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

[Frelinghighness]

She could use a bobby pin, behind each ear, to pin down the hair that causes her to touch it so much. The dress is a pretty, classic style which suits her. The shoes look ridiculous, the woman next to her has on a better shoes for the event. Also, those super high heels makes her legs look even skinnier. I really like the flat green shoe worn by the model of the dress.

 

[MARG]

I think the stiletto heels look ridiculous, especially as the two other women are wearing sensible shoes.

For the same reason I used to wear them everywhere . . . I am 5' which is short.

She looks great! I do not understand the desire to brand Meghan "Hollywood" when she spent the most successful years of her carer in Canada!

(..)

I finally found a photo that IMO demarks the celebrity/royalty line:

https://whatmeghanwore.net/wp-conte...ain-Silk-Wide-Leg-Pant-Montage-1-1024x304.jpg

The photo I am referring to is shows the full length of her palazzo pants.

Celebrity: As photographed

Royalty: Hemmed and just clearing the ground.

The palazzo pants in and of themselves are neutral. It is how they are worn that counts.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

Skirts in general has trended to be longer in recent years, which in my opinion, isn't necessarily a bad thing. I was afraid where it would go when the dresses kept getting shorter and the necklines kept going lower. If you watched Suits, you would also notice that trend starting to happen as the seasons went on. A lot of Meghan's clothing actually reminds me of what a posh and fashionable executive would wear, so I'm not complaining. It has a power look rather than very girly one, yet it remains feminine.

Sure, and I don't have a problem with a longer length hemline trend. Meghan's attire on Suits (for the character of course), generally tended to be at knee to below knee length. And all of the outfits looked great for her body, IMO.

I don't expect Meghan to wear the same style clothes as on Suits of course. What I'm saying is that even with a longer length style trend, it's quite clear that Meghan is going very conservatively longer length in many instances, which has never been her go-to on such a consistent basis. But yeah, she's melding her fashion sense with her new role. It seems to me a very conscious conservative decision she's made to mostly go overly longer length in hemlines. Even with the style trend situation, Meghan sometimes goes much lower than is actually flattering on her IMO.

 

[jacqui24]

Sure, and I don't have a problem with a longer length hemline trend. Meghan's attire on Suits (for the character of course), generally tended to be at knee to below knee length. And all of the outfits looked great for her body, IMO.

I don't expect Meghan to wear the same style clothes as on Suits of course. What I'm saying is that even with a longer length style trend, it's quite clear that Meghan is going very conservatively longer length in many instances, which has never been her go-to on such a consistent basis. But yeah, she's melding her fashion sense with her new role. It seems to me a very conscious conservative decision she's made to mostly go overly longer length in hemlines. Even with the style trend situation, Meghan sometimes goes much lower than is actually flattering on her IMO.

You dress for the occasion. Meghan has always incorporated that with her personal style. And I actually thinks she looks great in the longer length skirts because she has such thin legs (some of us aren't that lucky and have to work very hard for thinner legs) and can get away with a short distance between her hemline and shoes.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

I've always felt that Meghan absolutely rocks her legs! She may have been teased a bit in school growing up, but she definitely grew into her body and her unique style. In fact, that's why I'm a bit disappointed, as I think her legs are lovely, especially when the hem falls just right on her legs. Her thin legs look good on her body, but not when the hems fall at a certain too low level (depending upon the style of course, as the Emilia Wickstead was just right for the evening garden party). I also find it cute and funny that Meghan and Harry both have skinny legs. ?

IMO when Meghan's hemlines fall a bit too low, it's actually not that flattering to her legs. It's a matter of inches I think, along with the dress style. She looks fine in the navy denim-like dress, but I think she'd look better with the hem just slightly higher. Where it falls, it kind of doesn't enhance her legs as much IMHO. However, I don't have as much a problem with this particular dress' hemline, as I do with the black two-piece suit she wore in April to a Commonwealth service. That hemline fell so awkwardly on her legs in a way where it brought unflattering attention to the thinness of the bit of leg we did see along with her ankles. With even a tad higher length, it would have done her better justice because it was a gorgeous outfit in a beautiful fabric. Plus the design comes in a shorter length.

