Meghan Markle undoubtedly provides fashion inspiration to many, and, even before her marriage to Prince Harry, she was known for her impeccable style.
We’ve also seen her tastes change – when she entered public life as the Duchess of Sussex, her wardrobe was made up of more formal pieces in tonal colours, but since stepping back from royal duties, we’ve seen her opt for a more laid-back style, favouring tailored shirts and sustainable brands.
Markle also does an excellent job of mixing high street labels – particularly when it comes to delicate gold jewellery – with high-end designers such as Victoria Beckham and Emilia Wickstead.
As she celebrates her 40th birthday, we’ve rounded up the fashion and beauty brands she’s known to love. And thank goodness for videocall events – Markle’s Zoom backgrounds have now given us an insight into her favoured homewares.
Keep reading to find out her top go-to brands that you can also shop with, to bring a little slice of California to your wardrobe or living room.
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Fashion
Awe Inspired
Markle has an impressive collection of jewellery, ranging from minimal pieces to extravagant gems. When pregnant with her second child, she made a television appearance for Global Citizen’s VAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World. As she spoke about the hardships faced by women, particularly women of colour, during the Covid-19 pandemic, eagle-eyed fashionistas spotted her gold pendant necklace (£103, Aweinspired.com).
It’s by US-based jewellery brand Awe Inspired, and features the female symbol with a raised fist, made from 4k yellow gold vermeil and a purple amethyst stone.
The brand uses ethically sourced materials throughout its collections and 20 per cent of every purchase is donated to its charity partners, which include American Nurses Foundation, NAACP, and Cancer Care.
Read our guide on where to shop Meghan Markle’s favourite accessories
Edge of Ember
Sustainable jewellery brand, Edge of Ember, has also proved popular, with Markle having been spotted in not just one but two pieces from the brand.
In April 2020, she took part in a virtual chat with her patron charity, Smart Works, and opted for the visionary charm necklace (£135, Edgeofember.com). Crafted from 18k gold-plated sterling silver, it has a beautiful blue topaz evil eye at its centre.
She has also been seen wearing the kismet charm necklace (£125, Edgeofember.com) that has a square pendant, decorated with the lucky number seven and a four-leaf clover.
Read our guide on where to shop Meghan Markle’s favourite accessories
Le Specs
We love how Markle regularly plays with affordable pieces as well as luxury designs. Case and point is this pair of affordable sunglasses from eyewear brand Le Specs, which she wore to her baby shower in 2019.
They were the Le Specs air heart sunglasses (£55, Libertylondon.com) in black with a subtle gold-tone trim. The pair also featured in our guide to the best women’s sunglasses, when our writer reviewed the brown tortoiseshell frames (£45, Libertylondon.com).
Mini Mini
Megan Markle counts tennis superstar Serena Williams as one of her close friends and in September 2019 she made a surprise appearance at the final of the US Tennis Open in New York to show her support.
Her jewellery choice quickly made headlines for its sweet ode to her husband Prince Harry and her son, Archie. She wore the Mini Mini yellow gold birthstone accented block letter pendant (£125, Miniminijewels.com) paired with a denim dress and tousled, wavy hair.
Read our guide on where to shop Meghan Markle’s favourite accessories
Missoma
Demi-fine jewellery brand Missoma has regularly been worn by Markle in recent years, who favours gold jewellery over silver.
In 2018, she was seen wearing this Missoma gold open heart signet ring (£89, Missoma.com) on a trip to Chichester with Prince Harry. According to the brand, it’s a “symbol representing emotions of love, passion and friendship”.
Read our guide on where to shop Meghan Markle’s favourite accessories
Rothys
Rothys is a footwear brand that makes dainty flats from repurposed water bottles that are designed to be super comfortable while still remaining smart.
On the 2018 royal Australian tour, Markle walked across South Melbourne beach and opted for a pair of black, pointed-toe flats (£104, Rothys.com) for the occasion.
If you’re US-based, they’re the perfect workwear shoe that will pair with everything in your wardrobe, however, if you’re from the UK or elsewhere, the brand has temporarily stopped its international orders. We’ve got our fingers crossed that it starts up again so we can nab a pair soon.
Strathberry
Meghan and Harry made their first public appearance as a couple for royal duties in Nottingham in 2017.
For her debut, Markle wore The Strathberry burgundy midi tote (£545, Strathberry.com) – an elegant handbag fit for the occasion. Since then, she has also donned the east/west mini (£425, Strathberry.com), which is an emerald green crossbody bag with the brand’s signature bar detailing.
As fans are so keen to know what’s in her wardrobe, Strathberry has a page dedicated to the styles she has worn that you can shop from directly.
Suetables
Another jewellery brand loved by Markle is Suetables – she has worn its Shirley zodiac charm (£78, Suetables.com).
In fact, she donned two during an appearance on Good Morning America to discuss her nature documentary for Disney, Elephant. One represented the zodiac sign of her husband – a Virgo – and the other that of her son – a Taurus.
