Categories: Shopping & Fashion

Kate Middleton’s Favorite Shoes Are Flying Off the Shelves

Call her Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge or Kate Middleton, she is a media darling, one of the most watched women in the world. Her fashion choices get wide approval and are more than occasionally mid-market enough for thousands of women to go after her look and her favorite brands, especially shoes, for which one doesn’t require her willowy shape.

The Kate effect
It was pre-internet days, and Princess Diana was more a client of couture. The proliferation of blogging combined with Kate’s penchant for mainstream brands, means that her fashion choices are instantly reported throughout the U.K., upon every public appearance. Typically, by the next day, that item has flown off the shelves, prompted a copycat industry, sent executives scurrying to boardrooms to plan re-launches nationwide. The Kate effect has clearly been worth millions to designers and retailers, especially in Britain and in American cities.

High street brands
Expensive bridal gown aside, Kate has always supported her favorite High Street (the term for Main Street in the U.K.) brands, including Whistles, L.K. Bennett, Russell & Bromley. Hobbs, and Zara. She was a walking advert for Jigsaw, the clothing retailer where she worked as fashion accessories buyer after university, although she has moved on from floral skirts with boots. Reiss saw their sales revenue more than double in the aftermath of the white Nanette dress, seen on Kate for the 2010 engagement photo session with photographer Mario Testino. Brazilian dress designer, Issa, shot to fame with her fabulous sapphire blue wrap dress, known as the dress-to-match-the-ring.

It’s all about the shoes
ABC’s “Good Morning America” reported having spotted the L.K. Bennett nude patent pump in a style called Sledge on the Duchess on a dozen occasions, even with three different outfits worn on the same day during a royal tour. That’s a hefty bit of public relations for the comfort of a four-inch heel on a half-inch platform. The L.K. Bennett website discreetly claims, “Sledge is worn consistently by some of the most stylish women in the world.” Sledge retails at £195 (about $310), and its Stuart Weitzman twin called Platswoon, about the same. Marie-Claire reports that Marks & Spencer’s recent knockoff at £19.50 ($31) was a sell-out success. Two wedges have hit the jackpot as well: Maddox in black patent by L.K. Bennett was the bride’s choice when exiting Buckingham Palace on the day after the wedding. Another favorite are her Corkswoon wedges by Stuart Weitzman, worn at the 2012 Olympics. Daily sIghtings for fashionistas and devoted Kate followers are confirmed by a Time magazine 2012 Best Blog, WhatKateWore.com.