The Duchess of Sussex has favored a range of bold styles as she traveled in scorching temperatures during her short tour of Nigeria with Prince Harry.
Unlike the Princess of Wales, who typically opts for a more conservative look when she travels abroad, Meghan Markle opted for a very different warm-weather wardrobe during her most recent visit.
From her £450 blush silk open-back maxi by Californian designer Heidi Merrick, sold as the ‘Windsor Dress’, to her £2,275 striped summer dress with cutouts by Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz, Meghan didn’t hold back when it comes to dress for the 95 Fahrenheit heat.
Megan, 42, also opted for a bright red midi dress with ruffled hem and spaghetti straps for her appearance at a Women in Leadership event in Abuja.
The vibrant dress, designed by Nigerian designer Oríré, ensured the duchess was “in tune with” the country’s “incredible fashion”, she said.
Meghan, 42, wore a £450 blush silk open-back maxi by Californian designer Heidi Merrick, sold as the ‘Windsor Dress’, for her first engagement in Nigeria
Meghan shared her thoughts while co-hosting the event with Nigeria’s Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
She said, “It’s been 24 hours since we arrived, and I quickly got the memo that I needed to wear more color so I can fit in with all of you and your incredible fashion!”
While Kate Middleton tends to opt for more demure dresses – even in high temperatures – Meghan seems keen to show a little more skin.
For her arrival in Jamaica as part of the royal tour of the Caribbean, which the Prince and Princess of Wales completed in March 2022, Kate opted for a yellow dress with a high neckline and cap sleeves by Serbian designer Roksanda.
The Duchess of Sussex, on the other hand, wore a white strapless dress from Australian design studio St Agni to attend a reception with Nigerian Defense Chief Christopher Musa.
Since meeting Prince Harry (including her wedding day, which was watched by millions of people around the world), Meghan has opted for off-the-shoulder and boat-neck styles in both dresses and tops for public appearances.
In particular, she set tongues wagging at her first-ever Trooping the Color when her custom Carolina Herrera dress with bardot neckline showed off both her shoulders and her arms, in a break from tradition in royal fashion – but fans were still wild about the look.
Meanwhile, Kate, also 42, tends to have her outfits tailored so that less skin shows.
At Crown Prince Hussein’s lavish wedding to Rajwa Al-Saif in Jordan last year, the Princess of Wales wore a custom-made Elie Saab dress with long sleeves, a high neckline with ruffles and intricate detailing on the bodice.
Kate opted for a yellow high-neck dress with cap sleeves by Serbian designer Roksanda for her arrival in Jamaica as part of a royal tour of the Caribbean in March 2022
This £2,275 striped summer dress with cutouts from Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz proves Meghan isn’t afraid to put her own stamp on royal clothing
The Duchess of Sussex wore a white strapless dress from Australian design studio St Agni to attend a reception with Nigerian Defense Chief Christopher Musa
Megan chose a bright red midi dress with ruffled hem and spaghetti straps for her appearance at a Women in Leadership event in Abuja
Eagle-eyed fashion insiders may have noticed something unusual about her look: that it was yet another example of the way Kate’s dresses are altered from the runway to make them more conservative.
When the dress was seen on the runway as part of the Lebanese fashion designer’s Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear collection, the dress featured sheer panels on the skirt and top portion.
However, Kate’s has clearly been modified to remove these transparent elements.
The mother of three has developed a trick to ensure her ready-to-wear clothes are tailored before she wears them, by removing revealing hemlines to suit her regal and elegant style.
Although Kate looks fantastic wearing the works of the world’s leading designers, less modest garments that catch the eye on the catwalk rarely meet the standards of the royal dress code.
The British royal family is said to adhere to a very specific style guide, which calls for inappropriately short skirts, too-long daytime dresses, plunging necklines, slits that open when you bend or sit down, and fabrics that eliminate wrinkles.
Since marrying Prince William in 2011, Kate has never failed to show off her perfectly tailored pieces.
The Princess of Wales looked elegant in a soft pink Elie Saab dress as she attended Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding to Rajwa Al-Saif in Jordan with Prince William
When spotted on the runway as part of the Lebanese fashion designer’s Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear collection (pictured), the dress featured revealing sheer panels. These did not appear on Kate’s version of the dress
An example of Kate’s simple yet effective changes was the princess’s show-stopping No Time To Die premiere dress. British label Jenny Packham dressed Kate in a dazzling gold number for the 2021 film premiere at the Royal Albert Hall.
The £4,000 dress, originally thought to be a bespoke creation, featured a small change compared to the catwalk edition: an altered neckline to add a touch of modesty.
In December 2019, the mother of three transformed an Alessandra Rich dress before wearing it for the ‘A Berry Royal Christmas’ programme.
By removing a waist-high slit and a By revealing the keyhole opening at the neckline and adding a wide bow at the neck of the dress, Kate and her stylists made it a fitting outfit for a royal woman.