One year ago, the British media was in full-blown meltdown mode because of the one-two punch of the Duchess of Sussex’s guest-editorship of British Vogue AND the launch of her Smart Set capsule collection, which was made to benefit her patronage Smart Works. Smart Works provides clothes and coaching for women entering (or re-entering) the workforce, and the patronage was always an easy fit for Meghan. The Smart Set collection was a master stroke as well, just like the cookbook. The pieces from the capsule collection sold out everywhere and money was raised and more clothes were added to the Smart Works closets. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Smart Set launch, Meghan Zoomed in from Montecito to chat with some women who have benefitted from Smart Works’ interview training and professional clothes.
Speaking with three Smart Works clients, Karla, Charlene, and Agnieszka, Duchess Meghan said, “People can say that so much of Smart Works is about the clothes themselves but it’s really not … all of that stuff is the exterior but it’s what it does for you on the inside that ends up being the best accessory. It’s the confidence, it’s what is built within, that is the piece that you walk out of that room with and walk into the interview with.”
In a press release, the charity said, “The team at Smart Works would like to take this opportunity to thank The Duchess of Sussex for her continued support of our charity, the retail partners who came together to help create the original collection and the wonderful supporters who purchased pieces and helped fill our wardrobes.”
The video (below) is very cute and Meghan is just lovely, as always. She enjoys the role of coach and cheerleader, and you can tell that these women really want to tell her all about their job interviews and what they wore and what they said and Meghan really wants to hear it! This is also why the British media has been so tantrum-prone as of late: they’re finally understanding that they bullied and smeared a charismatic, hard-working woman out of the country and she’s not coming back.
Incidentally, Omid Scobie apparently mentioned in his Heirpod podcast that as Harry and Meghan are Zooming so much from Montecito, Archie has been crashing some of the calls and making baby-appearances. I would have loved to have seen him in this video!
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
SmartSet was one of the few times the press didn’t try to smear her work and suspect that was because some big British brands (and advertisers) were involved. The fashion journalists said that she was warm and funny in person and one noted that her ex assistant was at the launch which they thought was odd because the press at the time was running all those nightmare boss stories. Only shady press I can recall was Phil Dampier trying to attribute the successful launch to Kate.
It was nice to learn that the collection has really helped SmartWorks throughout the year and meant they had go to clothes to send to their clients during the pandemic when clients couldn’t actually attend SW offices. A success and practical, tangible help for the patronage
That’s a really good point, they’ll go for her and the Hubb ladies but taking on M&S and John Lewis was a step too far.
They did smear her…… they said Meghan owed that success to Kate!!! imagine that; Meghan owning her success to the definition of mediocrity…….. hence the #katemiddletonsuccessstory on twitter
That was one of my favorite smears just for the absolute absurdity it offered. Like what? Kate’s responsible for Meghan’s work? How? In what way? It was like someone taking credit for the moon phases.
It still makes me laugh. Obviously it was Kate’s and Ma’s idea to run to Phil dampier to try and steal all the credit for someone else’s work. The funny thing is that kate and Ma really don’t get how ridiculous she comes across. You would think the hashtag on twitter would make them realise that Kate’s over the top sugary PR only makes her look like an idiot.
Kate was pulling a William who has been taking credit for Harry’s work for years – she tried to take credit and it blew up in her face and rightly so.
That day on Twitter was one of the best days of my life. We kept it going for days on end just to ruffle the Palace PR feathers. Phil got his a*se handed to him and the Middleton’s retired that PR narrative before it could even sail.
Wait what? What sort of twisted logic were they using to give credit to Kate? How did they explain it as really a Kate success story?
#katemiddletonsuccessstory was hilarious AF. The photoshopped images were amazing. Kate winning a grammy, the U.S. Open, an Oscar… basically anything that black women had done, Kate was given credit. I couldn’t breathe for the shade. Whew.
What? Didn’t the British press write ridiculous stories about how Meghan owed the success of the project to Keen Kate? Or was that another project they wrote that drivel for? It gave birth to the Twitter hashtag trend “kademiddletonsuccessstory” IIR.
@Izzy — we basically wrote the same thing a few min apart…..LOL
@VS LOL, those were good times. People are revisiting tjat trend on Twitter in honor of the one-year anniversary.
