Meghan Markle’s Path From a Little-Known Actress to the Trendiest Woman on the Planet

Global fashion search engine Lyst named the main trendsetters of 2019 and Meghan Markle turned out to be on the top of their list. Her outfits spark a lot of interest in women across the world. The Duchess of Sussex is even more popular than Kate Middleton, actress Zendaya, singer Billie Eilish, and model Kylie Jenner.

We at Bright Side were inspired by the outfits of the world’s main trendsetter and decided to find out why her style is so attractive.

Before Meghan Markle became the style icon, she was a little-known actress and used to choose simple, less-well-thought-out outfits. But her new status and a good stylist helped her discover her style and learn several important lessons.

1. Meghan is not scared of experimenting with proportions.

The vertical stripes make the silhouette of the Duchess taller. And the horizontal stripes highlight her body shape.

Despite being pretty thin, the body of the Duchess of Sussex is not ideal. She has broad shoulders, narrow hips, and a slightly undefined waist. But when you look at her, it’s not like you can see it right away. Meghan and her stylist use the right clothes in order to accentuate her best features and hide her flaws.

In all of her outfits, you can always see the waist — it might be highlighted with color, a pattern, or a belt. Very often, she uses medium-length dresses to highlight her thin and elegant ankles. And her broad shoulders are balanced with a wider lower half. But it seems that Meghan is not very worried about her broad shoulders. She often violates the royal dress code and wears dresses that leave her shoulders exposed.

2. She prefers deep colors and modern or classic patterns.

While the Queen loves the old-fashioned flowery patterns and Kate Middleton likes polka-dots, Meghan prefers deep solid colors. Wine, marsala, emerald, and blueberry-blue look very noble. And black, white, or beige, with simple tailoring and good-looking accessories are modern classics.

But we can’t say that the Duchess doesn’t use patterns at all. Her wardrobe includes some clothes with stripes, geometric or ethnic ornaments, and more modern patterns.

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle appeared at Wimbledon together in 2018. After this appearance, Meghan’s outfit was discussed a lot: the Duchess of Sussex didn’t just prefer pants instead of a traditional dress, but she also chose a hat as an accessory. And she had to hold it in her hands during the entire event, because hats are prohibited for Wimbledon viewers since they might block somebody’s view.

3. Meghan Markle chooses very feminine outfits.

For women, the royal dress code recommends sheath dresses and outfits made of thick fabrics, so that the wind doesn’t reveal any body parts of the royal family members. However, these clothes often make the look harsher or even make the person wearing them seem more arrogant (remember Elizabeth II in her sheath dresses).

This is why Meghan is so different from other members of the family: she tries to make her dresses look lighter and more feminine. The light fabrics show the fragility of the Duchess of Sussex. And even when she has to attend some official events, she chooses the dresses that demonstrate her elegance.

The half-transparent part on this sheath dress makes it less official and more elegant.

4. Meghan avoids the rules carefully.

A dress with a half-transparent top in an official photoshoot of a royal family member? It has become possible with the Duchess of Sussex. During her very first official appearance as the bride of the prince, Meghan hinted that she was ready to modernize some of the old rules and she wants to keep things stylish.

Later, the wife of Prince Harry managed to skirt some other rules. Markle gave up wearing tights (which was a strict rule), she also started revealing her shoulders and playing with different necklines, instead of always wearing collars.

Here the Duchess is wearing a black Club Monaco dress at the wedding of Charlie van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks. Internet users are still discussing the button on the dress and the beautiful underwear of Meghan Markle. They think the button was not an accident.

5. She uses the elements of a modern basic wardrobe in her style.

When she is not busy with official meetings, Meghan loves to dress in a casual style. The photos show her before the wedding and after.

Loose white shirts and jeans with holes are must-have clothes for women all around the world. But just not for the members of the royal family. They are too unofficial and frivolous. They make the royal family members look just like regular people.

Queen Elizabeth II has never really liked denim and she’s never liked other members of her family wearing denim. But Meghan has a different opinion. She likes to be closer to regular people, so she adds clothing from a modern basic wardrobe to her royal wardrobe. Pleated skirts, sundresses, and even oversized clothes look stylish on the Duchess. And when she wears something like this, these clothes become sold out in a matter of hours because they are not only good-looking, but also very comfortable.

6. She pays a lot of attention to detail.

Meghan pays a lot of attention to all the smallest details of her look, even if it’s just about the nail polish color. In 2018, the Princess violated the royal dress code rule and appeared at the Fashion Awards ceremony with dark-red nail polish, which really surprised many people that know the etiquette rules.

Also, despite the rules against wearing some bright shoes, Meghan often highlights her shoes. She is not afraid of experimenting with color, shape, heel height, and additional elements, adding stylish touches to the overall strict official outfit.

After Meghan Markle appeared at a charity event in Nottingham, the Strathberry bag disappeared from the stores in a matter of hours and can only be preordered now.