I actually think Meghan is purposely having what she wears made longer. Part of my complaining has to do with the fact she consistently goes with many long lengths. When she doesn't go too long, the lengths are always below the knee, but usually at a flattering length, albeit still conservative. And that I think is okay. I'm just disappointed by her seeming strict over-adherence to longer lengths, which I do not believe has that much to do with current style trends.

Even the yellow dress Duchess Meghan wore recently could have been slightly shorter, but I loved the color and at least it had a back slit. It would have been even more stunning with just a tad higher hem length and the back slit!

It's all a matter of perception, opinion and preference. Meghan can and will do as she pleases.

 

[Abbigail]

You dress for the occasion. Meghan has always incorporated that with her personal style. And I actually thinks she looks great in the longer length skirts because she has such thin legs (some of us aren't that lucky and have to work very hard for thinner legs) and can get away with a short distance between her hemline and shoes.

Agreed. I don't see the issue.

 

[Pranter]

At least so far she has managed to avoid the unfortunate issues with her hems flying around all over the place...perhaps that's part of why she's wearing some of the lengths and fabrics she's choosing.



LaRae

 

[MaiaMia_53]

At least so far she has managed to avoid the unfortunate issues with her hems flying around all over the place...perhaps that's part of why she's wearing some of the lengths and fabrics she's choosing.

Possibly that's it! Better safe and conservative than windblown and embarrassed. ?

Meghan Markle can carry off any look with grace and elegance. Hmmm, except for the Spencer wedding,
country-curtains look with white fascinator atop pulled back bun and her go-to loose hair strands.

Here's a very cool Meghan Markle style video which gives a sense of her carefree, yet sophisticated elan, mostly pre-Harry when her life was a bit freer. But yeah, now she's in the love of a lifetime, on the adventure of a lifetime, and with that comes style changes. It will be interesting to see her sartorial evolution over time as the Duchess of Sussex. The title of the video is a bit misleading because she was not the Duchess of Sussex at the time of most of these clips:

From this video, it definitely seems like Meghan always loved and wore stilettos and high heels for work (modeling and acting), as well as for red carpet events, etc. In her casual down time, she apparently wore flats. Still obviously these days, she is seeming to rely very much on stilettos even for some more casual outings with Prince Harry, such as the Invictus trials earlier this year.

 

[Purrs]

What a lovely look.

Personally I love the dress, its fit and the features (the v neck, cap sleeves, flred skirt and the wide belt). I also love the chambray fabric.

I'm personally not a fan of stilletto heels (never been able tolerate them even though my husband and I have a greater height differential between us - over a foot - than Meghan and Harry). However as the French says - chacun a son gout - each to his/her own taste. Meghan obviously enjoys wearing them. I also like the clutch.

Her hair looks fine to me and I think her makeup is beautiful, very natural.

 

[Lady Nimue]

Skirts in general has trended to be longer in recent years, which in my opinion, isn't necessarily a bad thing. I was afraid where it would go when the dresses kept getting shorter and the necklines kept going lower. If you watched Suits, you would also notice that trend starting to happen as the seasons went on. A lot of Meghan's clothing actually reminds me of what a posh and fashionable executive would wear, so I'm not complaining. It has a power look rather than very girly one, yet it remains feminine.

Just what I am seeing, too. She is not at all 'girly' but always feminine.

This current dress is so 'typical' of Meghan as a royal imo. I am starting to see that. She is absolutely all business while still having fun. There is no 'look at me' at all about her dressing (except when it's asked for, her great black and white Ascot hat comes to mind). I was just recently looking at a fashion overview of some very famous royals from days gone by, and I have to say those royals' fashion style was exceptionally flashy. What they wore always made them front and center. That was a choice, and perhaps reflected the times. Meghan is 180' in the other direction: low key, but classy and elegant. With her it's in the details. It's also possible that since she comes from a flashy background, she is more comfortable not being flashy now when her very position makes her front and center wherever she goes. Why gild the lily?

 

[MaiaMia_53]

... Meghan is 180' in the other direction: low key, but classy and elegant. With her it's in the details. It's also possible that since she comes from a flashy background, she is more comfortable not being flashy now when her very position makes her front and center wherever she goes. Why gild the lily?

