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

[muriel]

The tour was a nice short first tour the only thing that disappointed me in this tour was the lack of Irish designers. When she did her regional tour pre-wedding we saw her incorporate brands from the local region.

Wearing a green outfit by a French designer is very superficial form of sartorial dressing compared to wearing any piece by an Irish designer that's any colour of the rainbow

It's a very simple and small gesture that means a lot to local brands and shows a lot of thoughtfulness.

I was shocked to see no Irish designers. I hope this was a one-off and not a continued trend, one of the most exciting parts about tours is you get introduced to different local designers.

It appears (she) only does international haute couture. A lot of people on this Board might even suggest no local brands could be up to scratch to the esteemed Duchess and the profile of the engagements she is carrying out. Clearly these must be pioneering engagements not carried out by any royal lady previously!

 

[JuliannaVictoria]

(..)

I agree that she perhaps should have worn 1 or 2 pieces by an Irish designer, but weren't you the one complaining not 48 hours ago about no love for British and Commonwealth designers, which she has worn a ton of on this less than 48 hour tour?

 

[muriel]

I am not quite sure what point you are attempting to make in your post.

I stand by my view that as a representative of the BRF, she should largely be seen in British brands when conducting public engagements. Similarly, if she had worn an item of clothing by an Irish designer, it would have been well received.

All I have said is that there are posters here who have argued that British designers are not up to scratch for the profile of engagements Meghan is carrying out. As nothing by way of public engagements that Meghan has done in her short royal career is pioneering in any way, if local designers have worked for HM, Camilla, Catherine, Diana and others, I can't see why Meghan clearly can't. Obviously many have taken umbrage to that, but that is really their problem, IMO.
(..)

I am not biased against her at all. I just find her approach to choosing her attire unsuitable, and more Hollywood attempting to play BRF than as a member of the BRF.

I appreciate that there are a lot of Americans now on this Board who are great supporters of MEghan, but the reality is that Meghan has only a short time to win over the great British public. The press will be watching her every move, and if she is not careful, the number of negative articles about her will skyrocket. If she is to succeed in her new public role, she needs to visibly appreciate that her audience is more Hull than Hollywood. The world will not end if she continues down the current path, but IMO, the goodwill the couple now enjoy certainly will!

 

[jacqui24]

I am not biased against her at all. I just find her approach to choosing her attire unsuitable, and more Hollywood attempting to play BRF than as a member of the BRF.

I appreciate that there are a lot of Americans now on this Board who are great supporters of MEghan, but the reality is that Meghan has only a short time to win over the great British public. The press will be watching her every move, and if she is not careful, the number of negative articles about her will skyrocket. If she is to succeed in her new public role, she needs to visibly appreciate that her audience is more Hull than Hollywood. The world will not end if she continues down the current path, but IMO, the goodwill the couple now enjoy certainly will!

I'm not sure how it's Hollywood of her to have worn what she has for the events so far. The women in the BRF and many other royal family wears a lot of high end designer brands. This isn't exclusive to Meghan. In the events she's attended on British soil, the designers she wore are on par with others. So I'm not sure why is she the only one getting a condescending name.

As for the negative articles, I'm not sure if you are aware, but they've long ago skyrocketed. In fact, since the moment this relationship came to light, that's the one thing there has never been a shortage of. Everything from her race to her background to her work to anything else has been fair game to them.

Quite frankly, most of her outfits has been quite "royal" if not for the bias some have against her. She wears the appropriate designer and appropriate clothing and have at a number of times tried painfully to blend into the background knowing she's not the star royal of the event and the media focus that's on her. She's done a lot of muted colors and high necklines and low hems since taking on this role. In fact, a lot of stuff reminds me of what a young highly paid well dressed executive would wear moreso than Hollywood. I'm not sure how much more un-Hollywood she can get while still being expected to look fab.

ETA: I'm understanding towards those that say high street matters as well too. And she's done that. She worn some pieces during her engagement that aren't that expensive, just like she wore expensive clothing as well. However, given that she's less than two months in, she hasn't had a large variety of engagements. All of the events she has attended do call for the higher end designers. And as she attends more everyday engagements, there will be opportunities where a less costly option is appropriate.

