Meghan and Harry, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, today opened the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.
The powerful exhibition explores the life and times of Nelson Mandela, who passed away in 2013, and marks the 100th anniversary of his birth. The exhibit looks at how Nelson Mandela went from a young freedom fighter into the international movement leader against South Africa’s violent apartheid system.
Meghan’s look was very chic and many royal watchers were taken with the thoroughly modern styling. The sleeveless trench dress has been a signature style for Meghan Markle throughout the years – a style she even wore in her first appearance with Harry, Kate and William together with a belted Jason Wu version.
Image via Kensington Palace
What we thought was notable about the outfit was the possible renewed slant towards Canadian brands with both House of Nonie and Birks being represented – of note because these are both brands that Meghan’s friend and professional stylist Jessica Mulroney has worked with in the past. While the dress was purchased in 2017 while Meghan was still living in Canada, her choice to wear it today may be a welcome sign that Jessica is working more closely on Meghan’s royal wardrobe. Either way, we love the nod to Canada in a look that is very much ‘Meghan’.
Dress: House of Nonie Sleeveless Trench
Heels: Dior Essence Pump in Nude
Bracelet: Believed to be the Zofia Day Yellow Gold Open Diamond Cuff
Rings: TBC, possibly her ring by Catbird
Earrings: Birks Bee Chic White Quartz Stud Earrings
Clutch: Mulberry England “Clifton” Shoulder Bag in Blush Calfskin
Love Meghan’s look today? We asked the team to come up with some of their favourite #MirrorMeg options:
Image via Kensington Palace
What did you think of Meghan’s look?
** Please note that this is a draft of the post which will be finalized as more pictures & details are available. Stay tuned! **
I didn’t like the look. The collars are so big for her face (she has a small face) and she is getting thinner every day, so this dress doesn’t bring out her beauty.
I tend to agree with you. She likes dresses with that collar style, and I always feel like it’s too much fabric for her petite frame. Just like the navy blue Jason Wu dress she wore for the Royal Foundation forum a while back. Now that being said, I appreciate that she did something more modern today AND that she continues to make mindful chooses when choosing who’s designs to wear.
I don’t really love the nude shoes with this dress. Maybe a brown or tan shoe same for handbag. Not crazy about the tie belt either. Agree that this style with the large flappy collar overwhelmed her slight frame. It appears that she is getting thinner, agree. Maybe the stress of her new position.
She’s clearly adopted royal standards for her footwear these days. I kinda miss the strappy sandals and flats we used to see!
She wore flats and sandals to the Audi Polo event two weeks ago.
Great to see them stepping out to honor Tata Madiba. That said, this is not my favorite look – something is just off.
I don’t know, I kind of liked this look. I think the fussy royal looks with fascinators and so on just don’t suit her and are too different from anything she ever would have worn before, but this kind of thing is more her natural style.
I so agree Julie!! With the exception of the fascinator she wore to the Spencer wedding I’m really glad she’s stuck with wider brimmed hats.
I thought that fascinator was the best as well! I would actually really like to see her try something like a stiff straw hat with ribbon trim – in a polished enough style I think it would be perfectly appropriate for any royal event. I don’t think the kind of hats Kate wears will ever really work for Meghan, who doesn’t come from a background where such hats are ever worn.
LOL! I can’t see Meghan ever wearing a hat like the one Kate wore to the christening or to the Trooping, much too fussy for Meghan’s style.
Oh Lauri, why must you hate on the DoC’s hat at the christening – it was stunning ?. Did you see the close up from the photos yesterday?
It reminded me so much of the head piece the Duchess of Windsor wore to her wedding.
I liked this look too. It seems very her. Some of her other recent looks are more fancy and fitting in with the royal style (still lovely though), while this seems more like something she’s perhaps naturally drawn to.
I really love this look on the Duchess of Sussex. I see that some might feel the collar is a bit too big, but I happen to love a collar detail, so that’s just my preference.
I’m always there for the Duchess in soft, nude colors, and I think that the modern details on this coat dress make it more interesting, The shoes and bag are not the most striking accessories she’s worn since becoming a royal, but they compliment the dress nicely and still look chic.
The choice of wearing her hair a tighter bun was the right one with a large collar like this, and her makeup is natural and polished as usual. It’s worth noting that Melania Trump also wore a fabulous (with sleeves) neutral coat dress last week while on her European tour, and I think this will become a more coming style from even more women this season.
Hi Madison! I think that with the buttons, belt and back flap on this dress, Meghan’s choice of accessories is spot on, they let the dress take center stage.
I completely agree! I love the dress and the shoes are quite spot on! This style really suits her and the blush color is striking against her skin tone. I also liked that the hairstyle was more relaxed, with a few strands escaping the bun, similar to the messy buns she used to sport pre-wedding! All in all, I think it was a lovely ensemble <3
I just read on another site that Meghan actually bought this dress in Toronto before she moved to London so it is quite possible that Jessica introduced her to this line.
I absolutely love Meghan in this blush pink color!! And her accessories are a perfect fit for this outfit! Sigh…yet again Meghan has brought out a purse that I must have!! I have to say that I’m enjoying her take on monochromatic dressing and in turn I’ve been shopping my closet in order to put together similar looks.
Thanks MM for all your hard work!!!
I like Duchess Meghan, whatever she wears, she looks naturally chic and beautiful. The causes she is standing for are noble and important. I love Duchess Meghan and the most significant wish I still have for is: God protect you, Harry and Meghan!
Meh. I agree with the others that there is too much fabric going on here on her slight frame. And the accessories are deadly dull (although I would probably like the bag in a color). I would have loved to have seen, say, some leopard-print shoes. Love the earrings, though.