I got that almost immediately from Meghan's first outings with Prince Harry to parts of Great Britain before the wedding. She was not yet married and she kept everything low key, conservative yet elegant with touches of her own personal style and edge, e.g., the unexpected McQueen tux at the Endeavour Awards, and the black Stella McCartney coat with black Huit denim jeans and the boatneck black and white plaid blazer in Wales. Plus, she kept to dark colors a lot, and she stayed understated. During the Wales trip, it struck me that Meghan was not trying to stand out, since she was already the center of attention. And also, she did not seem to want the focus to be so much on what she was wearing, but rather more on the community organizations and charitable events she and Prince Harry were promoting and supporting.

Even with her choice of wedding gown, she stayed simple and understated, yet as true to herself as she could be within the traditional confines of a royal wedding. After the wedding has been a different story. Even before the wedding, it was a busy and stressful time, even though joyful too I'm sure. So there were a lot of decisions to be made, and she was surely planning some of her daytime outfits post-wedding at that time. I think she is experimenting right now and trying to meld her personal style with her new role, and it's not fully worked out right now.

However, just like Michelle Obama, I think it's true that while Meghan enjoys fashion, she is not interested in everything being about her clothes with the media. And she's definitely not a person who is interested in being flashy. Her job as an actor demanded some flash and dash because there was a need to stand out. Now, she has no need to stand out because all eyes are already on her. As part of the royal firm, the 'what to wear' decisions do become a bit more complicated. Meghan seems to be trying to keep it as simple and low key as possible, while experimenting and maintaining her own unique signature touches. She actually never was very flashy anyway as an actor. It's just that she took more risks and wore more cutting edge designer outfits and minis to premieres, which she won't be doing anymore.

Meghan once spoke about how her style changed once she began filming Suits, after meeting top designers, and also meeting stylist Jessica Mulroney on the set. Meghan said her laid-back California casual style became more sophisticated and upscale, but still with her own unique edge. She's now in the process of undergoing another style evolution. I don't think her love for basic colors, monochrome dressing and stilettos will change too much. We've seen her wear lots of black, navy, white, cream, burgundy and occasionally brighter colors, like yellow, green, and pink. And she's worn flower prints, but not very often. I wonder if/when we'll ever see more biker jackets. My favorite Meghan outfits during her dating days are the Antonio Berardi navy dress worn to watch Harry play polo in May 2017, and the burgundy pleated dress with darker burgundy biker jacket (monochrome style) that she wore to the Invictus games opening night in Toronto (September 2017).

 

[MARG]

When we first caught sight of Meghan she was invariably in casual clothing coming or going through the airport. Then, with the announcement of Harry and Meghan's engagement Harry towed her around the country to meet the UK. That was okay too because it was winter and what she didn't have she purchased, mostly coats.

Now, as the Duchess of Sussex, she is doing her best to match clothes to occasions and, to be honest, barring the private wedding, she's pretty much on point but will never dress like an aristocratic or royal, UK born and bred Duchess because quite simply, that is not who she is.

One style she has really aced is the dressy casual look a la presenting trophies at the polo. Even then she has the little bows on her shoes to just give them an edge.

I hate to say it but I think her father is correct in that she is not quite as blooming as she was, but the challenges of the wedding, the new job for life, home, hubby and dog are all in that. It is foolish to think that such a diametric change in lifestyle wouldn't reflect in her wardrobe. I am enjoying the journey.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I had to go to "What Meghan Wore" to see more images and a close up of her hair. I admit it is untidy but I've seen it look worse; at least she isn't wearing a wedding dress this time.

 

[iceflower]

.

The ongoing discussion about the Duchess of Sussex's father, his remarks and the stress the Duchess of Sussex is faced with, has been removed as it no longer had anything to do with her fashion choices.

 

[Spheno]

Meghan ready to watch Harry play in the charity polo match today.

Caroline Herrara dress

V-Neck Faux Wrap Midi Dress €2.116

 

[FashionMaven]

I feel so behind in the fashion discussion - I was out of the country in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's Centenary celebrations and had horrible internet access.

I cannot remember the last outfit I commented on, so I'll just say that I LOVED her 3 outfits in one day - the dior dress with fascinator hat was just flawless and I loved her arrival outfit (shirt and skirt) in that lovely teal-hunter green and her black dress later that evening was so Meghan. I love the midi silhouette she's been rocking - I think it works really well for her. She has dainty ankles and with heels she makes that princess midi silhouette work so well.

