Kate Middleton Channels Princess Diana in Recycled Polka Dot Dress

Tartans and plaids are quintessentially British but, according to Kate Middleton, so too are polka dots. Today, the Princess of Wales continued her penchant for dotted sundresses in an elegant look that bore a strong resemblance to an outfit her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, wore over four decades ago.

Middleton joined husband Prince William at Westminster Abbey for the Service of Thanksgiving, commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day. For the occasion, the Princess turned to Alessandra Rich, one of her favorite labels. She wore a tea-length white dress marked by small black polka dots. The turtleneck piece featured a fitted bodice with '80s-inspired shoulders, gathered sleeves, and ruching at the midsection. Middleton complimented the print of her dress with a black fascinator. For her bag and stilettos, she chose nude.

Although Middleton’s love of polka dots is well documented, she isn’t the first stylish British Royal to co-sign the pattern.

Princess Diana was a major fan of the print through the late ’80s and ’90s, wearing it in all sizes and hues for both daytime and night engagements. Middleton’s Alessandra Rich number seemed to take several cues from a similar dress Diana wore to the Royal Ascot in 1988. The late Princess of Wales accented her frock, with larger dots than Middleton’s micro ones, with a matching top hat, ladylike pearls, and Chanel shoes.

Like Diana, Middleton often re-wears certain items in her wardrobe—and this Alessandra Rich piece is one of the Princess’s favorites. She most recently wore the dress in 2023 to attend The Order of The Garter service. Her styling choices then—a black and white hat, two-tone pumps, and Diana’s very own pearl earrings—were even more in line with how her late mother-in-law wore her dotted dress in 1988.

Polka dots are making a comeback on the runways of Europe, but they’ve clearly never gone out of style in The House of Windsor.