Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (also known as Kate Middleton) can’t seem to catch a break. Her younger sister Pippa has been ridiculed for taking a shirtless photograph, others created anti-Kate merchandise before the royal wedding, and now one woman claims Catherine’s dress was recycled.
In an opinion piece published Friday, self-described Washington fashionista Clare Cushman says she donned an identical wedding gown to that of Catherine – in 1991.
On Catherine’s dress, which was crafted by Sarah Burton of the late Alexander McQueen’s team, Cushman wrote, “I was stunned. Kate was wearing an exact replica of the wedding dress I had worn — and I was about to celebrate my 20th anniversary! A dress I had picked up in 1991 at Kleinfeld’s in Brooklyn, off the rack and on sale (albeit in the high-end department).”
During and after the much-anticipated Westminster Abbey ceremony, Cushman says friends contacted her and said Catherine’s gown looked familiar.
“My mother called ship-to-shore from a cruise in Greece. Waity Katie stole your dress! Even my 16-year-old daughter, an aspiring costume designer, noticed the similarity and excitedly texted me while she was on a break from school,” Cushman wrote. “As The Post’s Style editor and other fashion commentators weighed in again and again [on Catherine’s dress] over the next few days, I wanted to scream. Yes, Kate looked beautiful and regal in her dress. Even I had felt like a princess wearing it. But was it original? No! Maybe nothing in fashion ever is.”