Pippa Middleton at Harrods/Brummel party for explorer Tom Avery
Preppy Pippa Middleton
Today I had been planning to go to Stockholm to see some friends and soak up the atmosphere before Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding, but I decided to be responsible instead, save money and hang around London. (I spent the day doing extremely tedious but necessary work, lest you think my entire existence consists of traveling and spas. Only on alternate days. We kid!)
I ended up having a (semi) royal experience of an entirely different kind: a friend dragged me to Harrods for a Brummel magazine party celebrating dashing explorer Tom Avery and his recent book To The End of the Earth, which chronicles his journey as the youngest Briton (and part of the fastest team ever) to reach the South Pole. (Incidentally, Tom is also one of only 41 people to ever conquer both the South Pole and the North Pole. Underachiever, that one.)
Lo and behold, who shows up 10 seconds after me but Kate Middleton’s younger sister Pippa Middleton! (So we saw the Queen on Sunday and Pippa on Tuesday. Might we garner a Wills ’n Kate run-in by Saturday? Fingers crossed.) Pippa was with a gorgeous, impeccably groomed blond guy, who I spotted even before she arrived. (He was neither Charlie Gilkes, who she was rumored to be dating–though I’m not sure if it’s still on–nor Ali Spencer-Churchill, George Percy, Ed Horner, JJ Jardine Paterson, Sam Branson, nein, nein, nein…) She wore an outfit that can only be described as classic prepster: fitted navy blazer, white knee-length cotton skirt, brown belt, navy loafers, gold aviator glasses perched on top of her head, and a single gold ring on her middle finger. (Yes. Clearly I was staring.)
[For those who care about the other breathless details, she's surprisingly tall--I was standing about 6 inches behind her, and pegged her as at least 2 inches above my 5' 6"--and extremely, resolutely, very slender. With the exception of too-heavily-rimmed eyes and a deep nut-brown tan that ages her, she's quite pretty and is exceedingly better-looking and cuter than in photos.]
Her friend waved her over, fetched her a glass of champagne, and together they listened quietly with the rest of the attendees as Tom recounted his survival stories, showed photos from his expeditions, and cracked jokes about getting lost in Antarctica and having to ask for directions. (Did you know there’s a gift shop at the South Pole? No, really.) Pippa and her friend stayed for an entire hour on the edge of the small crowd, drinking champagne and nibbling canapes and waiting to leave until after the grand prize raffle was announced: a trip to the Verdura Golf Resort in Sicily, owned by hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, who I interviewed over cocktails last month.
I hated myself for snapping this surreptitious cell phone shot of Pippa Middleton...but I did it anyway.
Then, with copies of Tom’s book tucked under their arms, they grabbed gift bags and slipped out the back door of Harrods onto Hans Road, setting off for whatever adventures might await the sister of the future Queen and a well-dressed blond toff on a cozy June night.
:Jazz-hands: London!
Pippa's navy blazer gave me serious preppy style envy
Update (11/17/2011): In retrospect, Pippa’s mystery man might have been Alex Loudon–who she just broke up with–but I don’t think it was him. The week after I wrote this piece, I had drinks with a friend, who told me that her boyfriend’s very good friend (Alex Loudon) was dating Pippa Middleton. I immediately looked him up on my Blackberry–this was nearly 3 months before any newspapers were reporting the news–and I didn’t recognize him as the same guy. Still, memory is obviously fickle and it was a full week later…
Tags: Brummel magazine, Crown Princess Victoria, Harrod's, Kate Middleton, Pippa Middleton, Pippa Middleton and Alex Loudon, Pippa Middleton and George Percy, Pippa Middleton clothes, Pippa Middleton fashion, Pippa Middleton style, Pippa Middleton's boyfriend, Sir Rocco Forte, SOCIALITES, To The End of the Earth, Tom Avery, Verdura Golf Resort in Sicily
June 15th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Very cool! She looks older than Kate in this pic.
April 23rd, 2011 at 7:38 am
both the sisters have a tendency to rim their eyes too starkly.
June 4th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
All the women in her immediate family are stunners with enviable figures.
June 12th, 2011 at 3:24 am
Sure am thinking they are blessed
June 30th, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Could she *please* wax her brows more like Kate’s?