Read our guide on where to shop Meghan Markle’s favourite accessories
Veja
Parisian brand Veja (pronounced vay-ja) was founded in 2005 and has since become a favourite among celebrities.
Meghan Markle has been a fan of the brand for years, first sporting a pair of the V10 trainers (£115, Office.com) at the 2018 Invictus Games in Australia.
It arguably catapulted the brand into the position of being a globally coveted footwear label, with Kate Middleton also wearing a pair on a visit to her alumni, the University of St Andrews, in May 2021.
With Nothing Underneath
An item of clothing regularly spotted on Markle is a boyfriend-fit shirt. It’s smart, slightly oversized and can be worn for any occasion.
When Harry and Meghan surprised Get Lit, a youth poetry organisation in February 2021, she wore a linen sky blue and white stripe shirt (£95, Withnothingunderneath.com) from British brand With Nothing Underneath. It was later revealed that she had discovered the brand when pregnant with Archie in 2019.
The retailer offers a collection of shirts that are cool, elegant and affordable. They’re perfect for creating an easy, polished look – something Markle excels at.
Visit Withnothingunderneath.com
Beauty
Dior
Markle has long been admired for her make-up, which, before becoming a royal, involved plenty of smokey-eye looks and experimental lip colours. After taking on duties as a duchess, she opted for a more neutral colour palette and a fresh complexion.
In a 2017 interview with Allure, she shared that her favourite mascara is the Dior iconic high definition mascara (£29, Boots.com), which has an angled brush that allows you to coat each hair evenly. No wonder it’s got five-star reviews.
Jo Malone London
Before she met Prince Harry, Markle ran a blog called The Tig, which shared lifestyle tips, her favourite beauty products, recipes and outfit inspiration.
Just before her wedding in 2018, she closed the site – but not before we managed to snap up details on her beauty routine.
In a now-deleted post, she said: “Fragrance is my favourite thing, so much so that if I leave the house and I don’t put any on, I’ll turn around and go back home.” She revealed two of her favourite scents are Jo Malone’s wild bluebell (£102, Jomalone.co.uk) and wood, sage and sea salt (£102, Jomalone.co.uk).
Maybelline
Lydia Sellers, Markle’s make-up artist on the set of US drama Suits, shared in an interview with Hello! that Meghan introduced her to the Maybelline lash sensational luscious mascara (£8.99, Boots.com) and it’s been a part of her kit ever since.
“This mascara really helps to amplify your lashes and polish off the entire look. It’s great for full volume and lengthening, the formula is super hydrating,” the pro MUA said. Markle has excellent taste, we have to say, and we love that it’s less than a tenner.
Nars
In the same interview with Allure, Markle revealed that she loves the Nars powder blush in orgasm (£26, Cultbeauty.co.uk).
“I use it on and off camera because it gives you a nice glow from within,” she told the publication.
It’s a gorgeous peachy pink shade with a gold shimmery undertone, that’s earned a cult status among the beauty sphere, regularly selling out, and has since expanded into a liquid and gel version too.
Revitalash
Markle is also a regular user of Revitalash (£110, Cultbeauty.co.uk) telling Allure the difference it had made to her eyelashes. She said, “I swear they are as long as they could ever be.”
We’re also big fans of it too, and it was named best buy in our guide to the best eyelash serums. Our reviewer said: “We found that it applied easily, and that – as its rave reviews suggest – our lashes looked noticeably more conditioned, thicker and longer after roughly six weeks of continued usage. A definite repeat purchase.”
Home
Diptyque
We have to say, just like her fashion choices, Markle has fantastic taste in candles, with her favourite brand being Diptyque.
Fans spotted the tuberose scent (£49, Selfridges.com) in the background of her and Prince Harry’s California home in September 2020, when the couple filmed a good luck message for a finalist in America’s Got Talent.
It’s one of the brand’s most popular fragrances and its main note is the white Mexican bulbous flower – perfect if you love florals.
Soho Home
Markle is such a fan of the Soho Home range that she reportedly hired the private members’ club’s interior designer to renovate Frogmore Cottage before moving in with Prince Harry in 2019.
Her make-up artist and confidant, Daniel Martin, shared a shot on Instagram thanking Markle for a weekend hosted at the royal residence, and within it, we spotted a teapot (£20, Sohohome.com) and teacups from the Soho Home country house range.
They have a lovely rustic design, in a green hue that’s perfect for adding a splash of colour.
Tiganello
This is the bottle of wine that inspired Markle to name her blog The Tig, when it was still up and running.
On the about page, she wrote that the Tuscany tignanello 2017 (£140, Selfridges.com) is what started it all.
“It wasn’t just red or white – suddenly I understood what people meant by the body, legs, structure of wine. It was an ah-ha moment at its finest. For me, it became a ‘Tig’ moment – a moment of getting it. From that point on, any new awareness, any new discovery or ‘ohhhhh, I get it!’ moment was a ‘Tig’ moment.”
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