Kate Middleton wore a 175 pound high-street dress to meet President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace yesterday (24th May 2011), sparking an online fashion frenzy, reports Marie Claire. Kate Middleton, who often chooses high-street brands over high-fashion labels, donned the Shola taupe creation for the President's official visit to London.
After photographs of the Duchess chatting with the First Lady surfaced online, fashion commentators were quick to identify the 'Reiss' dress and fans immediately flocked to the shop's online store. Within minutes the dress had sold out and the store's website was seemingly down for around two hours. A brand spokesman blamed "unprecedented traffic" for the crash and promised to get the site running as soon as possible saying, tweeting, "Due to unprecedented demand, Shola mania has crashed our website! We are endeavouring to bring the Reiss brand back to you Asap!" It is the second time that Middleton has chosen the brand for a high profile official appearance - she wore a Reiss dress for her official engagement photo-shoot with Mario Testino back in 2010. Kate has also been spotted wearing pieces from high-street stores such as LK Bennett, Whistles, and Zara.
Kate Middelton married Prince William in the Royal Wedding on 29th April 2011. The couple have recently returned from their honeymoon in the Seychelles.