Kate Middleton delivers bold glamour with Quality Street purple suit and iconic sapphire drop earrings

Kate’s purple suit and iconic sapphire drop earrings delivered bold glamour as she stepped out for a special symposium.

The Princess of Wales has been pushing her fashion boundaries in recent months and where in the past we might have expected to see Kate’s dresses as her outfit of choice for an engagement, power suits have become her new staple. It’s been suggested that Kate is sending a “subtle message” with her suits and we’re particular fans of her pink Alexander McQueen suit. However, Kate’s Quality Street-purple one from Emilia Wickstead is giving this look a run for its money. 

This gorgeous two-piece could be seen as a brighter and more seasonally-appropriate option, easing from the pastel pink to a bold purple. The suit is from the autumn/winter 2021 collection and it’s clearly remained a royal favourite. 

The Princess of Wales stepped out wearing it on 15th November for the Shaping Us National Symposium which she is hosting with The Royal Foundation Centre of Early Childhood. It’s of course possible she made the daring choice to wear just the suit jacket as no jumper or top was visible underneath. 

However, as the future Queen Consort it’s perhaps more likely that she made the modest choice to wear another layer that just didn’t show above the sleek v-neckline of the structured jacket. A suit jacket or blazer is always a timeless choice, as so many of the best blazers prove.

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As we saw with Kate’s purple suit, a jacket like this adds a formal, polished edge to any outfit and oozes classic traditionalism with lapels, long sleeves and covered buttons. The double-breasted design is super flattering for the Princess of Wales and she favours it often. 

Her outfit also showcased how picking a bold colour can work well with the formal design and add a subtle playful touch. Whilst lavender is one of the autumn/winter fashion colour trends for 2023, the brighter shade of Kate’s suit is a fun option that makes a big statement.

Suit jackets can easily be paired with more neutral trousers, autumn dresses or jeans, but here Kate went all-out for this important event and opted for the matching Emilia Wickstead trousers. This balanced out the boldness of the purple hue by adding another more business chic element and the cigarette cut of the trousers accentuated this.

The Princess of Wales was dressing for such an important event, which brought together specialists, cross-disciplinary leaders and global thinkers to consider how people grow and behave throughout their lives to build resilience for the future, and so this formality worked here. Kate’s purple suit was accessorised with a few key pieces in a navy tone including her £650 Gianvito 105 navy suede pumps.

The blue added a contrast in a more muted way, which made this look a little more classic. Jewellery-wise she chose the late Princess Diana’s sapphire earrings which match Kate’s engagement ring. These feature two sapphires surrounded by diamonds secured in a drop design and Kate’s often worn them, including to Trooping the Colour 2023.

With her hair in loose waves around her shoulders, the earrings were visible but not highlighted as they might have been if the Princess of Wales had gone for an up-do. Ultimately everything about this look balances formality with fun and glamour and whether you might want to recreate her matching outfit or pick and choose elements, there are so many ways to create a similar feel.