When We’ll See George And Charlotte & What They Might Be Wearing

NOTE: If looking for event times/itinerary, this link takes you to our detailed schedule on the WKW site.

With only 3 days until the launch of the tour it seems a good time to take a look at George and Charlotte’s expected appearances in Canada. Here are the three times we hope to see the young royals:

• SEP 24 / 3PM-ish ———- the arrival at the Victoria airport
• SEP 29 / A.M. ————— the children’s party at Government House
• OCT 1 / Mid-Afternoon — the official farewell from Victoria Harbour Airport
• There is also discussion the children *might* take part in another activity, but that is very much a TBA.

Kensington Palace has not guaranteed their appearances at any event, understandable in light of their ages. Even though they are traveling to Canada aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force plane it will still be a long haul. But it’s hoped that Saturday we’ll see photos like this 2014 picture, when Kate, William and George arrived in Wellington, New Zealand. The addition of Princess Charlotte only makes the possibility more appealing.

Andrew Parsons / i-Images

Seeing how Kate dressed George for that tour offers insight into how both children will be attired on this trip. Below we show several ensembles from the 2014 tour: on the left, George arriving in Sydney wearing his Les Petites Abeilles Smocked Sailboat Romper; for the family’s arrival in Canberra George wore a blue Moss Stitch Cardigan, a pair of navy cotton shorts and a Striped Jersey Polo, all by Rachel Riley; on the right you see the arrival in Wellington at the start of the tour.

©i-Images/Splash/i-Images

You can see that George’s wardrobe on the tour was more formal. Taking into consideration the cooler temps for this trip, I would expect George to be in something similar to the Navy Classic Coat or Pale Blue Classic Coat from Trotters. It is a brand George has worn frequently, especially during the 2014 tour.

Trotters

The Nardo Herringbone Coat at La Coqueta also offers the classic lines Kate favors. As with all of the suggestions in today’s post, these are not necessarily the exact pieces I would expect to see George wear. Rather, they offer a sense of the sort of things we can look for.

La Coqueta Kids

For Charlotte there are plenty of options, including outerwear that is also from Trotters. Below left, the Scalloped Edge Coat; on the right, the Alexandra Knit Coat. The knit piece is a more casual style better suited for a walk outside than for an airport arrival at the start of a tour.

Trotters

If showcasing one of Canada’s national colors Kate might consider the Little Clara Cord coat or Mayoral’s Hooded Coat, both from Trotters.

Trotters/Mayoral

Two more styles in that rich red, the John Lewis Baby A-Line Coat and the Red Coat with Buttons from M & H. It is M & H’s dresses and cardigans we’ve seen Charlotte wear in recent photos.

John Lewis/M & H Baby

Looking at more pink styles: below left, the Pretty Originals Long Coat with Beret; on the right, Mayoral’s Knit Pram Coat and Bonnet, both shown at Childrensalon. Kate has chosen several Mayoral styles for George, it is another Spanish brand she likes.

Childrensalon

Both George and Charlotte have worn Amaia Kids. Below you see the retailer’s Razorbill Coat, along with some of the Condor for Amaia Kids tights and Amaia Kids Hair Bows worn by the Princess.

Amara Kids

Now for some ideas on what the young royals may wear for the children’s party on Thursday, the 29th. First, a refresher on what George wore to a similar engagement in 2014. On the left we show the Smocked Sailboat Romper referenced above because of how formal it was; it’s not out of the question that Charlotte would be in something akin to the romper. In the center you see George reveling in his New Zealand playdate; on the right, the Smocked Sailboat Dungaree from Rachel Riley he wore to that event.

Les Petites Abeilles / Splash News/ Rachel Riley

Kate could also dress Charlotte in designs from Rachel Riley, a brand we’ve not yet seen her wear. If looking for a nautical theme, the Sailboat Smocked Dress & Knickers by Ms. Riley would be ideal.

Childrensalon

But I don’t believe Kate intends to have Charlotte echoing her brother’s style, she’ll want the princess blazing her own path with her own identity. I can see her opting for designs a little softer and more feminine. Below two traditional short sleeve dresses from Amaia Kids.

Amaia Kids

Because of the cooler temps we could see Charlotte in long sleeves: below you see the Rachel Riley Bunny Dress & Matching Bloomers and Bows Dress & Bloomers.

Rachel Riley

Another Rachel Riley design, the 2-piece Dress & Blouse Set.

Childrensalon

Rachel Riley is mentioned throughout our post. It makes sense, as George has worn the brand for some of his most important appearances. Overly trendy fashion doesn’t work in those situations; Ms. Riley’s design aesthetic embraces understated styles that will stand the test of time. This week The Telegraph published a profile of the designer/retailer, Meet the woman making Prince George and Princess Charlotte style leaders before their 5th birthdays. From the article:

Whilst the Princess has yet to be decked out in Rachel Riley, given that the label is known for its formal smocked and embroidered dresses, style watchers are predicting during this Canadian tour the youngster may well sport the brand’s £95 Rose dress and bloomers.