 

[ashelen]

Anyone could name some Irish designer that she could had use? I do not know any

 

[ladongas]

Well, I expect that many members of the Great British Public have similar hopes and interests to the majority of us on this board. We hope to see a lot of the Duchess in lovely outfits; we hope to see her marriage and family life succeed on a grand scale; and we are interested in her ability to achieve positive results in the work she and her husband carry out.

I imagine the people of Hull feel the same way. Very few are going to turn against Harry and his happiness over a fashion issue.

And it’s early days to get too outraged over something so minor.

 

[M. Payton]

(..) I do not like everything she wears like the RM dress today, yet not one royal lady out there is perfect in whom they wear or the style or where it comes from. It is called a balancing act right now as she has only been a duchess for 2 months, not 2 years.

(..)

 

[JuliannaVictoria]

Anyone could name some Irish designer that she could had use? I do not know any

I for one think that she could have gone for some local jewellery, some small pieces like she has done for a few Australian designers. However, I'm not going to harp on it. It was a trip that lasted less than 48 hours. Now a tour that is days and weeks long, I do expect her to rep some local designers.

 

[COUNTESS]

She looked lovely at all times and properly dressed. There is no rule on colors any longer. Wear what you want. The little black dress was blue. She did need a better under garment in the taupe dress. I do concur. She isn't a pitchman for a fashion house. She married Harry. She has looked lovely from the get go. And JullianaVictoria, you are right, there are many in the BRF who dress far more poorly, shall we say.

 

[4Pam]

I can't complain about her lack of supporting Irish designers. I love the couture designers that she wears. They're beautiful, tailored and great for the engagements that she attends. It works for her, so I say let her keep dressing the way she's dressing. And if she likes the couture, let her wear it because it works for her.

 

[IloveCP]

Love the grey dress and black suit. Very elegant and beautiful.

 

[Countessmeout]

I don't mind she doesn't wear any Irish designers. She isn't in Ireland representing Ireland. She is there representing the UK. It will be different on their tour in the fall. When they are in commonwealth realms, she will not just be representing the UK, but the commonwealth. And with more time for planning her wardrobe, I am sure we will see plenty of pieces.

Meghan's tour continues to be a blend. She has some foreign pieces and some pieces of UK/commonwealth designers.

1st look:
-Mouret dress-French born but based in UK. London flagship
-Paul Andrew shoes-opposite, he is an English designer, living in NY
-Birks earrings: Canadian brand

2nd look:
-t-shirt is Lavender Hill brand which is London based



The first dress is lovely. I loved the style pre-wedding. I love the draped fabric, gives some interest. I am one who doesn't ascribe to 'it's summer you have to look like a children's birthday party of bright colors'. The taupe color suits her nicely.

But the dress needed to fit better up top. The blue one fit better.


The suit is fantastic. Great choice for event.

 

[Royal Suitor]

Ditto on the Roland Mouret undergarment issue. Unfortunate because I like his style but hopefully fixable. Some suggested the bust was just too tight. Not sure. But if bateau necklines are going to be her signature then Meghan needs to fix this. I was glad to see a pants suit come back into the fray. I've missed them. Honestly I think Meghan wears heels to these sporty things so there's no question that she's not participating. She politely passed on hurling today.

Yes Meghan wore a yellow dress and she looked great. But that doesn't change the fact that she prefers neutrals. I think the yellows, greens, etc. will be the exception not the rule and I'm fine with that. In 3 days she wore 6 outfits counting from the christening through the pants suit. 2 weren't neutrals. I think that's likely to be her preferred color mix.

FYI: Dior confirmed to Meghan's Mirror that the RAF dress was actually black. Which forces me to be a hypocrite and say I think it was too dark for that event.

 

[jacqui24]

FYI: Dior confirmed to Meghan's Mirror that the RAF dress was actually black. Which forces me to be a hypocrite and say I think it was too dark for that event.

They need to check their color mixing machine or something.

But I still think it's fine. There are differences in blacks. This dress, even in a different style, wouldn't have been appropriate for a more somber event. The key is which black it is and the sheen just changed the mood.

