The Duchess of Sussex's Daytime Fashion Part 3: September 2018 - June 2019


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iceflower

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Welcome to Part 3 of the thread for the Duchess of Sussex's Daytime Fashion!

You can find the old thread here:

** The Duchess of Sussex's Daytime Fashion Part 2: July 2018 - August 2018 **

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That illustration of Meghan at RAF is gorgeous!
 
It's a nice likeness actually. Clearly the waist proportion is slightly different in the illustration, but it's still an overall fab likeness. Fashion illustrations are usually formally stylized re body proportions in order to highlight the fashions being depicted. (..)
 
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The discussion whether the Duchess of Sussex feels comfortable with her body type or not has been deleted as off-topic. As mentioned above fashion illustrations play with exaggerations to highlight certain aspects, so we can leave it at that. Thank you!
 
Wow, the BRF must be full of rebels. Meghan is not the first to “break” any of those supposed rules. Neither will she be the last. The Queen better crack the whip, they are all rebelling against her. :lol:
 
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(..)

And this kind of article from the DF was inevitable, and exactly what I was afraid would be coming along. Theoretically, Meghan should be able to wear whatever clothes she wants, and patronize whatever designers she wants to. In her private life she can and should do exactly that. However, she is not a private citizen when she steps into the public eye as a representative of the BRF, and by extension, the UK. Eventually someone was going to notice that she doesn't seem to see any reason to patronize UK labels, and watching similar commentary in the past directed at other royal ladies, it was obvious that this was not going to be seen as a positive thing.

My frustration is that I really like Meghan. She's an interesting and talented woman, and she has a hugely engaging presence. Like many on these boards, I want her to do well, and I think she could be an enormous asset to the BRF. She is going to get her share of criticisms leveled at her, because all the royals do at one point or another, but: Wearing British/UK labels for Trooping and other major royal events, wearing local designers when she is on official business in Ireland, etc., is an easy PR gesture which is noticed, appreciated, and expected. She kind of flubbed that one, and she shouldn't have because it's such an easy fix. I feel as though she threw away the opportunity to score some easy PR points, and I also feel as though having a London-based stylist would help her avoid these kinds of errors.

All that said, I'm curious about how the DM arrived at the pound figure that they claim represents the amount of business generated by royal ladies when they wear a particular designer. Does anyone know if that is accurate?
 
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(..)

Ista said:
And this kind of article from the DF was inevitable, and exactly what I was afraid would be coming along. Theoretically, Meghan should be able to wear whatever clothes she wants, and patronize whatever designers she wants to. In her private life she can and should do exactly that. However, she is not a private citizen when she steps into the public eye as a representative of the BRF, and by extension, the UK. Eventually someone was going to notice that she doesn't seem to see any reason to patronize UK labels, and watching similar commentary in the past directed at other royal ladies, it was obvious that this was not going to be seen as a positive thing.

My frustration is that I really like Meghan. She's an interesting and talented woman, and she has a hugely engaging presence. Like many on these boards, I want her to do well, and I think she could be an enormous asset to the BRF. She is going to get her share of criticisms leveled at her, because all the royals do at one point or another, but: Wearing British/UK labels for Trooping and other major royal events, wearing local designers when she is on official business in Ireland, etc., is an easy PR gesture which is noticed, appreciated, and expected. She kind of flubbed that one, and she shouldn't have because it's such an easy fix. I feel as though she threw away the opportunity to score some easy PR points, and I also feel as though having a London-based stylist would help her avoid these kinds of errors.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more with you. Meghan appears to be a clever and intelligent woman, and can be a real asset to the BRF. It is particularly sad that she had scored this own goal in terms of clothing as she, as a foreigner, IMO, should be working doubly hard to be accepted in the UK and be seen as an ambassador for Britain. I only hope that this small step wrong is not symptomatic of a potentially bigger problem.

I also agree with you that a UK based stylist could well help her navigate her way through the fashion minefield that the early years as a royal can be. Several months in, I do hope she "gets it" and starts to wear British fashions.
 
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6154977/Why-Meghan-shunned-British-fashion.html

Another article ran by DM a few days ago, but with a much different take on it. And, wait for this...I actually happen to agree with most of this.

Bottom line is, Meghan is different from the other royals brides. She is foreign. She comes from a different background, and that includes a different fashion scene. It is what it is. Her difference is something that the BRF has chosen to celebrate rather than muffle. Some were concerned her being a feminist prior to marriage and stated that as a problem, but it was actually something the BRF highlighted. As much as some think she should work double time to be British, the wedding clearly chosen to highlight her heritage as well. Even the PoW joined in with the way the wedding invitation was printed.

Her take on sartorial diplomacy is slightly different than going straight for the label. While she wore a tartan coat by Burberry in Scotland (which some here mocked her for, btw), she wore a Theory top with the Prince of Wales Check. In Ireland, she landed in emerald green outfit with the earrings. That to me is actually more thoughtful than just pluck some Irish brands. And it didn't make her fashion the talking point. Coverage was actually focused on other aspects of the visit.