Yes, but I think that was only one reporter. For the most part the press surrounding it was neutral to positive, which was a change at the time.
On a shallow note, Meghan’s outfit at the Smart Set launch is one of my favorite looks from her. Classic and chic.
The British p
Meghan really helped Smart Works with ideas and projects. This is what a patron should do.
@Loretta … Exactly, and getting in there helping with your own hands and not just posing for photo-ops, which William and Cate only seem able to do for planned PR events.
The other seeming difference between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is the follow through. Harry and Meghan put consistent time and effort into their Patronages. Supporters of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will defend with: the kids, hands-on parents, and Heir/Future King and Consort duties. I have four words to Cambridge supporters who say William and Kate are just too busy with kids, home, and duty to invest a lot of effort, time, and attendance for patronages … Diana, Princess of Wales.
It seems that Harry very much remembers and honors his mother’s work ethic and dedication to her patronages. William just doesn’t seem to want to be bothered with it all. As someone up stream has already brilliantly said, William took credit for Harry’s work for years. And it appears Cate was primed to do the same with Meghan.
Sorry for the ramble.
Meg and Harry will keep living their best life and in time the brf will turn on itself having nothing else to use as a punching bag.
I really don’t have much to say, other than that I admire her so much. And that I’d be a blubbering mess if I was ever at the end of a Meghan Zoom!
Michelle Obama would probably turn me into a blubbering mess.
I think Smartworks has subsequently collaborated with other designers on capsules. Meghan gave them a great blueprint.
In think the Hubb Kitchen should do a desserts-only cookbook for the Holidays.
I’ve been following SmartWorks on IG since then and it’s lovely, their ‘she got the job’ posts always cheer me up.
I managed to get the M&S dress in black and blue and I love it. Although I wore the black one regularly for work last winter but struggled to accessorise the blue one so I was saving it for this summer as I have a couple of lighter colour jackets that would look good and summery… Oh well, there’s always next year!
I gave my Misha blouse to my sister who sent me a pic from work. It was gorgeous and she loves it.
I have the M&S dress in red and (in pre-pandemic times) would get lots of compliments on it!! And I would thank the person complimenting me and say, “It’s from the Duchess of Sussex’s capsule collection.” 🙂 🙂 🙂
I disagree that the British press is recognizing what they lost in Meghan when they colluded with the BRF to run Meghan off. That is the part they are all quite pleased about because nothing has changed regarding why they all found Meghan so objectionable – she’s still Black. But I’m sure they all regret their miscalculation and not realizing that if they were successful in getting rid of Meghan that her Prince would be by her side. Funny how they didn’t realize that. Then again, they didn’t recognize it because their bigotry is blinding them. They never believed Harry would leave because they didn’t believe that he actually loved his wife…because who could possibly love a Black person? And since they didn’t believe that was possible, they never saw the obvious coming. Running off a blood Prince is all they truly regret.
I think you guys have a strong misconception on what the British press wanted out of Meghan! They didn’t want her out, they just wanted her under their control. Because even if dumb dumb egg head couldn’t see it, the British media knew exactly the jewel they had in their palms when it came to Meghan and Harry together. The smear was half to protect the heir, but mostly to strong arm the Sussexes into falling in line, and thus under the control of the big, bad media machine. They just underestimated the power and (most importantly) the smarts of the Sussexes, who outplayed them every step of their way out of the British empire’s control!!
I think the media wanted them to give access but the BRF (or certain factions) wanted Meghan out. The BRF used the press and the press ran with it because various players thought that a constant barrage of negative press would get H and M to gave to cave and give the press access.
However, Harry was never going to play that game – he said it loudly but the press ignored it. The BRF got Meghan out but they didn’t calculate with Harry leaving with her. The British press lost all access.
The whole thing blew up in their faces. The BRF lost a valuable asset (+ creating even more private acrimony within the family) and the British press not only lost complete access, they are now getting out-scooped by the US press. It is kinda hilarious if it weren’t for the human cost – Meghan and Harry suffered severe mental stress and what is most likely a very deep rift within the family. That is sad.
