Kate Middleton's TopShop Purchases

The TopShop Spot Pencil Skirt

There have been many rumors swirling as of late that Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue and Queen of All Fashionistas, has been courting the future Queen of England--more commonly known as the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, or, as we affectionately refer to her, KMidd--to feature on the cover of the iconic magazine. Word is that Wintour is using Mario Testino, favoured photographer of Will and Kate, as bait.

The Palace has shot down claims that Catherine will grace the cover of American Vogue and instead asserts that the royal newlywed will be solely focused on her charity work. (As for whether Kate is also concentrating on babymaking, well, those reports remain unconfirmed). This is quite believable to us, above all because the Firm seems cognizant of what a commodity they have on their hands when it comes to Kate--fresh meat, so to speak--and are going full steam ahead on shaping her public persona into one of a responsible, empathetic royal. Plus, we have a hard time believing that the Duchess' first big time magazine cover would be for an American publication, even if Wintour is British--and super scary.

Kate Stepped Out in London Recently to Get Her Hair Did
(and Dyed!) - Carrying the Mulberry Tote from the Canada Tour

Perhaps to remind us that she's not all about the couture, Kate was recently seen snapping up some pieces at TopShop. According to People, the Duchess of Cambridge "patiently waited in line" to purchase a skirt, jacket and gold earrings in a feather motif. Kate's reported purchases can be seen here, ones we'll have to remember for ID purposes the next time the Duchess steps out in a new outfit.

Velvet Trim Boucle Jacket

Kate reportedly bought the Spot Pencil Skirt in Teal (£38.00) and a Boucle Jacket ($130.00) in one of her favoured colours (cobalt). The blazer features black velvet trim and a Peter Pan collar.

According to Social Beautify, Kate also snapped up this Unlimited Celeste Flared Coat from Hobbs (at time of publication the coat is still available online for £369.00). What do you think of Kate's buys?

Kate & William's Official Engagement Portraits

Let's say it all together now: Awwwww. That's the exact reaction we had when we spotted Prince William and Kate Middleton's official engagement photos. The casual one, anyway. They look all happy and smiley like. Not surprisingly, both portraits were taken by Mario Testino, who famously photographed Princess Diana and who would totally be our pick if we ever needed to get photographed for the cover of Vanity Fair or something. We're just saying. It could happen. A girl needs to be prepared.

Kate's Whistles Blouse

Trying to figure out where Kate's embroidered blouse is from but don't recall seeing it on the runway? That's because it was never there. Oh, you think, so it must be custom made in some kind of priceless silk, right? Wrong. C'mon lovelies, we're in the middle of a recession and conspicuous consumption is so passé. Kate Middleton knows where it's at. We love us a fab fashionista, but what we love even more is a bargainista who can look like a million bucks wearing something that cost $24.99. Not that Kate's blouse was that cheap, but still. Close enough. And it's two years old. From Whistles.  

William is wearing a Turnbull and Asser shirt and a Brunello Cucinelli sweater. We were all ready to give props to Wills' dreamy sweater when we heard that it really belongs to Testino. See? We knew the man had taste! Now if only he'd call us...

Okay, so this formal pic is nice and all but doesn't really do much for us. Taken in the Council Chamber linked to Clarence house the photo is a little too Madame Tussauds for our taste. Anyhoo, William stayed faithful to Turnbull and Asser while Kate went with Reiss' Nannette dress with Links of London earrings.

We're not sure where the hype ends and the truth begins, but apparently both garments worn by the future princess were already hanging in her closet. If you'd like to snag a blouse for yourself Whistles is re-releasing the style in early 2011 and rechristening it the Kate (cha-ching!) Reiss is also looking to re-release the Nannette, likely in January of 2011.

There is one thing that has us stumped. It's been reported that Kate did her own make-up for the engagement shoot. WTH? Why? Sorry Kate, but that's a little too Bargainista, even for us.