The insinuation when she was caught wearing Hunter boots and Barbour jackets was that she's trying to be British and she wore it wrong as it's for the country side. Never mind that those two brands actually have strong presence in North America. And those of us living in cities wore it for practical purposes. Never will forget the abuse she got for posting that picture of Guy wearing a Union jumper even though she has had that for years and it goes back to when Bogart was a puppy. That marked the end of her posting on IG regularly.

And I'm certain that if she wore all British brands, some of the same snarky comments about her trying to be British will appear.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Meghan supports buying local, but she's not going to just jump on something without actually knowing them. The biggest fashion winners are Canadian, and especially the brands she favored before this relationship. Mackage, Line The Label, Birks, Jason Wu (by his own account, they've worked together before), Sentaler, and so on. But that's after 7 years of living in Canada. She's been living in UK for less than a year. It's easy to forget sometimes and it may feel longer, but it hasn't even been a year since she's moved to London.

As for some have been complaining about the cost, I don't think it's that much deviated from other member of the BRF for similar events. It can get slightly more expensive sometimes when she wore a two piece suit rather than a one piece dress, but that's minor issue. The number of course if often boosted by counting reworn accessories, especially jewelry. And then of course some claims she never rewear stuff, which is absurd as the rewears started before she even married. Or that she doesn't pair low end with high end, again completely untrue. But that's a narrative some chose to paint.

As for negative press, GMAB. This has started well before the engagement.

Now I'm going to go wash off that feeling one gets after agreeing with DM.
 
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To me, the issue is Meghan always wants to be ‘fashion forward’ at all costs. Which was was fine when she lived a private life in relative obscurity.

Now in a new country and as a member of the royal family, you’d think she’d be doing everything to ingratiate herself to the people of Britain. Wearing Givenchy on the balcony at the RAF remembrance? Even the very pro monarchy Telegraph criticised her for that one.

And when you’re dealing in not small sums of money, the criticism is only going to grow.
 
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This is not about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the bad press they have gotten, all off-topic posts and comments have been removed. Thank you for your understanding!
 
Is it possible that she is wearing clothes she purchased during the period she was living in Canada after she and Harry came to an understanding? She knew she would need a more elaborate wardrobe, and she didn’t want to spend all her time dealing with “shopping” after she moved to London. And knowing that her “dress allowance” would be covered by the PoW after marriage meant that she could spend her own money freely. I imagine that the upcoming tour will mark a transition into a new phase of British brands.
Meghan has given up all of her old life, willingly (Harry has given up nothing but closet space!); she shouldn’t have to dump all her old clothes, too.
 
ladongas said:
Is it possible that she is wearing clothes she purchased during the period she was living in Canada after she and Harry came to an understanding? She knew she would need a more elaborate wardrobe, and she didn’t want to spend all her time dealing with “shopping” after she moved to London. And knowing that her “dress allowance” would be covered by the PoW after marriage meant that she could spend her own money freely. I imagine that the upcoming tour will mark a transition into a new phase of British brands.
Meghan has given up all of her old life, willingly (Harry has given up nothing but closet space!); she shouldn’t have to dump all her old clothes, too.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting speculation, and could be true, although I don't suppose we'll ever know for sure. I think this upcoming tour could be very illuminating. I have my fingers crossed that she gets the clothing issue right this time and shows a nice mix of her preferred designers as well as some local and some UK design houses.
 
I'm sure some of her clothing was purchased either pre-Harry or during their dating period.


LaRae
 
I meant that she had purposely bought some especially fine clothing in anticipation of her soon-to-be-Royal status. It’s possible the Buy British idea didn’t occur to her, and it’s unlikely Harry would have known to tell her. ‘Say, honey, you’re going to have to return the Valentinos and the Diors.’
Tempest in a teapot...
 
ladongas said:
I meant that she had purposely bought some especially fine clothing in anticipation of her soon-to-be-Royal status. It’s possible the Buy British idea didn’t occur to her, and it’s unlikely Harry would have known to tell her. ‘Say, honey, you’re going to have to return the Valentinos and the Diors.’
Tempest in a teapot...
Click to expand...

I understood what you were saying, and I think it is an interesting idea. She certainly had/has enough money to indulge herself in those kind of clothes if she chose.
 
I'm Team Meghan should wear what she wants, but I don't think much of her post-wedding wardrobe was purchased while she was still living in Canada. The Givenchy relationship clearly developed after the engagement announcement. And quite a few of the new outfits have been bespoke or adaptations from designer catalogues that have yet to be released to the public. She shopped her closet pretty extensively during the engagement appearances, less so since. Jewelry and accessories have been the exception.
 
Meghan wore more British brands,was recycling more and wore a good mix of high street and luxury brands and clothes relevant to the local region she was visiting during the engagement period (the tartan in Edinburgh, the top prince of wales check when she visited wales and huit denim jeans(a local welsh brand).

Her clothing strategy was much more sound, thoughtful and in-line to what we usually expect from the royals during the engagement period so no one was too bothered when she wore a bit more Canadian brands because you could tell she was putting in the effort to incorporate more British brands in her wardrobe but since the wedding this the careful thought and strategy seems to be completely lost.
 
