She wasn’t always known as a fashion icon, but in recent years the Duchess of York appears to have taken inspiration from the Princess of Wales for her clothing style.
Sarah Ferguson’s outfits have repeatedly resembled Kate’s.
A prime example is the tight black dress with a tight white cape detail over the shoulders that she wore earlier this year to a charity gala in Cannes.
It looked very similar to the dress Kate wore to the 2022 premiere of Top Gun: Maverick.
Recently, Sarah opted for a Safiyaa cape dress, which again resembled a dress from the same designer that Kate wore last year.
By copying Kate’s fashion formula, Fergie is aligning herself with the timeless elegance that has become synonymous with the young royal.
But the copying works both ways. Kate seems to have taken inspiration from Sarah’s old outfits more than once.
Designer double
The Duchess of York has had her fair share of fashion faux pas in the past, but all was forgiven when she stunned in a Safiyaa gown at a glittering charity event in Sweden earlier this month. A vision in emerald green, her form-fitting cape dress was strikingly similar to the sleek Safiyaa gown Kate wore to the Royal Variety Performance last year
The Duchess of York has had her fair share of fashion blunders in the past, but all was forgiven when she stunned in a Safiyaa dress at a glittering charity event in Sweden earlier this month.
Her figure-hugging emerald green cape dress was strikingly similar to the tight Safiyaa gown Kate wore to last year’s Royal Variety Performance.
Both outfits featured the same cape silhouette and like Kate, Sarah carried a stylish clutch.
Monochrome mirror
Sarah Ferguson opted for a black and white outfit when she attended a charity gala in Cannes earlier this year alongside some high-profile guests.
The tight black dress with a tight white cape detail over the shoulders, also by Safiyaa, was strikingly similar to the Roland Mouret dress Kate wore to the Top Gun premiere in 2022.
The Princess of Wales’s dress, however, did have an off-the-shoulder neckline.
Sarah Ferguson opted for a monochrome ensemble when she joined A-list guests at a charity gala in Cannes earlier this year. The fitted black dress with a tight white cape detail over the shoulders, again by Safiyaa, was strikingly similar to the Roland Mouret dress Kate wore to the Top Gun premiere in 2022
Green from head to toe
At last year’s Christmas Day church service at Sandringham, Sarah exuded elegance in an emerald green coat by Kate’s long-time designer Holland & Cooper.
She added a peacock headband and matching boots to keep with the color blocking theme, a tactic the Princess of Wales often employed.
The ensemble was reminiscent of the all-green look Kate wore when she arrived in Ireland in 2020.
She wore a Catherine Walker coat over an Alessandra Rich dress and added a Jane Taylor headband.
For last year’s Christmas service at Sandringham, Sarah exuded elegance in an emerald green coat by Kate’s longtime designer Holland & Cooper. The ensemble was reminiscent of Kate’s all-green look when she arrived in Ireland in 2020
Purple Reign
For a royal visit to the Henry Fawcett Children’s Centre in 2019, Kate bucked the purple trend in Gucci, wearing a silk crepe blouse with a back-to-front bow.
Last November, Sarah followed suit with a flowy purple dress featuring sheer sleeves, pleated cuffs and the same high neck.
Dressed royally at a Red Cross charity event in Rome, Sarah added a tie to her Me & Em dress.
For a royal visit to the Henry Fawcett Children’s Centre in 2019, Kate bucked the purple trend in Gucci, wearing a silk crepe pussy-bow blouse from back to front. Last November, Sarah followed in her footsteps with a flowing purple dress complete with sheer arms, pleated wrist cuffs and the same high neck
Puff sleeve yellow
The Duchess of York’s ’80s wardrobe featured lots of big shoulder pads, large hats and bright colours.
One of her most memorable outfits was a canary yellow polka-dot skirt suit, which she wore to Royal Ascot in 1987 with a matching wide-brimmed hat.
Kate surprised everyone with her puff-sleeved dress by Alessandra Rich, but it was the Duchess of York who first wore the look
During her 2022 tour of the Bahamas with Prince William, Kate paid homage to the ’80s silhouette by wearing a printed button-front dress by Alessandra Rich.
The look featured puff sleeves and a peplum waist.
Like Sarah, Kate paired the look with white leather accessories, hers by Gianvito Rossi and Ferragamo.
Ladies in red
Kate imitated the look worn by Sarah Ferguson in 1999 when she attended the Motor Neurone Disease Association Christmas party to celebrate Commonwealth Day in 2019.
Her Catherine Walker double breasted coat featured gold buttons.
The only noticeable differences between the two were Kate’s hat and the fact that she wore different shoes and tights than Sarah.
The red double-breasted coats with gold buttons are almost identical
Princesses with dots
Kate Middleton stepped out at Wimbledon in 2021 looking as stylish as ever in a pleated polka dot midi skirt by Alessandra Rich.
She wore a white blouse, a navy Smythe jacket and white Gianvito Rossi heels.
Kate may have taken a page from Sarah’s style manual. For Princess Beatrice’s first day at prep school in 1991, she wore a very similar ensemble.
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Both women have an almost identical look, despite the thirty years between them, even down to the gold button blazers
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Green hats
For her daughter Princess Eugenie’s wedding in 2019, Sarah chose a wide-brimmed green hat with a chunky gold ribbon trim by Jess Collett, which perfectly matched her Emma Louise Design dress.
In 2023, the Princess of Wales opted for something a little more daring: a tailored look by Andrew GN, paired with a Philip Treacy hat.
To make as much of a statement as Sarah, both ladies opted for hats with large bows at the back.
This was a more daring look for Kate at Trooping the Colour in 2023, but Sarah wore a similar shade for Eugenie’s wedding in 2019