brown.

Marta spotted that today’s belt was thicker than the original worn in 2022 (via WhatKateWore). I suspect Wickstead supplied the dress with two options for the Princess.

Emilia Wickstead described the Miles as “versatile” emphasising how it would transition effortlessly from “office wear to event dressing with minimal effort”.

The original Miles dress retailed for $1,202, according to my post in 2022. As you’d expect, it’s no longer available to buy ready-to-wear (I imagine, if you have the budget, you’ll be able to commission this piece directly from the designer).

Emilia Wickstead does sell some similar designs, though—the ‘Jody‘ is a good option (£ 1,870).

Or try one of these ‘RepliKates’. My favourite is the AM-PM midi in tweed from ME+EM (left, £250). The Boden Eda in houndstooth wool is a good option for those who like an above-knee length (centre, £95.40). The Ahana in Houndstooth from Beulah London is nice too (right, £895).

Wickstead, born in New Zealand but now based in London, is one of Kate’s most-worn designers. Her collections are held in some of the most prestigious stockists in the world, including Net-A-Porter and MyTheresa.

Let’s chat about that exciting debut today. Kate carried a new brown handbag by DeMellier.

It’s the brand’s “Small Hudson” bag in mocha suede.

The structured top-handle silhouette is the petite iteration of the brand’s bestselling style.

The bag features clean lines and the brand’s distinctive gold bar fastening across the front.

It’s crafted from rich brown suede and features smooth leather accents.

The Small Hudson costs £415 and is currently available to pre-order, with deliveries expected in the first half of February.

For those shopping for an early Christmas treat, code BF20 will ensure 20% off the handbag over the next few days. The brand offers free worldwide shipping and extended returns, too.

As with all DeMellier pieces, the Hudson bag is ethically made and is covered by the brand’s lifetime repairs service.

Kate’s steadily building a small collection of bags from DeMellier. In addition to the Small Hudson, she owns their Nano Montreal style in Toffee. She’s carried the same bag in Navy leather, too.

While the brand’s clean lines and structured shapes slot neatly into Kate’s polished wardrobe, their strong ethical credentials will also appeal to the Princess—they align with her increasing preference for conscious, sustainable British labels.

DeMellier, previously known as Milli Millu, are a London-based, award-winning brand known for its modern and timeless handbags. Founder Mireia Llusia-Lindh set up the brand in 2017, with a focus on ethical and sustainable production. For every bag purchased, DeMellier funds life-saving vaccines for children through its “A Bag, A Life” initiative. Each handbag is handcrafted in Spain by skilled artisans, using only responsibly sourced materials.

Let’s turn to Kate’s footwear now.

She wore her Hugo Boss Staple P90-L pumps in the grey tone the brand calls “Anthrocite”.

The leather pumps feature a croc embossed print, with a sharply pointed toe and 4″ stiletto heel. There’s a metallic branding detail on the back.

Kate’s owned the shoes for almost a decade, debuting them in 2016 for an engagement at the Natural History Museum.

This is the eighth time we’ve seen her wear the shoes in public to date—and three of those engagements were quite recent.

The shoes originally cost £315.  They’re long sold out, unfortunately.

Hugo Boss isn’t a major player in Kate’s wardrobe. To date, we’ve only spotted her wearing this pair of heels and one striped top from the brand. (Remind me in the comments if I’m missing something?)

If you’re not familiar with Hugo Boss, it’s a German label known for producing clean, tailored pieces and polished workwear.

A timely choice for the Princess, given the German state visit next week! (I am wondering if that’s why she’s worn them three times since September? Probably not. Likely to be a coincidence.)

Up next, Kate’s diamond and sapphire earrings:

The gems added a little sparkle to her look.

Kate’s worn the earrings since 2011, and they’ve never received identification in all of that time—in fact, for most of Kate’s royal career, we thought they were remodelled from a pair worn by Princess Diana until this was proven wrong when Kate stepped out in the originals during the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

However, several outlets are reporting today that the earrings were a wedding gift from William. I’m not sure where that claim comes from or whether it’s accurate, so I’ll need to do a bit more digging.

Kate finished her look with loose waves and her signature polished, fairly natural makeup.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back next week for the German State Visit and the filming of the Together at Christmas Carol concert. It’s shaping up to be a busy week! I’m really excited!

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