As Kate Middleton gears up for her, husband Prince William and son Prince George's three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, the fashion world is starting to think about the outfits that the Duchess of Cambridge might choose to wear.Royal insiders have tipped the royal to wear jewels from the royal family's collection. If so, she may well pick the brooch bearing a wattle – the floral emblem of Australia. Gifted to the Queen by the Australian people during her 1954 Commonwealth tour, the monarch wore it when she touched down in the country in 2011.
Another appropriate option would be the diamond and ruby Australian hibiscus brooch that the Queen inherited after her mother's death in 2002.Outfits will, as ever, need to be carefully thought out. The temperature will be high – around 30 degrees Celsius – so lightweight, comfortable materials like cotton and silk are likely to make up most of her tour wardrobe.
Lightweight fabrics, however, pose a problem – skirts are more likely to fly up, as Kate learned the hard way during her trip to Calgary in 2011. Perhaps she will opt to put weights in the hem to avoid similar problems.
The thoughtful Duchess sported a red Maple Leaf fascinator from Lock and Co. paired with a Reiss white dress – the same dress that she wore in her and Prince William engagement's photos.
Kate is likely to call upon her go-to designers Alexander McQueen and Jenny Packham to create some of her outfits. For her visit to Kuala Lumpur in 2012, British brand Alexander McQueen designed a bespoke gown featuring gold-embroidered Malaysian hibiscus flowers.
Ever the gracious guest, Kate is likely to wear clothes that give a nod to the host country. When she was in Canada, she wore red and white – the colours of the country's flag – when she joined in festivities for Canada Day.
The royal may even choose to wear a local designer. Attending a welcoming ceremony in Singapore, she wore a purple printed dress from Prabal Gurung – a fashion designer who was born in Singapore.
And Kate commissioned Jenny Packham to create a pink kimono dress featuring an orchid pattern that she wore during a trip to the Signapore Botanical Gardens to view an orchid designed for William's mother, Diana the Princess of Wales.
