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<\/p>\nThe dress the Princess of Wales wore at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday was literally dazzling.<\/p>\n
From her collarbone down to her wrists and the tips of her pointy sparkly pumps, she was covered in rose gold hand-stitched sequins embellished with crystals at the neck and waist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nothing quite says princess, or a party at the Palace, or luxury (sequin comes from the Arabic word for coin) like a floor-sweeping fitted gown coated in spangles.<\/p>\n
The Georgia gown by Jenny Packham is just the latest in a long line of sequin dresses Kate has worn over the years. (She has an almost identical style in emerald green.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was the delicate pale pink tulle dress, embellished with distressed silver sequins, she wore for a gala dinner in 2011, and the one everyone remembers, the gold cape dress she wore for the UK premiere of Bond film No Time To Die (instantly nicknamed the Goldfinger).<\/p>\n
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The dress the Princess of Wales wore at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday (pictured) was literally dazzling\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Princess of Wales wears a Needle & Thread gown to a UK-Africa summit at Buckingham Palace on Janaury 20, 2020<\/p>\n
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The Princess of Wales dazzles in a showstopper dress designed by Jenny Packham at the 2017 Royal Variety Performance (left) while she opts for a sleeveless gown at the 2013 Tusk Conservation Awards (right)<\/p>\n
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The Princess of Wales beams in a green gown at the Royal Variety Performance in 2021<\/p>\n
If you had to pick the Princess of Wales’s best dresses of all time, these two would be in the top five.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But sequins can be heavy and they coat the body like treacle which makes them unforgiving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kate has the advantage of a slim figure and being able to pay for Jenny Packham’s skilful draping and precision hand-stitching. (All of the dresses above are by the British couturier, bar the \u00a3410 red Aurora gown, from London-based label Needle & Thread.)<\/p>\n
Cheap machine-stitched sequins don’t lie smoothly like a polished second skin as Packham’s do and all these dresses are fitted to the body like a glove and long enough to very slightly pool on the floor, which gives them a softness and lightness.<\/p>\n
The exquisite results make paying for the hours and hours of labour that go into making each of her dresses worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rest of the magic is down to Kate and her stylists.<\/p>\n
Sequins can look cloying and cheap if not handled with respect. This means wearing them with the simplest accessories \u2014 plain or similarly sparkly \u2014 and bold jewellery that won’t get lost or compete.<\/p>\n
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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attends the 10th Annual ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) Gala Dinner at Kensington Palace on June 9, 2011<\/p>\n
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Everyone remembers the gold cape dress Kate wore (pictured) for the UK premiere of Bond film No Time To Die (instantly nicknamed the Goldfinger)<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/06\/20\/78662113-0-image-a-11_1701896047559.jpg\")
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Kate’s custom gown at a 2016 Diplomatic Corps reception. She is pictured alongside Prince William at Buckingham Palace<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Kate wore Gianvito Rossi pumps and carried an old favourite rose satin Prada clutch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The jewellery was, of course, breathtaking royal bling \u2014 Cartier diamond chandelier earrings and the Queen Mary Lover’s Knot diamond and pearl tiara.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The addition of the blue sash, Maltese cross and star badge, signifying Kate is a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, was the icing on the cake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now that’s how you wear sequins.<\/p>\n