Hear ye, New York women! If you want to dress like Kate Middleton, your fairy tale is about to come true — one of the Duchess of Cambridge’s favorite stores, L.K. Bennett, is finally opening its own palace in NYC on Saturday.
Located at the Shops at Columbus Circle, in the Time Warner Center, the 2,100-square-foot flagship will be one of L.K. Bennett’s largest stores, and the first stand-alone mecca for the brand in the city.
PHOTOS: HOW TO SCORE KATE MIDDLETON’S LOOK
The duchess has acted as unofficial spokesnoble for the brand ever since she started courting Prince William years ago. While there are no glass slippers on offer, L.K. Bennett makes a 4-inch nude pump that will make any girl feel like a royal. Called the Sledge, Middleton has worn the shoe everywhere from weddings to official outings, and now ordinary subjects get a chance to try it on and buy it — for the princely sum of $345.
“Kate Middleton really did put the nude pump on the map,” says Avril Graham, executive fashion and beauty editor at Harper’s Bazaar.
“It was a good summer choice for someone in the public eye that has official duties and has to have something fashion-forward but also duty-appropriate.”
You can treat yourself to other buys, like the red sandals Kate donned for a polo match. A similar style will be available here for $395. And the black patent raffia wedges Kate wore on the days before and after her wedding? The shoes — which were nicknamed “The Kate” for one season after L.K. Bennett reissued them — could soon be yours for $285.
With prices averaging between $245 and $595 for jackets and dresses, L.K. Bennett is also known for chic clothing that transitions from day to night. Fashionistas compare the “mid-market” label to Anne Klein — a classic, stylish label with prices that are high but don’t blow the budget.
“[They make] a shoe that goes with everything,” says Eleanor Strauss, senior fashion editor at Lucky magazine.
Originating in 1990 as a London accessories shop, L.K. Bennett added clothes to the line in 1998, but still draws about 60 percent of its sales from handbags and shoes, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Crowned “the queen of the kitten heel,” L.K. Bennett is now a worldwide brand.
And just like with other British labels such as Reiss and Issa, the Middleton effect has worked a spell on L.K. Bennett’s profits. “She has accelerated sales for us — when she does wear something, it always seems to go on a waiting list,” says L.K. Bennett’s US president, Tony DiMasso, who hopes to open a shop on Madison Avenue. (In addition to stores in Chicago, Atlanta and Houston, the retailer operates a concession at the Bloomingdale’s Lexington Avenue flagship.)
The Sledge is a prime example of Middleton’s Midas touch. When Nordstrom started selling L.K. Bennett shoes online for the first time a couple of weeks ago, the model sold out in two days. “We get it in, and it sells right out,” DiMasso says. Fashion experts say the working women of Gotham will fall in love with L.K. Bennett’s pretty, practical fashions.
“I think the reason [L.K. Bennett] is associated with the royals is because it offers an understated, anonymous sense of chic,” says Harper’s Bazaar’s Graham.
“It’s elegant — just right for the occasion — but you don’t know where it’s from.”
Now the only accessory you need is a prince.