Duchess Meghan has made a conscious effort to not copy Kate’s duchess style

Royals Xmas Day church

Back in December, the smear campaign against the Duchess of Sussex was in full effect. Most of the smears were centered around the “feud” between Meghan and Kate. The duchesses seemed to nip that in the bud on Christmas Day, by making the effort to look chatty and friendly with each other. Their friendliness seemed to expose something else though: that the real feud is probably between their husbands, and that Meghan and Kate are being used as pawns in the brothers’ war. Anyway, back in December, I lost track of how many stories were about how Meghan and Kate were sniping at each constantly. One of those stories was hilariously about how Kate and her people were super-mad about Meghan “copying” Kate’s style. Which… please. Meghan has worn some buttony ensembles and she’s worn a few looks which reminded me of Kate, but mostly Meghan has carved out her own style story. And “sources” say that Meghan did that on purpose:

Meghan Markle has worked over the past year to establish her fashion identity as a working duchess—and consciously create a style different from Kate Middleton’s, a royal insider tells ELLE.com. Despite salacious tabloids alleging Kate and her team are annoyed that Meghan has copied her, Kate is not actually upset by or jealous of Meghan, as the women have very different styles and interests. In fact, Kate has been helping her. “Kate has been on hand to help guide Meghan with advice about certain designers and royal protocol,” the royal insider explains.

Meghan and Kate have different teams to plan their outfits. Meghan works with her friend and stylist Jessica Mulroney to review what she’ll wear to events long in advance, as Mulroney is based in Toronto and visits Meghan only periodically.

From the very start, Meghan and Mulroney knew that the Kate comparisons would be inevitable—and they treaded carefully in the beginning. The royal insider explains that there was a “conscious effort” by the two women to “not be accused of copying Kate’s style.” Their goal was to give Meghan her own unique wardrobe. But Meghan and Mulroney aren’t completely opposed to taking a little inspiration from Kate since the Duchess of Cambridge dresses so well and according to royal protocol. Mulroney has “certainly kept an eye on Kate’s style because she hasn’t put a foot wrong and is a great role model,” the insider says.

[From Elle]

Eh, they’re bending over backwards to make it sound like Kate always looks flawless, like she hasn’t spent a good chunk of her duchess years with flyaway hems, hot pink coats at memorials and what must be a million button-slathered ensembles. What bugs me is that Meghan will never be given the same time to develop her duchess-look – she’s expected to instantly get it right from the word “go” and that’s impossible. As for Meghan making a conscious effort to not copy Kate…yes, and you can see that. But what’s weird is that it definitely feels like Kate has subtly copied Meghan several times over the past few months.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is all smiles at the Hubb Community Kitchen in London

Meghan Markle shows off growing baby bump while making a visit to the Royal Variety care home

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.

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67 Responses to “Duchess Meghan has made a conscious effort to not copy Kate’s duchess style”

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  1. L84Tea says:

    Never once have I ever thought that Meghan’s style looked anything like Kate’s. They’re not even in the same ballpark. Meghan wears lots of trousers and neutrals. Kate wears lot of coat dresses and jewel tones. Anybody who tries to convince themselves that Meg is copying her is just being a turd.

    • AnnaKist says:

      L84Tea, I completly agree with you. Meghan has had her own fashion thing going on since way back. When she and Harry first started going out (or when their relationship first became public, anyway), she had her own style – neutrals, modern, and not immodest. I really liked her casual outfit when they attended an Invictus Games event – skinny jeans, flats, a big bag. She copped a lot of criticism even then, but it was a totally appropriate outfit for that event, and she looked good. I don’t think Catherine does casual very well; she always looks awkward and like she tried too hard to look casual. Since her engagement, Meghan looks more ‘’polished’’, but definitely not a Katie Clone. And that’s a goo thing. They both look good with their hair off their faces.

    • Roux says:

      Except with the buttons. They share a mutual love of buttons.

  2. Torontoe says:

    I think they both look lovely and have some gorgeous pieces and they have their own esthetic. However I think they both need new and better stylists (based in England). Given their access and money they should look AMAZING and I find they both over rely on certain styles rather than mix it up.

