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In defense of wearing a ‘uniform’ like the Duchess of Cambridge

Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge is back in the public eye.

This past weekend, Kate Middleton made the first two public appearance since the birth of her daughter. On Saturday, for the Trooping of the Colour, she opted for a stunning floral shealth dress. But on Sunday, to watch Prince William play polo, she was spotted wearing skinny jeans and a striped top like a normal, clothes-wearing person. So obviously, the media went bananas: not only was Kate wearing the very clothes she seemingly fit into before having another baby (gasp!), she was in what could best be described as her royal off-duty uniform: slim-fitting pants, an equally fitted top, and flat shoes. The Kate Middleton special. Seen also at your local J. Crew.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

But since the media was focused more on her body than what was on it (can you believe her post-baby figure, everybody? CAN YOU?), they failed to notice that the Duchess was keeping it refreshingly real: wearing blue, wearing denim, and eclipsing even her son’s Crocs in the process, she stuck to the pieces she clearly feels comfortable in. Which, as a human woman who wears clothes daily, I can understand completely.

Comfort and laziness are the upsides of a definitive uniform. But first, calm down: as a person who spent five years of her working life in McDonald’s, Shoe Company, Future Shop, The Keg, and Rona uniforms (and then even more spent adhering to a strict American Eagle dress code), I recognize the knee-jerk reaction upon hearing some writer sing the praises of wearing the same thing every day. I spent two years wearing a smock and safety boots. I know how boring “the same” can be.

Getty Images
Getty Images

But that’s the thing about uniform dressing: it’s not a question of wearing the same thing every day. (Because we’re not The Simpsons, much as we wish we were.) What uniform dressing serves to do is exploit the pieces you feel amazing in, and then allow you to wear versions of those pieces on a regular basis. It frees you from trends. It reserves your right not to be in or out of style. It justifies your need to buy several pairs of the same pants (potentially in different colours), and it makes your wardrobe interchangeable, which gives you more time to do other things – or more space for the same cuts of various T-shirts (in an array of materials). It injects you with confidence if you’re not somebody who finds said confidence through aesthetic experimentation.

Because the thing about honing an eclectic fashion sense is that it takes work, and not everyone is built to put energy into that type of work. The older I get, the less I’m inclined to try a new type of pant, and the more I’ll bulk up on the same cut from the same store, just in case they end up going on final sale and disappearing forever. I know I don’t like tank tops. I know I’d rather wear a roomy T-shirt or sweatshirt or something that involves both. Button-up short-sleeved blouses look terrible on me, and I will never attempt one again. All my shoes – minus anything wedding-appropriate – are flat and of the running variety. I like all coats. If I do wear a heel, I have to be able to move in it. And one time I tried to wear a cape and my arms kept getting stuck. Somehow, I morphed into my own version of normcore, and now, sitting here in skinny jeans and a three-quarter length sweatshirt, I am wearing a uniform again. And I’m more than okay with it.

Frankly, to judge based on a person’s unwillingness to stray from what they feel good in is none of our business. What anybody chooses to wear at all isn’t really any of our business. So to scrutinize based on wardrobe staples and/or an eternal capsule collection is just as embarrassing as judging somebody for wearing feathers. Uniform dressing is just another means of expression – and part of that expression may be, “I just want to wear what I like, man.”

So here’s to Princess Kate obviously finding her style groove. My only hang-up? That George continues to wear Crocs through adulthood. No insult to comfort, but they’re like flip-flops, you guys: a bad idea