Kate Middleton's simple style trick can make any outfit look more polished and it's worth noting for wedding season

The Princess of Wales has several tried and tested tricks up her sleeve when it comes to making even a simple outfit look put-together. One of them is particularly easy to replicate and Kate just used it for the annual Easter Sunday service.

After celebrating privately the past two years, the Wales family were there at Windsor Castle on 5th April and the Princess re-wore a belted Self Portrait dress with tan accessories. The heels were Ralph Lauren court shoes and both they and her Demellier Montreal mini bag would be perfect pairings for a wedding guest dress.

The colours almost exactly matched and Kate loves using this style hack, both for formal events and engagements. You can adjust it to suit the tones that work best for you and your spring capsule wardrobe, though tan is incredibly versatile.

Shop Matching Accessories

Like black and cream, this colour will work with pretty much anything and it’s also easy to find matching neutral shoe and bag combinations compared to brighter ones. The Princess of Wales’s tan accessories at Easter complemented her light cream dress and were a soft contrast.

Just a few months earlier Kate stepped out in Leicester the day after the Hindu Festival of Holi to celebrate culture and community and wore a cognac-brown suede clutch from Emmy London and matching Gianvito Rossi heels with a white dress and coat.

Matching the material takes the Princess’s style trick to another level, though the colours alone would be very effective. Having the same colour bag and shoes ties your wider outfit together and adds a cohesive feel that instantly elevates things.

Suddenly every part of your look seems extra considered and this approach can also help to balance out the boldness of patterns or vibrant colours. If you want to, you can also take things a step further and choose accessories that also match the rest of your ensemble.

The future Queen often does this for formal royal occasions like the Commonwealth Day service or recently when she and Prince William welcomed the visiting President of Nigeria to the UK wearing head-to-toe grey and white.

However, this isn’t always the case and Kate also likes going for more of a statement finish too. At a Buckingham Palace garden party in 2023 she went for a powder blue midi dress and a shimmering silver clutch and heels.

If she’d worn a silver dress this might have been a bit too much, but accessories make up a smaller part of your style and metallics bring some glamour. Alternatively, you can take inspiration from the Princess of Wales’s style trick and apply it more casually.

White trainers and a white bag with jeans and a shirt would be a chic way to adapt it to suit everyday outfits. I personally think a matching handbag and shoes looks more effective with a smarter look, though, as it leans into the elegance.

This is how Kate uses it most often and Princess Charlotte is already starting to follow in her mum’s footsteps even though she doesn’t wear handbags yet. Her chocolate brown ballet flats tied in wonderfully with the buttons and pockets on her coat at the Easter service.