CopyKate!

Dressing like your mother is usually a fashion no-no. But when that mother is the elegant Carole Middleton, it’s a little hard to resist.

The Duchess of Cambridge, however, doesn’t just share Mummy’s sense of style. She apparently shares her clothes as well.

According to well-placed sources, the thrifty Kate frequently raids her 56-year-old mother’s wardrobe when she needs a special little something.

Last time she rifled though the rails, she came up with this raspberry lace dress.

The £650 Collette Dinnigan design was just perfect for the friend’s wedding the new Duchess, 29, attended in September. She added a pillbox hat and 4in Prada black heels to make the look her own.

Carole Middleton had looked equally stunning when she wore the dress her own way in 2009 for the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. A jaunty Jane Corbett blue fascinator is another winner with both mother and daughter.

Kate wore it to the wedding of Nicholas van Cutsem, one of William’s closest friends, while Carole tried it on for size at Royal Ascot.

When off-duty, the duchess and her mother are also cut from the same cloth. Skinny jeans tucked into knee-high leather boots and billowy white shirts are family favourites for casual days.

Kate’s influence on fashion is soaring but she is keen not to be seen as simply a clothes horse. So keen, in fact, that she has barred staff from releasing details of her outfits.

Could it be she just doesn’t want the world to know her real style secret? Don’t worry Kate, Mum’s the word! - Daily Mail