Princess Charlotte Is Ditching Her "Sweet Girl" Wardrobe For a "Tween Vibe"
"It felt like a bit of a milestone."
Princess Charlotte is growing up, one updated and mature outfit at a time.
Recently, the young royal stepped into the spotlight alongside her mom, Princess Kate, and her aunt, Pippa Middleton Matthews, while attending this year's Wimbledon men's final. Like her mother—who wore a purple Safiyaa dress featuring a ruched bodice and softly flared skirt—Princess Charlotte dressed for the occasion, wearing an adorable blue-and-white polka-dot dress, highlighted by a matching blue bow perfectly placed in her hair.
The young royal's dress was reminiscent of a similar gown the Princess of Wales wore at Wimbledon two years ago, bringing fashion experts to believe that the young royal is showing the world she's growing up via her fashion choices.
"It felt like a bit of a milestone, like she's transitioning from a sweet little girl in smocked floral dresses to a slightly more grown-up tween vibe," Bethan Holt, Style Director at the Daily Telegraph, told People in a new interview.
Nicole Robinson, co-founder of Papouelli, said that in addition to looking "lovely" in the brand's shoes, the young princess has "transitioned from a very gorgeous Mary Jane shoe into a ballerina style, which is very age-appropriate."
While Princess Charlotte's personal style is certainly evolving as she ages, she is no stranger to meaningful wardrobe choices that carry with them a special message.
While attending last year's Wimbledon Championships, the then 8-year-old royal wore a dress by Spanish brand Friki— a dress intentionally chosen to honor King Felipe of Spain, who was also in attendance.
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It appears as if Princess Charlotte is taking a page out of her mother's fashionista playbook, in part because the Princess of Wales is known for wearing specific outfits loaded with meaning.
“Kate has a history of choosing clever, whimsical themes for her Wimbledon looks, and this was a new one,” Bethan Holt, fashion director at The Daily Telegraph, told People in regards to Middleton's 2024 Wimbledon wardrobe. "Wearing purple underlines how important that role is to her and why she chose this event to make her second public appearance of the year.”
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Not only is Princess Charlotte following in her mother's fashion footsteps, she seems to be following in her tennis-loving footsteps as well.
According to a recent report from Hello!, the Princess of Wales revealed that Princess Charlotte had been “practicing” and that tennis was “really great for the youngsters."
“As a family, we play a lot," Princess Kate said while attending Wimbledon, adding that she has been been “filling in the leaderboard” with her only daughter.
Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.
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