Even though for the sake of moving to Kensington Palace, Meghan Markle sacrificed her acting career and, in particular, filming on the Suits show: now her whole life is one big and very popular TV series. The debut season - culminating in a 600-seater wedding in Windsor - behind; Well, the second can be safely considered the first royal tour of the newly-made Duchess of Sussex and her prominent spouse, which geographically covered Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji.
16 days, a dozen flights, more than 70 meetings - both social and informal. For all the events, Markle, who immediately announced her pregnancy upon arrival on the Green Continent, took 40 outfits (it's scary to imagine what the overweight was on the way from London to Sydney, where Megan and Harry flew on a commercial flight).
But other figures are even more impressive in this story: it has already been calculated on the Web that the cost of the Duchess's outing wardrobe is more than 117 thousand pounds (about 10 million rubles), and especially for the tour, things were bought for almost 65 thousand pounds (5.5 million rubles). However, the investment seems to have paid off: it is said that Australians and New Zealanders, like the people of Tonga and Fiji, literally fell in love with their guest. It seems like Melania Trump should have taken a couple of lessons from Meghan on dress diplomacy.
Meghan Markle wearing Karen Gee dress and Martin Grant trench coat © Don Arnold / WireImage
Brands
Traditionally, the Duchess supports Canadian brands: after all, she lived in Ontario for seven years - while Suits was being filmed. In addition, Jessica Mulroney is from Canada and is a close friend of Megan and her "unofficial" stylist. But a trip to Oceania is quite a reason to introduce the local designers to the world. What Markle did: now in her enviable wardrobe - Australians Zimmermann, Dion Lee and Martin Grant, New Zealanders Karen Walker and Maggie Marilyn.
Meghan Markle in Martin Grant dress © Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage
At the same time, Markle tried to make her new friends correspond to her old principles: to be “ethical”, and ideally, to be governed by women in one way or another. Like, for example, the Australian brand Karen Gee (founded by a Harvard graduate, stands for body positive, has a local production), from whose snow-white dress the tour started. Or "conscious" Jac + Jack, in which Megan dressed not only herself, but also her husband.
And thanks to the so-called Megan effect, a modest but very responsible Australian denim manufacturer Outland (the Duchess wore their Harriet jeans at least four times) was able to increase production and create two, or even three dozen jobs at her factory in Cambodia.
Meghan Markle in Outland jeans, Lavender Hill top and Karen Walker jacket © Karwai Tang / WireImage
Colors
Of course, Markle could not do without a navy blue that was clearly cute to her - only there were seven dresses in this color. And in this sense, the Duchess represents Great Britain: royal navy is not just the name of the shade, but also the Royal Navy (where Harry, by the way, is listed as Captain General of the Royal Marines). But at the same time, the guest did not forget to express her respect to the host.
1 of 5 Meghan Markle wearing a Dion Lee dress © Samir Hussein / Samir Hussein / WireImage Meghan Markle wearing a Roksanda dress © Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage Meghan Markle wearing a Stella McCartney dress © Karwai Tang / WireImage Meghan Markle wearing a Givenchy top and skirt © Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage Meghan Markle in Antonio Berardi dress © Chris Jackson / Getty Images
For dinner with the President of Fiji, Meghan wore a Safiyaa dress in the color of the Fijian flag (this shade of blue is called Fijian blue). And for the first day in Tonga, I chose two dresses - the scarlet Self-Portrait and the white Theia. What is not an allusion to the flag of the kingdom - red with a little white.
1 of 4 Meghan Markle in a fijian blue Safiyaa dress © Ian Vogler - Pool / Getty Images Meghan Markle in a Self-Portrait dress © Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage Meghan Markle in Theia dress © Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage
And one more thing: when she was on Fraser Island, off the east coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland, Markle dressed up in a dress & other stories in maroon - just like the uniforms of the local rugby team (these guys were even nicknamed The Maroons!).
Meghan Markle in a Hugo Boss dress © Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images
Cut
Fans have long noticed that the duchess, who does not hide her feminist beliefs (being in Wellington at the party on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage, Meghan gave a speech of thanks), loves to integrate things with masculine details into her rather feminine style - whether it be the Maggie Marilyn blazer dress with the dramatic name Leap of Faith or the shirt dresses, of which many were worn during the trip.
1 of 3 Meghan Markle in Gabriela Hears © Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage Meghan Markle in Veronica Beard dress © Karwai Tang / WireImage Meghan Markle in Martin Grant dress © Dominic Lipinski - Pool / Getty Images
It is not necessary to reflect on this, but if you still try to decipher the message, then, most likely, it will come down to the fact that Markle does not plan to be just "plus one" with her husband.
The final
On the last day of the royal tour, there were three outfits at once. Including a navy blue Stella McCartney dress and a Givenchy set consisting of a top and a skirt (which, by the way, almost caused a scandal with its transparency). Doesn't it look like anything? That's right: Givenchy and Stella McCarteny are two brands Meghan wore on her wedding day.
1 of 4 Meghan Markle wearing a Givenchy top and skirt © Pool / Samir Hussein / WireImage Meghan Markle wearing a Zimmerman dress © Samir Hussein / Samir Hussein / WireImage Meghan Markle wearing a Norrøna jacket © Karwai Tang / WireImage
Add to this the Norrøna jacket, borrowed from Harry for walking in the park (the prince had worn the thing a few days earlier), and it didn't take long to decide that on the eve of her return home, the Duchess of Sussex was recalling the day her royal history began.>