“凯特效应”：王室时尚叱咤澳洲

It's an awkward reality of royal reporting that we're also in the fashion business. To be perfectly frank I've no expertise nor credibility in this area but I do what I can by forwarding on any details I get from the palace. I also lean heavily on those who know what they're talking about.

I'm certainly not dismissive. The "Kate effect" is a widely accepted phenomenon in the fashion business. The Duchess of Cambridge isn't known for high fashion; in fact she often wears high-street outfits that might even be -- gasp! -- out of season. But, when they're available, they'll sell out within hours of her wearing them, guaranteed.

On tours like this one in Australia, there are new outfits appearing every day. When they're in the vaguely affordable bracket -- such as the $325 Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress worn last week -- then it's spending spree time for her fans.

Fashion detectives

Central to this phenomenon is an intrepid troupe of digital fashion scouts who identify and source Kate's outfits within minutes of them appearing in public. Chief scout would be Susan Kelley, best known by her Twitter handle: @WhatKateWore.

Kelley was also the first to spot a potential challenger to Kate's royal fashion crown. Cue "The George Effect"

"Having one's child wearing the identical sweater a real-life Prince is wearing? That has a lot of cachet. Especially when it's something you can find at your local Baby Gap store," says Kelley.

During George's main public engagement at Government House in Wellington, he was dressed in a pair of "sailboat smocked dungarees" by the British designer Rachel Riley. They were an instant seek-out in the smaller sizes.

Susan Kelley says: "There is also the allure that comes with scarcity. If there is such a thing as the anti-Kardashian baby then Prince George is it. He is not paraded out and about, his parents are not making deals to sell rights to photographs of him, he is very much protected behind the proverbial Palace walls. Nor is he seen wearing something new every time he is in public.

"The Duchess has done the same thing with his wardrobe she does with her own: repeating and recycling outfits. While the Prince has worn some more upscale items, designer duds for the sandbox set if you will, he has also worn those pieces more than once. His little cardigan with the soldiers on the front? Seen at least twice on the tour. His blue dungarees with the sailboat? Worn twice. I don't believe the Duchess has any intention of turning him into a clotheshorse."

Practical fashion?

Kate certainly has a more relaxed sartorial approach than her regal predecessors. "This hasn't been a vintage tour as far as royal fashion goes," says Rebecca English, royal correspondent for the UK's Daily Mail newspaper. "But then, given the more casual nature of the trip, it hasn't leaned itself to it either."

So far in Australia, the talk has been more about Kate's shoes than her outfits, says English: "Particularly the fact that the Duchess has been wedded to her favorite wedge heels in even the most inappropriate situations.

"She wore five inch Russell and Bromley 'Corkswoon' wedges to walk around a mountain ledge with a stomach-churning 300-foot sheer drop in the Blue Mountains, and on the world famous surf beach at Manly she doggedly kept on her four inch Stuart Weizmann 'Minx' heels as she walked across the sand - even though her most senior aide had kicked hers off."

Who knew the subtle sacrifices a duchess makes in the name of fashion? Or, indeed, that I would be reporting on it?

身处时尚圈而报道王室时尚是件尴尬的事。说真的，在这一领域我并不专业也没多大可信度。但我尽我所能跟进从皇室里得到的任何细节，我也同样依赖消息灵通的内部人士来获取消息。

当然，我可没对王室时尚不屑一顾。在时尚圈“凯特效应”是被广泛接受的。剑桥夫人并不是因为高端时尚而出名：实际上，她经常穿高街时尚的套装，有时甚至令人倒吸一口气--穿过气的衣服。但是，可以确定的是：但只要这些衣服有库存，它们便会在王妃穿过的几个小时之内销售一空。

像这次的澳大利亚之旅，凯特每天都会穿一些新款套装出现。当民众可以接受它的价格时--如她上周穿的价值325美元的黛安·冯芙丝汀宝连衣裙--她的粉丝们就迅速购进了。

时尚侦探

该现象的主要成因在于那些网络时尚侦探，他们可在几分钟内鉴别和查出凯特王妃公共场所的着装。苏珊·凯利(Susan Kelley)可谓是首席时尚侦探她因自己的推特@WhatKateWore而出名。

凯利也是第一个发现凯特王妃王室时尚皇冠的潜在挑战者。线索可见“乔治效应”。

凯利说：“孩子穿上现实中王子的毛衣？这太有吸引力了，尤其是当你在当地的盖普（Gap）婴儿装柜台能找到这件毛衣的时候。”

当乔治王子出现在惠灵顿的政府大楼时，他穿的是由英国设计师瑞秋·莱利（Rachel Riley）设计的一套帆船背带短裤。小号尺码的这套服饰很快便找到了。

苏珊·凯利说：“稀缺导致诱惑。假如有非卡戴珊（美国女星卡戴珊以向公众兜售她私生活为生）式的宝贝，那就是乔治王子。他不会参与游行、他的父母也不会交易他的肖像权利、他被众所周知的宫殿围墙保护着。他也并非每次现身公众场合时都身着新衣。”

“公爵夫人做的就同小王子的着装一样：重复穿一样的衣服。不过王子穿的单品更为高档一些，例如专为孩子玩沙盒游戏设计的定制服装，如果你有注意过就会发现这件衣服他也穿了不止一次。他那件有着军人图案的羊毛衫呢？在旅途中至少有穿过两次。他那件有帆船的背带裤呢？穿过两次了。我相信公爵夫人并没想把儿子打扮成一个时装达人。”

实用时尚？

凯特的穿衣风格比以往皇室成员相比更为随意。英国《每日邮报》负责王室报道记者瑞贝卡（Rebecca）说，“此行，威廉夫妇并没有走一贯的王室时尚风格。但由于此次出行并非那么正式，他们也没有刻意遵循王室的时尚套路。”

目前在澳大利亚，关于凯特王妃的鞋讨论的比她的服装更多些。英国人说：“尤其是公爵夫人在任何不恰当的时候都很喜欢穿坡跟鞋。”

“她穿着5英寸高罗素和布罗姆利‘Corkswoon' 系列的坡跟鞋在一个300英尺高令人晕眩的蓝山山体边缘走动。之后在世界知名的澳洲黄金海岸她坚持穿着那四英寸高的斯图尔特·魏茨曼（Stuart Weizmann）坡跟凉鞋在沙滩上走着--即使她的高级助手踢掉了她自己的鞋。”

谁知道公爵夫人为了这时尚牺牲了什么呢？或者更确切地说，我会继续关注这个问题？