When the Princess of Wales steps out at an event, the world is watching what she wears – but none more closely than a small army of superfans.
They call themselves “repliKates” and are so inspired by Kate’s fashion they are quick to snap up anything she wears, from Jenny Packham ballgowns to ASOS earrings.
Although her account @WalesFamilyStyle, is relatively new to the repliKater scene, in the world of repliKates, Lady Brook is unusual because it’s not just herself she dresses to emulate the future Queen – her whole family get involved. (Lady Brook is how she is known to her friends – she declined to have her full name published).
The hobby was born out of the pandemic – with her usual stylist unable to see clients because of COVID, she left Brook with a tip: “Take your body type and your style preferences and then find a celebrity because they have all the best stylists and they are photographed often.”
She said: “So I took the tip, and fell down the rabbit hole, and I discovered the Princess of Wales.
“At my fingertips was just a wealth of knowledge and inspiration and also wardrobe pieces that were available.”
‘I spent more than £100 on £5 ASOS earrings’
Clothing has sentimental value for Brook, who inherited many of her grandmother’s dresses and shoes – and now she plans to do the same for her own daughter, curating a closet of beautiful items that could also be seen in the wardrobes of Kensington Palace. She now owns a hundred of Princess Catherine’s dresses.
“There is the glamour but I also like that sustainability aspect, to have this collection of the future queen of England and that has a special meaning on its own,” she said, adding that she prefers to buy items second-hand, using sites like Poshmark.
While she has been known to make her own – such as applying appliqué, or needlework, to her daughter’s cardigan to make it match Princess Charlotte – the self-described “perfectionist” always strives to find the exact item.
She found Kate’s Tory Burch blue roses sundress from her Caribbean tour in a different floral pattern and said: “It was really beautiful and I’ve seen other celebrities wear that one, but I just really want [Kate’s].”
However, she does admit this commitment to perfection goes deep – on one occasion paying more than £100 for a pair of £5 ASOS earrings worn by the royal: “They are cheap earrings, right, but she can make them look like they’re from the Royal vault right when she wears them.”
The whole family
Her husband is fully behind it, although she said he is “100% the opposite” – “he cares nothing about the material world”.
But he happily dresses with her, posing next to her as she wears Jenny Packham ballgowns – which retail upwards of £5,000. This included spending Valentine’s Day recreating the photo of the royal couple at the James Bond premiere in 2021.
Read more:
The ultimate guide to the King’s coronation
What the crowns, orbs and swords mean
Coronation route and royal coaches in detail
“Whether it’s gardening or you know, going to a party, but we tend to like doing the whole performance art aspect of sort of matching the picture.”
Working as a pharmacist, repliKating provides a creative outlet for Brook.
“[My job] is actually really hard and draining and you have to give a lot of yourself to be able to be present for the people that need help. You need to be able to find a way to rejuvenate yourself, burnout is a real thing.”
Her best value buy: Cartier Ballon Bleu 33mm stainless steel watch – “I bought it for half price used and I wear it every day!”
First purchase: LK Bennett Mortimer dress for her daughter’s first birthday celebration in February 2021 – “Now I have 10 LK Bennett realkate dresses.”
Rarest: Roland Mouret ‘Lucanus’ Trousers in Midnight Blue: “I don’t know anyone else that has these… yet!”
Highest premium purchase: MAX & Co Pink Wool Runway Coat, (original cost £369): “I bought on eBay for $2,000.”
Highest relative cost: Accessorize Twisted Circle Drop Earrings (original cost £5) – purchased for £95 on eBay, plus £22 shipping.
‘Some of the comments are just evil’
Rowena Penarando de Obieta grew up with an abuela (grandmother) who was a “diehard royal fan”.
“I was reading Ola magazine before I was reading elementary school books,” she says.
Working at a private school in Greenwich Village she mixed with “all kinds of fabulous celebrities, and many of them English”.
But when she moved to the Washington DC suburbs and became a mum, it was the royal-watching community that helped keep her connected to her former life.
Rowena too sees Kate as a personal stylist.
“My thought is, if someone who can have anything in the world chose the dress I’m wearing then it must have been good,” she says.
