My “Good” post mostly consisted of looks that were appropriate to the occasion, but just oddly sized or sourced. The Bad post will be looks that were correctly executed but just weird-ass choices for royal engagements. As you can see, A LOT of these looks fall into this category.
The first look in this post is Nottingham. This was the first appearance after the white bathrobe. The expectations were really high and the end result was total flop. We almost never see pics from Nottingham and there’s a good reason for that.
Her hair was fine and the coat (wonder of wonders) actually fit! Everything, however, was too dark and dreary. This was her first “villainous henchman” look as she looked like she was accompanying General Hux on a planet-destroying mission or something. The boots were just completely awful. They looked like hooves.
The “Spectre employee” look would go on to become a recurring theme, as would the “channeling fashion icon X” phenomenon. This time it was CBK, but we would go on to have Audrey Hepburn, Kate Middleton, Diana, and Jackie O looks. This was also the first “prop handbag” sighting, a theme that Meghan will hammer into the ground in future engagements. She only let go of it when the DM finally mocked her on their front page.
Then we had Sandringham and the immortal poo emoji hat. Like the looks I listed in the “Good” post, this was another attempt to channel regalness. It failed, no only because of the ridiculousness of the hat and the purse and the whole “costume” look going on but also because she walked right next to Kate’s glorious Christmas coat giving everyone a perfect “real” vx. “fake” moment.
I still have no idea why she went with browns for Christmas.
The “poo emoji” phenomenon was real, though. Everyone pretty much thought the same thing when they saw that hat.
I’m sticking Brighton into the “Ugly” post, so I’m going to skip right into Cardiff and THE ULTIMATE Spectre henchman look. She legit looks like a Call of Duty enemy sniper.
LOL, I remember wondering why her bun was so messy here. Little did I know it would actually get worse. I think this is the first time that Meghan’s hair really undermines her look, as this Hello cover illustrates.
I still have not clue why she likes the all-black look so much. She’d used it again in Brixton so this was her second all-black look. Whyyyyyyy?
This was the outfit that was mocked by the Daily Mail front page. The mismatched earrings (remember those!) really jumped the shark with this one.
I’m sticking the inside look into the “Ugly” post, so let’s move on to the Endeavor awards. Her looks had been underwhelming at this point, but I think this was the first real disappointment for Meghan’s sugar press. They were expecting a pretty dress and they got a bland tux instead.
This was the first big downgrade in Meghan’s fashion headlines. Before this, the press would label anything she wore (no matter how hideous ) as “stunning” and “iconic.” This tux, however, was labeled “chic” and “elegant.” This is another look that went into the memory hole, but not before giving rise to countless “missing Suits?” “well-suited,” and “it suits” her puns all bringing her Hollywood background back into the spotlight.
It also didn’t help that Kate had recently worn a glorious McQueen outfit in Sweden, giving rise to unfavorable comparisons.
Another sniper look! This was Birmingham. I’m going to stick the inside look in the “Ugly” post so I don’t really have much to say abut this one, other than cross bracelet merching, ugh. Also, I guess this is where she got mud on her shoes?
What I find amazing about these outfits is that, as with the “Halo” dress, she consistently reinforces her “Hollywood” brand and misses opportunities to develop a “royal” brand.
Another odd thing is that when she’s not consciously imitating a royal (as in the “Good” post outfits), she consistently looks like a Hollywood action movie villain–dark colors, trench coats, stilettos.
House of Brat 