The demure Jenny Packham dress donned by Duchess of Cambridge as she left hospital was surprisingly Diana-esque
Her absolute normality, her girl-next-door-ness, is a key element of the Duchess of Cambridge's popularity. And on these, her own terms, she got the Lindo Steps Look absolutely right. Her cornflower-blue polka dot dress was a safe choice, being demure and pretty and by a British designer, Jenny Packham. The colour was clunkily literal. (One assumes there is a rose pink version hanging in a cupboard somewhere.) Kate loves a fancy frock when the occasion demands it, but 24 hours after having a baby is absolutely not the moment to be experimenting with directional looks. That would be weird, and weird is one thing that Kate is most certainly not.
The one surprising element was how Diana-esque the look was. The image of Diana in polka dots on the same steps in 1982 has been much revisited in recent days, and there was a clear echo of that dress here. Whether the echo was a conscious one, or made unconsciously via the sleep-and hormone-muddled haze of new motherhood, we can only speculate. Like Diana, Kate has the glamour-hair of her generation.
Where Diana had her frosted and flicked fringe, Kate has her thick Disney waves. Good hair imparts glamour whatever you wear. As for the baby Prince, the neutral shawl gave little away. The scoop on the first royal babygro is still out there for the taking.