“At this point, most of my closet is royal,” she says, acknowledging that some people find her hobby “weird”.
“It’s a hobby, like anything else – if you collect stamps, if you collect coins, I chose to collect clothes,” she adds.
“I understand, it looks obsessive compulsive but I try to balance that out. I try to moderate myself when I am obsessively looking for a piece. I’m like, well, okay, calm down. Do I really need to spend $700 on this?”
But some of the comments she’s been on the receiving end of are “just really evil”, she says.
Rowena – who describes herself as being from a “mixed background” – said she often faces criticism for emulating Duchess Kate, a white woman, rather than Meghan Markle, who is also mixed race.
“But I have to be true to me. What speaks to me the most and what I aspire to, that would be Kate.”
Her dad, she said, put it best: “You don’t need to justify your hobby to anyone.”
‘I styled my wedding like the Princess of Wales’
Living in Bochum, Germany, Saskia Frühmark says her family often tease her and say she is “living in the wrong country”, because of her love of England and the royals.
Her first memory of the princess was her engagement to Prince William.
“I was sweet sixteen, deep in my teenage years and I saw her in that dark blue royal dress. And so that was the moment, I wanted to be like her. She stunned me,” she says.
Saskia now owns the Issa dress, which cost her €2,000 (£1,763) – but she sees it as an investment: “It’s my treasure, I really love it.”
Despite this one purchase, Saskia says she largely sticks to the high-street brands Kate wears, including Zara, and M&S, paying to ship them across Europe.
But she does admit modelling her wedding after the royal – down to the Jo Malone orange blossom candles.
“My husband is very supportive,” she says. “He even bought me some pieces.
“We had a royal-inspired traditional fairytale wedding, we love the traditions.
“My family first thought I was crazy, but my mum likes Diana so understands it.”
‘I keep track of Kate’s schedule so I can snap up her style’
Like Brook, Danielle Magness-Wellman works in medicine and uses this as a way to stay grounded.
“Between my seven-year-old son and my job, I don’t have much time to think about what I am going to wear,” she says.
And for Danielle, the thrill comes from finding a high-end item at a bargain basement price.
“That’s what makes it fun, if you can find a piece for like 80% off, it’s like finding a unicorn,” she says.
Read more:
The meaning of the ceremony explained
King’s apologies to the Queen’s bridesmaid
A sneak peak at the Coronation rehearsals
Best bargain: Alexander McQueen suit, that Kate wore for the Shaping Us event – found for 80% off.
Biggest splurge: Yves St Laurent knee-length suede brown boots, for $1,200.
Her unicorn dress: The Khaki Sea New York dress Kate wore for their 2021 Christmas card.
Danielle says she “kind of keeps track of [Kate’s] schedule”, and makes sure she is paying attention to when she is due to make an appearance – even if that means getting up early to adjust for the time-zone difference.
“I might be a little late for work!” she says, “but there’s a whole group of repliKaters who are able to identify what she is wearing fairly quickly.”
The Kate effect
Once the repliKaters know what she’s wearing, the race is on.
“You try to snag it as quick as possible, because the Kate effect is going to kick in, and it is probably going to be sold out within hours,” says Danielle.
Kate is known for her habit of re-wearing items – whether it’s a coat she first wore a decade previously, or a duplicating a Jenny Packham dress for a second royal event.
This comes in handy for the community, who trade and sell items between themselves.
And the community helps each other out with new items too. Danielle says: “I may buy something in a couple of sizes, maybe if I see one of my repliKater friends isn’t online, I’ll buy it because I know what size she wears and then I’ll ship it to her.
“We work together.”
The coronation
Many of these women, despite living in the US, plan to travel to London for the coronation.
And although the fashion is certainly a draw, for most it goes deeper. With a background in naturopathic medicine, Brook feels an affinity for the work the King does with the environment.
She plans to spend 10 days visiting London, hiking in Wales and seeing Highgrove Gardens. And although she loves the duchess and her fashion, this trip is “all about King Charles”.
“King Charles is such an environmentalist and that’s really my heart,” Brook said.
“I’m just so proud and excited of all the work he’s done preserving the environment, the landscape – that’s what makes up the UK that’s so special.”