Yes, is the smears of Diana ultimately led her back to the British press to get her story out. Same with the rest of them. Ma Middleton went right to the Daily Mail to get their PR version out. It’s the blackmail argument these royal reporters all stated openly that if Harry and Meghan wanted good press they needed to go to their abuser to get their story out. They’re so in their little bubble that they thought an American actress who had been doing press interviews for years and even outside of being an actress worked for the Today show and written articles for major American publications and even had major American media executives at her wedding actually needed the British press to get her story out if she wanted.
Perfect synopsis Arthistorian.
Have to agree with Art Historian. I think they wanted Meghan out too. And that’s exactly what it did, blew up in their faces. I’m just glad the whole world can see the BM for that they really are: paid, lying hacks, and also the royal family, how petty, jealous and incompetent they really are. Essentially they are useless.
Agree. If there’s any regret with Meghan it’s that she is no longer the meal ticket and scapegoat for the rest of the family’s bullshit. They do not care about her as a person. They’re absolutely sick about the fact that they’ve driven Harry out of the country. To this day he’s the only one they want to come back.
I don’t think they are sick about losing Harry, S808. They’ve been gone since Nov(?) and their hasn’t been a sound from the palace about the racism and vile press coverage that tried to bury Meghan alive. You’d think that if they cared, they would be doing or saying something/anything about what drove them away in the first place. I think they want Harry back, but it’s because William needs a scapegoat, no other reason. They want him back because he has a job he should be doing. Remember the press saying he was in dereliction of duty to the angry queen? This is what they probably meant.
I think it was Willie, Kate, KP and all those dreary courtiers that wanted Meghan out. The British media wanted to continue slandering her and have access to her, whilst keeping Willie and Kate happy by embiggening them to the heavens.
The British media wants a story that sells and attacking Meghan does that for them. I don’t think the media ever cared about her status in the family, but the fact that the BRF was in fact pushing her out made it a story for them because had Meghan been supported by the BRF, the media would not have been able to publish the stories they did. Palmolive admitted this months into smear campaign.
The smart set is my favorite charitable work after the cook book! The collection was genius and something that can continuously be duplicated with other designers. A great way to see tangible results.
Agree…… the cookbook is my favorite work Meghan did! it was such a surprise and the impact that work has had is just wow……… look at where those women are today!!! impressive
I understand that some Brits like their ribbon-cutting/plaque-unveiling royals, but honestly projects like the Smart Set have the most potential to make real life impacts. Think of how the effects would ripple forward in the lives of these women and their families. It reminds me of the work CAMFED does and even the Invictus Games. There should have been a place for all these type of royal work, without the jealousy and envy. Such a loss to the BRF, but a gain for the world. I’m excited to see the work they do next.
Agree! I have her cookbook and get so much enjoyment out of looking at it and cooking recipes from it. Such a great project, and it was priced so well–could have been priced a lot higher, but it was accessible.
Happy one year anniversary to the #katemiddletonsuccessstory hashtag. That was a great day to be on twitter.
Totally OT: I’m puzzling over that fireplace. Is there a need for it in Santa Barbara? Why would you build one?
Santa Barbara does have cool evenings in the winter. Plus, it’s a design feature-almost all houses are designed with them.
We may be living in Dante’s Hellscape right now, but it does get cold in California, especially on the coast. Also, much of California (usually) has cool, wet winters. Fireplaces are nice when it’s cold and raining outside.
I went to college at UCSB, and yes, it gets VERY cold in the winter. You’re right on the water, so you get all the winds that come in from the west. It can also be very wet. (I will never forget the few times the winds/rain were so strong they blew my umbrellas inside out!). Even in summer, you *usually* need to take a sweater for evenings out.
I live in the Beverly Hills/Century City area, about 110 mi. south now, and let me tell you, my fireplace is going almost EVERY DAY in the late fall all the way through mid spring (esp. the evenings)…and yes, partly just because I love the beauty of it, but it helps keep the place warm lol.
You definitely need a fireplace in coastal California. It gets chilly on those foggy nights and it gets cold in winter ( not East coast/ mountain cold, but still ). That fireplace though is ugly and hope they’ll eventually resurface it. It looks like a prop piece from a Renaissance faire or GOT.
We have homes and cabins with fireplaces in Mexico, and I don’t mean the coldest of places. And yes the Pacific ocean starting from Northern Mexico and up gets cool, and even cold, as do the coastal cities.