    • minx says:

      Agree, although I have less hope for Kate, I think she has her look and now she’s comfortable with it. Meghan definitely should fire her stylist.

      • The Hench says:

        Also agree. Most of the people I know have better style and that’s without an expensive, so-called professional stylist to choose their clothes for them, access to any label and oodles of cash.

      • LoveMusic says:

        Meghan’s stylist is a disaster!! Too many bespoke clothes and French designers. I wonder if Jessica is getting a cut of each outfit, which may be why she is steering Meghan to such expensive clothes.
        I don’t like Meghan’s royal style or tailoring and I don’t like Kate’s casual style. I do like her coat dresses, though, and I like Meghan in separates.

      • arsesds73 says:

        @LoveMusic. I suppose our opinions differ here, but don’t all royals wear expensive clothing? How many French designers has Meghan wore anyway – other than Givenchy, Dior? It seems recently its very spread out – Australian, Canadian, American, English, etc. From my understanding, royals have to pay for the clothing that they purchase. This assumption that somehow her friend is benefiting from steering her towards certain designers could also be applied to other royals as well. A stylist’s job is to dress their client in a way that makes their client happy – if Meghan is okay with that then that’s fine. Do I think improvements can be made and should be made, absolutely! For both Jessica and Meghan, I think that style + tailoring (especially with Meghan’s pregnancy) is a bit of a learning curve at the moment and its only been a few months since she got married. I think 2019 style wise for Meghan is going to be interesting to watch.

    • Chrome says:

      @arsesds73
      They just have to be appropriately dressed for the occasion, not spend a bomb. These are Meg’s costs since marriage (not including the wedding dress). They are much higher than any other royal woman: http://ufonomore.com/blog/costs-2018
      It’s a fine line to walk: not too extravagant but elegant. I agree with others; Meghan needs a British stylist who better understands the requirements of the job. Before the wedding there were some lovely pieces you could see being part of an ongoing work wardrobe but we haven’t really seen much of them since. Just lots of expensive stuff that will go out of style quickly. Megs hasn’t been wearing much maternity gear since the OZ/Pacific tour – that dress to the retirement home for example – and there have only been a smattering of engagements since then anyway. Next is 23 January and probably very little until baby Sussex is born.

      • arsesds73 says:

        @Chrome – I find many issues with how that blog calculated the costs for each royal. One of the main reasons is that they have counted stuff that she has owned prior to marrying Harry into the tally and also included costs of her pre-engagement clothing. Also they did not include Kate’s $10,000 custom made McQueen gown. Plus the Mail contacted KP and confirmed her pre-engagement clothing was paid privately – as in Meghan had purchased them. They included her wedding jewelry in the tally – which are indeed expensive (200,000) don’t get me wrong, but because they don’t know if they were gifts from Charles – she included that in the tally. To say that she spent 400,000 on her wardrobe is off. There are many things wrong with how she calculated it. Plus Jessica packed her pre-royal wedding wardrobe – as in the stuff that she has worn before she got married. I definitely think that Jessica coming over to Australia was to help Meghan – even if they won’t confirm it officially (problem being she isn’t an official employee of KP). I definitely agree that one dress she wore to the retirement home was a miss, but we haven’t even seen her since that much since the OZ/NZ tour – her other clothing after that (other than the retirement dress) – the Givenchy gown, the Victoria Beckham dress, and the Seraphina one were definitely maternity style. In terms of whether her clothing stays in style or not depends on the viewer. Fashion is subjective and people will always have something positive or negative to say about what you wear, which is why Meghan can have her own royal style and is still carving it out. She hasn’t worn stuff extremely inappropriate, its not like she’s wearing short shorts and extremely short skirts. What is royal style? It seems to be different for every royal I have seen, its unique to each person. One of the main reasons I want to give Jessica another chance is because this is someone who Meghan seems very comfortable with and with whom she seems to have a great partnership with and who seems to be willing to listen to what Meghan wants. Right after Meghan got married, she was getting someone from the palace dressing her, it was conservative and honestly not “Meghan.” She didn’t look happy or comfortable with what she was wearing. I understand why many of you advocate for a local stylist, but I want to give both Meghan and Jessica a chance to work this out. Honestly if it doesn’t work in the future, she will hire someone, but the only thing I would say is give them chance to figure this out.

