Meghan Markle’s Fashion Evolution – Business Insider

Meghan Markle began pursuing acting professionally in the early 2000s, but her Hollywood career really took off after she was cast in “Suits” in 2011.

As she made a name for herself, Meghan often walked red carpets in minidresses with daring touches. For instance, at the GQ Men of the Year Party in November 2012, she wore a silky, orange-toned dress with a low neckline and ruching on the waist.

Gold accessories completed the look.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle went on their first date in July 2016.

The same month, the future Duchess of Sussex stepped out in New York in a red midi dress with a more sophisticated feel than her typical ensembles, thanks to its longer hemline and structured bodice.

The dress offered a preview of how Meghan’s style would evolve as she became a royal.

Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in November 2017, stepping out for a photo-call at Kensington Palace to celebrate the news.

Meghan wore a white coat from Line The Label with pointed lapels and a knot tie at the waist. It was elegant and similar in style to the looks favored by royals. Plus, the white color emanated bridal energy.

Harry and Meghan visited Nottingham together in December 2017, greeting members of the public as an engaged couple for the first time.

For the occasion, Meghan paired a black turtleneck with a midi-length, khaki skirt that flared around her knees. A thin, black belt and boots from Kurt Geiger completed the look.

The high neckline and long skirt were in line with silhouettes royals have long favored, but Meghan put a modern spin on the style with her separates and edgy boots.

Harry and Meghan got married at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018.

Meghan wore a bespoke wedding dress designed by Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy. Her off-the-shoulder gown had a boat-style neckline and a dramatic train. She paired the dress with a 16-foot veil and a tiara she borrowed from Queen Elizabeth II. It remains the only tiara Meghan has worn to date.

The look had the drama and beauty of other royal wedding dresses, but the lack of lace embroidery made it stand out from Princess Diana’s and Kate Middleton’s wedding gowns.

Stella McCartney designed Meghan’s second wedding dress, a floor-length gown with a halter neckline.

The dress softly hugged Meghan’s frame and spilled into a trumpet-style skirt at the bottom. White pumps and dangly earrings completed the chic gown.

It was slightly more daring than her first dress since it had no sleeves and a lower back, nodding to Meghan’s Hollywood days.

In her 2022 Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” Meghan said she rarely wore bright colors when she was a working royal because she didn’t want to accidentally wear the same color as other family members.

“To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same color as Her Majesty, if there’s a group event,” she said on the show. “But then you also should never be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family.”

Meghan said she thought other senior royals wouldn’t wear “a lot of muted tones,” so she did.

For instance, at Trooping the Colour in June 2018, Meghan wore a pale-pink Carolina Herrera dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline and button detailing on the bodice. A coordinating hat completed the chic look.

Harry and Meghan’s first royal tour was in the South Pacific in the fall of 2018. The Duchess of Sussex was pregnant with their first child at the time. Meghan wore dozens of looks on the trip, showing off some slightly more casual looks that still had a royal feel.

For instance, during an appearance at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Meghan wore a sleeveless, striped maxi dress designed by Martin Grant with Castañer wedges. The look was put together without being too formal, balancing royal expectations and the beachy venue.

Meghan didn’t shy away from chic outfits when building out her maternity wardrobe in 2019, sticking to the clean lines and muted tones she preferred during her tenure as a royal.

She also wore a mix of designer pieces and more affordable garments, and that mix of high-low would become a hallmark of her style. For instance, at a royal engagement in January 2019, Meghan’s monochromatic cream outfit consisted of a $34 sweater dress from H&M and an Armani coat.

Harry and Meghan chose not to do their first photo-call as parents at the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital, as Kate Middleton and Princess Diana did, instead introducing Prince Archie to the press at Windsor Castle.

Likewise, Meghan didn’t wear a loose, pastel dress like Diana and Kate favored for their photo-calls with their newborns. Instead, she wore a form-fitting Grace Wales Bonner dress. The white, knee-length dress had double-breasted, gold buttons on the bodice and a bow that fastened just below her chest.

Nude heels added to the sophisticated feel of Meghan’s first public outfit as a mom.

