A Closer Look at Kate Middleton's New Bangs

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Kate Middleton is back to smiling, waving, hand-shaking, and negotiating after a summer of maternity leave. On her first solo official visit without Princess Charlotte, she attended a meeting with an exec of the Anna Freud Center, a charity geared toward young people with mental health issues, wearing an appropriately professional-looking Ralph Lauren shirt dress. Whether by chance or intentionally, Ralph Lauren's New York Fashion Week show also went down this morning, so it's a nice signal of support from across the Atlantic. Moms! They're multi-taskers!

With the new appearance comes a new look.The Duchess of Cambridge caused a stir by driving to church with vaguely different hair this past Sunday. The hair was bangs, though, and nothing causes a stir like princess bangs. These bangs in particular are certainly more stir-worthy than those are-they-aren't-they bangs of 2012. They're definitely bangs, although they're not as bang-y as some bangs out there: While there's no gradual layering crutch to lean on here, plenty of forehead shines through. They're medium lowkey bangs, or "cool mom bangs." Here's a closer look:

And closer:

Still closer:

And even closer: