Kate Middleton Sports Custom $675 Hat for Zara Phillips's Wedding [PHOTOS]

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is already known for her keen fashion sense, and her mastery of recycling looks from her own closet, but when it comes to hats, well, it seems the new royal is willing to spend a pretty penny.

At the wedding of Prince William's cousin Zara Phillips to Mike Tindall, Kate were a cream Collette Dinnigan French lace dress and Day Birger et Mikkelsen brocade coat, first worn in 2006 at the wedding of Laura Parker Bowles and Harry Lopes. She wore it a second time at the 2010 wedding of Mel Nicholson and Oli Baker.

But for Phillips's wedding, Kate accessorized her outfit with a brand new, bespoke hat by British milliner Gina Foster, People.com reported.

The natural straw coulis, called "Launceston Place," retails for about $675, and was customized by the duchess herself in a visit to the hat maker 10 days before the July 30 nuptials.

"She rang and asked to come in, then she tried a few on and we went from there," Foster said.

Kate arrived for the appointment alone and spent just 30 minutes in the boutique.

"She wanted something in a color to match her outfit," Foster said, who added that "she had her outfit and her bag with her" as she browsed the boutique. "There were people in the shop, but she just strolled in - she's a normal person I guess, she's very down-to-earth and polite."

She ultimately chose to customize the sculptural style with an additional flower fixed under the bow detailing.

"It's a slight departure from her normal hat style, but it's quite good to try different shapes. And for a wedding it's ester to wear something a bit more extravagant than you would wear for work," Foster said. "It was contemporary yet sophisticated."

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