Here is the Rose Print Jersey Dress mentioned in the article. I have to say that it doesn’t shriek “Charlotte!” at me. Among other things, the print is much larger than the Liberty-esque (is that a word?) prints we’ve seen on the Princess thus far. Something that seems more in step with Kate’s preferences: the Rachel Riley Cord Pinafore in navy and also in red, we show the pieces with the designer’s white Jersey Blouse with Peter Pan Collar.

Rachel Riley at Alex and Alexa

Trotters also offers lots of possibilities for Charlotte, including the Blue Freya Dress; we could also envision a pinafore like the Little Ruby Smocked style in the center – it would work well atop one of Charlotte’s blouses, especially one of the ruffled collar pieces by M & H or Irulea that Kate is fond of; a traditional smocked dress in a muted floral with a Peter Pan collar would also be appropriate, we show the Little Arabella Dress Smocked Dress.

Trotters

Kate may elect to put the Princess in a dress and bloomers. Here are two designs from Pretty Originals: the Baby Girl Hand Smocked 3-Piece Dress Set, and the Hand Smocked Dress Set.

Childrensalon

The Duchess could return to Spanish brands we’ve seen Charlotte wear before, like Irulea‘s set on the left, or the Four Buttons Dress from M & H Baby shown on the right.

Irulea/M & H Baby

Something to look for on Charlotte, one of her M & H cardigans. She has worn both the blue and dusky pink on multiple occasions.

M & H

What will George wear?  These two outfits from Amaia Kids are representative of the kind of design Kate favors in more formal settings.

Amara Kids

Additional ideas for George include the Heritage Boys Trousers in grey and Heritage Boys Shorts, both by Rachel Riley; we included 2 pair of the Amaia Kids Knee Socks George often wears; on the right we show the Dylan Corduroy Trouser from Trotters.

The Prince has worn several pieces with piped collars, so it would not be a stretch to see Kate dress him in a similar style. However, I think George may have moved beyond the two-piece sets we’ve seen him wear up to now. But if that’s not the case, the Ancar Heritage Boy’s Suit is the sort of outfit that Kate could have George wear (Ancar is another Spanish brand).

Childrensalon

Kate might also think about putting George in another Neck and Neck shirt (red is here and aqua is here) paired with trousers and a sweater, as opposed to those very formal sets seen above.

Baby Mac Shop /Neck and Neck

If the tone is a little more casual we could see designs like these: Rachel Riley’s Soldier Sweater (l), a basic Mayoral V-Neck Sweater (c), and a Mayoral Striped Jumper (r). All would be fine with the Grey Flannel Shorts or the Monleras Bermuda Shorts.

There has been some chatter that a sandbox is being constructed at Government House. If that is the case and the children’s party on Thursday morning is held outside we can look for less buttoned-up styles. The Prince has worn multiple items with a Guardsman motif; on the left, the Trotters Guardsman Jumper (aka ‘sweater’); on the right, the Sebastian Sweater with its zippy race car, also by Trotters.

Trotters

Other styles suitable for tumbling about in a sandbox: Neck and Neck’s Navy Chinos; a warm beige Fina Ejerique Sweater; on the right, Navy Stretch Trousers from a Canadian brand, Montreal-based Deux Par Deux.

Neck and Neck/Children Chic/Deux Par Deux

If the children play outside we could see George in his Joules Milford Quilted Jacket (l), or perhaps another Joules style, like the Stafford Quilted Jacket (c). Kate is a loyal Barbour customer and could move him to a Barbour jacket like the Quilted Liddesdale seen below right, but my hunch is she leans more toward Joules or John Lewis at George’s age.

Other outdoor options could include the return of something like the Powell Craft Pram Coat George has worn, but perhaps in a more feminine color like that seen in the company’s Baby Pink Pram Coat.

Powell Craft

When it comes to shoes Kate puts both children in sensible styles that provide support for young feet. We are likely to see shoes from Early Days and/or Start-Rite. Below, several of the Early Days designs Charlotte has worn.

Like his little sister, George wore Early Days. Now he is often seen in Start-Rite at dressier functions, wearing his Chuck Taylor All Stars, Crocs and other designs when playing at Anmer Hall or Kensington Palace.

Start-Rite

One quick editorial note:

• We continue to work at getting the site up to speed and have added our Retail Roundup to the menu bar. The page offers timely info on items that have been restocked or reissued, news about sales and other tidbits that might be missed because our publishing pace is much slower on this site than it is at WKW, a function of George and Charlotte’s schedules. Recognizing not everyone is on Facebook and Twitter, we wanted a way to make the information available as quickly as possible. (If you see something that you think should be included, let me know.)

LINKAGE:

• If looking for more tour information, we have several dedicated pages on the WKW site:
  • The detailed schedule is here. (We are updating with specific event times as they are announced.)
  • General background, links to stories and social media account to follow are on this page
• Our What Kate’s Kids Wore Facebook page is here and the WKKW Twitter feed is here
• We will be live blogging Saturday’s arrival on the What Kate Wore site, but will be posting our usual style of dedicated coverage here, just as we normally do when the children have an appearance.
• The Canadian government’s official Royal Tour page is here. In addition to a form that you can use to send a personal greeting to William and Kate, there are sections with FAQs, “What to do if you have the chance to meet a member of The Royal Family,” and other topics.
• CBC News has a microsite here
• Hello Canada’s royal tour microsite is here

We’ll see you Saturday, if not before!