Loved the gray Roland Mouret dress the following day too.

I admit that the Wimbledon outfit was tres chic in theory, but something didn't work for me - I think it was the shirt. I loved the pants and her signature hat (I am really glad she brought that hat from her pre-royal days).

Her dress at the polo match was super cute. Love the wrap style and midi length yet again.

Her outfits are simply so wearable and yet fresh. I think that navy dior dress with bateau neckline and midi skirt and the yellow dress are my current favorites.

You dress for the occasion. Meghan has always incorporated that with her personal style. And I actually thinks she looks great in the longer length skirts because she has such thin legs (some of us aren't that lucky and have to work very hard for thinner legs) and can get away with a short distance between her hemline and shoes.

I agree with this - and that Midi hemline is very fresh and now - and luckily for Meghan it really works with her body type. She is very thin and the Midi style princess skirts really give her some grandeur and heft, but because of her dainty legs and ankles, they also look really posh and regal on her. But fresh at the same time.

I think the only time she's struggled to make the midi length work is with that black retro skirt and jacket. I felt that length was too long and made the outfit look less fresh retro and more "I dug this out of my grandmother's closet" retro, lol.

Other than that, she's really rocked that midi length, imo.

 

[jacqui24]

I admit that the Wimbledon outfit was tres chic in theory, but something didn't work for me - I think it was the shirt. I loved the pants and her signature hat (I am really glad she brought that hat from her pre-royal days).

I think it might be the hair. Had she worn her hair the same way as the Ireland evening reception, I think it'd look smashing. She looks wonderful when she goes for it all the way. I'm sure some will call her "Hollywood" for it, but looking glam is nothing new to royal circles. It's when she's trying too hard to take the spotlight off herself and tries to take a backseat that I see some issues. Let it shine!

 

[FashionMaven]

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.

This is a really great insight about the relationship Meghan now has with the designers vs her relationship before. I think as Meghan becomes more comfortable with how she can express her style within the constraints of royal style rules, she'll also do better at reining in designers who tend to push their "craft signature" above all else.

I didn't find the Roland Mouret dress that bad - but admittedly I didn't get a good look since my internet connection was so bad. But it was the same style as the navy blue one she wore the night before the wedding - it just had sleeves.

I've truly enjoyed Meghan's fashion since the wedding and I'm looking forward to seeing how she evolves.

One thought I had about why she has a lot of Givenchy in her wardrobe - when she was working with them for her gown, I imagine they created several muslins for her and then just created a few wardrobe staples from that since they knew she had engagements coming up fairly soon. Much easier to do multiple fittings like that in one sitting than having to go to several designers all over (or even have them come to her).

Fittings like that take forever - I did some recently for some clothing I'm getting made and it really did take like forever, lol. Just standing there getting stuck with pins and getting fitted perfectly.

So I totally understand why she's got multiple Givenchy pieces - it was a smart add on to her gown since they already did the fit work.

I think it might be the hair. Had she worn her hair the same way as the Ireland evening reception, I think it'd look smashing. She looks wonderful when she goes for it all the way. I'm sure some will call her "Hollywood" for it, but looking glam is nothing new to royal circles. It's when she's trying too hard to take the spotlight off herself and tries to take a backseat that I see some issues. Let it shine!

I honestly didn't mind the hair because she had the hat... it really was the shirt. The white of the shirt clashed (to me) with the cream of the pants and hat. If the shirt had been thinner white stripes it might have worked better for me.

I did appreciate the effort she put into looking chic though - I thought it was the right level of chic for Wimbledon.

I think Meghan is working hard to not get totally swallowed up by "royal style", which is why she will still have some awkward misses where she falls just shy of the mark - but i'm okay with it because she's at least trying to allow her personal aesthetic to shine through.

 

[MARG]

I have watched more than a few Youtube posts referencing Prince Harry telling Meghan she may not wear a tuxedo to a formal evening event whilst on tour.
I am not sure I believe it but, since it was said that he was sitting in on a style meeting with Meghan and five or six others (designers included) I have to allow that some assistant may have made a bit of money with that titbit.

However, while a tuxedo would look amazing on her, there would be so many disappointed fashion fans missing out on the opportunity to gauge her eveningwear talents because that is another hole in her wardrobe. Those gowns worn on the Red carpet had a totally different purpose. Walk, stop, announce whose designer you are wearing and turn for a photo. Repeat as required waling the entire the red carpet. Arrive, sit, clap and leave.

