We Dissected the Secret Meaning Behind Every Meghan Markle Australia Outfit Thus Far
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We've said it time and time again — the way we choose to dress ourselves can often reflect things about us, even unconsciously. It's why career fields like color psychology exist!
And it's also why we can discern meaning out of what stars choose to wear, including the ever-reticent royal family. Royal fashion dress rules are fairly specific, so a lot of time and energy goes into choosing the wardrobe for special occasions. It has to be chic and aspirational, but appropriate for the venue. It has to be polished, but also show the personality of the wearer. And it absolutely must follow protocol, a collection of rules that governs modern royals' closets, which is a feat in and of itself.
All of this to say is that because so much goes into royal style choices, it makes makes the fashion analysis — including that of newly minted royal Meghan Markle — all the more intriguing. And it makes Markle's Australia tour outfits particularly fun to dissect, since there are common threads connecting them, even if that's not obvious from the get go.
When royals like Meghan and Prince Harry go on official visits to a foreign host country, they tend to incorporate symbols with deeper meaning into their clothing as a sign of respect. BBC reports that Queen Elizabeth is especially good at this, as she "always" pays homage in this way through both colors and brooches.
Kate Middleton has followed suit with her own fashion choices, which became crystal clear when she was in Canada wearing a bright red maple leaf hat (it really does not get more obvious than that).
But back to Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex is curently on her first international extended royal tour, and following the tradition of her predecessors, her clothes have been as much a reflection of Australia as they are her own personality.
During her first day in the country, Markle's outfit was full of hidden meaning, coming right off the heels of her touching pregnancy announcement. Appropriately, she wore an ivory shift dress by Karen Gee, a Syndey-based designer, to honor the host country.
She paired it with Princess Diana's golden butterfly earrings and gold and blue-stoned bracelet, which have significant personal meaning. They were almost certainly a nod to Diana's own journey becoming a royal, since Australia was also Diana and Charles's first tour as married royals.
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But because it was also the first official appearance Meghan made after announcing her pregnancy with Prince Harry, the familial tie-in through the jewelry sent an extra message about the new family Meghan and Harry are creating.
Later that same day, Markle swapped out her Karen Gee dress for an olive Brandon Maxwell shirt dress. Maxwell, of course, is an American designer, not Australian, but seems to be a personal favorite of the duchess (remember her Brandon Maxwell yellow number that broke her style norms in July?)
For her second day on the Australian tour, Markle chose to mix references to charitable causes with shout outs to her pals. She went casual in a pair of $200 skinny jeans from Outland Denim, an organic and sustainable label that employs Cambodian women. (She has long been an advocate of women's rights on a global scale.) Markle paired it with a Maison Kitsuné white button down and simple J.Crew thick-heeled boots, but it was her blazer that had people talking the most.
The outerwear is straight from Serena William's collection, so the significance was rather obvious — Markle wore it to support her friend, a new mom herself who has been working to bust stigmas and stereotypes of motherhood.
For her next leg of the Australian tour, Markle wore a blue Dion Lee dress, again paying homage to Australia. According to Elle UK, once she stepped out, the Australian designer told Herald Sun that his website crashed because so many people were searching for Meghan's look.
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"I think Meghan brings a sophistication and ease to the designs; she is relatable to people and that relaxed sophistication is at the core of our brand," Lee said.
Later that day, while heading to the beach, Markle wore a Club Monaco dress and re-wrore a Martin Grant trench, in yet another subtle reference to Aussies. Grant is a young Australian designer born in Melbourne, where Markle was visiting at the time.
What will she wear next? Obviously, we won't know until she steps out in it, but if it follows in the footsteps of her fashion so far, it'll have subtle meaning beyond first glance all the same.
