In July 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition at the Southbank Centre in London. It was just a few months after their wedding and they were working a lot, like always, honestly. Meghan wore a deconstructed trench-dress from the House of Nonie and I said, in our coverage, that I didn’t really care for the dress and that she looked like Chic Inspector Gadget. Well, guess what got a re-wear today?
It was a symbolic gesture or something – Meghan rewore the Inspector Gadget look to meet Graca Machel, the widow of Nelson Mandela. Prince Harry had met Machel before, in 2015, but this was Meghan’s first time meeting her. The photos are beautiful and Meghan always looks like the doting daughter or granddaughter whenever she’s with elderly icons.
Here’s part of some speeches the Sussexes made earlier today. Harry’s so proud of Meghan for being able to give a speech without notes. That’s one instance where I’ll say that “it’s because Meghan was an actress.” She’s had to memorize tons of lines before. She can remember a brief speech.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Not a fan of the look but she clearly had a style, no?
Although a superfan of the work, she looked appropriate the trip has been a success, she is clearly very engaged and immersed in what is going on. Snaps for Meg.
I wouldn’t mind it at all if she’d lose the belt. If it was straight, she’d look *great* in it. As it’s worn now, the belt makes it look like an empire waist, which isn’t a “trench look” at all (and it just accentuates her short-waisted torso). The blush tone, however, is great on her.
It’s where the belt sits, I agree. I think if it were lower, it would look more trenchy. But I think other readers have said she has a high waist, too, so it may just be where her waist is.
Ha, this is the kind of dress where I like to go back and read my old comments to see if I liked it originally. and I did, minus the flap on her right shoulder. I stand by that. And I like that she’s re-wearing it to meet Graca Machel.
Also sometimes it makes me sad to look at pictures of Meghan from a year ago, she seemed so happy and while there had clearly been some criticism aimed at her, it’s weird to look at those kinds of pics and think “oh its about to get so much worse.”
Ah I thought there was a search feature I was missing. Thanks becks1.
The shoulder flap is a traditional feature of the trench coats this design is based on. I like the reworking and that it’s sleeveless.
One other thing I remember about it is the first time she wore it, sharp eyed commenters said she’s had it since her Suits days. So, rewear FTW!
She looked gorgeous here and I love the stiffer material of this dress It fits her better.
P.s. How do you go back to read your old comments. I can’t seem to figure it out.
@RoyalBlue – I knew I had commented on the post where she wore it the first time (well the first time as a royal) so I went back and scanned down quickly until I saw my name. No real strategy lol.
I was momentarily intrigued by the idea of a secret search function too until I saw this 😂
She has been keeping her wardrobe simple, with the ablily to be able to breastfeed/pump easily accessible. Can we not just keep the focus on what she and Harry have been doing on their African tour. For what it’s worth, I think she’s looked fabulous, happy, energetic and confident this whole tour. Who cares how many shirt dresses she wears.
Agreed. It’s so obvious to me she’s dressing to accommodate a nursing bra and easily pump… The clothes kind of suck, but she’s doing what she has to do. That said, they could fit better. Tailoring doesn’t seem to be Meghan’s priority.
I think, with her breast size fluctuating hourly (with the need to feed/pump) it would be extremely hard to tailor something to “fit better” to her chest. Other than wear a sack, or a very loose top (and then people would complain her clothes swamp her “tiny frame”), things are going to fit fine when she puts it on, and then “pull” a bit later.
The woman can’t win!
I care…what’s wrong with critiquing her style choices since we do that with ALL Royals? We can care that she’s doing a great job addressing important issues AND review her style choices. Good lord, if I don’t like her inspector gadget dress (love that description!!!) doesn’t mean I think she’s awful.
Yes, I’ve never had a baby, but it seems pretty clear to me that all these clothes (the wraps and the trenches) are designed for easy access. Also, she has to be able to feed somewhat modestly if she happens to end up needing to feed him in a car etc. She said yesterday in a video that all her appearances had been planned outside Archie’s feeding schedule.
Looks great again, but can we talk about Graca’s outfit? I love that print and the flared (bell?) sleeves…so so pretty!
Agree!!
I like it a lot too! Looks very elegant.
Great point. Everyone is talking about what Meghan is wearing but not what the host is wearing. I think that is traditional South African sheeshwe cloth. Very beautiful and intricate with the geometric designs.
Just came here to say that I met Graca a few years ago and she is amazing! She spoke at a conference in Jordan that was about helping women in the Arab world have financial inclusion and she was incredible. A breath of fresh air, hilariously funny, blunt, honest, intelligent, sharp. She doesn’t come across as an elderly grandmother as described here. She comes across as a force of nature! She is also super stylish – she work a subtly sparkly skirt suit when I met her and looked fab.
I adore this color and I love the color on her.
I own a very similar dress and I love it. Sometimes I wear it open with a t-shirt and jeans as a vest. Very cute.
Of all the trench looks this is my favorite. I really like the collar and all of it’s flappiness. I think the belts just hit her wrong because she’s in a state of constant flux shape wise. I haven’t had an infant in 22 years and still recall not knowing what shape I would be any given day.
Me too. I was trying to figure out why I like it better and the other trench dress, and I think the skirt length works better here. It’s smart but comfortable.
Which is exactly why I refuse to blather about fit or tailoring.
This is not a one and done wardrobe.
This 👆🏽
Agree about the belt. With all the various shirt dresses she’s worn this trip, I have a huge urge to just tug the belt down by an inch or two. It looks like it’s sitting at the smallest part of her waist, and if she didn’t intend for it to be there it would likely migrate there on its own, but I feel like it would look so much better if she could find a way to secure the various belts just a little bit lower down on her stomach.