My cousin owns a place in Palm Springs. She has a fireplace….for the ambiance. Its rare to find someone who uses it for actual warmth unless they are near the mountains like Big Bear or smack dab in the middle of Xmas season.
Is it called Smart Set because the company, Reitmans, that she modeled for called their clothing line Smart Set. I would think they had trademarked the name.
And if Reitmans had any real issues with it, I’m sure they would have sued, Linda.
Reitmans’ Smart Set line folded a long time ago, I think.
Trademarks are only for certain territories and Canada is a separate country than the UK. There is also a massive difference in a charitable endeavour and a for profit store chain, which has been closed for a while now.
It’s ok Linda. We know you hate Meghan.
You consistently post this way
I recommend you contact Reitmans to explain this issue….I am sure they will listen and take actions immediately LOL
Of course the BM and RF want Harry back, but I definitely believe they want Meghan back as well, they just don’t want to admit it. They don’t want to admit that the black duchess is the one that embodies Diana’s spirit to a T with her charisma and work ethic, which is why they try to project those qualities on to Kate. Meghan of course was a convenient scapegoat but she also provided them with good content. She also was considerate of the press when it came to their professional co concerns, such making sure they got their shots. They always had interesting quotes with Meghan and her fashion sold out and kept people talking. When they cover Kate it’s just the same old regurgitates talking points and fussy coatdresses. Meghan had some misses style wise but overall I enjoyed what she wore as I’ve looked back on her pictures. The BM cover Meghan breathlessly to this day, even over the other royals. When the queen made her first pandemic speech, it was overshadowed by Meghan. Camilla and Sophie have been out doing engagements, but the RR barley cover them. I believe they miss her badly but they are too racist to admit it.
The BM is still trying to harangue Meghan. The picture in the background is suppose to show her true feelings according to the Fail; that she never wanted to serve the queen and the. UK. Yet she is touching base with her UK royal patronage. Stay mad BM. Anyone with half a brain know Sussexit is on you, the Windsors and their minions.
Nothing to say to or about the British press – if they haven’t realized the extent to which they have cut off their noses to spite their face, I don’t think they ever will – but I’m so glad for these women, and for smart set the patronage for landing the Duchess with practical, successful ideas who will follow up and promote your work a year later.
Yes they did, in the most brazenly stupid way possible. By stealing Meghan’s success and handing it to the most undeserving person imaginable. I cannot believe they even went THAT far. Kate was looking do-nothing and lazy as usual so they had to steal from Meghan. I vote that move to be the most shameless one in the whole smear campaign.
While I was watching that video, a Peacock ad popped up with a scene of Meghan in Suits rolling right under the Duchess Meghan video. LOL.. That happen to anyone else?
I volunteer with Dress For Success, which is basically the ameican version of Smart Works. Dress for Succes pivoted and mobilized so quickly to adjust to post-covid restrictions which I have been so moved by. They never lost focus that their mission is helping women,and now more than ever these people need assistance. Just wanted to come in and shout them out.
Thank you for your volunteer work and yay!! So great to hear Dress for Success is doing well for women during this time!
What a woman!!!
She really has the self assurance of someone older. I know I know men have (often false) confidence at younger ages. I’m a few years older than her and very confident in my work and daily dealings, but when I’m training/mentoring younger staff, I always feel like I’m walking on egg shells not to sound pompous about knowing more than they do. Meanwhile, she’s coaching women her age and older and does none of that qualifying her worlds nonsense to apologize for being successful, as we women often do. I could use coaching in that myself.
So well said! I agree that confidence can come at any age and we need more women role models. The young overly-woke entitled hipsters who think they know everything is what happens when confidence gets out of balance.
I went to their Instagram to congratulate them, 3000 (!) visits this past year. They acknowledged my post within minutes and seem to be deleting the usual nonsense lol I love that they’re not putting up with any nonsense
Just from this small snapshot you can tell their home must be lovely. I love a stone fireplace.
I wonder if behind closed doors the queen or Charles realize what a colossal blunder they made. British Vogue still hasn’t recreated Meghans success meanwhile I read that Tatler had to slash the price of the edition with Kate on the cover. That on top of the Smart Set and cookbook success. Too bad the royal family playbook only contains backstabbing.
