After the Duchess of Cambridge wore a dress by British label Reiss to meet Michelle Obama in Buckingham Palace, traffic on the label's website jumped 500 percent, a Reiss spokesperson told Fashionista. "Traffic to Reiss’s site, though Kate’s dress is still sold out online, remains up 200%," Fashionista adds, though it's unclear as to what the traffic is up from — the day before Kate wore the dress? She's worn Reiss since getting engaged to Prince William, therefore making everyone care deeply enough about her outfits to prompt these traffic spikes, so it would seem hard to assess a K-Mid-approved label's typical daily traffic these days, but we digress.

The (obvious) point is, things Kate wears are selling out quickly. Another person who has this effect on clothes is Michelle Obama, however it's probably impossible to say at this early juncture in Kate's Duchess-ship who has a greater effect on sales. Fashionista notes that the yellow outfit Michelle Obama wore on the Tonight show caused a 64 percent spike in traffic to J.Crew's site, which of course does not prove that Kate has a greater effect on clothing sales, or public interest in certain labels, than our FLOTUS. But hopefully the Harvard Business School smarties are working on the Kate Middleton equivalent of their wonderful Michelle Obama study. If they need assistance in tracking her outfits, we are here for them!

Kate Middleton Sells a Dress a Minute: How Does the Duchess’s Selling Power Stack Up to Mrs. O’s [Fashionista]