Meghan’s bags are a topic that needs a separate article. The accessories of the Duchess in Europe are so popular that when Meghan appears with a new bag, it immediately disappears from the stores forever.

7. Meghan uses simple modern jewelry.

Meghan knows how to combine stylish jewelry of the past, with jewelry of the present. You can see the Princess Diana bracelet on her hand and several other, simple bracelets.

Grand, massive jewels with diamonds and pearls are a thing of the past. Not a single fashion house of today uses beads anymore and only the members of the royal family wear them.

The rest of the world has switched to a simple and minimalistic design. And here, Meghan Markle tries to keep up. She knows how to wear simple elegant jewels and she very rarely uses the old family jewels.

8. She keeps track of the fashion trends and uses them to her advantage.

Meghan Markle is not a woman who tries to keep up with all the fashion trends. However, she still manages to look like she is modern.

Her secret is that she is able to tell the modern basic clothes from the clothes of the past. She is also good at adapting fashion trends to suit her needs. She doesn’t wear any old-fashioned outfits, wild-looking colors, or outrageous decorative elements. When creating a look, the Duchess uses basic clothes, plus some more trendy pieces, making her look very natural and elegant.

For example, during the 2019 Wimbledon, she was holding a trendy micro bag in her hands.

Compared to the other Princess, Kate Middleton, Meghan often looks more modern. And this is partially because she wears more modern clothes. Kate respects the traditions and she often uses outdated clothes (which are not trendy to the rest of the world). And Meghan interprets the rules the way she sees fit, combining the royal style and the style of the modern era.

For example, compare Meghan’s classic coat and Kate’s new look coat. Meghan looks elegant and modern. And Kate only looks older than she really is.

Kate’s new look coat: This style was popular in the 20th century. Meghan’s coat is the modern classic: simple tailoring and very few details.

Even though Meghan Markle’s wardrobe mostly consists of basic clothes, the Princess and her stylist watch the fashion shows. And then, they alter the haute-couture clothes to make them fit the royal family standards.

9. The Duchess of Sussex is not afraid of wearing good outfits and dresses twice.

Every time Prince Harry’s wife appears in public, she demonstrates her ability to combine things with each other. And she is totally okay with using some successful looks more than once. She even wears the same clothes twice.

A stylist helps Meghan to find some outer garments and accessories to give a new look to an old outfit.

10. She loves expressing her feelings.

The royal etiquette strictly prohibits expressing feelings to someone in public. Kissing your husband or your child, holding hands or showing your affection toward someone is totally inappropriate. And Meghan has already broken all these rules.

She and her husband often appear in public holding hands and sitting near each other at dinners, despite the original table seat plans. They touch each other and they look like completely happy people.

The Duchess of Sussex is always ready to communicate with her fans. And she does it in a less strict way than the rules say she should. She gives autographs, takes selfies with people, talks to children, and even hugs strangers.

Her openness and readiness to communicate make her look like a regular person. With her behavior, she shows that royal people are also people.

11. She allows herself to make mistakes.

The red dress that Meghan wore during her visit to Tonga still had the tag on it. And paparazzi noticed it and spread this information everywhere.

Just like most famous people, the Duchess of Sussex has had some fashion failures. Paparazzi have seen the tags on the Princess’ clothes, and the plastic pieces on her bags. It looked as if Meghan has just left the store and forgotten to remove all these things. The haters criticized her for being messy and her fans said that these flaws only made her look even more elegant and real.

Meghan was very calm about the criticism. In the end, everyone makes mistakes and even the stylists of famous people do. The most important thing is to keep cool and behave accordingly.

During her visit to New Zealand, you could literally see right through her pleated skirt. The Givenchy skirt was a failure.

12. She is not afraid of being different and happy.

Some haters and toxic people have judged Meghan Markle for wearing high heels and slim-fitted dresses when she was pregnant, they accused her of attracting too much attention her herself when she touched her belly in every photo. And they said quite a lot of other unpleasant things about this Princess.

But all of these things didn’t make Meghan smile any less often or express less love to her child. And she hasn’t changed her clothes preferences.

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has been making waves with her unconventional approach to post-pregnancy body image, refusing to succumb to societal pressures to rapidly lose baby weight. Instead, she’s chosen to embrace the natural changes that come with motherhood, a move that has garnered both criticism and praise. This stance has been seen as a body-positive message, inspiring women worldwide to not feel ashamed of their post-baby bodies.

In a different light, even the Duchess of Sussex isn’t immune to the occasional wardrobe mishap. During a visit to Tonga, Meghan was spotted with the price tag still attached to her dress, a relatable moment that reminds us that celebrities are human too, prone to the same everyday oversights as the rest of us.

Finally, the power of a strong support network is highlighted in the relationship between Meghan Markle and Beyoncé. The two women, successful in their respective fields, have shown mutual admiration and respect for each other. This bond underscores the importance of support and camaraderie, not just in the face of adversity, but also in celebrating each other’s accomplishments.

Do you like her style?