Kate Middleton Graces Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Lunch: Clues to Duchess’ Fashion Statements

Kate Middleton has proven herself as a fashion icon, yet again!

The Duchess of Cambridge wore an outfit from Emilia Wickstead's 2012 Autumn Winter collection, for the Queen's lunch at Windsor Palace. The luncheon was organised as an event to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and was attended by an absolute flood of royal personages from all over the world.

Incidentally, this is the second time Kate is wearing a Wickstead - the first was a green coat for St Patrick's Day.

A royal fashion analyst, Tom Sykes, was quoted in a report by the Daily Beast as saying what made Kate the true queen of high street fashion was her ability to carry off both cheap and chic, with equal ease and grace. Kate, his argument runs, can wear either an Emilia Wickstead dress or a three year old belted dress and do equal justice to both. For example, she wore an expensive Hobbs coat and, under that, a belted dress from Oasis which probably cost less than £40. The clear message - "I am a normal woman".

There is also the ability to switch from haute couture to casuals without turning a hair. For example, Kate wore a Jenny Packham outfit to the Olympic gala before changing to casuals for a polo game.

The ability to switch between casuals and formals, expensive and not-so expensive dresses is only one aspect of Kate's style statement. The other is a determined sense of humility. For example, the Duchess shopped in Jaeger and boutique store Anthropologie for a French Connection's Winter Silk Vest Top in Iceberg, before the Audio Polo Challenge and the staff was more than happy with the Duchess.

"She didn't ask anyone to fetch it for her; she just seemed to want to be low key. She was very cheery, very smiley. She was very polite. She keeps to herself," a staff of French Connection told People magazine.

The last piece in Kate's style puzzle is her insistence on only choosing brands she is comfortable in. More than anything else that lends an air of confidence and a personally driven sense of capability, which, we believe, is more important than anything else. Her brands of choice are, usually - Issa, Jenny Packham, Katherine Hooker, Alexander McQueen and Diane Von Furstenberg. Meanwhile, her favourite stories tend to REISS, Whistles, Warehouse, John Lewis and L K Bennett.

The bottom line, whether it is casuals or formals, high street or low key, Kate Middleton knows how to carry it off.