Kate Middleton wore the same pair of nude shoes to the Epsom Derby last June, to Prince Philip’s 90th birthday at Windsor, to attend Zara Phillips’s wedding, and on a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital, London.
On tour in Canada and the U.S., Kate Middleton was seen in them six times. On Sunday, she chose them for the Royal Barge. And on Tuesday she put them on to attend the service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s cathedral.
Just what is it about Kate and her $296 pair of LK Bennett nude patent courts? Perhaps she bought a dozen pairs of the Sledge Court Shoe, first produced in 2009, as she loved them so much? Perhaps they are such good value and never scuff.
Despite their four-inch heel, the shoes must be comfy, given they have been worn in so wonderfully (the Queen asks her dresser, Angela Kelly, to break in shoes for her. Kate clearly has no need of such a service).
What’s more, at St Paul’s, Samantha Cameron wore the same pair, only in black. For after they became such a success, LK Bennett brought out a Sledge 2: identical, but in a patent leather rather than a high-shine leather.
In the more recent photos, Kate is wearing the patent version – which means she definitely has at least a pair to wear and a pair to air.
So what is wrong with Kate Middleton endlessly showcasing a High Street shoe?
The “safe” nude shoe is very much a 2011 trend, as is the slim platform; seen endlessly on the High Street.
Kate has occasionally patronized other shoe brands: Jimmy Choo twice, Pied a Terre once, and an Aquatalia Rumba boot – an awful suede affair. And wedge espadrilles, too. All pretty ghastly.
But what should Kate be putting on those size seven feet?
Kate should patronize Aruna Seth, a 30-year-old British-born designer who makes wonderful shoes that hover around the $960 to $1,280 mark.
Or show courtier Georgina Goodman, who sadly went into liquidation in May, but she still hopes to make bespoke commissions.
Or how about patronizing the new generation of shoe couturiers, such as Rupert Sanderson, Charlotte Dellal, Camilla Skovgaard and Tracey Neuls?