  3. Lily says:

    I agree, Meghan has just married into the royal family and has quickly fallen pregnant for the first time. Her role AND body has completely changed, let’s give her a break in finding her royal style as well as maternity style that is both professional and comfortable. It isn’t fair that, unlike her white counterpart, she is not being given the luxury of time to get things right. But then again, this is how black women and bi racial women have been treated since the dawn of time, so this is not surprising, just really disappointing. Also, does anybody else think it’s fishy that these stories about her fashion/Kate are coming out now, when she’s pregnant and not as present?

    • Notanotherpostcard says:

      Lily, I have been reading mean comments on Kate’s style here and other places for over a decade. People have made fun of her hems, twee outfits, buttons, etc, for years and years. Just recently they have given her a break!

      This is not a racist thing. The press just loves to attack women royals for stupid things. Fergi, Diana, and Kate are all white and the press has gone after them and made fun of them for years and years. So why is anyone insisting Meg is getting attacked because of the color of her skin?

      Everything is not about race! It is more about not having interesting stories to write about so throw in something stupid about women fighting…

      • MargaritasForBreakfast says:

        It is a racist thing. Piers Morgan and others on social media continue to bash Meghan for being bi-racial and therefore not good enough for Prince Harry despite his history of black sheep behavior. It is indeed a racist thing.

      • A88 says:

        Piers doesn’t bash her for being bi-racial. He’s stroppy that she ghosted him and angry that someone social climbed better than he did. He failed in Hollywood and is pretty universally disliked in the UK. He’s just being petulant, even though he’s probably right in this case.

      • Tina says:

        OT, but if you want to see a wonderful owning of Piers Morgan, check out the Greggs twitter account. Greggs is a fast food chain that makes very unhealthy, very delicious pies, pasties and other savoury baked goods. It has just launched a vegan sausage roll (its marketing team deserves all the awards) and Piers went apocalyptic.

      • LoveMusic says:

        The British press has mocked Kate for almost 20 years. Diana and Fergie were attacked by the press. I think there is some racism, but it’s mostly xenophobia, classism and mostly sexism.

    • Nikki says:

      NOT snarking, but I have never heard the phrase “fallen pregnant” and I find it extremely amusing.

      • NotSoSocialButterfly says:

        It’s quite antiquated.

      • Tw says:

        I had the same thought. Makes it sound like a disease. lol. “She’s got the pregnancy. Poor thing has fallen to the pregnancy.”

      • jan90067 says:

        OMG Tw, you had me snorting my coffee out at that! VERY funny!!!!

        When I hear “fallen pregnant” I always flash on a image of a woman falling on a p@nis LOL. OOPS! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up 😈

      • minx says:

        IKR? “Fallen” pregnant?

      • RedWeatherTiger says:

        It seems like a thing only a royal would do. Like, whenever Kate has a baby, the announcement is always phrased, “the duchess was delivered of a baby.” Such an awkward expression, but I guess they want it to sound passive so no one imagines a duchess actually GIVING BIRTH.

      • Tina says:

        It’s a very common turn of phrase in the UK, but I can 100% see how it would sound amusing.

      • Spicecake38 says:

        I like *fallen*,but as RedWeatherTiger says above,it is hilarious to me when we hear how *the duchess was delivered of a baby*

      • ex-Mel says:

        People “fall” asleep, too – as well as fall silent, fall ill, etc. It is a perfectly normal – and lovely – turn of phrase. I hope English doesn’t fall prey to the general oversimplification that has been going on for the past few years, but it seems to be happening already.

      • Klemmy says:

        You’re not very well informed then, because it’s a common phrase in the uk

      • Janey says:

        It’s pretty common in the UK. “When I fell pregnant” sounds so much better than “when I got pregnant”.

