THE 33 BEST THINGS KATE MIDDLETON HAS EVER DONE

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For over three decades, birthday girl Kate Middleton has blessed the planet with her funny faces, chic outfits, and beyond-words-adorable spawn (baby #2 will continue this, calling it). But in the midst of all these gifts, there are some superlative moments. 

In honor of the Duchess's 33rd birthday today, we recognize and rank them. Below, the best things Kate has done in the spotlight, each as glorious as a single curled strand of her iconic locks.

33. Wore grass as a brooch and made it glamorous. 

32. Fan girled while meeting J.Crew's Jenna Lyons.

31. Arrived in New Zealand as the chicest flight attendant ever (carrying Prince George as an accessory only helped!)

30. Rocked a powder blue, high leg slit dress that basically turned her into a pregnant Elsa from Frozen.

29. Actually got mistaken for "the princess from Frozen" by preschoolers she met in New York. (Who could blame them?)

28. Established the ponytail as the second best royal bump. First is baby bump, of course.

27. Executed a perfect Baywatch run in Australia.

26. Wore Blair Waldorf's dress better.

25. Had a twinsie moment with Mindy Kaling.

Lana Del Rey’s Big Week: The Golden Globes, the Governors Ball, and a New Album

If Lana Del Rey was everywhere in 2014 after the release of last summer’sUltraviolence, it looks like 2015 is poised to be just as big for the pop star. In the very first full week of the new year, there is a flurry of fresh Lana news that should have her fans freaking out for the next twelve months.

Details on a new album, Honeymoon

Though you’d imagine that Lana would need a breather after 2014’s emotionally heavy, highly successful album, Ultraviolence, she told Billboard this week that a new album is nearly ready and on its way, and tentatively named Honeymoon.(Can you imagine a more Lana-esque title?) She says she has nine songs written and is “looking for a few more songs to tie everything together.” There are few concrete details, but she has said that she’ll be including a cover of Nina Simone’s version of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” which sounds like something of a coda to the re-do of Simone’s take on “The Other Woman” on Ultraviolence.

Headlining the Governors Ball

Hot on the heels of the announcement of her 2015 Endless Summer tour withCourtney Love came news that Lana will be headlining this summer’s Governors Ball music festival in New York, which has an incredible lineup. She debuted a new song from Ultraviolence at last year’s Coachella. Will this be the venue where we get to hear unheard tracks from Honeymoon? Be ready, Lana fans: Tickets go on sale on Friday.

After this Sunday’s Golden Globes, are the Oscars next?

Lana scored a Golden Globe nomination for her contribution to the soundtrack of Tim Burton’s Big Eyes. But many will be looking at how she fares at this Sunday’s awards as a harbinger of things to come: After her contribution to The Great Gatsby, “Young and Beautiful,” was not nominated at last year’s Oscars, her fans are hoping she scores a nomination—and win—at this year’s Academy Awards.

Gisele Bundchen Is Barefoot in Paris for New Chanel Campaign

Chanel can make anything—even walking barefoot through grime-y city streets—seem chic. Case in point? Karl Lagerfeld's spring 2015 campaign for the maison, starring Gisele Bündchen.

Lagerfeld photographed Bündchen wandering the deserted streets of Saint Germain-des-Prés, pausing at iconic locations like...

Café de Flore, a spot you'll find packed with fashion editors during Paris fashion week.

Café de Flore, a spot you'll find packed with fashion editors during Paris fashion week.

Donatella Versace Says Madonna's Ads (and Abs) Were Not Retouched

Madonna fronts the new spring/summer 2015 Versace campaign—her third set of RTW ads for the fashion brand (she previously posed back in 1995, and in 2005, if you notice a pattern happening). And while she's not the oldest face to land a major campaign this season, her age is proving to be a talking point, because she looks good at 56 years old. 

Suspiciously good, some would argue, given the long-standing tradition of copious retouching and other Photoshop trickery in fashion imagery. But that's not so, says Versace designer Donatella Versace. In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (translated by Glamour), Donatella said that Madonna "did not have her abdomen or arms retouched." She then muddies the waters a little by saying, "I believe that there were only the set and the filters and the rest," because the phrase "the rest" could mean a lot of things in the fashion photography business (i.e. very generous lighting). 

