Meghan Markle: the royal style that haters love to hate

By Jen.

The concept of royalty is one of those things about which I haven't set an extreme position about. On one hand, the idea of a person ruling over a group of citizens by right of birth (despite the fact that a royal is more a diplomat these days) is simply inadequate and inconvenient for our days, not to mention archaic. But on the other hand... the whole thing about the princess getting her prince charming and having a dream life is something that it is still very cute (you have to admit, I'm not the only one who thinks like this... right?!) And of course... the fashion. One of the things that make us fall in love with royalty is the fashion that surrounds it, with women praising their local designers with their choices or wedding dresses out of a modern fairytale.

I know, everyone thinks it's so cool to despise the whole idea of royalty out loud... but the numbers don't lie, people love them. Just last May, the wedding of Prince Harry to actress (divorcee, commoner and black, what a scandal!) Meghan Markle brought an outstanding 300 million pounds (something like 387 million dollars) to the British economy in profits associated with tourism, from accommodation for people who wanted to take a look at the couple to customers buying merchandise related to the event, something very easy to find in England.

From the day their engagement was announced, the press
has followed every look from the Duchess of Sussex.

From the moment they announced their engagement (wrong, from the minute we suspected they were an item) the fashion and style press posed their eyes on the Duchess of Sussex, and has since then followed every move of the actress-turned-princess (I know she's not a real princess, please let me daydream) who, from the start, showed us that she would be as true to her style as it is royally possible, even if that means freaking out those conservative, self-proclaimed 'royal experts'.

Because the Internet is a place full of hate, and the royal fans have taken most of that to Meghan these days (for starters, they hate the fact that she is American and "doesn't have the elegance of the British..." *rolls eyes*). And they don't waste any opportunity to point at any mistake the Dutchess makes, big or small: wearing black during summer, having messy hair and my new favorite... showing too much leg (*rolls eyes again*). That being said, I have to make a statement: I, Jeniffer Varela, am the strongest defender of protocol and dress codes, but I also know that style is a personal matter, and you should be free to adapt that style to a dress code and a protocol when needed.

This is the look for which, apparently, we must alert
the church elders: a woman showing her knees.

We're not, by any means, saying that Meghan has gotten it right every time (we'll talk about that later), but we can't let her clothes be an opportunity to trash a woman that has done nothing but trying her hardest to fit a life that wasn't what she expected, just because that meant marrying the man she loves (see? Ro-man-tic). She's able to compromise, but she won't lose her essence. And we like her for that. This is why we are going to scan the Dutchess' style and let the haters talk! 

Who wears the pants in the house?

It is very rare for a royal to wear pants frequently, or when it is not for sports event (in which case they almost chose jeans or chinos). In fact, Kate Middleton has become so famous for her coat dresses that it is groundbreaking to see her in pants. This is not at all the case for Meghan, and she has made her way into different public appearances, from her weeks as an engaged woman and after being married. She has tried a variety of styles from the cigarette pantsuit to the palazzo pants that we must say look amazing on her. She's her royal highness of the pants and that marks her from the rest of the pack.

Pumps for days

The Dutchess is particularly in love with a brand we love, Aquazzura, and its pumps. That's how we know she is a fan of comfort, because in many occasions the designer of the brand, Edgardo Osorio, has spoken about how important it is to him that his customers can feel both beautiful and comfortable wearing his shoes. And this is even more obvious since we started seeing those images of Meghan wearing shoes that are a bit bigger for her size. According to some experts, this allows a bit more room to move the foot and make it more tolerable. The result doesn't always look good and it makes us hesitate, but given the fact that pumps (even Aquazzura pumps) are not the most comfortable style of shoes, we can relate. We don't approve it, but we get it.

I would stop wearing black when they invent a darker color...

When it comes to a color scheme, neutral is the name of the game for Meghan (so far). We have seen her holding to beige and ivory since her engagement announcement, sometimes lightened up with olive green and a one-time yellow dress. But if there is something the haters want to get Meghan's head for is the fact that the Dutchess has proven that she's not thinking about giving up black any time soon. Among the royals, this color is associated with mourning and not so elegant moments, like that one when Princess Diana returned to the public eye (after an awful divorce) wearing a short black dress that many called "the revenge dress". And although we have to admit it is a bit weird seeing her walk into a religious event in the summer wearing black, it's all part of the dynamics all women have when it comes to color. For Meghan, it is also a way to stay connected with her life pre-Harry, when the LBD was her signature piece on the red carpet. And since all her black choices have been on point so far, we approve.

Put it on the waist

Besides the pants, there's another thing on Meghan's style that pops to the eye: the fascination with belts, and with driving the attention to her waist. Whether it is with pants, dresses, skirts or even coats, we often see her finishing the look with a belt, something very smart given her figure, and that it gives her an hour-glass silhouette that is very cute.

My only problem with that (and I've seriously mentioned it so many times to Meli) is that emphasizing this part of her body makes us notice other things, like when she's wearing a pencil skirt/dress with all its wrinkles and we end up noticing that and JUST THAT. Of course, this is not a major problem because you can fix it by choosing better fabrics that do not wrinkle after several hours of sitting (did you hear that, stylist? It is time for you to do your job).

See that? Wrinkles everywhere.

Effortless Beauty

From the day of her wedding, we noticed that Meghan is not interested in looking like a Kardashian or Instagram influencer with her makeup. And even though we could think one would want to look more polished on her wedding, it is very clear that natural is the name of her beauty look. Here, of course, the haters have also made their voice heard, but in this blog, we think less is more when it comes to everyday makeup and, more than that, we believe makeup choices are per-so-nal, even if you're a member of the royalty. For hair, we like the look of loose waves (although you know how we feel about the hair part down the middle)

In conclusion, we could say that Meghan's style is a work in progress, and that is completely normal for someone who wasn't raised for this life. What we can be sure of is that she's going to make it in her own terms... damned be the haters.

Do you like the look of the Dutchess? Let us know in the comment section!