People.com Archive What Makes Kate Great? By People Staff Published on September 14, 2011 12:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made their grand entrance at the BAFTA gala at L.A.’s Belasco Theater just after 8 p.m. Half an hour after glittering guests like Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman and Blake Lively had been politely ushered inside, Kate glided out of a black Range Rover and onto the red carpet. And when she did—to the sound of shrieking fans—flashbulbs illuminated floaty layers of lilac Alexander McQueen and glinted off diamond chandelier earrings she’d borrowed from the Queen. “She is so radiant, without trying to be flashy,” says a family friend. “Kate overshadowed every actress in Hollywood.” This was just the latest in a series of storybook moments for the beauty from Bucklebury. Ten weeks earlier she’d stepped onto a different red carpet a continent away, revealing before an audience of billions another McQueen gown—this one so precious, seamstresses washed their hands every 30 minutes to keep its English lace pristine. The royal wedding brought about a fashion moment that was, as Kate’s pal Victoria Beckham might say, major. Before our eyes, Kate completed a transformation years in the making: from a fresh-faced girl next door into an international style icon. (Need proof? Within a week, Demi Moore was wearing a Philip Treacy fascinator to the Met Gala.) Indeed, not since Diana has a princess’s every wardrobe choice been so ardently followed and universally praised. Without the help of a glam squad—she does her own makeup and “does not have a stylist,” a royal source insists—she makes perfect-for-the-occasion picks that instantly set trends. That $535 blue Issa wrap dress she wore to announce her engagement? It caused a worldwide frenzy and sold out overnight. Obscure English labels are now household names (Whistles, anyone?). Thanks to Kate, even the stuffiest trappings of royal dress—from hats to hosiery—are now in vogue. The key to this 29-year-old’s appeal is her seamless blend of the traditional with the modern—the regal with the real. “Just meeting her felt like chatty girl talk,” says Gina Nalamlieng, who bumped into Kate in the ladies’ room at the Santa Barbara polo match she attended July 9, the day of the BAFTA event. “We talked about our hair, our skin, the weather. She just seemed like one of the girls.” This girl just happens to be as confident on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as she is hunting bargains at Bicester Village, an outlet mall not far from her family home. By mastering that high-low mix, Kate thrills a tea-towel-waving royalist public accustomed to seeing Queen Elizabeth match her handbag with her shoes (a practice the princess has cleverly updated with her L.K. Bennett platforms and coordinated clutches), as well as a celebrity-obsessed one. Kate repeats her outfits, and suddenly, economizing is cool. With her Breck-girl blowout and High Street favorites, she makes every woman believe a princess moment might be just a mall trip or mouse click away. Kate’s also made modesty pretty darn sexy. It’s the allure of a collarbone over cleavage, the flash of a shin, not a shoulder, that entices. “Her X factor,” says Claudia Croft, the Sunday Times Style magazine’s head of fashion, “is her ability to make a shift dress exciting.” Fashion queen is a long way to come from her St. Andrews days, when the apple-cheeked coed walked to class with Prince William in her ever-present pashmina. But even then she was polished—flaunting that enviable body in sleek jeans and sharp blazers. Says her friend, stylist Nikki Pennie: “Kate is true to herself. She dressed like a princess even before she was a princess.” For now, she’ll be living the low-key life of a Royal Air Force wife in Wales. There she’s no doubt preparing—and shopping online—for her next royal tour. What she’ll wear, no one knows. But one thing’s certain: The moment she’s back in the spotlight, we’ll all be watching.