Meghan Markle has shown off an impressive sense of style since becoming the Duchess of Sussex. Even better, that impressive sense of style includes brands her loyal followers can shop for themselves. Sure, Markle often wears custom outfits that suggest she has Givenchy on speed-dial, but she’s also been known to mix in affordable pieces by & Other Stories and Aritzia. Now she’s added another one of our favorite wallet-friendly brands to her royal wardrobe with a dress that’s less than $35.
On Wednesday, January 16, the Duchess of Sussex visited one of her four royal patronages, Mayhew, in London. She arrived in a monochromatic outfit that included an off-white coat, maternity dress, and pumps. It didn’t take long for onlookers to ID her cozy sweater dress as H&M. The cost? Only $34.99.
Karwai Tang
Karwai Tang
This is the first time Markle has worn a piece from H&M’s in-house maternity line, MAMA. Moms-to-be who want to cop the dress are in luck: It’s still available on H&M’s website (for now, at least).
Lest you forget that Markle is a duchess—and that she can spend thousands of dollars on her wardrobe—she rounded out her outfit with some pricier pieces. Specifically, an Emporio Armani coat and Paul Andrew heels.
Neil Mockford
This is the second time in a week that the Duchess of Sussex has worn under-$100 finds for her public appearances. Markle chose another fan-favorite brand, Aritzia, for a visit to Birkhead on Monday, January 14. It didn’t take long for shoppers to grab her exact outfit for themselves: Her purple Babaton dress has already sold out.
Danny Lawson – PA Images
Of course, Meghan Markle’s visit wasn’t just about showing off her excellent maternity style. She stopped by Mayhew, an animal welfare charity, to meet with volunteers and service animals.
Later this evening Markle and Prince Harry are expected to attend the premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s Totem, which will be held in support of Sentebale. We aren’t expecting to see more H&M at the Royal Albert Hall event—it’s a black-tie affair—but if we know the Duchess, she’ll definitely bring more of the Markle sparkle to the formal event. Personally, I’m holding out for another halter dress.
As we entered 2018, it felt like the buzz around Meghan Markle‘s royal style couldn’t get any louder. That is, until Kensington Palace made the announcement: The Duchess of Sussex is expecting her first child, due in spring 2019. Even before that, though, rumors surrounding her pregnancy were intensified precisely because of her fashion choices. (People started speculating about the coat Markle wore to Princess Eugenie’s wedding and whether it was meant to hide a baby bump.) Now, all eyes are on her approach to official maternity fashion—and whether it’ll be as “rule-breaking” as her regular wardrobe.
Like Kate Middleton before her, Markle has adopted an approach to maternity dressing that’s true to her personality—and incredibly polished. Since the news broke in October, the Duchess has stepped out wearing everything from simple ASOS sheath dresses to bespoke Givenchy. All the while, she’s kept true to her personal style signatures such as delicate stacking rings, sequined halter tops and slitted skirts.
The next several months are, presumably, set to be a parade of inspiring maternity looks courtesy of the Duchess of Sussex, so we’ll be rounding up up her best outfits until Baby Sussex makes its grand entrance. Check out our favorites, ahead.
Ever since the dawn of athleisure, the apparel market has been dominated by stretchy fabrics and varying levels of compression. Same goes for my closet. This isn’t just for workouts: These days, I’m wearing snazzy sports bras in lieu of underwires at any hour of the day and fancy leggings instead of denim. The allure of comfortable, forgiving clothes has been impossible to resist, to the point where it’s strained my relationship with the most tried-and-true wardrobe staples.
My jeans have taken the hardest hit. Who in their right mind would wriggle into stiff selvage denim and zero-stretch vintage 501s when leggings—which do so much more than hold me during downward dogs and spin classes—exist? I recently realized there is, in fact, a magical, happy medium between jeans and leggings. No, it’s not jeggings… but it has been right in front of my eyes this whole time, just not marketed to me. Two words: maternity jeans.
