How to get Marks & Spencer-loving Meghan Markle’s designer look at the high street giant
Here we show how the Duchess of Sussex could have saved a few thousand quid by getting some of her most famous looks from M&S instead
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IT’S no surprise the Duchess of Sussex has added a bit of Marks & Sparkle to her wardrobe.
As an M&S fan, Meghan is following a great British tradition embraced by everyone from the man (and woman) on the street to other royals and those at the heart of government.
Yesterday we exclusively revealed that the pregnant 37-year-old buys her tights from M&S, wearing a nude £6 pair for a Commonwealth Day event at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
She has also been seen in a £49.50 M&S dress at the Royal Albert Hall and, on a visit to Brixton, South London, a £45 M&S jumper — which soon sold out.
Years before her, then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a fan of the brand, revealing in a 1986 BBC interview that she bought her undies there.
And the following year, on a visit to the Marble Arch flagship store, the shrewd stateswoman said of a £200 cashmere jumper: “Now that is what I call an investment.”
Instead, she showed she was a woman of the people, leaving with a £39.95 cardigan and two silk blouses from the now defunct Premier sub-brand.
Fast forward three decades and the trend for dressing No10 continued — with Tory PM David Cameron admitting, “I tend to go for Marks & Spencer” just a few years after his wife Samantha wore a £65 M&S polka dot dress to the Tory party conference.
The brand seems to have even united political chiefs in their love for it, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn snapped in a £79 M&S anorak last November.
While the store has seen sales slip in the past few seasons — most recently a 2.4 per cent fall in clothing — the 979-shop chain has weathered a lot worse in its 130-year history.
It survived two World Wars — with staff even raising money to buy a Spitfire — and rationing, making sparse utility clothing a trend.
It started selling bras in 1926, and now one in three women in the UK own an M&S bra. Two pairs of its knickers sell per second.
While slowly acclimatising to our High Street, Meghan isn’t always known for her bargain buys, often seen in pricey outfits.
Here we show how she could have saved a few thousand quid by getting some of her most famous looks from M&S instead . . .
The royal engagement
Meghan’s outfit
- Coat, £665, Line the Label; dress, £437, P.A.R.O.S.H; heels, £369, Aquazzura.
TOTAL: £1,471
M&S outfit
- Coat, £129; dress, £39.50; heels, £39.50 -
TOTAL: £208
SAVING: £1,263
Charity visit
Meghan’s outfit
- Coat, £2,600; dress, £192, Hatch; heels, £700.
TOTAL: £3,492
M&S outfit
- Coat, £49.50; top, £12.50; skirt, £25; wedges, £25 -
TOTAL: £112
SAVING: £3,380
Invictus Games
Meghan’s outfit
- Shirt, £140, Misha Nonoo; jeans, £172, Mother Denim; brown flats, £305, Sarah Flint; bag, £125, Everlane.
TOTAL: £742
M&S outfit
- Shirt, £25; jeans, £25; shoes, £45; bag, £29.50, all M&S -
TOTAL: £124.50
SAVING: £617.50
Tour of Fiji
Meghan’s outfit
- Dress, £1,150, Figue; wedges, £80, Castaner
TOTAL: £1,230
most read in fabulous
M&S outfit
- Dress, £45; wedges, £19.50 -
TOTAL: £64.50
SAVING: £1,165.50
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