 

[Frelinghighness]

The taupe dress was too tight on top and all you looked at was the outline of,the bra. The black handbag was so big it looked like a small suitcase to me. Otherwise, the outfit and her hair and make up were very nice. The black and white suit was just fine except the high heels in the grass

 

[Lady Nimue]

I'm not sure how it's Hollywood of her to have worn what she has for the events so far. The women in the BRF and many other royal family wears a lot of high end designer brands. This isn't exclusive to Meghan. In the events she's attended on British soil, the designers she wore are on par with others. So I'm not sure why is she the only one getting a condescending name.

As for the negative articles, I'm not sure if you are aware, but they've long ago skyrocketed. In fact, since the moment this relationship came to light, that's the one thing there has never been a shortage of. Everything from her race to her background to her work to anything else has been fair game to them.

Quite frankly, most of her outfits has been quite "royal" if not for the bias some have against her. She wears the appropriate designer and appropriate clothing and have at a number of times tried painfully to blend into the background knowing she's not the star royal of the event and the media focus that's on her. She's done a lot of muted colors and high necklines and low hems since taking on this role. In fact, a lot of stuff reminds me of what a young highly paid well dressed executive would wear moreso than Hollywood. I'm not sure how much more un-Hollywood she can get while still being expected to look fab.

ETA: I'm understanding towards those that say high street matters as well too. And she's done that. She worn some pieces during her engagement that aren't that expensive, just like she wore expensive clothing as well. However, given that she's less than two months in, she hasn't had a large variety of engagements. All of the events she has attended do call for the higher end designers. And as she attends more everyday engagements, there will be opportunities where a less costly option is appropriate.

Beautifully said and summed up. Agree 100%.

I also just want to say that I, too, have seen the negatives regarding Meghan. In a way, she is never going to win. Certain swaths of people are disappointed that Harry married such a 'foreign' bride and will never be happy about it. I think Meghan (and Harry) know that and are just going forward and living their lives. They are not keeping an eye on the negative articles. To do so would be to go insane.

P.S. Take a look at what Meghan wore when she was 'Hollywood'. In no way is Meghan coming even close to what she wore on red-carpets and PR gigs. Not even close.

She looked lovely at all times and properly dressed. There is no rule on colors any longer. Wear what you want. The little black dress was blue. She did need a better under garment in the taupe dress. I do concur. She isn't a pitchman for a fashion house. She married Harry. She has looked lovely from the get go. And JullianaVictoria, you are right, there are many in the BRF who dress far more poorly, shall we say.

Great post, Countess.

Meghan has a definite minimalist style, and she prefers a neutral palette. Perhaps in time she will start experimenting with flowery prints, thus being 'more English' but even Kate (I think) steers clear of fussy prints.

Reading the last series of posts I am wondering: when did it get established that royal women were 'pitching' English fashion brands? It seems to be such a front-and-center issue of concern I am wondering when that became an issue, or an accepted thing to expect of royal women? Diana? Margaret? When and who started this? The way Meghan is being faulted sounds vaguely strange to me.

Have to also agree with the last bolded sentence: Meghan is dressing far and away more classy than many royal ladies, though I am ambivalent about the demand in general regarding how royal women dress at events. I really think things have gotten 'out of control' in the presentation area. I would much prefer to see normal everyday dressing without it having to be 'perfection'. Recently a perfectly decent dress worn by a royal lady was criticized because the camera picked up on the creases from sitting (often comes up with pants). Something askew there imo, when what the camera sees becomes the master of us. Too much of that impacting young girls, and I realize I am working against a mighty tide. (Rant over).

 

[iceflower]

.

The thread has been cleaned up again and posts about jewellery have been moved to our extra thread: "Duchess of Sussex Jewels".

 

[MARG]

It appears (she) only does international haute couture. A lot of people on this Board might even suggest no local brands could be up to scratch to the esteemed Duchess and the profile of the engagements she is carrying out. Clearly these must be pioneering engagements not carried out by any royal lady previously!

Whatever you think about international haute couture which includes more than one UK fashion house, it is unnecessary to denigrate Meghan herself as hating on her has nothing to do with fashion, so I find your sarcasm unnecessary and rude.

Well, I expect that many members of the Great British Public have similar hopes and interests to the majority of us on this board. We hope to see a lot of the Duchess in lovely outfits; we hope to see her marriage and family life succeed on a grand scale; and we are interested in her ability to achieve positive results in the work she and her husband carry out.