This utterly genius category of pants combines the best parts of jeans (the look, the feel) with those of leggings (spandex-packed goodness, support, stretch.) The paneling in maternity jeans—their main draw, really—is designed to support and expand for a baby bump, but it’s just as wonderful a feature if your stomach and hips shift-shape more than any other body parts, be it due to weight gain, fluctuation, or bloating.
The prospect of wearing maternity jeans—despite most certainly not being or trying to become pregnant right now—first dawned on me this fall, as the temperatures began to drop. Pants and full-length leggings became necessary, but my aversion to tights meant dresses and skirts were out of the question. I’m fortunate that my remote-working profession renders leggings acceptable for, say, 70% of occasions—but for the rest, I needed “real pants.” What I couldn’t bear the thought of, though, was the angry-looking red marks I would get along the seams and waistband of the dark-wash, skinny-ish jeans I had on rotation. Also annoying: My thighs are muscular, and I tend hold weight around the stomach and hips, so I normally have to constantly hike up my denim to ensure that my butt and stomach stay fully covered. That’s never an issue with a snug pair of leggings—or bottoms with a comfortable elastic waistband, for that matter.
Well, that’s precisely what makes maternity jeans, well, maternity jeans. So I decided I would try, because, honestly, who would be the wiser? Plus, jeans that stay comfortable and continue to fit during weight fluctuations seemed like a relief and a practical investment to my closet. If these miracle pants are designed to support and accommodate a growing belly, and, with it, the average 30-pound weight gain pregnancy tacks on, I figured they could handle my 10-ish pound weight fluctuations with aplomb.
And the chic options abound: A slew of mid-range brands, like Madewell, carry maternity jeans; mass retailers like Target’s Isabel Maternity by Ingrid & Isabel label (a more affordable offshoot of Ingrid & Isabel, the label responsible for the well-loved Bellaband) have expanded their offerings, while premium denim brands like J. Brand and Hatch have extensive styles for sale. Even the OG players in the pregnancy fashion orbit, like A Pea in the Pod, have stepped up their game, with a denim selection that now includes Frame, Good American, and Mother. In other words, it’s a damn good time to be on the hunt for maternity jeans—whether or not you’re expecting.
Beyond jeans, the maternity fashion market is quite robust: It’s currently valued at $1 billion, with more than 1,500 brands expressly devoted to maternity clothing, according to a 2018 report, growing 200 percent from 2014 to 2017. And though in the minority, there are shoppers without child that buy into this section.
According to Ariane Goldman, founder of Hatch, approximately 20 percent of the brand’s shoppers aren’t pregnant. She launched the label in in 2010 as a pre, during, and post-maternity brand “with longevity in mind, so women can invest in products that don’t have finite use,” she says: “I didn’t want to spend money on something that was disposable or made me feel ugly because my body was already changing, and I felt that’s something that should be celebrated. ” Post-baby purchases “only [reinforce] our proposition as a solution-based company for before, during and after pregnancy,” she adds.
PHOTO: Hatch
Hatch x Current/Elliott The Easy Denim Overall, $378, Hatch
Hatch’s core customer is a 30-something pregnant woman, while her non-pregnant clientele “consists of girls in their early 20’s who are diehard fans and love the Hatch aesthetic,” as well as a “50- to 70-year-old demographic of women who recognize and celebrate our silhouette and the effortlessness of the collections.” Its denim, produced in collaboration with Current/Elliott, is one of its best-selling categories.
Seraphine, the U.K.-based maternity line that counts Kate Middleton as a fan, has also found that there’s “a small proportion [of shoppers] who buy our jeans without being pregnant,” according to founder Cecile Reinaud. “Many of these are returning customers, who have had Seraphine jeans through pregnancy and love the comfort of them so much that they want to keep wearing them afterwards,” she explains.
Knowing that I wasn’t alone, I began my quest for the perfect maternity jeans for my non-pregnant body. Step one: Understand that there’s not just one type of “maternity jean”—rather, there are a variety of options, depending on how you would want it to sit on your bump.
PHOTO: Jono/Seraphine
Seraphine Over Bump Slim Leg Maternity Jeans, $99, Seraphine
I was vaguely aware of the over-the-belly style—basically, a pair of jeans that doesn’t have a fly-and-button closure or denim waistband, instead featuring a stretchy swath of fabric that serves as a sort of low-compression girdle. Without a baby inside my belly, though, that fabric portion extended much further north, literally right below the boobs. So I sought out alternatives.
