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Muted colours, long dresses and chaste necklines: Meghan has had to tone down her fashion choices since marrying Prince Harry in May but still occasionally displays some of her past style.<\/p>\n
It was a question that many asked ahead of the wedding: would the chilled-out Los Angeles actress frequently seen in short skirts and sandals fit into the British royal family mould?<\/p>\n
Would the newly-minted Duchess of Sussex imitate the typically English conservative style associated with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, wife of her brother-in-law Prince William?<\/p>\n
Would Meghan, who turns 37 on Saturday, have to become demure?<\/p>\n
“Before the wedding, Meghan cultivated a casual Californian look that was a nod to her LA upbringing,” Elizabeth Vollman, who manages the website Meghan’s Fashion, told AFP.<\/p>\n
“Since becoming a duchess, her style has had to evolve to befit her new royal role and she has dropped the effortless chic look in favour of a tailored and demure style, opting for French designers and neutral shades,” she said.<\/p>\n
Meghan, who starred in the hit US television legal drama “Suits” before giving up acting, told the website Outnet.com last year that she felt most comfortable in “jeans, cut-offs and flip-flops”.<\/p>\n
In one of her first public appearances alongside Harry in Toronto in September last year, she wore a pair of ripped jeans and a loose-fitting boyfriend shirt. It was less than a year ago but an age ago in terms of her personal fashion evolution.<\/p>\n
– ‘Last moment’ of joy –<\/p>\n
By marrying Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson, Meghan has joined the royal family — an institution whose traditions dominate the lives of its members, including their clothing choices.<\/p>\n
“The role she’s taken on, it’s very austere, it’s very sort of serious,” fashion designer Stella McCartney, who created Meghan’s wedding evening reception dress, told the BBC in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
Of the wedding day itself, McCartney said: “I think it was the last moment that she could reflect sort of the other side to her: the joy and the human within her.”<\/p>\n
Belonging to Britain’s House of Windsor means representing the monarchy at closely-watched public events — where any sign of fashion extravagance is duly noted.<\/p>\n
At her first public engagement on May 22, three days after her wedding, Meghan wore a long pale pink dress by Goat, a British designer, along with a hat, a handbag and stockings.<\/p>\n
She has shown signs of at least some originality, however.<\/p>\n
“Meghan has occasionally pushed the boundaries of the royal dress code,” said Vollman, pointing to a “daring” shoulder-baring sleeveless outfit by Carolina Herrera she wore at the Trooping of the Colour military parade in June.<\/p>\n
Meghan also frequently wears French designers such as Dior or Givenchy — a sign that she will not only wear British designers.<\/p>\n
“Meghan is more attuned to trends and has more freedom to take fashion risks compared to the Duchess of Cambridge,” said Vollman.<\/p>\n
“It’s exciting following Meghan’s style because you can never predict who or what she will wear for an event.”<\/p>\n
The Daily Mail newspaper said Meghan wore boat neck dresses in order to “respect protocol, while still looking ‘a little sexy’.”<\/p>\n
But the tabloid went on to say that her fashion choices had led to “friction” and were “barely tolerated by royal aides”.<\/p>\n
Harry himself, the report said, had stepped in to ask her not to wear a tuxedo suit on an upcoming royal visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Muted colours, long dresses and chaste necklines: Meghan has had to tone down her fashion choices since marrying Prince Harry in May but still occasionally displays some of her past style. It was a question that many asked ahead of the wedding: would the chilled-out Los Angeles actress frequently seen in short skirts and sandals fit into the British royal family mould? Would the newly-minted… <\/p>\n