In 2015, Meghan Markle sat down with Yahoo Style’s Joe Zee and Kristin Cavallari to talk about her lifestyle site The TIG, her role as Rachel Zane on Suits and her go-to fashion tips to enhance her personal style. But despite revealing tailoring was her best fashion advice, it seems there’s a reason she didn’t follow this when designing her wedding dress.
Meghan was asked how she would describe her personal style, she said: “For me, it’s still that California girl, relaxed, I like to look polished and put together but there’s always going to be an effortless quality to it just being from LA.
“Feminine and sexy – completely. And Rachel [her character in Suits], I love her clothes, but in my off time, I’m not going to wear pencil skirts because I wear one five days a week for work!”
She was then asked if she had “one go-to rule – this thing for every woman who’s watching should do if they want to dial up their personal style”.
Meghan replied: “I think the most important thing you can do is tailoring – no matter what you have in your closet.
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“You think that it’s not going to make a big impact but if it fits you to a T, you look a million times better and I learnt that working on Suits; we literally do our fittings on the inhale – one, two, three, inhale, then get all the sizing right.
“When things are fitting you perfectly you’ll look fantastic,” she added.
In terms of trends, Meghan said you “make them work for you”, and explained: “I think so many people jump on a trend, and not every trend is right for you.”
Despite suggesting tailoring is the most important element when it comes to personal style, Meghan didn’t follow her own rule when it came to designing her wedding dress, in fact, there were some criticisms her dress didn’t fit her properly and was baggy.
Givenchy designer Claire Waight Keller was behind Meghan’s 2018 wedding dress, and together they decided on a cut that would allow the bride to move around without being encumbered by the stiff fabric of the dress.
Harper’s Bazaar writer Mahalia Chang explained how the fabric of Meghan’s dress, “as well as the triple silk organza used to make the underskirt, is extremely thick, stiff and does not allow for much stretch”.
If she were to “hazard a guess” she would say that Claire and Meghan “purposefully chose a more conservative cut along the bodice and sleeves to let the bride move and breathe in the dress more comfortably”.
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“If the cut had been skin-tight—as some are suggesting it should have been—then there’s a chance that Meghan would not have been able to sit (in the car, or during the service) or freely move her arms, due to the constricting nature of such a thick material being cut so tight,” she added.
Apparently, Meghan wanted to have a “modern and fresh” wedding dress, with both designer and bride agreeing a slightly more generous fit was appropriate.
That way, the finished dress came across as “relaxed and sleek rather than over-tight”, but it didn’t land with many – including Katy Perry who admitted “I would have done one more fitting”, when asked what she thought about Meghan’s dress.
“I’m never not going to tell the truth! One more fitting, but I love you,” the singer confessed.
Another complaint regarding the design of Meghan’s dress was that it was boring; there was no Chantilly lace, sewn-on pearls, or taffeta bows like on Princess Diana’s wedding dress.
But, considering Meghan’s approach to royal dress – business separates, relaxed styling, and minimal suit skirts, it’s not a surprise she went low-key and simple.
There are also other suggestions referencing Meghan’s first wedding and how she might’ve wanted an entirely different style dress from the one she wore to ‘say I do’ to Trevor Engelson.
