Olympics in Kate’s style! Does anyone on earth look better in sportswear? No, says LAURA CRAIK

When it comes to fashion, the Princess of Wales likes to keep up with current trends. While it would be inaccurate to say she’s leading the way, her enthusiastic support of creative, contemporary British labels, including Roksanda, Erdem and her beloved Alexander McQueen, proves she’s certainly not behind it.

But there’s one aspect of her style that actually lags behind the rest of the country – and that’s her tendency to dress too formally during the day. While Kate’s favorite off-duty look is a “business casual” mix of skinny jeans, fitted jacket and a Breton T-shirt, the rest of us have long since given up on such formalities.

Long before Covid, British women traded trousers for Lycra leggings when you could barely get the sneakers off their feet, be it serious running shoes from Nike or Hoka or less performance-oriented iterations from Veja, every middle-class mum’s favorite brand.

And while we may not all be working from home anymore, you would never notice it in our clothes. At school gates across the country, the “just got to the gym” look is still something to behold — even if the wearer plans to do nothing more strenuous than lift a latte to her lips. That’s why it’s so gratifying to see Kate embrace a sportier look. Because if anyone looks good in sportswear, it’s her.

Kate is That Girl: the slim, strong and athletic girl we all recognize from our school days, the irritatingly perfect girl who beamed with vitality like the gold cup she invariably held in the air on sports day after winning the 100m sprint.

She excels at all athletic pursuits, she is as comfortable with rappelling as she is with archery, and as skilled at tennis as she is at tug of war.

While most of us would freeze in horror if we had to perform a sports activity in front of a camera, Kate is so confident she barely breaks a sweat. Woe to those who fight against her in the mother’s race.

While no one is suggesting she should wear leggings every day like so many other 41-year-old moms of three, we’re all for encouraging her enthusiasm for sportswear. She fits in. She belongs.

She rarely looks happier than when she wears it.

When she does, she looks effortlessly fashionable more often than not – a modern day princess who can dress with as much confidence as she can dress up.

Here we hand out medals for her best sporting achievements. . .

BRONZE – Not her best but nice try

For most people, there’s nothing funny at all about descending a near-vertical slope secured only by a rope and harness – but judging by her smile in 2015, Sporty Kate finds rappelling rather hilarious.

While the shiny red hooded jacket, brown hiking boots and black skinny jeans aren’t her most convincing look, her enthusiasm can’t be faulted. In fact, she’s arguably most authentic when she looks like she’s just put on the first sportswear at hand.

Meanwhile, in her white PlayBrave jacket and Monreal sweatpants while visiting the Lawn Tennis Association in Wimbledon in 2018, she looks every bit like the school-run mom.

SILVER – That’s more like it. . .

It’s hard – some would say impossible – to look glamorous in a wetsuit, but Kate nailed it last July when she wore a black O’Shea wetsuit, black Adidas trainers and a gray Henri-Lloyd cap. for a race at Plymouth. the earrings (and priceless engagement ring) she’d been wearing.

She also wins silver for her skiwear, most notably her white jacket, first worn in Courchevel in 2010 and seen again last year. The now-defunct British ski brand E And O sparked a trend for white jackets on the slopes. We love that she wore bright red salopettes with it. In fact, red is one of Kate’s favorite colors to wear while working out.

On a training day at London Olympic Park in 2017, she wore a £400 red down jacket from Perfect Moment, the skiwear brand founded in Chamonix, France, and a snuggly mummy favorite.

And in 2012, she paired a gray hoodie with red trousers for a hockey match with the British Olympic team.

As befits someone who captained her high school hockey team, she more than held her own.

GOLD – Every inch a sporty winner

Impromptu rugby match? That’s no problem for Sporty Kate.

On Wednesday morning, she took to the field at Maidenhead Rugby Club in a baby blue England T-shirt, paired with sporty £85 Sweaty Betty cropped navy trousers and immaculate white Lululemon sneakers, £128.

While participating in practice drills, her ponytail was as bouncy as her demeanor.

Last year, when she took to the pitch at the City of Derry Rugby Club in Northern Ireland, she looked just as good for the scrum in a black Lululemon zip-up top, worn with discreet hoops and minimal jewellery.

Kate also wins gold for the tennis outfit she wore in 2021 during a friendly match with Emma Raducanu. Her black zip-up top (£90) and matching black tennis skirt with white inserts (£65), both from premium French sportswear brand Poivre Blanc, looked elegantly monochromatic.