I actually really love the red and white striped shirtdress with the coordinating red headwrap on the woman in the second picture. She looks fab! All the other women are wearing such colorful looks that Meghan looks kind of drab in comparison.
And I just read that the woman in red is Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter. Her red lipstick is also on point.
Would love a leopard print shoe too ?.
Yes I would have paired this dress with a different shoe, although she can’t wear them, a block heel sandal with ankle wrapped straps and a different handbag. Leopard or snakeskin print! Yes! Maybe a fun patterned clutch and a cool bangle as an accessory. Nude shoes and bag don’t necessarily go with everything. I wish she would re-wear the navy dress she wore when she and her Mom went to tea with the Queen, the Roland Mouret? This blush combo would have been a nice contrast to the navy.
Meghan never stopped wearing Birks and she has worn Canadian brands since her engagement to Harry so the comment that it was a surprise to royal watchers that she wore these choices strikes me as odd. Apparently, the dress was in her wardrobe for some time and I think it would be only natural that from time to time she would wear Canadian brands. I liked the whole outfit.
I think Meghan knows what suits her. I might not like this look on someone else, but in my opinion it suits Meghan perfectly. She looks fresh, modern and professional, and clearly enjoys this engagement. No wonder Harry looks so proud of his wife! In general I think Meghan is doing really well as a royal. She always looks genuinely interested in things and people and has even managed to create a royal style with a personal touch in it.
This look is so Meghan! Love that she’s wearing some pieces (like the dress and purse) she owned before the engagement/wedding. It’s modern and true to her style. She looks polished and stylish!
I think this look is quintessentially Meghan. I personally would’ve preferred a contrasting color on the accessories, but I know her style skews towards the monochromatic. For a trench coat, the fit seems to be spot on (perhaps a touch loose in the waist) and I actually like the exaggerated collar and trench details on her frame. I love that she continues to blazer her own fashion trail and didn’t immediately start wearing powder blue dress coats and sculpted hairdos.
My only quibble is that the back of the collar is standing too far off from the back of her neck which makes it look like she wore the wrong size. Otherwise I thought it was all quite appropriate. I don’t know how they manage those stilettos though.
The extremely high stilettos are really starting to get to me. Wearing them seems like temporarily rendering yourself unable to walk easily and certainly unable to run in an emergency. Maybe we’ll all come to our senses one day and look back on these absurdly high heels as a strange aberration. They only really came into fashion relatively recently after all. Women wore heels before but a sensible height which could be worn quite comfortably all day.
Thank you Imogen for this comment. In a world where woman are empowered in so many ways many of us continue to totter precariously in 5 inch heels as we grip the arms of our male companions for stability. I am waiting for one of these lovely ladies to fall and break an ankle or worse a hip. This style is no different than the tight whale boned corsets of the Victorian era or foot binding! Well, it does hurt to be beautiful as the saying goes…
Well said. I agree!
Love this look, head to toe! The large collar works great with her hair loosely pulled back. Shoes, jewelry, dress are all on point. This look is different from a traditional ensemble and it suits her and the occasion. I love how the neutral color looks great in photos with the beautiful colors and patterns of the other attendees and choir.
Have to say, I like the accessories more than the dress. It’s nice to see some earrings that aren’t tiny and give sufficient sparkle and I love the nude court shoes (I know they’re a bit of an acquired taste but my love affair with them started way back when Kate wore them a lot, I just think it’s a colour for any colour combo!) I’m not a fan of the dress, mainly because I’m not a fan of trench coats as I don’t like the material and I think it overwhelms her tiny figure somewhat. I actually think it would have been a good chance to repeat the green Self-Portrait dress with the McQueen blazer as that look has grown on me since she first appeared in it. The messy bun is not for me personally, but I can see why people like it. Would still like to see her in something a little less expensive though, I’ve seen some lovely things on the Ted Baker website, I wonder if she’d like anything, shoes are especially nice.
I am the opposite. I was ambivalent about nude pumps until Kate wore them all the time and now I hate them with the red-hot fire of a thousand burning suns.
Haha OG, you took the thought right out of my head and said it better than I could have!
That having been said, for some reason I don’t mind the nude pumps here. Maybe it’s because they are actually exactly the same colour as the dress, which makes it a bit unexpected.
This is the good Meghan style and the bad Meghan style – good because it’s a bit irreverent, casual but interesting and relaxed; bad because it’s too long, and ‘wears’ her.
I like the idea of a trench dress, but this looks like a trench coat minus sleeves, rather than a trench coat reinterpreted as a dress.
I think that’s what I had an issue – the dress wearing her. I feel like she sometimes wears things that she can’t pull off because of her height even with heels on. My first thought when I saw the dress was ‘Melania would rock that’.
Great look! I’m really liking this look on Meghan she looks very stylish and I especially love the high collar on the dress.
She looks fabulous!!! everything about this look works…its her to a T…her messy bun, the dress colour, slightly turned up collar, sky high pumps and delicate jewellery. She was at the even for less than an hour yet she was so glamorous and ethereal ……. not a fashion show but business casual and suitable for the summer….. she needn’t look so polished like Melania Trump or prim like kate to look good. To me she looked exactly like how I would expect Meghan to dress up… She re-wore a dress by an up and coming fashion house headed by a woman thus thrusting her into the spotlight and creating immense opportunities for the designer!! She is to be appluaded..a woman supporting another woman. The trench coat dress is a winner in my book!!!
Agreed!
In the closeup photos of the bracelet on Meghan, it looks like she may have 3 rings on too.
No it doesn’t work .. Meghan has large square shoulders and this makes her look larger up top.. New stylist needed. Plus for the amount of money spent on this could have gone to a charity for kids with hardly any clothes.. Markle the hypocrite
I love this look