When people ask me what I do, I should start saying “I count buttons for a living.” When did this even start? It’s been years. The Duchess of Cambridge’s button obsession ebbs and flows, but the buttons are more of a constant than her wiglets, sausage curls or her twirly miniskirts. Buttons are all she has left. And she hoards them. Kate and William were at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday for a rainy garden party, and Kate wore 32 buttons. Twenty buttons down the front, and six buttons on each cuff, making a grand total of 32 buttons. I counted.

The dress itself is a repeat. I usually have a half-decent memory for Kate’s button-slathered clothes, but I don’t remember this. The piece was “designed” and made by Kate’s “private dressmaker.” She truly called up her private dressmaker and said “I want something will lots of tiny buttons, a high neck with a baby ruffle and Downton Abbey vibes.” Hello Magazine claimed that Kate was having a “Bridgerton moment” and that this is a “Regency look.” All of that is a lie. This is straight-up Victorian/Edwardian, which makes more sense because Kate wishes she lived in Downton Abbey. Also: the earrings seem to be new. I would imagine they’re quite pricey.

I just looked it up – Kate previously wore this dress to that Buckingham Palace reception for the anniversary of Prince Charles’s investiture as Prince of Wales. It happened in 2019 and pregnant Meghan was there.

PS… People were really coming through with the receipts, my goodness! This dress was made by Ulyana Sergeenko, a Russian designer who uses the n-word.

LOL @ Princess Beatrice. I actually love her cute dress, but that stupid headband/headpiece ruins it. Why is Beatrice copykeening Kate?

Photos courtesy of Instar.