Kate Middleton, who recently celebrated her 32nd birthday and returned from a family vacation on the Caribbean island of Mustique, is staying busy by preparing for a trip to Australia, penning a foreword to a new book, and generally being a fashion icon admired around the world.

Not all admire Kate’s latest style, however. According to British Press, the Queen recently requested that Kate lengthen her hemline, saying Kate will “deploy a couture wardrobe of day dresses with lower hemlines than she has previously favored” during her stay in Australia. Does this mean that Kate, who will no doubt obey the Queen’s wishes and keep her dresses to her knees, will be starting a new fashion trend, making knee-length be the newest thing? Well, according to International Business Times, eBay has already seen a 30% decrease in searches for above-the-knee dresses and skirts, a likely indicator of the influence of the Queen’s wishes and of Kate’s fashion icon status.

RIP Kate Middleton's knees, 1982-2014: http://t.co/wp3IEhQgfX pic.twitter.com/Plruiv5u92

— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) February 8, 2014

The iconic, “doll-like” image of Kate, beloved by many, has also seen its share of scrutiny. Mary Beard, a classicist professor at Cambridge, recently spoke out against Kate’s “constructed object of admiration.” “In part, she has constructed it herself,” Beard says. In her marriage to Prince William in 2011, she has “taken on a job,” and is constantly idolized in a beauty-obssessed society. Beard says this construction comes from centuries-old, sexist restrictions on women’s roles in public life – with females only seen as having beautiful, domestic bodies. This perhaps is what inspired the Queen’s desire for a longer hemline: an plea for Kate to fall in line with the traditional, ideal image of a woman.

Kate Middleton has the best style #class pic.twitter.com/fwUj9JL4jR

— Brish (@Brishkai123) February 8, 2014

What do you think of Kate’s style? Do you think she’s a fashion-forward icon, or more of a construction of traditional, sexist roles? Respond and let us know!

Image via Wikimedia Commons