On Wednesday the Princess of Wales visited the Vsi Razom Community Hub - a support centre in Bracknell, Berkshire that helps Ukrainian families who have settled in the area.
Kate helped pack donations of essential items such as food, clothes and toiletries with young Ukrainians who have moved to the UK in the last year, which will then be transported to Ukraine to those affected by the conflict in the country.
The Princess' recent style agenda has suggested she's a fan of the ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ rule, by wearing numerous different trouser suits over the last month, which exude a sense of appropriateness - not matter the occassion. But she opted for a radically different look for today’s outing and her simple transitional weather jumper is utterly TikTok approved.
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© Chris JacksonKate wore the chicest grey sweater vest from cool-girl label Cefinn, layered over a white long-sleeved shirt with the collar peeking out, and paired with grey tweed straight-leg trousers.
The Princess’ tonal outfit combines luxury minimalism with the preppy, school uniform-like trend that TikTok’s fashion subcultures have named the 'academia' aesthetic.
© Chris JacksonWhat is the 'Dark Academia' aesthetic?
The trend name is pretty self-explanatory (unlike normcore, clean girl or tomato girl perhaps) and encapsulates the polished, put-together aesthetic that is reminiscent of school or university (be that as either the teacher or the student). Think tapered trousers, collared shirts under knitted vests, pleated skirts, loafers and plenty of tweed.
Dark academia is the specific term used for outfits donned in hues of brown, dark greys, navy and black, whereas Kate’s outfit slots into ‘light academia’ category - more airy colours like light greys, pastel blues and white or creams.
As of October 2023, the #darkacademiaaesthetic has 710m on Tiktok, whilst #lightacademia has 725 million, proving the stratospheric influence of the school preppy trend. Hailey Bieber nailed the trend in a pleated skirt and jumper street style look recently, whilst Jenna Ortega’s style both off-screen and as Wednesday in the hit Netflix series encapsulates the desired look.
Princess Kate surprised us with her new look today but proved she’s absolutely always on trend, whatever she wears.
