Kate Middleton the Queen of Austerity

A Kiwi-designed dress has been a talking point of the Jubilee after Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, showed off her legs in the slim rose-coloured number.

But it wasn't the hemline that caused the world's fashion press to raise a perfectly plucked eyebrow. No, it was Kate's call to wear the same $2450 Emilia Wickstead dress for the second time in 11 days that caused titters of surprise.

The Duchess was pictured in the soft-pleated dress at a luncheon at Windsor Castle on May 18. Then she wore the same dress to a Buckingham Palace garden party to kickstart the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Kate, 29, has been labelled the "Queen of Austerity" in a nod to the dire economic times that the United Kingdom is experiencing.