A-Z of British Style: C is for Catherine Middleton

I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Kate Middleton. When I first decided to apply to do my degree here at St Andrews, people would often ask me if I was looking to bag a prince - to an 18 year old attempting some serious academic study, this was infuriating, and as a result I'd roll my eyes at any mention of Kate and systematically avoided the 'rah'-types' hangouts about town in case people pigeon-holed me into the sloaney stereotype of middle-class girl on the hunt for a rich/posh boyfriend.

However, whilst I still avoid people who dress solely in tweed and red chinos and shout about Moet, Kate has decidedly grown on me. I think the turning-point was when she and Wills announced their engagement - the Issa dress! the shiny hair! the perfect-but-not-too-Hollywood smile! She definitely won me over, and from then on I've just loved practically every outfit she's been spotted in.

Aside from my personal views about her, it's clear that millions of others think that Kate's a true British style icon too. There a so many blogs and Tumblrs dedicated to what she wears, and literally within minutes of photographs appearing of Kate there are people pin-pointing exactly which designers and brands she's wearing - and more often than not the items she wears then sell out almost immediately, whether designer or high-street.