First, I tried out this Isabel Maternity pair, which doesn’t have the full-fledged fabric waist—rather, that stretch material covers all over the front, but then folds into a V shape in the small of the back. So, you get a lot more body real estate than most non-maternity jeans, but it’s still less than the more traditional styles in that category.
PHOTO: Target
Isabel Maternity by Ingrid & Isabel Maternity Crossover Panel Skinny Jeans, $29.99, Target
Then, through Seraphine, I discovered under-the-belly maternity jeans, where the soft waistband dips a bit lower in front than in back. As someone who loves the held-in, no-plumber’s-crack security of a super-high waist, I was pretty skeptical of the lower front—but this pair, in a dark grey wash, basically felt like sweatpants, which I didn’t hate. They were, however, pretty baggy on my frame, so I’d recommend sizing down if you’re trying on an under-the-belly style as a non-pregnant person.
PHOTO: Seraphine
Seraphine Under Bump Rock Chic Maternity Jeans, $95, Seraphine
I did have luck with these $33 under-belly skinnies—they’ve got a zip fly and button closure and denim waistband like non-maternity jeans, but triangular wedge-like gussets of black elastic inserted right below it that make it bump-friendly.
PHOTO: Target
Isabel Maternity by Ingrid & Isabel Maternity Plus Size Crossover Panel Skinny Jeans, $32.99, Target
Besides the very real comfort factor, maternity jeans could be seen as an unexpected “investment piece” of sorts—a hopefully-not-too-crazy-early closet addition that can be enjoyed for a couple years in advance of the target timing, but that you get to enjoy for years before it happens. You could see it as a more economical alternative to buying and holding onto jeans in various sizes that fit at different weights or shifting physiques. Plus, why would you want to wait to wear the most comfortable jeans on earth?
Last week, I received a package I’d ordered from Savannah, Georgia, and inside was a $19 vintage metallic blouse with 1980s padded shoulders and a retro “David Hayes for Saks Fifth Avenue” label inside. The measurements on Etsy said it would fit my current frame, which—thanks to pregnancy—is undergoing some adjustments.
The shirt looked as I’d pictured it in some ways (the round neckline isn’t stretched out like some vintage styles; the puff shoulders—a small styling quirk I tend to think of as my signature—sat perfectly and looked just out-there enough to be cool; and the sleeves hit my true wrist buttoned, but also have a relaxed, loose charm when rolled up.) But the hem was too damn tight, something I’d normally remedy by tucking it into a pair of high-waisted jeans, preferably those with a wide, cropped leg and frayed hem, or maybe my favorite shiny spandex American Apparel pants—also high waisted—for a night out.
But there are not many nights out, and this otherwise perfect top looked ridiculous with the one pair of $29 Zara elastic waist culottes I’ve been wearing almost daily since I realized nothing in my closet that has a zipper, a snap, a hook, or anything that resembles a defined waist fits. Back to my regularly scheduled program of boxy tees and stretchy tops.
I am almost 34 weeks along, which is seven and a half months, and I’m tremendously bored with my own personal style. Picking out my clothes in the morning—and realizing daily that a new favorite no longer fits—is an exercise in patience, often one that ends with my not feeling like myself.
I understand this is a time to focus on dressing comfortably—everyone tells me that—but what happens when you’re most comfortable in fitted vintage tops and stiff jeans? Or things with buttons? Or things that remain the length they’re meant to be without riding up and exposing a sliver of what looks like a slightly pointed basketball, black line included? The truth is, I enjoy clothing, and the act of choosing what I put on has often been a soothing activity for me, like an elaborate skin-care routine is for other women.
As much as I appreciate the fact that I have carte blanche to show up anywhere right now—work included—wearing yoga pants and a loose knit cardigan, stretched-out sweaters that have been stuffed into a forgotten drawer all summer, or anything that resembles a tent, I also know I wouldn’t.
