How to Copy Kate Middleton’s Coat Looks for Less

In both cold and mild weather, the coat dress is a reliable staple for the Princess of Wales. Some of my favorite recent looks have been this cherry red Catherine Walker stunner from the Commonwealth Day service in 2025, the butter yellow jacquard panier number by Patrick McDowell ($2,632) she wore to the Order of the Garter Service this year and the military-style Walker dress she chose for Armistice Day.

Lucky for us commoners, the coat dress silhouette is easy to find on a budget, especially since tailoring has been big on the runways. This Amazon find ($67; $56) is under $100 and great for cooler weather. JW Pei’s maxi coat ($289; $232) cuts a dramatic, Old Hollywood-like figure for under $300. Heading to a party? Reformation’s Gloria two-piece ($528) is more of a splurge, but it makes for great occasion wear.

While Princess Catherine usually opts for muted neutrals, sometimes she surprises us with bold hues. I loved her St. Patrick’s Day coat this year in a deep emerald green. And who could forget her Barbie pink cropped Max&Co. number from 2021? If we go even deeper into the archives, we’ll find the Princess’s cropped magenta Oscar de la Renta, which hit just above her knees. These days, she usually sticks with coats that hit the mid-calf, but this shows that a coat dress doesn’t have to be long to be polished.

Some current bold statement coat dresses I’ve been eying lately have been Boden’s Carlisle wool coat ($329; $197), a mustard-yellow find on Amazon ($67; $60) and Ann Taylor’s Weekend Plaid Cocoon coat ($190; $114).

This is a staple in any woman’s closet, including the Princess of Wales. Seeing that she is a future queen, Princess Catherine has many camel coats in her closet. That includes designers like Massimo Dutti, Sportmax and the aforementioned Max&Co. She favors double-breasted silhouettes and self-tying belts rather than open styles.

Of the many designers in Princess Catherine’s rotation, Massimo Dutti is a bit more approachable than Alexander McQueen or Catherine Walker, whose coats easily price in the thousand-dollar range. Currently, the brand has a belted wool trench ($590) in its collection, coming in at just under $600. On the flip side, Quince’s $200 wool-cashmere coat also looks Kate-approved at one-third the price (and no plastic).

The Princess of Wales loves a barn coat, and when I saw her in this Barbour jacket last fall, I was totally obsessed. As far as royal fashion goes, Barbour is pretty accessible; the Princess’s Wax Jacket is under $500. (For what it’s worth, I found mine on Poshmark for under $200, basically brand-new.). And, yes, Quince makes a barn jacket for $90.

Pro Tip: Get a Tailor

Aside from filling your closet with tailored coats, the best thing you can do—no matter if you have a $100 coat or $1,000 coat—is to find a good tailor. The Princess’s clothes always fit; they look like they were cut for her exactly. As someone who has probably spent thousands of dollars at the tailor by now, I can attest that whether I’m taking in a thrifted piece or an $800 ball gown, it’s always worth it. In fact, a compliment I recently received was that my clothes looked cut to my body. Do I have a clothing budget fit for a princess? Nope. But I do have a good tailor on speed dial.