I imagine the people of Hull feel the same way. Very few are going to turn against Harry and his happiness over a fashion issue.

And it’s early days to get too outraged over something so minor.

Yes, most certainly is. Constructive criticism of Meghan's fashion choices are interesting, make you think about things you hadn't thought of till then and is both interesting and fun. Sarcasm and dire predictions of being drummed out of popularity because of that fashion is a bit OTT. I think it is worth noting she has only been married two months not two years.

We live in an ever-diminishing global world where merchandising, including fashion, grows more complicated by the day. We have NZ designers living in London and UK designers living in NY and France, and so on.

When HM and Princess Margaret were young they wore the great designers of the world and no one certainly, no UK citizen, wanted them wearing High Street clothes on the international stage. They were proud of the BRF and took pride in their representing the UK and the Commonwealth.

The situation is much more difficult these days. "Flying the Flag" is code for "Buy British" and that is not as easy as it sounds. McQueen is now owned by a French company so what is the difference between buying clothes designed by a UK designer at McQueen or a UK designer at Givenchy. Unless someone investigates the ownership or shareholding in fashion, how do we know what other foreign interests are involved in both the high fashion houses and the High Street?

I think Meghan, at two months into her marriage, is doing pretty well. I think perhaps she finds it a little difficult to source her own particular style as "fashion" is ever changing and the clothes that the Royals wear tend to be classics in their particular style. It is worth noting that with the passing of the Queen's premier designer Norman Hartnell, her wardrobe is 99% Angela Kelly and her in-house wardrobe department, although she still sports many well-known milliners creations and her ubiquitous Launer handbags.

I am not sure what designers Camilla is fond of, except of course, for her magnificent millinery.

But right now, I am enjoying the joie de vivre that Meghan and Harry are bringing us as newlyweds and the sartorial difference Meghan brings and the equally subtle sartorial changes in Harry's wardrobe.

 

[Fros]

I find her strategy with clothes after getting married to be all over the place and it's becoming frustrating.

She was much better pre-wedding. She wore a good mix of high street brands with more expensive brands, a good mix of British, Common wealth and local brands.

Since getting married it's been very very bad. This has nothing to do with her style but the choices. She's been married almost two months but primarily wore French couture labels and American in that period. I usually don't mind her wearing black, but wearing full black at an event celebrating RAF 100 just made her stand out in a really bad way compared to the rest of the family. Not wearing Irish designers is Ireland is mistake, highlighting local brands is IMO one of the role of the Royal ladies when they are on tour. Wearing Irish designers in Ireland is easy points with the media. You need to get some of the easy point as well as nail the hard stuff.

I am frustrated because she was better at this before so I didn't think we had to worry but instead of keeping steady on that course she has veered completely off. Where she once showed care and thoughtfulness has completely been replaced by thoughtless disregard.

She needs to do better because the cost of clothing and the lack of local or commonwealth designers is legitimate criticism that's hard to defend against.

 

[Pranter]

Cost of clothing is no one's business but the person paying for it...that would be either Meghan, Harry or Charles or all the above.

She's worn a mix of designers along with wearing a mix of designer shoes and carrying a mix of designer bags and wearing a mix of designer jewelry. When you look at it as a whole she's doing pretty well in wearing commonwealth designers.


LaRae

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

She dresses much better after marriage than she did before. Before marriage she wore horrible pants and jackets that don't fit. Now she wears fitted dresses with unique hems and great hair that is actually brushed.

 

[Elly C]

Fros, she didn't wear 'full black' to the RAF celebrations - it was a navy outfit so she didn't stand out in a bad way. See post 329 in this thread for a truer picture of her outfit.

 

[Kaizen]

Is there a chance some of the clothes she is wearing are purchased prior to becoming royal? She could have bought them herself?

But I do agree that if she is going to buy expensive clothes. They could at least have UK designers.

 

[princess gertrude]

Here is my "two cents" on her outfits from the Ireland trip (and the RAF event).

RAF event - very nice outfit, nothing to complain about. The fit was good and the hat was a winner
Ireland - green welcome outfit was okay, nothing wrong, just okay. the black dress from the ambassador's garden party was outstanding. The fit and length was just right on her and her hair looked really good. The taupe dress was odd, I liked the navy version she wore before her wedding, but this one didn't do it for me, there was definitely something wrong with her undergarments on the top. The pants suit was fine for the events attended but nothing wonderful.
I do think that her clothing game has been up since her wedding, but then again, I expected that it would be. Only time will tell if it stays on it's present course.

