Royal Experts Called Princess Catherine Dress Fishnet Trashy but We Think She’s Stunning

There’s a reason Royal Experts are morons.

Today in the early-morning light over RAF Northolt, a single blush-pink silhouette stepped from the royal motorcade and stole the show before the red-carpet ceremony for France’s presidential couple had even begun. Wearing Christian Dior head-to-toe for the very first time, Princess Catherine, 43, rewrote the opening chapter of President Macron’s three-day state visit and reminded the watching world that fashion is one of the British monarchy’s sharpest diplomatic tools. (people.com)

The look was deceptively simple: a 30 Montaigne Rose des Vents Bar Jacket from Dior’s 2024 collection, paired with a matching A-line midi skirt whose finely latticed wool crepe added movement with every step. The jacket’s cinched waist echoed Christian Dior’s 1947 “New Look,” while the skirt’s light mesh weave nodded to Maria Grazia Chiuri’s modern reinvention of the house codes. A blush Jess Collett saucer hat, pearl drops once worn by Princess Diana, and a single-strand Queen Elizabeth II heirloom necklace completed the ensemble, aligning three generations of Windsor women behind one quietly bold fashion statement. (people.com)

Why Dior—and why now? Courtiers point to the brand’s unique place in Anglo-French royal lore. Princess Margaret famously celebrated her 21st birthday in a Dior gown, while Diana elevated the Lady Dior handbag to icon status in the 1990s. By choosing the French house as she greeted President Macron and Madame Brigitte, Catherine paid homage to those precedents while signalling continuity amid her father-in-law King Charles’s renewed push for warmer Franco-British ties. (people.com)

Yet not everyone applauded. Within minutes of the photographs posting to social media, a handful of self-styled “royal experts” (none willing to attach their real names) dismissed the skirt as “fishnet” and “borderline trashy,” arguing the open weave lacked the gravitas expected at a state occasion. From where I sit, that take is wildly off the mark. The skirt’s delicate lattice was couture tailoring, not club wear; it softened the architectural Bar jacket, injected modern energy, and—crucially—moved beautifully when the Princess walked. Far from trashy, the look married elegance and approachability in a way only Catherine seems able to calibrate.

Criticism also ignored the broader context: this was the Princess’s first major public engagement since she resumed duties after completing preventative cancer treatment earlier in the year. Choosing a house famous for celebrating feminine resilience felt personally resonant. Dior’s founder rebuilt his life and label after wartime trauma; Catherine is similarly writing a chapter of recovery and renewed purpose. Her healthy glow, confident stride, and genuine smile told a narrative no headline about “fishnet fabric” could undermine.

Style watchers noted another savvy detail: colour. Soft rose is neither a British nor a French flag shade, sidestepping predictable “flag-dressing” yet still reading as optimistic and summer-appropriate—a diplomatic compromise in fabric form. It photographed exquisitely against the RAF jet’s slate fuselage, the Windsor limestone, and the crimson uniforms of the Guard of Honour, ensuring every picture editors pushed worldwide looked editorial-ready without post-production tweaking. (people.com)

The ensemble’s sustainability credentials were equally news-worthy. Dior confirmed that the wool crepe was sourced from regenerative farms and hand-finished in the house’s Avenue Montaigne atelier. Catherine has long championed repeat wear and eco-friendly sourcing; adding Dior to her rotation suggests she intends to leverage the brand’s growing green commitments. Expect to see this jacket re-styled—perhaps with tailored trousers or a contrasting belt—on future engagements.

Of course, state visits are marathons, not sprints, and seasoned royal reporters are already betting on at least one tiara moment before the Macrons depart. But whatever dazzles at the Windsor Castle banquet, it will be measured against the ripple effect of this dawn-hour fashion debut. Google searches for “Dior Bar Jacket” spiked 320 percent by midday; Paris-based commentators called it “the most significant Franco-British fashion handshake since Dior dressed Diana.” Even couturier Stéphane Rolland congratulated the Princess on Instagram for “honouring our shared heritage with grace.”

For Princess Catherine the win is tactical as well as aesthetic. Headlines that morning should have centred on geopolitical talking points—defence pacts, climate pledges, trade—but the pink Dior diverted the spotlight just enough to humanise the choreography of statecraft. It reminded voters on both sides of the Channel that diplomacy is as much about cultural connection as policy papers, and few mediums translate culture faster than an instantly recognisable outfit.

So let anonymous pundits clutch their pearls over imaginary fishnets. From where I—and millions of admiring onlookers—stand, the Princess of Wales delivered a masterclass in contemporary royal style: respectful of tradition, mindful of message, yet utterly, confidently her own. She looked radiant, fully in possession of her role, and unbothered by background noise. As the French might say, chapeau—hat tip—to the woman who turned a brisk airport welcome into a couture moment for the history books.