Babe Alert! Kate Middleton Wears Lace Dolce & Gabbana Dress

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attends a creative industry event to celebrate cultural collaboration between the UK and China at Lancaster House in London, England. Photo: Getty Images

If you’ve followed Kate Middleton’s journey from St. Andrews college student to the Duchess of Cambridge, then you’re well aware of her fashion transformation from co-ed to royal. But for those just tuning in, here’s the short and sweet version: Like any university pupil, she preferred jeans and sweatshirts and one time modelled in a friend’s fashion show wearing a sheer mini dress. After graduation, she cleaned out her closet and turned prim and proper, into the charity-doer she is today. At 35, she could share clothes with her mother instead of her younger sister Pippa, preferring coat dresses and skirt suits over fresh-off-the-runway designs on which she’d certainly have first dibs. But on Wednesday, October 21, Kate brought sexy back.

In honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, the Duchess of Cambridge ditched Reiss, Temperley London, and L.K. Bennett for one of the sexiest Italian brands of all time. Following a state dinner to which she wore a bespoke red gown from Jenny Packham and the Lotus Flower tiara (which she’d already worn before), Middleton woke up the next day tired of being basic. She had coffee instead of tea, spiced up her English breakfast with Siracha, and slipped into a sexy little lace dress by Dolce & Gabbana.

At a creative industry event to celebrate cultural collaboration between the UK and China at Lancaster House where Aston Martins were on display, the Duchess wore possibly the sexiest piece she’s worn since inheriting her title. The burgundy Dolce & Gabbana number is $3,175, and while it features a high neck and a hemline that hits right above the knee, the lace revealed more skin than gloomy London’s seen in a long time. She matched her accessories — suede Gianvito Rossi heels and a Mulberry envelope clutch — to the dress and wore large diamond drop earrings. Her bangs were pushed to the side, her blowout styled perfectly, and her sapphire engagement ring on full display.

Foreign dignitaries need to visit more often. Hear that, Justin Trudeau?

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.