ANN CURRY, co-host:
Back now at 8:09 with the
Middleton
effect. It seems that everything
Kate
, her sister and her mother wear everyone wants. Here's NBC's
Michelle Kosinski
.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI reporting:
If you made it and the
Duchess of Cambridge
wears it, you will likely soon be inundated if not overwhelmed by orders. That engagement
dress
, bam, sold out in a flash everywhere. This basic cream top crashed the maker's website with women clamoring to have it. A simple
dress
by
Reiss
languishing on racks before, but the minute it met
Kate
and the
Obamas
it disappeared.
Catherine
is even single-handedly credited with sparking a sudden revival, a craze, for nude pantyhose. And those nude
L.K. Bennett
pumps that carried
Kate
everywhere, well, soon you couldn't find them in stock anywhere. Amazing for the
fashion industry
.
You might call it the Middleton effect and it goes something like this:
All of the sudden all the girls were wearing nude pumps on their feet. And now you see them still in the middle of winter but, you know, with black tights, which doesn't necessarily work. So time to drop the nude pumps.
Ms. MARIELLA TANDY (Executive Retail Editor, Tatler):
None of these
are expensive items, but what she touches turns to retail gold. Look at this new
Wolford
ad not even showing
Kate
in
Wolford
clothes, it's just her style, their advertising. Now that is fashion power. In fact, now all the
Middleton
women, whether it's
Kate
's hair,
Pippa
's curves or mom
Carole
's elegance, are becoming real role models of
conservative
, regal, albeit safe, beauty.
KOSINSKI:
They're dressing in a very, you know, tame, elegant way, they're covered up, they look good.
Ms. TANDY:
So what fashion truths are these sudden style goddesses teaching us? That simple can be fabulous,
conservative
is sexy, taking care of yourself shows. Yes, they are millionaires, but you know what, they don't like to spend a fortune on their wardrobes, they wear the same things over again and they like to shop in some of the least expensive stores like this one. I mean, there are dresses in there for 30 bucks. The future queen herself has been known to hit the dressing rooms with everyone else, even use discount cards. Hey, if the result is looking like this, these ladies are emerging as icons of class that doesn't shout or brag, but speaks to women of all ages. And you don't even need a
red maple
leaf fascinator to pull it off. For TODAY,
Michelle Kosinski
, NBC News, London.
KOSINSKI:
Zanna Roberts Rossi
is the senior fashion editor for
Marie Claire magazine
. Good morning,
Zanna
.
CURRY:
Good morning.
Ms. ZANNA ROBERTS ROSSI:
I'm so glad -- thank goodness we've drawn the line at fascinators anyway.
CURRY:
Oh, my -- yes, we're over the fascinators.
Ms. ROSSI:
Ugh.
CURRY:
But we are on the nude pantyhose, as you saw.
Ms. ROSSI:
But see, I've been around -- I've been around so long -- maybe this is a sign of how old I am...
CURRY:
Oh, please.
Ms. ROSSI:
...I'm still wearing them from the first time they were a trend.
CURRY:
It's just an elegant sophisticated way to do it. And the girls -- I mean, sales are up 85 percent in the
UK
. It's incredible.
Ms. ROSSI:
All right. Fingernail polish even? Come on. Who is looking at
Kate
's fingernails when she was getting married?
CURRY:
This -- well, it was this color by
Essie
and it's called
Allure
. And now they've launched a whole collection for fall all based on the elegant sophisticated
Kate
.
Ms. ROSSI:
Meantime,
Kate
was wearing a red lace
dress
...
CURRY:
Yes.
Ms. ROSSI:
...that was such a
big hit
, and now that -- now there are lots and lots of mockups.
CURRY:
The trickle down. Exactly. I mean, this was only a couple of weeks ago, she wore it to a friend's wedding and we've seen it already. This is a
French Connection
version.
Ms. ROSSI:
Mm.
CURRY:
This is $168.
Kate
actually wore
Collette Dinnigan
, which was a beautiful
dress
, but this is also a great option.
Ms. ROSSI:
Fast Angela Lace
Dress
$168
French Connection
Red Dress:
And so a lot of these ideas that they're wearing...
CURRY:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. ROSSI:
...are cool enough or at least you can find them for a lot less money, including these kind of ankle boots that, what,
Pippa
wears?
CURRY:
Pippa
wears them.
Ms. ROSSI:
Pippa
wears.
Uh-huh
.
CURRY:
And
Pippa
's
a little bit more
adventurous with her fashion.
Ms. ROSSI:
Right.
CURRY:
She can be, she hasn't got the pressure of
Ms. ROSSI:
the......the royal family.
Being the duchess.
CURRY:
Exactly.
Ms. ROSSI:
Mm.
CURRY:
Aldo Shoes $130
Ankle Boot:
So she wears these with her cute little dresses and it gives her a bit of an edge. These are Aldo, 130.
Ms. ROSSI:
Also we're using kind of a more
conservative
basic bag.
CURRY:
A more
conservative
basic bag. But
Pippa
has three jobs, she's a busy working woman so she needs a
big bag
, but she keeps with that ladylike trend, which we're seeing move forward for fall.
Ms. ROSSI:
Jennifer Lopez Marie Dome Satchel, $83.30 Kohl's
Ladylike Bag:
Pippa
also moved us forward, she made a lot of headlines with the
red dress
that she recently wore.
CURRY:
Yes, indeed.
Ms. ROSSI:
And it inspired this version here.
CURRY:
This, absolutely. Now she wore a
Temperley
dress
, we saw her at the front row at the
Temperley
show, she's good friends with
Alice Temperley
. But we have this fabulous
Faviana
dress
.
Ms. ROSSI:
Faviana $240
Long Red Dress:
And it's just the trickle down, it's kind of insane.
Ms. ROSSI:
But that also -- you would think a
dress
, a
red dress
, a black tie kind of
dress
...
CURRY:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. ROSSI:
...would be a lot of money; you can actually get this for under $300?
CURRY:
Absolutely. This is $240.
Ms. ROSSI:
OK.
CURRY:
Faviana. And, you know,
Pippa
can wear things a little bit tighter,
a little bit more
skimpy, a little bit shorter, she kind of pushes it
a little bit more
than
Kate
.
Ms. ROSSI:
Because you -- because you can't really tell this in the back here -- I don't know if I can
turn this thing around
, but that she -- it actually has a big cut-out. Look, I'm doing this, I'm sure the props people are going crazy. But look, you can see this little cut-out.
CURRY:
They're sweating over here.
Ms. ROSSI:
Now -- I know, they are sweating. OK, let's move on. Now also, mom.
CURRY:
Mom.
Ms. ROSSI:
Carole
is doing -- making a bit of a splash with these little coats, which actually seem smart.
CURRY:
She's owning the
dress coat
.
Ms. ROSSI:
Uh-huh
.
CURRY:
She is 56 years old, she's extremely elegant and frump-free, and I think this is a great way to wear a fall trend. If you're going to wear it as a
dress
, then make sure it hits the thigh half-way.
Ms. ROSSI:
“ ”