Kate Middleton's Obsession with Bows This Year Has a Symbolic Meaning

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"She has really gone back to a very authentic Kate — a sense of her being true to who she really is," Bethan Holt tells PEOPLE

Kate Middleton has been embracing bows in her wardrobe this year, and it certainly hasn't gone unnoticed.

Since stepping out at Trooping the Colour in June — her first appearance after announcing her cancer diagnosis in March — Kate has chosen to add a feminine bow of varying size, color and fabric to her looks this year. And the royal-approved styling hack is as chic as it is clever.

"Over the last year, the bow is the one accessory that she's repeatedly added and it's totally transformed previous outfits into something that looks quite different," Bethan Holt, fashion director at the Telegraph, tells PEOPLE, adding of her My Fair Lady-inspired look for the annual military parade: "It was a safe option but she had fun with it, upcycling it with the bow."

The white dress with black trim from Jenny Packham that Kate previously wore to a pre-coronation lunch last May was upcycled into a very different look with a simple, jaunty striped statement bow on the neckline.

"It was a piece she already had in her wardrobe and she clearly felt very comfortable in it," adds Holt.

The same could be said of a Whistles polka dot dress Kate rewore on a surprise visit to Southport in October. For this outing, she refashioned the belt of the dress into an understated chic bow at the neckline. Then, for Remembrance Sunday in November, Kate chose a previously worn coatdress from Catherine Walker & Co. which had been discreetly altered by the couture house to feature a sumptuous black velvet tie at the collar.

"I think bows are a bit of a perennial in lots of ways, but there is definitely a bow trend at the moment and she's doing it in her own way," says Holt, who notes that while Kate didn't accompany Prince William to the Earthshot Prize Awards in South Africa in November (where sustainable fashion was a big theme), upcycling with the addition of a simple bow is a clever way to send a more serious message.

"I think she is trying a more sustainable way of dressing. She already has a vast and extensive wardrobe, so why shouldn't she be looking for ways to take existing pieces and re-imagine them?" says Holt, author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style, adding: "And a bow is a very democratic, universal way to do that."

And the royal proves it can be budget-conscious too. To host her annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey earlier this month she fastened a $25 velvet bow from the British retailer Jigsaw (for whom she used to work) onto her much-loved red Alexander McQueen coat.

"I think it also nods to William's message about sustainability and his Earthshot project. He went to South Africa and did this whole week of wearing sustainable clothes and really making a big point of it, whereas this is a really relatable way of sending the same message, ie: wear what you already own and add one small thing to transform the look," says Holt.

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There does seem to be a softer, feminine theme emerging in her style choices this year that may or may not be intentional.

"We haven't seen much of her for obvious reasons, but in the few glimpses we have seen, she has really gone back to a very authentic Kate — a sense of her being true to who she really is," Bethan says.