@lizzy, I don”t know, do you really think they are smart enough to see what they did?
The reason I doubt that is they’ve had decades to assess and learn from the Diana years, decades to realize that they’d do better to treat spouses as family and stand beside them in support when the press gets dirty.
I love the Smart Set Collection endeavor and really admire Meghan for pulling that off. The Hubb Kitchen remains my favorite thing she ever did and hope that she will work with those women to create another book of the kind. I think what was exciting was the unexpected nature of the Hubb and seeing how together Meghan was and it was let’s face it exciting. Royal stuff is mostly boring, which is why people focus on what the women are wearing. Meghan’s work however was always exciting because they were varied and fun to watch with this energetic feeling in the air and I always looked forward to her speeches, she gives good speeches.
I don’t think the British tabloids or the royal family have enough self awareness to realize the error in trying to drive Meghan out . The Cambridge’s and those courtiers went all out on the smearing And abuses of Meghan because they didn’t want her with Harry then went her gone notice how in the beginning of the early days of the smearing campaign the narrative that was put out that Meghan ghosted people she a leaves people and romantic relationship that the marriage wouldn’t not last a year . Trolls would come on this site and repeat that mantra over and over and when people point out that she only cut off toxic people like her father and sister and former best friend then the narrative change to she just a gold digger . The Cambridge’s wanted Meghan gone the British tabloids wanted to continue to abuse and smeared Meghan and get her to give them access to her and Harry while also continue to abuse her . And Charles didn’t get involved because he didn’t wanted to get bad press or deal with William tantrums The more successful the Sussex’s become the more unhinged the British tabloids will be they never had access unless their we’re leaks provide by Kensington Palace. Now the American media are the firsts to get the story and the British tabloids who boldly dared Meghan and Harry to leave are having get their scoops from America.
Y’ guys, thank you for the #katemiddletonsuccessstory and laughs sorely needed. I skedaddled to the site and omg, KM inserted into a pic of the young Jackson 5, afro and all! On to Smart Works Instagram.
Whenever I think about the BRF, the Firm, and the Royal Rota colluding to rid themselves of Meghan, I can’t help but acknowledge that they were merely playing checkers while the Sussexes were making chess moves. The former were so blinded with hatred while H&M were charting a course to live their best lives. As many OPs have previously noted, having Meghan as a member of the BRF would have been an awesome gift that kept on giving. There would have been loads of positive press due to Meghan’s commitment to actually working and W&K could have benefited from working collaboratively with H&M – hence, the “Fab Four”. Too bad W&K and the British media quashed that possibility.
I’m gonna go glass half full: while I can’t imagine the emotional stress H&M endured, its good that they learned those lessons fast and early. They made a break for it and now everyone will need to be evaluated on their own merits. In other words, W&K can’t coast on work done by the “Fab 4.” H&M will get full credit for their work. Let’s see what W&K can do standing on their own.
Game on!
The RF and tabloids gossipers are finally realising what they lost. I noticed there was a shift in how they are covering her now *could be because Jlewis and M&S is one of DM advertisers)and that they started going after others (Ingrid’s story about Philip, Queen’s staff redundancies+strikes, kate and her BLM photo which made her base angry ).
After two British papers were exposed to be lying(roya sunday times, times article on Harry Walker standard agreement) & lost all credibility ,the market for gossipers and lies is now nonexistent!
Meghan has done a great job by her patronages. I’m still waiting to hear about that National theatre grant that was mentioned during her last engagement. With the theatres in uk opening to public soon I’m sure she’ll have a great project lined up for it. Either them or hubb community releasing another book so the funds can go direct to them not RF
Hi everyone,
I’m a long time lurker but this is my first time making a comment. I just wanted to say that your comments are great. I wanted to throw out my theory/prediction about something because the BRF is so predictable. I don’t want you to seem like I’m defending the BRF in any way because I agree with most of you. I just wanted to share my epiphany with you all.
I think Charles (I’m pretty sure he and Camilla are the only ones with brains) is setting up Kate and her family to take the fall on the Sussexit and all the palace leaks. I think now that they realize they need Harry and Meghan more than Harry and Meghan need them. Kate is useless. They are going to do what they can to entice the Sussexes to come back – even on a part time basis. I would bet the goal is to bring them back into the fold in a Tindall-esque fashion.
