Kate Middleton uses this great hack for recycling old clothes

(Image credit: Rex)

Yesterday the Duchess of Cambridge pulled not one put two major sartorial tour de forces. First, she had everyone talking about her Gucci top for this reason, and then she turned heads while attending an event at an evening do at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Kate opted for a pretty black dress by Alexander McQueen, with a black sash, tiered skirt and delicate floral motif, and her hair looked great flowing over her shoulders.

The reason the dress might ring a bell is because it's not the first time the Duchess has worn it. She was first spotted wearing it at the 2017 BAFTAs (pictured left below).

However there is one slight difference between the two: the sleeves. At the BAFTAs, they were off the shoulders, but last night, she had cap sleeves. It's obviously unlikely Kate would've bought a whole new dress, so she probably just had a seamstress add in the sleeves from spare fabric, or simply took it back to the store to have it tweaked.

It's a small change that makes a big difference, and what a great way to add a fresh new spin on an old dress, don't you agree?

We're taking note in any case.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.