  4. Lauren says:

    They dress nothing alike. Kate likes a lot of structure, and Meghan tends toward more loose garments. Kate is more classic and Meghan is more modern. Kate tends toward brighter, lighter colors and Meghan towards darker. Anything that at first seems similar is really just superficially so. They are different people with different personalities and backgrounds – their style reflects that.

  5. Millennial says:

    I think Kate has taken a lot of cues from the queen in terms of all the dang cost dresses (they aren’t my taste but whatever). But it was smart, she was the first true commoner to marry and heir and she needed to style herself really well to “make up” for not being an aristocrat.

    Meghan should arguably get more style leeway, being married to the spare, but I think some racism, etc… is playing out in that she’s being held to higher expectations.

  6. MCV says:

    This supposed feud is as boring as Kate and Meghan style. I like some of the thing they have worn but I don’t think they’re fashion icons or something like that. Maybe it’s because I’m young but I wouldn’t wear practically anything Kate has worn until i’m like 50. Meghans style is very basic so it’s more difficult to not like i think.

  7. Becks1 says:

    Yeah, I mean, maybe Meghan asked Kate for advice about what to wear to something like a memorial service at Westminster or something (a big, somber event that wouldn’t be like anything Meghan had attended before), but I don’t believe there is that much fashion advice being exchanged, on either side.

    They are very different women and dress very differently, even if its within a general spectrum of fashion. (meaning, I think both women try to branch out in their ways, but both stick to the general picture of how a royal should dress, even if people get mad that Meghan wore trousers or something stupid like that – since royal women, even in the BRF, definitely wear trousers.)

  8. Piper says:

    This story is mainly banal dribble but what I find interesting in most to all of these new-ish now that we are past the smearing is each tries to center Kate as heroine lol above, Kate being such a keen dresser helps poor megs where she can lol. Each story, even the positive Meg stories, needs to position Kate in a superior light. Like now that they’re trying to get back on track, Kate is flawless lol Why. There’s often no need to mention Kate at all but of course she’s laced in there more than Harry now.

    As for Kate, Who again I think was always fine, if not ignored internationally… never really saw her as leading in fashion but she definitely dresses nice. My only complaint for her has been in the past few years she dresses 10yrs older than necessary. I get it, she’s future queen but she’s not queen now and she sometimes dresses like she’s Mary Poppins vs a elegant relatively young mom at 36. Is swear if I didn’t know better she’s in her mid to late 40s. It makes her look older than necessary but hey that’s just me. Meghan has had definite hits and misses. That black and white ball gown with that thin neck strap was ghastly, and that some of those sundresses in Australia were meh at best. She gets too caught up in repeating neutral tones to a fault. But when she scores she scores and no way anyone with eyeballs looks at Meghan and thinks she’s going for Kate’s look. Totally different sensibility and effort. Meghan goes for modern, sleek and contemporary… and that’s not Kate’s bag. They do though compliment each other via contrast which should be appreciated more. Meghan appeals to more modern style and Kate more traditional. Something for everyone lol.

    • MargaritasForBreakfast says:

      We are not past the smearing. Piers Morgan and people on social media are continuing to bash Meghan on a daily basis.

  9. aaa says:

    The source for this article is all over the place, so an eye was kept on Kate’s style but a conscious effort was made not to copy Kate, however Kate is a great role model and Meghan’s team is not above having Kate be a source of inspiration.

  10. Cara says:

    What bothers me is that two grown women (one 37!) apparently need “time” to develop their wardrobe instead of dressing professionally from the start. It’s really not that difficult, even if you don’t have much style, considering you have stylists and protocol experts on your personal staff.

  11. Sonia says:

    How about no one is copying any one? And they’re both women who must wear clothes that are considered appropriate for certain occasions thus limiting the types of outfits they can both wear and therefore sometimes look similar, as does every woman in a similar position?

  12. Bee says:

    Every time I see Kate lately I can’t help but think she’s channelling Princess Anne, dressing too old, too prim, and too conservative. She may as well start raiding Anne’s closet from the ’80’s.

