Meghan Markle’s style has been discussed to great lengths in recent years, especially after she married Prince Harry and became a Royal. Since then, she has lost the title of Duchess as she and her husband decided to step back from Royal duties and move to the US. With the change of role, as well as change of climate and culture, has Meghan’s style changed?
Personal stylist and fashion expert Samantha Harman spoke to Express.co.uk about Meghan’s style journey, analysing the thirty-nine-year-old’s fashion choices before she became a Royal, during her short stint as Duchess, and afterwards.
Samantha described Meghan’s style before she met Prince Harry as “laid back chic”.
She said: “Meghan’s pre-Harry vibe was Californian, laid back chic. She came across as someone who was really confident in who she was and in her look. She did lots of fashion content with magazines and clearly loves clothes.
“There was an element of French inspiration to her style, and it is clearly inspired by the likes of Jackie O, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn,” Samantha added.
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The personal stylist continued: “She [Meghan] once described her desired look as ‘classic and simple with a modern twist’.”
Samantha noted that Meghan “kept these parts of her style throughout her life as a Royal” and continues to this day to be inspired by iconic women of the fifties and sixties.
She said: “In 2016, when asked about the style of wedding dress she liked, Meghan answered ‘Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’, and her boat neck, Givenchy-designed wedding gown in 2018 clearly took inspiration from that look.
“In that same interview, Meghan said that because she got to wear high-end, tailored pieces for work on Suits, when she was off-duty she liked to be ‘pared down and relaxed’.”
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Perhaps Meghan’s role on Suits prepared her for Royal engagements, as Samantha said that the Duchess’ looks were more “tailored” after she married Prince Harry.
The fashion expert said: “There was a shift in her wardrobe when she became a royal – lots more tailoring.
Whilst I loved a lot of what she wore, especially during the Australia tour, it will be interesting to see how her style changes again now she is free to wear whatever she likes.”
Samantha continued: “It must have been difficult to navigate royal protocol whilst keeping her own sense of style.
“Meghan attracted a lot of criticism for the amount of money she spent on clothing when she transitioned to a Royal wardrobe, and for the fact she favoured French fashion brands.”
Samantha added: “But I think she was damned if she did, damned if she didn’t. We all want to see the stunning couture gowns and tiaras, and we want the Royals to represent us on the world stage. But then we also don’t want them to spend a lot of money.”
The fashion expert said that she was “excited” to see what Meghan will wear in the US since she is now “free from convention”.
“I think she [Meghan] has a natural flair and love of fashion and now she can wear what she likes without anyone saying a word about it,” Samantha said.
She added: “I think we can expect to see a return to the laid-back Californian style of pre-royal Meghan when ‘off duty’, but with tailoring and a few new designer discoveries for ‘on duty’.”
Although Samantha said that everyone’s style “evolves over time”, including Meghan’s, the personal stylist highlighted that the former actress has still demonstrated “key style pillars” over the years.
She said: “I think everyone has their own key style pillars. Our tastes are instinctive, we know what we like, and these core style values run like a thread through our fashion history.
“There are key themes through Meghan’s style pre, during and post royal life.”
As well as wearing clothes inspired by French fashion and beautiful women of the twentieth century, Meghan enjoys opting for “earthy tones” when getting dressed.
Samantha said that the former Royal wears “lots of earthy, warm tones, jewel colours and greens.
“Meghan also wears a lot of black.”
However, the personal stylist added that Meghan would “look good in a plastic bag”.