But still, Madonna was apparently much less hassle than, say, Lady Gaga, who fronted Versace ads last year. For Gaga and her team, "the final approval of the photo was a melee." As it happens though, Gaga's newest fashion campaign (for Japanese beauty brand Shiseido) is going to be all selfies, and there's only so many filters you can throw onto an Instagram snap.

The 10 Best Books of 2014

Perhaps no novel this year was more feverishly anticipated—or more frequently stolen from my desk—than Elena Ferrante’s Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (Europa), the third installment of the enigmatic Italian author’s Neapolitan novels, which tell a single story with the possessive force of an origin myth. Now in their 30s, the two women at its center—a writer losing her way; a defiant former classmate drawn into a revolutionary movement—face the consequences of their limited choices, raising issues of ambition and identity, creativity and desire.

An immigrant story like no other, Akhil Sharma’s memoir-like second novel,Family Life (Norton), follows a family from India to America, where tragedy soon derails their dreams. Written in the kind of prose that gets under your skin and never really leaves, it’s also the story of how a writer is made.

Based on Margaret Mead’s experience in 1930s New Guinea, Lily King’s brainy and sensuous Euphoria (Atlantic) spins a love triangle in the bush. Wearing her research lightly, King reveals a startlingly vulnerable side to Mead, suggesting an elegant parallel between novelist and archeologist: In scrutinizing the lives of others, we discover ourselves.

Put on Your Party Pants: Meet the Season’s Chic Answer to the Cocktail Dress

Put on Your Party Pants: Meet the Season’s Chic Answer to the Cocktail Dress

We all know the cocktail dress—it’s reliable, it’s flirty, it hits just above the knee—but this season, it’s time to meet the cocktail pant (and take a pair out to a holiday party). For those instantly picturing a pair of black tuxedo pants with a silk stripe down the side, think again. Just like there’s more to party dressing than a little black dress, there are more party-ready pants out there than just your standard LBPs. Take, for example, a pair of Seafarer flared velvet pants. True, they’re black, but the dramatic silhouette and soft, shiny fabric will make everyone else look twice. Flares are in again, and why not declare it to the world (or at least the room) by reminding your fellow revelers how good a little extra fabric at the ankle looks swaying on the dance floor? If, however, it’s a seventies look with a more modern silhouette you’re after, try Suno’s silk-satin paisley tapestry trousers. Style them with a silk blouse with a tie, and if you’re feeling particularly inspired (or cold), you can layer a pair of bright tights underneath them to add a pop of color at your feet. For a more black-tie-appropriate take, No. 21’s embellished, cropped brocade pant has metallic texture that would dress up even a white T-shirt for formal occasions (with a diamond necklace, why not?). J.Crew also has a pair of cropped gold sequined pants that not only provide armor from the cold, but may have the cocktail dress beat when it comes to flirt factor (“Stay golden, boys!”). The flashy sequins also mean you can keep it simple on top; they do all the “I’m dressed up!” work for you. And finally, if you’re still stuck deciding what to wear to your office party, Elizabeth and James’s blue-and-red striped trousers just might be your day-to-night answer (wearing them with a metallic loafer will give the lookAnnie Hall pep with evening elegance), and Adam Lippes makes a pair of dressed-up-denim pants with a slim cut and black cord drawstring waist that you can take out on the town. Adding to the inherent chicness of the cocktail pant, you won’t have to wear tights or brave bare legs in the cold, and thinking of ways to style your new pair will give you the perfect excuse to scroll through photos of Tilda Swinton on the red carpet. When it comes to a party pant, she is the master, and call us crazy, but it always looks like she’s having the most fun of the night, too.

Meet the New Wave of Chic Starlets to Watch in 2015

Meet the New Wave of Chic Starlets to Watch in 2015

Alicia Vikander in Louis Vuitton

The Swedish stunner made a splash with roles in Anna Karenina and The Fifth Estate, but it's her fashion acumen that makes her a star on the rise. Expect to see her making waves on the front row at Fashion Week too, as her new movies Ex Machina and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., roll out.