My first thought is . . . it's the Daily Mail!

Meghan's innate style is part of who she is, just as each of us styles our wardrobe according to our wallets but seldom according to Made In My Country. But, there is no getting past how we dress being an external expression of our inner selves and Meghan is just the same. That is the woman she is and the woman that Harry fell in love with and married. I doubt he expects her to turn into a Catherine Clone.

With Sophie, Zara, Beatrice and Eugenie added to the mix I think it is not going to be easy for Meghan to find her niche and I can just hear the claims of imitating this or that royal, nasty comments when she does wear UK designers (who could forget the sarcastic sniping over her Burberry coat). I recently saw a short documentary about Autumn's transition and she talked about how different Canada was from the UK so I find Meghan's culture shock perfectly normal since pre-Canada she was a typical Californian girl.

At those levels, when she went out she dressed in different designers that suited her because there is no great insistence that an American Actress should wear Made in the USA and she was free to dress as Meghan Markle. When she married she got a wedding ring, not a personality transplant! She doesn't know who really makes what in the UK like the other royal women so she "plays it safe" and sticks to what she knows. The day she wears Erdem she will be accused of trying to outshine any or all of the royal women. Damned if she does, damned if she doesn't.

Personally, I am enjoying her fashion journey and will continue to watch with interest as she is introduced to more UK designers as well as Canadian and other Commonwealth ones as well. I really liked her Ireland tour wardrobe because it did not dominate and drown out the dialogue.
 
Actually, this makes sense that a lot of her fashions were bought previously in anticipation of the move to the UK. It used to be the norm that an engaged woman would shop and put together her trousseau in preparation for marriage.

She's only been married since May and most likely her working wardrobe on Charles' dime began then also. She's not going to instantly have British designers' clothing off the rack but its possible that as her engagement diary begins to fill up (and they're usually scheduled quite a ways in advance), ordering and being fitted for appropriate outfits also come into play. This would be the time to consider to highlight British fabrics and British designers or clothing appropriate to the occasion.

It takes a while. I don't think Meghan goes snuffling through the clothing departments in stores or orders outfits ready made online like a lot of us women do these days.

Give it time. :D
 
jacqui24 said:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6154977/Why-Meghan-shunned-British-fashion.html

Bottom line is, Meghan is different from the other royals brides. She is foreign. She comes from a different background, and that includes a different fashion scene. It is what it is.
Click to expand...

All of this, IMO, makes it that much more important for Meghan to be seen to be working for the British, and not just somebody who is willing to spend tens of thousands on international haute couture.

She is entitled to the "different fashion scene" in private, but whilst out representing the BRF, she really has no business to only wear foreign labels.

Its a simple own goal, and one she commits every time she steps out in her foreign clothes. If the DM numbers are right, 2/24, ie less than 10% of her clothes since the wedding have been from British fashion houses. Surely even her most die hard fans would see the point.
 
:previous: She’s worn more British accessories even though they don’t count that here, but will certain count that as clothing when rallying the cost.

As for clothing, there is value in her promoting Clare Waight Keller even though she works for a French house. Especially in the Brexit situation. I don’t think anyone would be against spread the good word about Britain to the rest of the world. Talents like CWK, who is raised and educated in Britain, is flying the British flag high abroad by being hired at such a high position in a historic house. Her success is not only tied to Givenchy, but a representation of the education she got in Britain.

That and Meghan seems to get less abuse when she doesn’t wear British, unfortunately. Some of us remember too well what has happened when she has worn Burberry or carried Mulburry bag or worn Hunter boots or Barbour jacket.
 
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Givenchy is 1000% French. That the designer happens to be British I don’t thing resonates much with people. If I buy a Ferrari, I’m buying an Italian sports car. If the CEO happens to be Canadian, it doesn’t make the car Canadian.

Meghan can wear what she wants and let chips fall where they may, sort of speak. The coverage won’t be positive though if she’s out there representing Britain in French and American designs.
 
:previous: Alexander McQueen is not British owned any longer and is currently one of Kering Holland NV brands and, until May this year, Stella McCartney was 50% owned by Kering Holland NV. SM purchased Kering's share back.

I think that if clothes designed by Clare Waight Keller don't pass the 'British' test then neither should those of Sarah Burton of McQueen's as both fashion houses are foreign owned.

I am quite sure that when Harry proposed to her one of the things they knew she would have to give up was not any clothes not made in the UK nor made by companies not owned by the UK. Amanda Wakely repurchased her brand back in 2009 and Stella McCartney only became the sole brand owner in May this year.
 
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Look, this clothing thing is a matter of time before she wears more British designers as she spends more time in UK. At least then you know she means it rather than just because she had to, which people would accuse of her if she wear a lot of British brands at the very beginning. She also likes the personal connection in an old school kind of way.

Anyways, if I had to say two of my favor British brands for her to wear in the future? Osman, one of my personal favorite brand. And if she ever thinks about wearing an Erdem again, she should think again, put it back, and go for a Richard Quinn.
 
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