I came across Events, an Australian retailer that has several good alternatives for some of Kate's fashion pieces including the Max Mara wrap dress and Whistles peplum jacket. Good news is they ship worldwide.

This evening, The Duchess of Cambridge joined Her Majesty, the Queen to host a star-studded reception at Buckingham Palace honouring The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), of which the Queen is patron.  The Royal duo greeted an estimated 250 guests, including Dame Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Sir David Attenborough, Uma Thurman, and Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes. 

Tonight, Kate looked vibrant in the red peplum Alexander McQueen dress, first worn to the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in June 2012.  It is also believed she wore it to the Queen's pre-Christmas luncheon in December.

The Duchess opted for classic black satin accessories, carrying her customised Anya Hindmarch 'Maud' frame clutch and Prada shoes.

Both pieces we have seen before, and Kate first wore this combination when she meet the Obama's at Buckingham Palace in May 2011. 

Catherine has her 'Maud' clutch personalised with the initial C.  The  bespoke clutch retails for £450 and comes in an array of colours.   It is fabricated from luxuriously soft satin, made using tightly woven thread to give a glossy appearance.

Kate finished her look wearing Cassandra Goad 'Temple of Heaven' girandole pendant earrings.   The
9ct yellow gold earrings retail for £1,365 and have been worn by the Duchess for a number of years.

You can read more about tonight's event here.

Currently, the Duchess of Cambridge has no official events planned for the immediate future.  I suspect Kate's appearances will slow up over the next couple of months as she plans for the Royal Tour of Australia and New Zealand in April 2014.

This morning, the Duchess of Cambridge officially opened the ICAP Art Room at Northolt High School in Ealing, London. She wore a form-fitting bright blue sheath dress from one of her favourite high-street labels, LK Bennett.

The Art Room, of which Kate is Royal Patron, is a national charity which offers art as therapy to children and young people aged five to 16 who are facing challenges in their lives.  Today, the Duchess participated in an Art Room workshop and addressed an assembly of children at the school.

The sheath dress is the snorkel blue 'Detroit' notch collar fitted dress currently on sale at LK Bennett for £225.   The figure-hugging 'Detroit' dress is crafted from elegant crepe with strategically placed panels and cinched waist. The dress provides modest coverage with mid-length sleeves and a clavicle-skimming neckline.

Kate contrasted the bright blue frock with her trusty black suede Episode 'Angel' pumps and an unidentified black suede clutch with bow, which she has had for a few years now.

Kate also wore her £3,950 Mappin & Webb Fortune White Gold Drop Pendant, first seen on the Duchess in early December 2013 when she visited the Shooting Star Hospice.

Kate wore a "new" pair of drop earrings from Kiki McDonough.  Kate already owns the diamond hoops, which originate from her Kiki Diamond and Green Amethyst Oval Drop earrings.  Today she paired the diamond hoops with a green amethyst drop which is new to her Kiki collection. The earrings can be bought as a set and are known as the Kiki Classic Green Amethyst and Diamond Cushion Drop earrings.  We have also seen Kate interchange the hoops with the Kiki Citrine Drop earrings.

There was another new piece of jewellery worn by Kate today.  We saw her wear a stainless steel watch from Cartier for the first time. This timepiece is part of the Ballon de Bleu collection and retails for US$4,550. More details about the watch can be found on the Cartier website.

The next engagement for the Duchess of Cambridge is this coming Monday.  Kate will join the Queen at Buckingham Palace for a reception honouring the dramatic arts. Among those expected to attend are Cate Blanchett, Dame Helen Mirren and Sir David Attenborough.

Tonight, the Duchess of Cambridge carried out her first official engagement of the year.  She attended the Portrait Gala at the National Portrait Gallery in London in her role as patron. The dress code for this evening's event was "black tie with a touch of sparkle", and the Duchess certainly looked the part in a ink blue Jenny Packham gown, previously worn to the 100 Women in Hedge Funds Gala at Kensington Palace last October. 

There was however a sparkling addition to her outfit tonight. Adorning Catherine's neckline, was a priceless diamond necklace, on loan from Her Majesty the Queen.  It is reported that the necklace was a wedding gift to the then Princess Elizabeth from the Nizam of Hyderabad, then King of a state in India.

Kate paired the necklace with her much loved diamond earrings, believed to be a wedding gift from Prince Charles.

Kate completed the look with her trusty black suede Jimmy Choo Cosmic Pumps which are available from  Net-A-Porter for US$695

It appears the Duchess of Cambridge has a new addition to her ring collection. Along with her sapphire engagement ring and wedding band, it was noted that Kate was also wearing a diamond eternity band, reminiscent of this one by Tiffany & Co. Currently there is no official ID or any further details on the new ring.

After some exhaustive research, My Small Obsessions has confirmation that the ring is the Annoushka Eclipse Diamond Eternity Ring. The 2mm wide ring features brilliant-cut micro pavé white diamonds hand-set into a 18ct white gold eternity band. It retails for £820.

It's been a great week! I am finally the proud owner of two iconic necklaces worn by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. First, the Tiffany 'Color by the Yard' necklace arrived just in time for my 7th wedding anniversary. This is a contemporary version of Kate Middleton's Cabochon by the Yard necklace, made famous when she wore it with her iconic Issa 'engagement dress'. 24 hours later, the Zara 'Sparkly Crystal Bead' necklace was delivered! Both necklaces are miles apart in terms of style (and price!); the former being subtle and understated, while the latter is bold and a real head-turner! 

I normally don't buy flashy costume jewellery, I usually opt for modest pieces of fine jewellery like the 'Color By the Yard' necklace.  This got me thinking ... am I ever going to wear the Zara necklace?  I started going through my wardrobe and experimenting with different looks, and came up with these three scenarios; casual, date night and formal.

Casual: I was quite surprised how well it worked with casual attire, however I preferred the necklace with a crew or bateau neckline.

Date night: the sparkly necklace quickly transformed this simple Rip Curl dress into a sophisticated ensemble.  I now have my Valentine's Day outfit sorted!

Formal: Even though a simple string of pearls would look lovely with this elegant Ralph Lauren gown, I think the Zara necklace takes it to a whole new level.

This weeks Hello! Magazine has exclusive photos of The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George as they head to the Caribbean island of Mustique to holiday with the rest of the Middleton family.  The photo shows Kate looking happy and relaxed as she steps off the plane holding six-month-old George in her arms.

Kate looked casually chic in her Ralph Lauren 'Tori' Breton Striped Tee.  This long sleeved boatneck tee from the Ralph Lauren 2012 resort collection has sold out but you can shop similar styles here. 

Kate wore her trusty J Brand '811' skinny jeans (in stock).

On her feet were the MINT VELVET plimsolls (sold out).

She finished the outfit with Givenchy 'Obsedia' sunglasses (in stock).

There is also some interest in what Prince George was wearing.  It is believed his adorable little sun hat is by Zutano, an American kids wear company which has a boutique in London.

There are currently no suggestions for his white coverall, but here are some similar styles ...