Getty Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle is becoming a fashion icon, known for her elegant style choices, which are based on a sort-of casual chic that relies on seemingly effortless elegance. She’s partial to solid, neutral hues in her clothes (and she wears a lot of black.)
That sort of consistency rarely opens itself up to opportunities for major style snafus. However, as with everyone (although probably less than most), Meghan has had the occasional missteps. What were her worst fashion choices? We’ll give her a break and not delve back into her fashion days before she was more solidly in the post-Harry public eye (although a review of photos shows she’s streamlined her look a lot, getting rid of the busy patterns, short hemlines, cleavage, and pastels.)
Before we take a look at some of the choices that didn’t go quite right, it’s important to remember a few of the frocks that did. Here’s a glorious dark blue dress that Meghan wore to the queen’s birthday party:
GettyPrince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at the Royal Albert Hall to attend a star-studded concert to celebrate the Queen’s 92nd birthday on April 21, 2018 in London, England. The Queen and members of the royal family are guests of honour at the celebration, which is being billed as The Queen’s Birthday Party.
Here’s a lovely green patterned dress she wore to the Invictus Games reception:
GettyPrince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Invictus Games Reception at Australia House on April 21, 2018 in London, England.
She gets it more right than wrong. However, here are the 7 times that Meghan Markle’s fashion went wrong.
1. Shapeless & Sleeveless
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle speak with delegates from the Commonwealth Youth Forum at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on April 18, 2018 in London, United Kingdom
Meghan Markle had a rare misstep when she wore this ill-fitting, rather shapeless dress to the Commonwealth Youth Forum. It seemed more appropriate for a garden party than a public appearance on behalf of Queen and nation. It didn’t look much better from the back either, and the color didn’t flatter.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle speak with delegates from the Commonwealth Youth Forum at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on April 18, 2018 in London, United Kingdom.
Meghan sometimes favors the nautical inspired, and it doesn’t always work. According to Town and Country, Meghan wore “a midi dress from Altuzarra, with button details, sky-high black stilettos, and a blazer by Camilla and Marc.”
2. Too-Long Trousers
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Edinburgh Castle on February 13, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Meghan almost nailed this look (the jacket and purse are great, especially considering she was in Scotland), but the too-long, dragging-the-ground trouser look took casual and messy in the wrong direction. Some might say: Mend your hem. Vogue reported that Meghan wore “a check Burberry coat and floor-sweeping Veronica Beard trousers, with a Strathberry cross-body bag punctuating her tartan.”
3. That Hat
Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on December 25, 2017 in King’s Lynn, England.
When people start comparing your hat to a “poop emoji,” you know it probably wasn’t the best choice. But give Meghan a break. In America, hats are rarely a style choice (other than baseball), so she probably just needs time to adapt. The coat and clutch are perfect, though, and the camel hue is too.
According to Elle, “She chose a camel wide collar wrap coat from Sentaler (which is still available to pre-order), a Chloé Pixie Suede Crossbody Bag, dark brown Stuart Weitzman heeled boots, and, the most fascinating matching brown hat from Philip Treacy.”
4. The Engagement Coat
GettyPrince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace on November 27 in London, England.
Meghan is becoming known for her long coats that cinch at the waist and have large collars. Sometimes she really pulls that look off. However, sometimes they just look a bit ill-fitting and drown her slender figure. The white coat she wore for her engagement announcement with Prince Harry wasn’t awful. But it led to speculation online that she was pregnant, some people thought her shoes looked too big, and we just couldn’t help but feel that she… could have done a bit better. This look would have been perfectly fine for any other occasion, but the engagement pics needed something truly special.
According to Bazaar, the white coat flew off the shelves, selling out within minutes, though. It was a “white wrap coat by Canadian brand Line The Label,” Bazaar reported.
Here’s a coat that worked better:
GettyPrince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum on March 23, 2018 in Belfast, Nothern Ireland.
Maybe skipping the coat for the engagement photos in favor of a Kate wrap dress or Diana style suit would have been a better way to go.
5. Ripped Jeans, Messy Shirt
GettyPrince Harry (L) and Meghan Markle (R) attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the Invictus Games 2017 at Nathan Philips Square on September 25, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.
This is actually a nice look, but maybe not for a woman about to marry a prince under the new glare of the world’s media. Casual is good, but ripped jeans, scuffed shoes, and untucked shirt probably took it a notch too far. The jeans quickly sold out, though. They are “The Ankle Looker Fray jeans in Love Gun.”
6. Scarf Suffocation
Meghan Markle visits Reprezent 107.3FM on January 9, 2018 in London, England. The Reprezent training programme was established in Peckham in 2008, in response to the alarming rise in knife crime, to help young people develop and socialise through radio.
Meghan is partial to scarves, and the way she wears them is very modern and usually right on the money. This one was a bit too much, though. The blog WhatMeghanWore ID’d the scarf as being from “British retailer, Jigsaw. It is the brand’s ‘Sara’ style in oatmeal.”
7. Sail Away
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Nechells Wellbeing Centre to join Coach Core apprentices taking part in a training masterclass on March 8, 2018 in Birmingham, England.
This sailor-inspired nautical coat wasn’t Meghan’s best. She looks better when her clothes don’t drown her petite frame.
The reason Meghan Markle has so few style faux pas, though, is because she generally chooses simple cuts and colors. She has the courage to forge her own look, and that’s what will make her fun to watch as time unfolds. According to Birmingham Live, Meghan forgot to remove a “temporary tacking stitch” from the back of the jacket, which was from J Crew.