When the summer heat hits, there's no one better to turn to for summer fashionĀ inspiration than Meghan Markle. She's one of the trendiest royals, and her style is chic 365 days a year. But there's something about Meghan's warm weather looks that captivate us completely.
Long before she married Prince Harry and became a member of the royal family, Meghan was a member of the Hollywood elite — so she was already used to being super fashionable and having her photo taken all the time. Her transition from actress to royal was seamless, especially on the style front, but there's obviously a lot of perks that come with her being a duchess, and one was that she got to wear a ton of super cool clothes. Now that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no longer working royals, she might be missing that big wardrobe budget.
Any time Meghan went to a royal engagement, or on a royal tour, she debuted a new outfit. Sure, she did repeat some of them —Ā just like Kate Middleton doesĀ —Ā but for the most part, royal fans always got to see her in something new. It was easy to learn what her clothing preferences were, since she was often pictured in muted colors, structured garments, and button-front dresses.Ā
Both Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge are equally fashion savvy, but they have very different senses of style. Kate's summer wardrobe contains a lot of flowy wrap dresses, floral outfits, and bright colors. Meghan's is a bit more on the earth tone and men's-inspired side — so her summer wardrobe contains things like sleeveless trench coat dresses, breezy shirts, and lots of sleek silhouettes.Ā
We've rounded up 20 of Meghan's best summertime looks, so keep reading to get a better sense of what the duchess likes to wear when the temperature rises.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
Showing Up in Style
Meghan's first royal engagement following her wedding was to a public birthday celebration for Prince Charles. For the occasion, she wore a beautiful cream dress with sheer sleeves and a dramatically angled hat. Some people criticized this look as being too baggy on the new duchess, but we think it's stunning — and sheer panels are such a great way to wear a more covered up look in the summer.
Family Photo
For Charles' private 70th birthday celebration, Meghan went with a mostly white dress that had crisp black accents. She stands out from the rest of the family who are wearing shades of blue, but she coordinates really well with Camilla, who also went with a white dress. Even though this photo was all about Charles, Meghan's summer fashion shines through.
Totally Textured
Meghan Markle is totally rocking this mixed textiles look with the soft, flowy blouse and the crisp leather skirt. Because both items are different textures, it breaks the green color palette up so she can be monochromatic without looking like she's just wearing a suit of all one color. This is definitely one of the duchess' best looks from her time in the royal public eye.
Twist on the Trench Coat
Trench coats don't just have to be for colder months. Meghan wore this outfit in the dead of summer in England to an exhibition about Nelson Mandela. Having the trench coat dress be sleeveless made sure she stayed cool while also incredibly chic. While Kate Middleton is much more into flowy, feminine dresses, Meghan likes a little more structure to her look, as this outfit shows.
Pattern Royalty
Meghan is the queen of wearing epic patterns. She really took a risk with this dress, since it's a mix of several patterns in one print. It's striped, has some cheetah spots, and it's got a DNA sequencing look to it, but Meg totally pulled it off. She paired the look with some wedge sandals for a trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in 2019.
Wimbledon Fun
In 2019, the duchess sat in the regular fan section of Wimbledon to watch her friend, Serena Williams, play. Prior to that, she usually sat in the royal box alongside Kate MiddletonĀ — but there may have been a reason for Meghan's commoner seat status here. She probably just wanted to wear her hat! Guests in the royal box can't wear hats, and Meghan wanted to wear hers on this hot summer day. She paired the look with a totally chic cream blazer and jeans.Ā
Casual and cute.
Polo Outing
Shortly after baby Archie's birth, Meghan attended one of Prince Harry's charity polo matches. Because these polo events are personal events, not official ones, the royals can dress a bit more casually. Meghan went with this olive oversized dress that would allow the breeze to cool her down on the warm July day.
Winning in White
The duchess loves a button-front dress, and this white one is perfect for summer. Technically, fashion rules say no white after Labor Day, so we need to get our white outfits in while we still can! We love that the more muted color of the dress really allows Meghan's orange earrings to pop. She's a glowy summer goddess here.
