Alizée Thevenet Wears Princess Kate's 20-Year-Old Vest

Alizee Thevenet and James Middleton hugging and kissing; Prince William talking to Pippa and Kate Middleton — (Image credit: James Middleton/Instagram; Getty Images)

Princess Kate’s brother, James Middleton, shared some family photos on Instagram to celebrate his 39th birthday, and in one sweet snapshot of himself and his wife, Alizée Thevenet, she’s wearing a very familiar piece of royal clothing. In the picture, James kisses his wife on the cheek as they stand on a mountain top, and Alizée appears to be wearing the same quilted brown leather vest that both Kate and Pippa Middleton sported in the early 2000s.

My group chat was abuzz last evening when a post by Middleton Maven on Instagram revealed the coincidence, with the blogger sharing a photo of Kate in 2006 alongside the image of James and Alizée. The vest in question is a piece from Hidepark Leather, and Alizée paired the quilted style with a yellow sweater, light-wash jeans and a flat cap.

Alizee Thevenet walking a dog — Alizée Thevenet is pictured with one of her dogs during a trip to the Lake District.

Prince William talking to Kate and Pippa Middleton in front of a car in 2006 — Kate wears the same vest in 2006 as she chats with Prince William and sister Pippa.

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Princess Kate wore the leather vest to watch Prince William play in an “old boys match” at Eton College in 2006, along with a private trip to Norfolk that December, when she paired the gilet with a scarf and Western-style hat. Pippa then wore the same vest in photos for her party planning book Celebrate, which was published in 2012.

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Whose vest it was to begin with—or whether their sister-in-law happened to own the same 20-year-old style—remains a mystery. But in his birthday post, James reflected on the last year of his thirties.

“Today’s my birthday and every year feels like a bigger climb ⛰️ but reaching the top and seeing how far you’ve come never gets old ❤️” James wrote, sharing a carousel of photos from a hiking trip in England’s Lake District. “Entering the final year of my 30s and more excited than ever….”

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.