Harry and Meghan announced their step back as senior royals in January 2020, and they attended their final royal engagement in their roles, a Commonwealth Day Service, in March.

Meghan swapped out her usual neutral-toned looks for a bright-green Emilia Wickstead dress. The midi-length dress was form-fitting and had a high neckline, and a cape flowed out over one shoulder. She paired it with a matching, netted hat and nude pumps.

The elegant and bright look made Meghan stand out at the event.

The Duchess of Sussex mostly stayed out of the public eye in the second half of 2020, but she appeared in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

Meghan wore a $4,700 Armani dress for the interview. The black dress had a V-neckline, a belted waist, and a lotus flower printed onto one side of the bodice.

Though the dress was designer, it looked more laid-back and relaxed than the dresses Meghan wore while pregnant as a working royal, highlighting how much her life had changed since she stepped back.

Meghan also wore a Cartier bracelet that belonged to Princess Diana with the look, which has become a staple of her wardrobe since she married Harry.

Meghan further solidified her post-royal identity and style in 2022. Her monochromatic, neutral-toned style evolved into a “California cool” aesthetic often featuring luxury labels.

For instance, she joined Harry at an Invictus Games event in September 2022 in taupe, high-waisted Brandon Maxwell trousers with a coordinating belt and a white Anine Bing halter top. She also wore a gold Cartier watch that was originally Princess Diana’s. Meghan regularly accessorized her outfits with the watch.

The look blended professionalism and the chic edge of Meghan’s post-royal life.

Harry and Meghan joined the royal family at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in London in September 2022.

For her brief return to the royal spotlight, Meghan relied on the silhouettes she favored as a working member of the family. She wore a black Stella McCartney cape dress that subtly nodded to the Queen. She had previously worn a blue version of the garment to the late Queen’s birthday in 2018. Meghan also wore earrings that the Queen gave her after she and Harry got engaged.

Meghan completed the monochromatic look with a wide-brimmed hat, gloves, tights, and pumps.

Meghan seemed to grow more confident in playing with her personal style as she distanced herself from her royal life.

For instance, at the 2023 Invictus Games, Meghan wore a white romper from Zara with a cream blazer. The blazer gave the look a professional touch, but wearing shorts to a professional event would have been unheard of for Meghan if she were still a working royal.

Open-toed sandals added to the effortless feel of the look.

In 2024, Harry and Meghan went on two “quasi-royal tours,” traveling to Nigeria and Colombia on trips similar to those they took as senior royals.

Meghan played with daring looks on these trips, wearing beachier looks that often had a subtle edge. For instance, in Colombia, she wore a printed Johanna Ortiz midi dress with a diamond-shaped cutout on the bodice and a nearly thigh-high slit on the skirt. The look was sophisticated, but the daring touches wouldn’t have worked for Meghan as a working royal.

She added Jimmy Choo heels to the outfit.

Meghan had fully ascended into her “California cool” aesthetic when her Netflix show “With Love, Meghan” premiered in March 2025.

She wore a series of beachy, chic looks on the show, from a Northwestern sweatshirt with jeans to a linen dress. In the main promo image for the series, she wore a monochromatic white look, pairing a $158 J. Crew sweater vest with a $250 maxi skirt from Posse.

The outfit embodied the show’s high-low spirit, blending Meghan’s luxurious life in Montecito with the laid-back feel of her day-to-day activities, such as cooking, gardening, and hostessing.

After months of anticipation, Meghan launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever, in April 2025. The brand sells everything from flower petal sprinkles to a Napa rosé. All of her launches have sold out within hours of dropping online.

Meghan looked every bit the founder when she spoke at the Time100 Summit a few weeks after As Ever launched. She wore a beige linen suit from Ralph Lauren for the occasion. The oversized jacket and wide-legged pants made the look feel approachable instead of overly formal, and Meghan rolled up the jacket’s sleeves, making it even more casual.

The duchess also added high-end accessories, including brown Manolo Blahnik pumps.

Mikhaila Friel contributed reporting to an earlier version of this story.