If Archie wasn’t so young I would swear she was pregnant again. She looks lovely either way. Her hair is looking really good as well. Hopefully things go a bit more smoothly for them. It seems that her family has quieted down publicly .
Seriously wondering if she shopped for a lot of the clothing we’ve seen her in over the last year or so all at one time,and trenches just sort of jibed with her and she went like…I’ll take several trench dresses in several colors and lengths.I don’t think they look bad,some better than others,but I’ve noticed she really favors them a lot,but then again I have my own favorites too.Beautiful lady.
Meghan speaks extemporaneously—no speech to memorize or read from, rather talking points she has in mind to cover.
I just think she shouldn’t bother with the belts on these various outfits.
Graca Machel ..
Still can not and will not forgive how Mandela (the ANC) treated the woman who kept the liberation movement going while he (Mandela & others) were in prison. May Winnie’s soul rest in peace.
Nelson Mandela my foot.
nobody’s perfect. Winnie was a complex character which is entirely understandable, given what she went through. And it’s common knowledge that the marriage was a mess, that Winnie was carrying on with Dali Mpofu. I think they both deserved to be happy after all those years of struggle and sacrifice, yes?
The both deserved to be happy. I’m not talking about their personal r/ship.
The ANC vilified that woman. She deserved a lot more than what she got, she deserved so much more than most of the ANC bigwigs. They did her dirty. I get upset just thinking about. The woman died still fighting for the right to be recognised in the history books.
We all know Graca and Mandela’s marriage was a political one. Graca is an incredible woman, and deserves recognition but hers– at least in SA came at the expense of Winnie bc she (Winnie) wasn’t considered a “suitable” wife.
Of her trench dresses this might be my favorite, if only because it seems to be the most flattering. Her midriff looks much slimmer here than in some of the other trench dresses she has worn postpartum. Don’t get me wrong, she always looks amazing but this magic dress is super slimming.
She is very obviously choosing outfits she can easily nurse/pump in. I remember the struggle well. I think we’re also seeing a lot of repeats and mid-market items because she’s not ready to invest in new pieces while her body is still changing by the hour/day. Her choices this tour have been appropriate, reasonably good-looking, and haven’t taken the focus away from the work. Sure it might be boring for those hoping for more exciting sartorial news, but I find it interesting in a different way – it’s very working mum and makes her more relatable.
Graca Machel is a remarkable woman. Such an honor to meet Mandela’s widow. Nice to see the couple back in the same place. Quite the trip. Dress is on theme for this trip. I don’t like beige and khaki on her. Washes her out.
Lovely dresses worn by both lovely ladies.
Liked it the first time. Still like it.
What a honor for Meghan to meet Grace. She has carried on Mandela’s legacy admirably. The symbolism is not lost on me.
She is not the first person to need to dress to pump or nurse. Women the world over do it everyday (I count myself among them) and don’t always (or ever, even) wear button up shirt dresses. I recognize she’s doing something far more valuable than wearing clothes but this site is a place where people talk about what people wear. It’s okay it some of us find her style lacking.
Who cares about the dress….Meghan had to be pinching herself throughout this tour. Bishop Arch and now the very elegant Graca Machel…just WOW. I wish people would take note to what Meghan is saying and how she is being received. Leave the clothes talk for Kate, that’s her lane not Meghan’s
She looks lovely.
I know you probably don’t know this, and obviously you don’t have to, but it’s Graça not Graca. In Portuguese it sounds completely different. Graca doesn’t mean anything, Graça means grace and funny. Thought you might want to fix it 🙂
Even if you want to, you can’t add the cedilla on an American keyboard.
I mean… yes and no.
There’s ways to do it. You can use alt codes (holding alt with a combination of numbers on the right hand number pad : ALT+0231) . You can copy and paste. If you’re on windows you can hit start, search for character map, grab the characters and paste it. If they’re writing up the articles in Word, you just hit Ctrl + , with the letter c.
It’s silly to say that if you wanted to you couldn’t.
I know it’s hard, but it’s doable. It’s obviously not a big deal, I know it’s a lot of work. But it looks really wrong if you actually speak Portuguese. It would be like if you spelled Meghan without the M, it wouldn’t make any sense.
Again, it’s fine, but I just thought I should point it out because I think it’s something people should think about when spelling names.
It’s not the best, but leaps and bounds better than the Banana Republic trench dress!
Agree, it’s an ok dress and slightly tailored. Actually liked the BR dress, but not the color. Even that weird sack dress she wore to the mosque is growing on me. It’s the lightweight fabric and how it moves with her, although it’s was way too voluminous. She should invest in a good tailor when she gets back. I wish her hair was a bit shorter, just below shoulders and a bit wavier. Looking too long like she’s not keeping up with trims.
The dress would be better in a different material I believe. The construction is just off to where it cannot move with her. With this length and cut, it shouldn’t be made of this stiff fabric.
Just came here to say REPRESENT. For those of you who don’t Know, Graça is Mozambican – like me. And she’s a living guinness book having married two remarkable Presidents. Samora Machel – who made us independent and is an amazing inspirational figure to us and Africans (and was murdered) and Nelson Mandela who you all know.
Megan looks great 🙂
They really got to meet some truly extraordinary people on this tour and two living legends. Much respect.
Yawn another trench coat dress. And no it’s not necessarily because she’s breast feeding. Many styles of dresses and tops can accomodate breast feeding mums.. wrap dresses anyone? Blouses with buttons etc etc
If she’s supposed to be an edgier royal, why is her hair such a limp mess and always the same, maybe some cut styles would look better, even Kate’s hair has evolved faster. Also I find meg’s outfits are often forgettable. She should be more daring, why not, that’s the best thing about being unpopular, you’ve got nothing to lose.