Fashion to fore as Cambridge hits Oxford

THE “Kate-factor” was at play yesterday when the Orla Kiely dresscoat worn by the Duchess of Cambridge on a visit to a school sold out on the designer’s website within minutes of it being seen on television.

The brown dove-patterned garment with buttons, long sleeves and a pleated skirt, which was on sale for £162.50, reducedfrom £325, was snapped up in every size following an “absolute frenzy” on the website, said a spokeswoman for the London-based Irish designer.

She also wore a £250 pair of brown suede Aquatalia ankle boots which were seeing their first public outing since she wore them last year during her first royal engagement with Prince William in Anglesey.

The Duchess, making her second solo public appearance, was visiting a group of children receiving art therapy from The Art Room, one of the charities she supports.

During the trip to Rose Hill Primary School in Oxford, the Duchess also revealed the name of the puppy she and Prince William acquired before Christmas. She told the children that the four-month-old cocker spaniel’s name was Lupo – Italian for wolf. It is believed that Lupo’s father is a pet owned by the Duchess’s mother, Carol Middleton.

Lupo is thought to live with the Duke and Duchess at their home in Anglesey, where Prince William is normally based. He is currently working as an RAF search and rescue co-pilot in the Falkland Islands.

The Duchess became patron of The Art Room in the new year.

Gifts are normally presented at the end of a royal visit but two youngsters gave the duchess an apron emblazoned with “Miss Catherine”, some dog treats for Lupo and a bouquet of cream- coloured roses.