  13. Zabar says:

    I think they definitely have distinct styles, both good & bad. My personal style is more aligned with Kate’s, though I so wish I could pull off Meg’s robe coats & that aqua gown from the tour. Totally dreamy.

  14. Pearlime says:

    Jessica Mulroney or whoever really styles Megs would of course look at what Kate is wearing – every good stylist has an eye on the competition while also making sure that the choices for group appearances are no jarring.

    As for Kate: Lets not forget that with Natascha Archer on maternity leave she has had a new private secretary and PA/Stylist – one of them is Catherine Quinn who joined mid 2017. I’d say that the few noticable changes in her fashion choices (especially footwear) are down to that, rather than copying Megs.
    Plus the odd similarities were mainly things that are fashionable at the moment or in general.

    • Lorelei says:

      Would a secretary really have anything to do with fashion choices, though? Especially one as accomplished as CQ?

      • Chrome says:

        Can’t see Catherine Quinn advising Kate on fashion. Quinn is a professional administrator. Both Kate and Meghan have the means to access professional stylists who know what is expected from the job. If they choose their friends to take on the job, it’s not going to turn out all that well.

  15. Nikki says:

    I saw an article in US magazine that showed 3 pictures of how Meghan is copying Kate’s style. As you can imagine, they were ridiculous: Meghan wore a cranberry colored coat (JUST the color was similar to Kate’s!), a tartan-inspired skirt (ditto, just the colors), and some kind of cream wrap around dress, which was only vaguely similar. It was just so stupid, like if Meghan even wore a black dress, she’d be copying! Can’t believe anyone would believe that nonsense.
    Kate dresses mostly in frilly long dresses that look very conservative, and fit her like a glove, and often in bright colors. Meghan often dresses in neutrals, and her clothes are either fitted or quite baggy, but are not so old-ladyish as Kate’s. Both ladies could improve their style, IMO.

  16. aaa says:

    If Meghan’s team feels compelled to seek inspiration from other royal women, I think Crown Princess Mary and Queen Letizia are the best choices. Princess Charlene of Monaco can be a secondary inspiration, Charlene is a fabulous dresser but I put her in the secondary spot because she and Meghan have different frames.

    I think that whoever styled Meghan on Suits would be a good consultant as well. Meghan’s Suits style does not translate wholesale to her role as The Duchess of Sussex but I think (hope) that the stylist would present ideas that would add an edgy oomph to Meghan’s wardrobe without crossing the line.

    • harla says:

      I so agree aaa!! Letizia and Mary are definitely great royal fashion role models. I think that since they both worked before marrying into their respective royal families they have a great sense of what’s appropriate and professional while still keeping it fun. I do like a lot of Charlene’s outfits but I do also find them very severely chic, a bit too chic if you know what I mean.

    • L84Tea says:

      Yessssss. Princess Mary of Denmark is the epitome of chic and always looks appropriate and amazing.

    • Erinn says:

      But they’re also a decade older than she is. I mean – they dress perfectly nicely. But half the time Kate’s been called matronly, the other half of the time she’s called too twee… and I find some of the outfit choices by Letizia and Mary can lean pretty old. Some of their outfits are amazing, and would be great for Meghan… but there’s a lot that I really don’t like.

    • Lorelei says:

      @AAA this is exactly what I was going to say. I wish that Meghan had been able to take her wardrobe, hair and makeup people from Suits because she always, *always* looked flawless on the show. Obviously lighting is part of it, but she’s never looked as good as she did on basically every scene of the show.

      • arsesds73 says:

        @Lorelei – but is that Meghan’s style though? That was Rachel Zane. I agree the suits wardrobe was SPECTACULAR and so was the hair + makeup – but it could also be that Meghan might not gravitate towards that style all the time. Hair and makeup for her character most likely also takes a lot of time before you have to get ready to shoot and I think it was a lot of makeup they put on her to achieve that aesthetic. I also wonder if the suits style would be okay as royal style?

  17. Poppy says:

    😒 I’m sorry but these 2 women are both boring, what is so interesting about them?

  18. Elizabeth Suzanne Phillips says:

    For years, Kate carried clutches. After Meghan carried a handbag, Kate carried one too.

