Kate Middleton's Purple Oscar de la Renta Dress Is a Nod to Both Meghan Markle and Princess Diana

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published 16 January 2019

We're getting to lust over a ton of outfits as Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle kick off 2019 with a flurry of outings. This morning, Kate paid a visit to the Royal Opera House to see how costumes are made, meet with principal dancers, and even sit in on a rehearsal. And it just so happens that she wore a beautiful fuchsia Oscar de la Renta dress (a rewear) similar to Meghan's Babaton by Aritizia purple dress of yesterday's visit to Birkenhead with Prince Harry.

What does this mean? Are Kate and Meghan coordinating, deliberately or unintentionally? Is it a nod to Meghan's style? Are the duchesses taking direction from the Queen, who loves to use bright colors to stand out to everyone who's come to see her? Could it just be...a coincidence?

Here's Kate Middleton's full outfit. It looks like she didn't wear a jacket out of the car (unlike Meghan, as you'll see below), letting the Oscar de la Renta dress, and her cool new shoes, take center stage.

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And as a reminder, here's Meghan's outfit from yesterday, which she paired with a gorgeous red Sentaler jacket.

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Meghan's look drew comparisons to similar purple looks by Princess Diana, and it looks like Kate is channeling Diana too. There's this beautiful light purple jacket with an all-black outfit to let the single color stand out:

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And then there's the bright, fashion-forward outfits Princess Diana also enjoyed during public events:

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Whatever the reason, both duchesses' looks are both vibrant and sweetly reminiscent.

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