When Meghan Markle turned up at the Los Angeles Dodgers game dressed in a Givenchy white shirt there was a sense of déjà vu, as this wasn’t the first time an oversized blouse had played a starring role in her wardrobe.
For her first public appearance with Prince Harry in 2017, Meghan famously manifested her future by wearing a white shirt called the ‘Husband’ designed by her close friend Misha Nonoo.
A simple, crisp white button-down, a little oversized, the sleeves rolled just so. It looked effortless, relaxed, the opposite of regal fuss. And yet, in its simplicity, it spoke volumes.
Whether carefully planned or entirely intuitive, Meghan’s choice of outfit that day set the tone for what would become one of her defining fashion signatures, the oversized shirt.
‘The slouchy shirt has long been synonymous with Meghan’s style, and she uses it as a date night uniform,’ explained royal biographer and fashion commentator Jane Tippett.
‘It channels the vibes that she wants to call up, relaxed, untailored and unstuffy, communicating a sense of not being buttoned up.’
Jane Tippett believes that in the world Meghan was entering of wardrobe diplomacy, it was quietly revolutionary.
Meghan sat court-side at a World Series Baseball game with Prince Harry opting for an effortlessly chic ensemble of a crisp white Givenchy shirt, previously worn at the Endeavour Fund Awards, Veronica Beard jeans and a baseball hat
The duchess demonstrated the versatility of her fashion failsafe at the Endeavour Fund Awards in 2019. Tucking a cross over Givenchy button-down into a black maxi skirt, Meghan took classic work attire into glamorous evening wear territory
When Meghan Markle made her first public appearance with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in Toronto back in 2017 she paired her white button-down Micha Nonoo Husband shirt with a pair of ripped Mother Denim jeans
‘Instead of a prim dress or tailored blazer, she opted for something you might borrow from your boyfriend’s wardrobe. It was relatable, modern, and subtly romantic, and immediately interlinked her with Harry.’
‘There is always the ever-present handholding,’ continues Tippett, ‘so it fits in with the interlinked nature of their relationship.’
Gone were the stiff, structured silhouettes of traditional royal dressing, here was a woman who had built a career on independence, choosing to show up as herself, unbuttoned in every sense.
From that moment onwards, the oversized shirt has been a thread running through Meghan’s public life.
‘Again and again, she has returned to the same silhouette,’ said Tippett. ‘Slightly loose, nonchalantly chic and always evoking her husband which is at the core of her identity.’
‘There is a universality of a white shirt that can move her through many events. It’s a quintessentially American look, emphasising her life in the US and is authentically Meghan.’
Whether in crisp white in linen or cotton, the piece has become something of a Markle motif, and amid the swirl of royal obligations, relocations, and reinventions, Meghan has anchored her style to this one, tellingly simple garment.
A Maison Kitsuné shirt made up one of Meghan’s smart travel looks during her first official overseas royal tour to Australia in 2018. Arriving in Dubbo, the timeless piece from the French brand was teamed with a grey check blazer by Serena Williams and Outland Denim jeans
Passing through Monwabisi Beach in Cape Town in 2019, Meghan leaned on a favourite J Crew shirt and Madewell jacket to go under the radar and promote a conscious fashion message by making it clear she hadn’t compiled an all-new wardrobe for the visit
The original Husband shirt inspired Meghan to collaborate with Misha Nonoo on The Smart Set capsule collection. The shirt was created to be a staple piece for a workwear wardrobe and was sold on an on-demand, size-inclusive basis to benefit the Smart Works charity
The oversized shirt, after all, is not just a fashion choice, it’s an attitude. It carries an ease that suggests confidence, the kind of quiet self-assurance that doesn’t need sequins or spectacle.
‘It’s like she has come full circle to her core competency of fashion, framing some of her most pivotal moments,’ continues Tippett. ‘Her royal dressing was awkward alliances, she didn’t look like she knew where she wanted to be, but the white shirt is her safety blanket, it’s her uniform where she feels comfortable.’
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