Kate, Duchess of Cambridge: A fashionable royal year

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, in four fashion highlights from her first royal year.

/ Getty

(CBS) It's been a very fashion-forward year for the Duchess of Cambridge.

The former Kate Middleton, 30, has spent her first year as a member of the royal family (she and Prince William will celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Sunday) hitting stylish high notes in a mix of designer frocks and budget-friendly pieces.

Pictures: Kate's royal looks
Pictures: The Duchess of Cambridge
Pictures: Prince William and Kate
Timeline: Her first royal year

Kate's first royal fashion moment - and, perhaps, her most famous one - came on her wedding day, when Kate Middleton officially became Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Her wedding dress, which was kept top secret until just before the ceremony, was a satin and lace creation by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

Three of her other fashion highlights came courtesy of the British fashion house - a navy blue double-breasted coatdress she donned in June for her first military event, the flowing lilac gown with a white waistband she wore to the BAFTA gala in Los Angeles a month later and a floor-length black velvet number worn to the Sun Military Awards in December.

Other gowns that  fashion-lovers loved include the dusty pink, sequined Jenny Packham gown Kate donned for her first official post-wedding engagement in June 2011, and the black lacy Alice Temperley dress she wore to the London premiere of "War Horse" in January.

The duchess also stepped out in many outfits from more budget-friendly retailers, like British label Reiss and Spanish label Zara. Many of those items quickly sold out online after photos of Kate hit the Internet.

And, like anyone else, Kate has her fashion staples - and isn't afraid to recycle clothes. She's worn her trusty L.K. Bennett heels to a number of public events, and slipped into the same pair of J. Brand skinny jeans three times during her nine-day tour of Canada over the summer. The cream-colored Reiss dress she wore in her engagement photos also came to Canada, as did the black-and-white Issa wrap dress she wore while checking into London's Goring hotel the night before her royal wedding. And for Zara Phillips' wedding weekend, she wore two outfits - a cream-colored coat and a green Diane Von Furstenberg dress - that royal-watchers had seen her in before.

This week, the Duchess of Cambridge wrapped up her first royal year with a trio of looks - a gray, peplum dress by Matthew Williamson with colorful jeweled beading at a London film premiere, a blue Rebecca Taylor skirt suit and enamel poppy pin at an event honoring British servicemen and a charcoal Amanda Wakeley dress with a gold belt and matching earrings for a museum fundraiser.

Do you like Kate's style? Take a look through the gallery to see her looks from the past year and share your thoughts in the comments.

38 Photos

Kate's royal looks

[Molly-Pchr]

Queen Kate. Has a nice ring to it.

[rwsmith29456]

Kate is the first English royal I've seen that doesn't wear ugly-a$$ clothes.

[pwgrant]

"marred"?! Nice sarcasm!
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Duchess of Cambridge mixes high fashion with budget-friendly labels in the year since she marred Prince William

[Bryon_Evans]

How many sweet articles on British Royalty does CBS think it will take before the US people will finally be ready for the truth that we have always been a part of The Commonwealth? Or is this fascination with Kate not about cramming a Dark Ages Aryan Brotherhood concept of Elites and Peasants down our throats?

[tmonta67]

Wow, someone needs a cuppa. One lump or two? Relax, I'm talking sugar.