In the past year, Kate Middleton has become a wife, a Duchess and, now, a certified[2] fashion icon with real market power. In fact, Kate has been named the top beauty icons of 2011, by the UK Superdrug chain.

Kate is a photographer’s dream. Everywhere she goes she steals the spotlight with her elegant style and fashion sense as paparazzi and onlookers clamor to get a picture of her.[3]

Kate captivated audiences around the world with her dream-like wedding and gown, and some would argue she upstaged the Obamas when the President and First Lady Michelle visited Buckingham Palace.[4]

Kate has quickly become a fashion role model to many women. Some are even calling it “the Kate effect.” A number of clothes have sold off the shelves after the duchess has been photographed wearing them including the blue wrap Issa dress she wore for her engagement.

She has already taken on an unofficial role as a champion of the British fashion industry, wearing the creations of British designers at home and abroad, showcasing their work in the best possible light.[5]

Yet she is wise to avoid the trap of letting celebrity go to her head, resisting all kinds of girlie[6] temptations such as free designer clothes and opportunities to be photographed and airbrushed to perfection for the cover of the world’s top fashion magazines.

Vocabulary

1. icon: 偶像，代表人物。

2. certified: 公認的。

3. steal the spotlight: 搶風頭；paparazzi: （四處追逐名人的）攝影記者，狗仔隊；onlooker: 旁觀者；clamor: 強烈要求。

4. captivate: 迷住，使入迷；upstage: 搶……的鏡頭。

5. champion: 支持者，擁護者；showcase: 展示，使亮相。

6. girlie: （女人或女孩）行為愚蠢的。

（來源：英語學習雜志）