Why Kate Middleton Is Avoiding Dresses for Princess Charlotte Until She's 1

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She’s only 4-and-a-half months old, but Princess Charlotte, the daughter of Kate Middleton and Prince William, has big fashion shoes to fill. Yet there’s one key piece missing from her stylish wardrobe: dresses.

Rachel Riley, Kate Middleton’s favorite children’s designer, told Peoplethat the little princess won’t wear dresses until she turns a year old on May 2, 2016. “Because they’re a traditional family, I’m sure that she’ll wear baby suits for the first year, and then only when she’s walking will she then move into dresses,” Riley told the magazine, adding, "Even in terms of separates, I don’t think she’ll be wearing separates until much later.”

It’s true that the only dress Princess Charlotte has been photographed wearing is a christening gown; when she was baptized on July 5, the tiny royal, then 9 weeks old, wore a replica of a 172-year-old christening gown (worn by her big brother Prince George for his 2013 baptism) made of Honiton lace and white satin. (The dress also made an appearance inofficial family photos published days after the ceremony). And in June when the royal family released adorable snaps of the brother-sister pair snuggling, Charlotte was dressed in an all-white onesie.

While the British monarchy doesn’t have an official dress code, tradition is an important theme in the royal family. Prince George has repeatedly stepped out dressed in outfits almost-identical to those his father, Prince William, wore when he was a young boy. “Continuity is the cornerstone of the British monarchy, and George’s clothes add a sense of history to a day steeped in royal custom and tradition,” CNN royal contributor Victoria Arbiter told Yahoo Parenting in July.

And while noting how similar Prince George’s outfit was to a much younger Prince Charles in a photo, public relations expert Mark Borkowski told the BBC, “There’s something rather beautiful in the fact that the pictures could have been taken in the 1920s, 1930s, in fact any decade up until the present day. It’s greatly reassuring. The duke and duchess are not trying to make a fashion statement, but to dress George timelessly. Could you imagine the outrage if they tried to make sure their children kept up with those of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian?”

Kate Middleton and Prince William haven’t commented on how they plan to dress their daughter, but they have been known to bend royal rules — William was present for the birth of both his children (unlike royal dads of past generations), and the couple allowed fans gathered outside Charlotte’s christening ceremony to take selfies (breaking a traditional ban on photography while royals attend church). Queen Elizabeth herself may have skirted the so-called dress rule — in August 2013, photos of a young Elizabeth were published online. In one shot, the future Queen, around 1 year old, was wearing a dress while learning to walk beside her mother at Balmoral Castle and Estate.

Children typically begin taking their first steps around their first birthday, although plenty begin walking a bit earlier or later, according to theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics. So while we’ll have to wait for photos of Charlotte wearing adorable dresses or matching mommy-and-me outfits with Kate, one thing is certain: The Princess Charlotte Effect is inevitable.Read more at:plus size prom dresses