In the world of celebrities, the royal family stands alone. They're just a whole different level of rich and famous compared to most of the Hollywood elite. The royals are also hugely inspirational, even to A-listers. There have been many times that celebrities' style choices have been influenced by the royal women's own fashion.
Royal style is literally a billion dollar business. When any of the royals wear something, it can sell out in minutes. Their impact on fashion can't be understated. Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle in particular have a lot of influence. In fact, the Duchess of Cambridge was just named the UK's top style influencer. (No pressure, Kate!)
And it's not just us regular people who want to emulate the way our fave royals dress. Here are several times where one of the royals wore an outfit only for a celebrity to copy them days, weeks, months, or even years later.
Princess Diana's Casual Weekend Look
Princess Diana's style is always something people want to emulate. On many occasions, even Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle seem to have been inspired by their late mother-in-law's iconic fashion. Diana's impeccable sense of style is one of the biggest legacies she left behind, and one of the most memorable all these years later.
Hailey Bieber Copied the Outfit for a Magazine Photo Shoot
For Vogue Paris in 2019, Hailey Bieber did a whole Princess Diana-inspired photo shoot where she dressed up in some of the royal's most iconic outfits (including her effortless gym uniform: a cozy sweatshirt and bike shorts). That's how we know know Diana's fashion is still in style — people like Hailey are still inspired by it.
Kate Middleton's Breezy Summer Dress
In 2012, while visiting the Solomon Islands on a royal tour, Kate donned this pretty blue and green dress from Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders. A couple of years later, she brought the frock back for an appearance at the Wimbledon tennis tournament. It retailed for around $1,500 when she first bought it.
Kelly Rutherford
Just a few months after Kate Middleton wore the Jonathan Saunders dress, Kelly Rutherford's character Lily van der Woodsen wore the same outfit on an episode of Gossip Girl. Since the van der Woodsens were considered some of the richest, most high-profile people in Manhattan, that's how we just know that Kate's own style is on point. She wore the same thing first!
Kate Middleton's Teal Jenny Packham Gown
The duchess turned heads in this stunning Jenny Packham gown in May 2012. She wore it on the red carpet of an Olympic gala and, sorry Prince William, but she was definitely the star of the show. She re-wore the gown a number of years later to an awards ceremony in 2018 — and no surprise she still looked amazing.
Blake Lively Wore the Same Dress in Yellow
Guess who else was a fan of Jenny Packham? Serena van der Woodsen. That's right, Lily wasn't the only Gossip Girl character to copy the duchess's style. After Kate wore the teal gown in May, Blake Lively's character showed up in the yellow version in an October 2012 episode. Personally, we're partial to Kate's color option.
Meghan Markle's Pre-Wedding Dress
When Meghan welcomed her mother to England the night before her wedding, she wore this sharp Roland Mouret dress with the fun, flowy pleat of fabric on the skirt. Originally the outfit cost about $1,600, and it looks great on the duchess who likely wanted to make a good fashion impression in the days leading up to her ceremony.
Jennifer Garner Copied Meghan a Few Months Later
Three months after Meghan stepped out in the dress, Jennifer Garner wore the same one when she was given a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. It's definitely a dress that makes an impression and looks good in photos, which makes it a great event and ceremony outfit. Jennifer is a big fan of Meghan Markle's, so she may have seen this dress on the duchess and immediately bought it for herself.
Kate Middleton in Orange
While on a trip to Bhutan in 2016, Kate Middleton stepped out for dinner in a color that she rarely wears — orange. In the rainbow of her wardrobe, this color is severely underrepresented, but we can't understand why. She looks gorgeous in this dress and its matching bright orange shawl.
Drew Barrymore Wore the Same Dress on the Same Day
The same day that Kate wore this patterned Tory Burch dress, actress Drew Barrymore wore the exact same one to an ASPCA gala in New York. But we'll give the style inspo award to the duchess, because due to the time zones, she really wore the look first in Bhutan. Sorry, Drew!
Kate Middleton Wearing Canadian Red
The Duchess of Cambridge is always respectful of the countries she visits on her tours, often wearing local designers or adding little references to the nation she's in. In this case, a 2016 tour of Canada called for a red dress to match their flag with a little maple leaf pin. Chic and on brand for where she was.
Mandy Moore Owns the Dress in Blue
Two years later, This Is Us star Mandy Moore wore the same gown in blue. The actress opted to make it a little more off-the-shoulder than Kate did. Not only is the duchess more modest in her fashion in general, but she was at a state dinner when she wore the outfit. Not necessarily the best moment to show extra skin.
Meghan Markle's Chain-Print Dress
Meghan was pregnant with baby Archie when she attended the Commonwealth Day celebration in 2019, but we can hardly tell in this outfit. She's wearing a glam cream coat and hat to go with her chain-print dress. It's a Victoria Beckham design, which explains why Victoria was spotted in the same look a few months later.
Victoria Beckham Designed That Dress
Technically, Victoria inspired Meghan first because it's her design, but it's worth noting that Victoria didn't wear this dress until after the duchess had already stepped out in it. So it's a real chicken or the egg fashion situation. Victoria wore the outfit to a wedding in Spain in the summer of 2019.
Meghan Markle Dazzled in Green
Ahead of her wedding to Harry, Meghan attended the 2018 Invictus Games reception with her husband-to-be. She donned a pretty floral green frock with a smart blazer to dress it up a bit. The dress actually has cutouts on the shoulders, so Meghan was probably trying to look a bit more modest for the occasion.
Cariad Lloyd Wore the Same Look the Next Day
Just a day after Meghan wore the dress with Prince Harry, comedian and actress Cariad Lloyd wore the same one to the 2018 BAFTA awards. Here, we can see what the dress would have looked like on the duchess if she hadn't been wearing that blazer. Still very cute with those strappy shoulders!