I think the marriage between William and Kate has fallen apart during Covid and the palace knows. I think Kate and the kids will live at Kensington and William will be seen spending more time at Anmer and whispers of a separation will begin soon. I think the divorce will occur by 2025 and the story will be “Kate and Carole drove the Sussexes out of the UK!” Followed by headlines of William losing all respect for Kate and her family, quotes of “cannot trust Kate or Carole,” “Kate doesn’t care about William, only about being Queen” and all how poor William was taken advantage of. I think Charles wants the Middletons gone. I also think Charles never wanted the Sussexes to leave and I think he’s pissed they felt they had to and understands the need to right this wrong. Something tells me Charles has had enough of the Middletons. I just feel the slow boiling backlash against Kate has fingerprints of Charles with a dash of Camilla’s aristocratic whispers.
Charles I think knows what the Sussexes bring to the table and I think he wants that, not Kate. Charles will make sure that happens if he can get his son and Meghan back. He will turn the media against Kate and The Middletons if it’s the last thing he does. He’s rather see more Smart Works than Kate’s poverty photos.
This was supposed to be a comment to the Kate Middleton Tatler article. Sorry.
Charles likes stability Kate is stable and pilable his non actions confirms he was okay with what went on his behalf after all some of the leaking came from his palace he is also a jealous man the Sussex’s were taking up too much royal attention
With all due respect, Rita, I disagree with some of what you say. I think people have Charles all wrong.
I think Charles is smarter than people realize. Sure he comes off as a bumbler but he’s quite honestly the smartest of the BRF. He’s the PR guru that William thinks he is. Not saying Charles is a genius but there is definitely a logic chain to his thinking that most other royals lack.
Charles, first and foremost, is concerned about the survival of “The Institution,’ at least for himself. I think he knows radical changes are needed if The Monarchy has any chance of surviving beyond his mother. That means keeping people from asking the real questions such as “why is there a Monarchy? Why do we need a Monarchy?” Charles has long sold that he will slim down the Monarchy to appease the peasants but his son Harry along with his wife Meghan were more popular and front facing. Charles didn’t like it but he knew it. I think Wills realizes he needs a charasmatic spouse as Queen if the royal family is to survive to his reign. I also think that the Rose affair has brought Charles and Wills closer. I also think there’s been a serious lack of trust and tiredness when it comes to The Middletons – more specifically Carole Middleton. It’s clear none of the couriers like or trust her.
I will grant you that Charles is a jealous man, yes. Above being jealous, Charles is pragmatic and will look for the most pragmatic solution to a problem and if he can be pragmatic and petty, why wouldn’t he take that route? The royal family will always find outsiders to blame their dysfunctional issues on. The problem is that without the Sussexes popularity the royal family is nothing and has nothing. Sussexit brought more hughlights to how dysfunctional their family is and it will be blamed on someone outside the royal family. There will be a huge effort to bring the Sussexes back into the fold and chances are it will be done on Sussexes terms. It will be easier if the blame for the lies and the bad press lie with someone Charles hates – The Middletons. He may like Kate and if Kate is smart and wants to remain a royal, she will get on board and sellout her family too.
Charles and Camilla both tired of stories about Kate preparing to be Queen. You are right; he is a jealous man and does not want to share the spotlight with Diana, Kate or Meghan.
…and it was pretty well known Charles did not care for Ma Middleton. Don’t know what the scenario will be, but, agree the Middleton’s are being set up to take the fall. Remember rumors about Charles and Diana were denied all the up until their separation. Just saying
And they still take up too much attention. Now they are doing so without being a working member of the BRF.
Can you imagine how maddening and infuriating that must be?
I am so proud and elated for the Sussex family-they truly have been through the ringer-I admire their stealth and stamina for confronting the challenges they have faced these last 4 years. Their type of charity work-rolling up their sleeves and getting involved with the charity physically and mentally has a must better return for the charities. My prayers and positive vibes will always be with the Sussex family.
Glad to see her happy from her new home. On a shallow note, she needs a trim, her hair looks many lengths.