Now an official reception on tour is all about Meghan and Harry and we all want to know what she will wear and how it differs from what she has worn in her previous incarnation as an actress. Then, of course, there's also the bling brigade ready to give her a right royal bollocking for depriving them of their fix.

 

[Fros]

"The designer's vision now must come second to her practical needs"

This has been my biggest annoyance with Meghan's clothes so far I feel like she goes to different designers with the same basic design and instead of each designer putting their own unique twist on it, or making it something something slightly different that makes each designers work and craftsmanship shine we get the same looking dresses from different designers.

If you look at her clothes it's hard to differentiate the designers because nothing about unique about the designers shine through you could say all of it was made by the same people and you can easily believe with the exception of the Givenchy dress she wore to Chester and Roland mouret.

 

[jacqui24]

I have watched more than a few Youtube posts referencing Prince Harry telling Meghan she may not wear a tuxedo to a formal evening event whilst on tour.
I am not sure I believe it but, since it was said that he was sitting in on a style meeting with Meghan and five or six others (designers included) I have to allow that some assistant may have made a bit of money with that titbit.

However, while a tuxedo would look amazing on her, there would be so many disappointed fashion fans missing out on the opportunity to gauge her eveningwear talents because that is another hole in her wardrobe. Those gowns worn on the Red carpet had a totally different purpose. Walk, stop, announce whose designer you are wearing and turn for a photo. Repeat as required waling the entire the red carpet. Arrive, sit, clap and leave.

Now an official reception on tour is all about Meghan and Harry and we all want to know what she will wear and how it differs from what she has worn in her previous incarnation as an actress. Then, of course, there's also the bling brigade ready to give her a right royal bollocking for depriving them of their fix.

This is one of these stories where one came up with an idea and everyone else ran with it because they've got nothing else. I doubt Harry is giving his wife dressing advice since this is the man with a dozen blue suits. They've improved since his engagement in terms of quality, but nevertheless, blue suits (I wouldn't mind that gray suit he wore to the service at Westminster Cathedral making another appearance). Even with dress code for a tour, I think Meghan is better off research with Amy Pickerill.

That and there is nothing wrong with a black tuxedo unless she's going to a black tie dinner.

 

[EllieCat]

That and there is nothing wrong with a black tuxedo unless she's going to a black tie dinner.

Diana wore a tuxedo once...

 

[jacqui24]

Diana wore a tuxedo once...

Was it to a black tie dinner though?

 

[Pranter]

I just do not imagine that is going to be an issue.


LaRae

 

[MARG]

Was it to a black tie dinner though?

That was the "story", which is why there would have been little bling.

Personally I don't think she's that vapid but with family dominating the news I guess they wanted to broaden the narratives.

Guess they forgot or more probably don't understand that summer holidays are sacrosanct to the BRF and discussions about clothes for October are the last thing on their minds.

 

[iceflower]

.

The Duchess of Sussex at the wedding of Charlie van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks in Frensham, Surrey, today, August 4:


** Full view ** Full view 2 ** Side view ** Upper part ** Upper part 2 ** Upper part 3 ** Upper part 4 **

 

[jacqui24]

I like her make up, hair, and dress. I’ll give her a pass on the beret since it’s not just a simpler beret and it looks like hats were optional.

 

[Chloep]

That hat. That hair. YES!

Just a huge YES to mostly everything!

(Of course people are gonna moan that it's too dark, but I am so over colours sorted by season. ETA: Don't be insulted if you do, haha - It's has been my personal rebellion against a mum who was always keen to remind me what colour wears proper which season. haha)

Okay, that disgrace from the last time has been completely erased from memory.

Also, I am peeping her Aquazzura bow heels. haha. Really getting the mileage out of those - can't fault her, they are fab!

 

[Curryong]

I do like Meghan's hat. Not a fan of navy as a rule but the dress does have panels of lighter colours, which helps relieve it. Hair and makeup are fine, and I like what I can see of the clutch. Nice attire for a summer church wedding!

^ Glad she's wearing those shoes again, which are cute!

 

[Rudolph]

I don’t like dress at all. To dark and in such contrast to the other guests. Once again her hair is a mess.