 

[Pranter]

Is there a chance some of the clothes she is wearing are purchased prior to becoming royal? She could have bought them herself?

But I do agree that if she is going to buy expensive clothes. They could at least have UK designers.

She does have UK designer clothes (the company being in the UK or the designer being from the UK) she wears...none of the women in the BRF wear exclusively UK designed clothing.


LaRae

 

[jacqui24]

She does have UK designer clothes (the company being in the UK or the designer being from the UK) she wears...none of the women in the BRF wear exclusively UK designed clothing.


LaRae

I think the only exception is The Queen, but that's a different situation. She has an in house designer and team.

 

[loonytick]

Regarding the fit of the taupe dress, the Go Fug Yourself girls made an interesting comment that a very tight fit through the bodice is a Mouret hallmark. Supposedly he likes the way it makes the underlying structure of the garment more noticable. I agree with others here (and GFY) that it went too far in this circumstance, creating not only the visible lines of her undergarments but also pulling across the top of her chest and along the sides of the bodice.

I suspect one change that might be taking Meghan by surprise a little bit, especially as someone who has felt very comfortable in the fashion world (being that she's friends with Mouret, with Nonoo, with stylist Jessica Mulroney, etc.) is that her working relationship with designers needs to work differently now. To a certain degree, an actress who is lucky to wear a designer owes it to the designer to remain true to his or her vision since she's probably getting the clothes gratis or at a good deal in order to help market them, and it works ok because if she's getting the name of the designer out there the people who pay attention to these things will mostly say the designer got it right or wrong rather than saying the actress had a really big hit or miss. But things work differently for a high profile royal. The designer's vision now must come second to her practical needs. Maybe it is Mouret's thing to pull things tight, but when she goes along with it the end result isn't people saying "oh, look at that underlying structure, what is he trying to do with that" but rather people saying "I can see exactly what style undergarment the Duchess of Sussex is wearing."

I fully expect to see some big misses initially. Just going by how long it's taken other women marrying into royal families to find their sartorial groove (Kate learning why shorter skirts become liabilities at engagments, CP Mary learning about fit and how overly shiny fabrics photograph, etc.) I feel like the norm is a good year or so before settling into a "uniform" approach. Meghan may get there faster, having come from a background of being on display, but she's still got to learn some things the hard way about the differences between dressing for a role that's played out for cameras that are working somewhat in sync with her and dressing for one played out for press cameras that could come from all angles.

 

[Pranter]

I find her strategy with clothes after getting married to be all over the place and it's becoming frustrating.

She was much better pre-wedding. She wore a good mix of high street brands with more expensive brands, a good mix of British, Common wealth and local brands.

Since getting married it's been very very bad. This has nothing to do with her style but the choices. She's been married almost two months but primarily wore French couture labels and American in that period. I usually don't mind her wearing black, but wearing full black at an event celebrating RAF 100 just made her stand out in a really bad way compared to the rest of the family. Not wearing Irish designers is Ireland is mistake, highlighting local brands is IMO one of the role of the Royal ladies when they are on tour. Wearing Irish designers in Ireland is easy points with the media. You need to get some of the easy point as well as nail the hard stuff.

I am frustrated because she was better at this before so I didn't think we had to worry but instead of keeping steady on that course she has veered completely off. Where she once showed care and thoughtfulness has completely been replaced by thoughtless disregard.

She needs to do better because the cost of clothing and the lack of local or commonwealth designers is legitimate criticism that's hard to defend against.

She didn't wear black to the RAF 100 event. It was a dark navy blue. There are a couple pics out there (they've been posted here on previous pages) showing with outside lighting/sun you can see the blue.

What Irish designers would you have like to have seen?


LaRae

 

[Ista]

Regarding the fit of the taupe dress, the Go Fug Yourself girls made an interesting comment that a very tight fit through the bodice is a Mouret hallmark. Supposedly he likes the way it makes the underlying structure of the garment more noticable. I agree with others here (and GFY) that it went too far in this circumstance, creating not only the visible lines of her undergarments but also pulling across the top of her chest and along the sides of the bodice.