Rad Ruffles
Meghan was pregnant at this early September event, but she hadn't publicly announced that yet (the announcement came in late October), so the duchess masterfully hid her baby bump under these dress ruffles. She definitely didn't fool everyone, but she did what she could — and the dress is super cute, even when it's not covering up a pregnancy secret.
Pastel Patterns
When Meghan and Harry toured South Africa with little Archie, Meghan wore this gorgeous blue patterned dress that went beautifully with Archie's light blue outfit. It was his first official royal outing, so it's cute that the family matched. The duchess' dress was a silk Club Monaco piece with a brushstroke pattern that retailed for a little under $300.
Queen of Summer
Someone just snapped this candid photo of Meghan at a polo event in 2018, but it's so good, it looks like it could be from a magazine shoot. This whole ensemble just screams summer, from the chic denim dress to the oversized sunglasses to the straw clutch and strappy sandals. We'll just go ahead and crown Meghan Markle the queen of summer in this outfit.
Sun & Stripes
During a summer outing in South Africa, Meghan wore this striped maxi dress with straps. It's such a cute look for the warm outdoors. She previously wore the look on a tour of Australia, so it's really just her go-to for any hot weather. It's from Martin Grant's resort line and isĀ sold out now, but maybe we'll get to see Meghan rewear it again some day.
Muted Colors
Kate Middleton has basically worn every color of the rainbow, but Meghan prefers a more muted palette of earth tones. This blue-green dress from a trip she took to Dublin, Ireland, as part of her first official royal tour. It pairs so well with her tan purse and sleek bun — plus, the length of the skirt and sleeves is great for early summer when the temperature drops at night but is warm during the day.
Regal at Royal Ascot
Royal Ascot is an annual horse racing event that doubles as a high society event. When Meghan attended in 2018, she wore a white shirtdress that was a little more formal than some of her other button-front frocks. It had delicate lace detailing on the front, and the duchess paired it with a sleek white hat with black trim. For her first ever Royal Ascot, she knocked it out of the park.
Modern Jumpsuit
We will probably never see the Duchess of Cambridge in a jumpsuit — as she tends to keep to a more classic dress silhouette — but we love that Meghan took a fashion risk with this outfit in South Africa. The breezy, sleeveless outfit was designed by the brand Everlane, and it's still in stock right now for $120. We can all look like Meghan now.
Off-the-Shoulder
The duchess caught a lot of flak for this Trooping the Colour outfit, because it was off the shoulder. But everyone needs to calm down, because Kate has worn off-the-shoulder looks before, too, and gotten nothing but praise for shaking up her style. Meghan still looks totally classy and chic, even though her — gasp! — collarbones are showing.
Overshadowing the Bride
When Prince Harry's childhood friend, Charlie van Straubenzee, got married in 2018, Meghan attended looking like that. (Yeah, she's flawless.) The bride must have been so envious, because Meghan definitely stole some of the spotlight. She's already so naturally gorgeous, and then this multicolored pleated skirt, sunglasses, and stylish hat really took things to another level.
Radiating Sunshine
On the few occasions that the duchess has put some color in her wardrobe, it really pops. This cheery yellow dress was worn by Meghan to a July reception, and she quite literally shone in it. The look was designed by Brandon Maxwell (of Project Runway judge fame), and although it wasn't made specifically for the duchess, it might as well have been for how well she wore it.
Stylish for Summer
The summer heat means that royal women get to be creative with their formalwear. The poor royal men are always wearing stuffy suits — no matter what the temperature — but Meghan got to chill in this sleek, black tank dress fromĀ Emilia Wickstead. Unlike poor Harry, she looks chic and literally cool during this Ireland outing.
Welcome Baby Archie
When Meghan and Harry introduced baby Archie to the world for the first time, all eyes were on the baby. But upon reexamining the photos, we're also totally taken with the duchess' white, sleeveless trench coat dress. It's a lot like the pale pink one that she wore to the Nelson Mandela exhibition, but this one is a cream color that perfectly matched Archie's baby blanket.Ā
So cute.
