Kate & William Visit Riot Victims In Birmingham (PHOTOS)

Happy Friday, everyone! Our gift to you this morning: the Duchess of Cambridge in a new outfit.

That's right -- after letting us down for the past several weeks with repeat after repeat (she even recycled outfits for Zara Phillips' wedding), the former Kate Middleton stepped out on Friday in a military-inspired, knee-length ensemble we've never seen before.

Reminiscent of the buttoned-up Alexander McQueen frock she donned in June at her first military ceremony with Prince William, the Duchess' skirt-and-top combo from the Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2011 collection featured gold buttons and double-breasted details as well as substantial cuffs. Ever frugal when it comes to footwear, Catherine paired her McQueen get-up with her stand-by navy pumps, which she got great wear out of on the Royal Tour.

The Duchess joined Prince William on a visit to Birmingham, one of the UK cities severely affected by the recent riots. As Hello! writes, the couple visited the city's Summerfield Community Centre to meet riot victims and also express condolences to the families of three Birmingham men killed last week while fending off looters.

Take a look below at the Duke and Duchess performing their royal duties.

Comments

[Bruisersmom]

07:35 PM on 08/21/2011

I used to sell Ralph Lauren clothing to the middle aged and elderly ladies in Scottsdale. Every year, Ralph Lauren would have a nautical themed collection for them to take with them to the yacht club in Newport Beach or San Diego. This outfit fits in perfectly. One of the two problems is that Kate isn't in her fifties or her sixties, and she can dress like a woman in her twenties, but not embarrass the royal family. She should take some style pointers from the likes of Anne Hathaway or Emma Watson on how to do it. The second problem is that she's meeting people after a tragic riot in a land locked, urban area. This outfit is much better suited for the lifeboat launch that Kate did with William during their engagement. Diana also wore a nautical themed outfit to review naval troops. The outfit would've fit in better at that kind of an appearance as well. At a place where people died and/or lost their businesses and homes, I would've worn something a bit more somber and less whimsical. Maybe, a charcoal or navy blue dress with a conservative hat, kind of like the one that she wore for meeting the Obamas or for her engagement. Diana was so good at matching the tone of her outfit to the type of occasion, and Kate needs to learn more about how to do it.

[Kali03]

08:26 PM on 08/21/2011

Good points, and I agree wholeheartedly.

She is very pretty and they seem happy, so I wish them well.

My two cents is that she REALLY needs to let go of her attachment to harshly-drawn eyeliner. Of all things, that, too me, is what detracts from her looks. It makes her like older and not in a good way.

Still, she is a beauty and I hope that they are genuinely happy together!

:)

[ABXNOMORE]

09:48 PM on 08/21/2011

That harsh black eyeliner is her trademark.

[Kali03]

08:26 PM on 08/21/2011

TO me, not TOO.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[ignacio sanabria]

07:18 PM on 08/21/2011

The nuisance of being a Royal.

[replay]

04:42 PM on 08/21/2011

How do they know she's wearing a new dress, is someone stashed out her closet. LOL She has to wear very conservative clothes because of her Royal position. I'm sure she wouldn't dress like that if she hadn't married into that family. POOR KATE/RICH KATE, give and take.

[justbenice]

02:57 PM on 08/21/2011

Give her a break, people. Good grief! Why must you be so mean? If you've got something to say, say it in a nice way. In case no one told you, mean people s*ck!

[josewhosaidso]

01:58 PM on 08/21/2011

just another reason being a guy is easier, just throw on a suit

[intellectualTradition]

01:03 PM on 08/21/2011

haters gonna hate. i heart her.

[kenzolaz]

11:19 AM on 08/21/2011

WOW!!! A woman appears in a new dress. This is positively earth shattering. I hope she doesn't
wear another one this week or you INSANE Brit lovers will need some kind of intervention.

[Patrice77]

10:23 AM on 08/21/2011

Um, I think she has her priorities a little screwed up if she recycles for a wedding, but wears something "new" to a neighborhood where rioting occurred. To me, this just tells me how out of touch they are with the common man because instead of focusing on fixing what caused the riots in the first place, we're focusing on shiny buttons we've never seen before.

[Bonez1]

10:09 AM on 08/21/2011

despite some who keep spouting nonsense about kate never having a job, she has helped her family business which in itself must have been a very supportive work since the business is owned by her own family.

many people in the world do work for their family business which may take a lot of hard work on its own without having to have a specific "job"!

[Margo Arrowsmith]

12:25 PM on 08/21/2011

Why do you call Wm Lazy?  Is it your basic disrespect for the military and sea rescuers?  Just wondering.

[Said One]

11:39 AM on 08/21/2011

Theres a Uk series that used to do such good mock ups of the Windsors -  I must look it up

[hg wells]

08:59 AM on 08/21/2011

the "military look" is terrible.

[Bruisersmom]

07:57 PM on 08/21/2011

It's very eighties. I had a little sailor outfit with a jacket and a skirt back then. Kate thinks she can do it all on her own but she needs a stylist. Someone to tell her that looks awful because you know William isn't going to do it. Not if he wants a happy wife. Also, someone to tell her when it's appropriate to wear a sailor outfit to a public appearance (like to a lifeboat launch or to tour a naval ship) and when it's not (like touring a landlocked city where they're having memorial services for people who died in rioting).

[ABXNOMORE]

08:08 PM on 08/21/2011

I so agree.

[Loyal Whig]

06:30 AM on 08/21/2011

We had a revolution to kick these blood sucking leeches off our continent.

[pete cole]

04:43 PM on 08/21/2011

You had a revolution because you didn't want to pay taxes to the British government

[ABXNOMORE]

10:22 PM on 08/21/2011

And your reply clarifies what? The British Government were leeches and we gave them the boot. Many went back to the continent, many were killed and many choose to stay in a country that no longer had a King.

[Kadija Deen]

02:35 AM on 08/21/2011

All of her "looks" look the same; all the silhouettes are the same, and I think she looks "nice." But NOT nice enough to warrant 5 million news articles about an 80s blouse and high-wasted skirt.

Get a life people! They are children starving around the world, and 500 of them could eat for the cost of that skirt.

[Said One]

01:41 AM on 08/21/2011

Well as London burns the Windsor family - their unelected heads of state - respond with ' -let em eat cake and how could she comfort these business owners - shes never had a job.

[ABXNOMORE]

07:59 AM on 08/21/2011

Oh their mere pretense in the region will immediately quell all of the underlying anger and problems. Now they will be as preoccupied with Kate, as the rest of the country is.....distraction is a great tactic thou I highly doubt it will work in this case. They've put a temporary fix on the situation, the Band-aid approach.

[Bruisersmom]

08:02 PM on 08/21/2011

I agree. Kate pretended to work. She was sacked from Jigsaw, albeit in a very nice way, because she was one of those employees who let her job performance suffer because she was too wrapped up in her personal life. Then, as one commentator said in the run-up to the wedding, Kate went to work for her parents, where she had a "very flexible" schedule.

If I were one of those business owners, I wouldn't want a young woman who's barely done an honest week's work comforting me. I would want someone whose worked her behind off like Ivanka Trump, or heck, I'd even take Kim Kardashian, who at least works harder than Kate did at Jigsaw or Party Pieces, and would have a clue what it might feel like to lose your livelihood.

[LMPE]

01:17 AM on 08/21/2011

As I've been saying, I think that it would be neat it Kate dressed like Fonzie for a change.

[Alicia Edwards]

10:57 PM on 08/20/2011

Kate does look impeccable as usual...I do wish she would pack on 10 pounds though.