I suspect one change that might be taking Meghan by surprise a little bit, especially as someone who has felt very comfortable in the fashion world (being that she's friends with Mouret, with Nonoo, with stylist Jessica Mulroney, etc.) is that her working relationship with designers needs to work differently now. To a certain degree, an actress who is lucky to wear a designer owes it to the designer to remain true to his or her vision since she's probably getting the clothes gratis or at a good deal in order to help market them, and it works ok because if she's getting the name of the designer out there the people who pay attention to these things will mostly say the designer got it right or wrong rather than saying the actress had a really big hit or miss. But things work differently for a high profile royal. The designer's vision now must come second to her practical needs. Maybe it is Mouret's thing to pull things tight, but when she goes along with it the end result isn't people saying "oh, look at that underlying structure, what is he trying to do with that" but rather people saying "I can see exactly what style undergarment the Duchess of Sussex is wearing."

I fully expect to see some big misses initially. Just going by how long it's taken other women marrying into royal families to find their sartorial groove (Kate learning why shorter skirts become liabilities at engagments, CP Mary learning about fit and how overly shiny fabrics photograph, etc.) I feel like the norm is a good year or so before settling into a "uniform" approach. Meghan may get there faster, having come from a background of being on display, but she's still got to learn some things the hard way about the differences between dressing for a role that's played out for cameras that are working somewhat in sync with her and dressing for one played out for press cameras that could come from all angles.

These are all very good points, and I agree. I was in the minority in really liking the RM, but the fit in the bodice was revealing and unflattering, and I was surprised that Meghan had been willing to step out with her underpinnings on display. I would be surprised if she makes that mistake too many more times, although there is certainly a learning curve with this stuff. Look how many times it took before the DoC learned that windy days and lightweight, full skirts are not a good combination.

Meghan is in a very different position now than she was as an actress, and although she has lots of experience with how to present herself and craft a certain image for herself, she will need to think hard about details that she probably never had to consider before. Personally, I think so far she is showing quite a bit of skill in that direction, but there will inevitably be missteps. The question becomes, how quick of a learner is she? I'm optimistic on that front.

 

[jacqui24]

Regarding the fit of the taupe dress, the Go Fug Yourself girls made an interesting comment that a very tight fit through the bodice is a Mouret hallmark. Supposedly he likes the way it makes the underlying structure of the garment more noticable. I agree with others here (and GFY) that it went too far in this circumstance, creating not only the visible lines of her undergarments but also pulling across the top of her chest and along the sides of the bodice.

I suspect one change that might be taking Meghan by surprise a little bit, especially as someone who has felt very comfortable in the fashion world (being that she's friends with Mouret, with Nonoo, with stylist Jessica Mulroney, etc.) is that her working relationship with designers needs to work differently now. To a certain degree, an actress who is lucky to wear a designer owes it to the designer to remain true to his or her vision since she's probably getting the clothes gratis or at a good deal in order to help market them, and it works ok because if she's getting the name of the designer out there the people who pay attention to these things will mostly say the designer got it right or wrong rather than saying the actress had a really big hit or miss. But things work differently for a high profile royal. The designer's vision now must come second to her practical needs. Maybe it is Mouret's thing to pull things tight, but when she goes along with it the end result isn't people saying "oh, look at that underlying structure, what is he trying to do with that" but rather people saying "I can see exactly what style undergarment the Duchess of Sussex is wearing."

I fully expect to see some big misses initially. Just going by how long it's taken other women marrying into royal families to find their sartorial groove (Kate learning why shorter skirts become liabilities at engagments, CP Mary learning about fit and how overly shiny fabrics photograph, etc.) I feel like the norm is a good year or so before settling into a "uniform" approach. Meghan may get there faster, having come from a background of being on display, but she's still got to learn some things the hard way about the differences between dressing for a role that's played out for cameras that are working somewhat in sync with her and dressing for one played out for press cameras that could come from all angles.

I agree with it all other than the uniform. It's one thing when the Queen or Camilla does it at their age, but no to uniforms for someone in her 30s. That's too young for a uniform look this day and age. Have a little fun. She can have her signature neckline, but what I've liked so far is that the rest of the dress still look very different.