  19. A88 says:

    Kate has no style. She often looks like she’s wearing old curtain fabric. She looks OK because she is tall and extremely thin, but let’s not pretend slim = style. Meghan has come in with her own style, for better or for worse – and it’s mostly been for the better. That floral sundress in winter with the grey coat was awful, but the velvet Givenchy was amazing. She’s still finding her footing. Of course she will be criticized for being a bit too risque (wearing a dress above the knee without stockings, why I never!) but she is not the same as Waity Katie who literally did nothing for a decade other than prepare to be a bride. The criticism against Meghan is because she is an independent woman coming in “at a certain age” and not a malleable and dull as Kate. But I’m also very sure she’s a terror to the staff who have molded Kate from essentially a rich child and are finding it’s not so easy with someone who has had to actually work to achieve things in life.

  20. Vanessa says:

    It’s seems to me like the British press went all out with the Duchess at wars headlines for weeks now once the two Duchess did the church walk you could see that they were fine. they both were friendly and chatting with each other proven that the media were wrong blow everything out of proportions to farther tarnished Meghan because they know writing hateful, lies about Meghan drives traffic to their sites. Now the media is switching tactics now its meghan is copying kate because Kate is the mostly stylish regal perfect Duchess to ever live she the great white hope of England and meghan the biracial American could never measure up to kate the great.

  21. Bobbalou says:

    I think they both look fine albeit not fashion icons. Kate could dress a little younger, and Meghan could pay more attention to pairings and tailoring. Many pregnant women wear clothes that fit well and I daresay few have spent a million dollars on clothes this year. I love Queen Maxima’s style but probably not for K or M.

  22. Eribra says:

    I like how Kate dresses, I like how Meghan dresses for the most part. What I really hoped is that Kate would relax her style, and her wearing pants gave me great hope but it’s been dashed.

  23. Nic919 says:

    So if Kate was giving her advice and yet Meghan was still being accused of breaking protocol was Kate setting her up? I can’t keep all the tabloid contradictions straight.

    It’s pretty obvious Meghan has continued to dress the way she has for many years of her adult life. She’s added more hats because the British wear them much more. But otherwise she hasn’t changed much at all. Until she starts wearing coat dresses in the same style in various colours, there is nothing to suggest she and Kate have ever discussed style.

    • Some chick says:

      @Nic919 “So if Kate was giving her advice and yet Meghan was still being accused of breaking protocol was Kate setting her up?”

      Ooh, GOOD QUESTION! 😂😂😂

  24. Cidy says:

    Honestly they could use some inspiration from each other. Meg needs to tailor her clothes more, Kate needs variety and they both need help with their makeup. But they are both gorgeous women who are just under the microscope too much. Neither of them is going to nail it each time.

    I literally look homeless at work today, leggings and an oversized t shirt, I’m hiding in my desk like a gremlin.

  25. Dali says:

    I want to have their problems.
    Gosh, so much nonsense

  26. FredsMother says:

    Meh! Only similarity is that they are two boringly dressed Duchesses. One likes Royalty/QueeninWaiting Cosplay and the other is YogaQueenMisguidedbyNepo-stylist. Equally boring.

    So much money, so little taste. I’ll stick to focusing on the causes…. Sigh… When are the causes gonna happen? Meaningfully.

  27. Flying Fish says:

    Stupseeeee

  28. Katebush says:

    Let’s be honest neither of them are fashion icons.
    They both have had hits and misses which is to be expecte. I like looking at what they wear and how they wear it but they are both so different stylistically it’s obvious there is no copying going on.
    I wish Meghan was stick with tailored pieces rather than sloppy belted outfits she seems to like. I think she would benefit from a new stylist to be honest.
    I don’t mind Kate’s clothes most of the time I think she looks great but I feel like she’s too thin especially recently and it ages her but both of them must be under huge pressure with all the scrutiny so it’s probably not surprising.
    But my main bugbear with both of them is the cost of their clothing. I would love to see them mix up. Their designer pieces with more affordable items and things from lesser known designers.