Royal fans knew that Kate Middleton would not be attending many events this year due to cancer treatments. But then sharp-eyed fans noticed something about the outfits at the events that Princess Kate Middleton attended: many of them incorporated ribbons.

Bethan Holt, fashion director of The Telegraph, explained in an interview with People that there may be a deeper meaning behind the ribbons.

“Over the past year, ribbons have been an accessory she has added repeatedly, transforming previous outfits into something completely different,” Holt said, calling Kate's look in June's “Trooping the Colour” a “safe choice,” but adding, “She had fun upcycling with ribbons. cycle and have fun with it,” he added.

The outfit was a white dress with black trim by Jenny Packham that Kate wore to a pre-coronation luncheon last May. Adding a bow to the neckline of that dress gave it a whole new look.

“It was already in her wardrobe, and she obviously felt very comfortable in it,” Holt said of Kate's re-wear of the dress.

As People noted, Kate continued her trend of adding ribbons to past looks and re-wearing them throughout the year; during a surprise visit to Southport in October, the royal tied the belt of her dress as a ribbon at the neckline, adding a twist to the Whistles polka dot dress The dress was worn again.

In November, Kate re-tied her Catherine Walker coat dress with a gorgeous black velvet bow for Remembrance Sunday.

Earlier this month, at the “Together at Christmas” concert at Westminster Abbey, Kate wore a red Alexander McQueen coat that she had worn before, along with an affordable $25 velvet coat from British retailer (and Kate's former employer) Jigsaw (the company she used to work for ) with an affordable $25 velvet ribbon.

The royal family also incorporated ribbons into the first day of the King of Qatar's visit to the U.K., adding a bow to his hat and accessorizing his bright purple dress at Wimbledon in July with a green and purple ribbon pin.

“I think ribbons are a bit long-standing in many ways, but there is definitely a trend for ribbons now, and she is doing it in her own way,” explains Holt, author of Ten Years of the Duchess of Cambridge: The Earth in South Africa in November. Schott Awards ceremony, which she attended with her husband, Prince William. Sustainable fashion was a major theme of the event, and many of Kate's bowing moments came in outfits she has worn to other events in the past.

“She already has a vast and extensive wardrobe, so why not find a way to take existing items and reimagine them?” she said, calling ribbons “a very democratic and universal way.”

“I think it goes back to William's message of sustainability and his EarthShot project. He went to South Africa and spent a week wearing sustainable clothing and made a big show of it.