Still, I can’t rely on my own closet so since becoming pregnant, I’ve had to go in search of a few new things because no matter what anyone tells you, shopping is essential. About 75% of my wardrobe was unadaptable, except for some the aforementioned sweaters, extra-stretchy leggings, and two or three expandable “bodycon” dresses I’d been too self-conscious to wear over the years yet continued to purchase. However, I’ve taken care to buy things that check two boxes: suit my personal style and generally fall within an under-$50 price range.
I’m aware that, in 2018, there are plenty of modern, elevated labels designed for the chic pregnant woman, and they make some beautiful things, but I personally have a hard time justifying spending upwards of $200 for items that will be retired in a matter of months—especially when sites like H&M and Zara are stocked with pieces I’ve found to be perfectly worthy, and make me feel like I’m not fully settling or compromising my sense of style, which unapologetically feels a little trendier and a little more fleeting than some “classic” luxury maternitywear.
Below, you’ll find some items I’ve purchased—all around $50 or less; all excellent at most stages of pregnancy. Some are specifically cut as maternity wear—ASOS’ section is a godsend—but others aren’t, and are simply made from highly-stretchy material. Some pieces I’ve had to buy in much larger sizes, and others not so much, but all are things I’ve worn consistently.
And while I’m excited to get back into things like the vintage Etsy tops, I’m also glad I have a curated collection of comfortable pieces that feel somewhat reflective of my pre-pregnancy style and that didn’t set me back tremendously. I also do not feel these pieces, though bought from fast-fashion retailers, are particularly disposable, as most I’ll continue to wear postpartum.
I’d also like to point out that I’m suggesting products as a petite person—5’2 and generally pretty slim. I have found success purchasing non-maternity clothing in sizes larger than I’d normally wear, but I get this isn’t a feasible strategy for all women, as several inexpensive retailers don’t go beyond a vague size “XL” or 12 to 14. Some have been making strides in that department, and others offer plus collections, but I understand dressing while pregnant isn’t always as simple as sizing up. Which is why I hope more affordable brands create stylish clothing women actually want to wear in expanded sizes.
Meghan Markle just touched down in New Zealand for the final leg of her royal tour. Every stop on her trip through Australia, Tonga, and Fiji has culminated in a fashion parade of her maternity style for onlookers: From her Antonio Berardi tuxedo dress to close out the Invictus Games to an Oscar de la Renta princess gown for the Australian Geographical Society Awards, she’s arrived at every engagement in a stunning look.
When Markle landed in New Zealand, we knew she’d step off the plane in yet another top-notch outfit. This time, she arrived in an outfit that’s instantly copyable: a surprisingly affordable ASOS maternity dress moms-to-be can shop (nope, it’s not sold out yet).
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The Duchess of Sussex stepped off the plane in Wellington, New Zealand on Sunday (October 28) wearing a black midi dress and plaid trench. Onlookers were quick to ID the black midi as the ASOS Maternity Wiggle midi dress. The dress is a simple, chic LBD with folded-shoulder details and a subtle skirt pleat—and it’s only $60.
Markle completed the casual-chic look with a plaid trench by Karen Walker and a pair of her signature Sarah Flint pumps. She wore the ASOS dress for her first events of the day—a welcome ceremony and a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior—until she changed for a formal ceremony later that evening.
It’s a great day for royal and royal-adjacent baby news. Just several hours after Meghan Markle and Prince Harryannounced they were expecting a baby in the spring, Pippa Middleton has reportedly checked into the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital. That’s the same maternity wing where Kate Middleton previously gave birth to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
The news comes courtesy of the Daily Mail, which reported the story and snapped photos of Middleton’s husband, James Matthews, entering the wing with what the publication described as “two overnight bags.” The Daily Mail identified one of them as a “baby changing bag” (by Cam Cam Copenhagen, to be exact).
PHOTO: Getty Images
There’s no word as to Middleton’s condition, and she did not reveal her due date when she confirmed she was pregnant back in June. However, The Sun—which published a story (unconfirmed by Middleton) in April claiming that the couple had announced the news to loved ones after a 12-week-scan—thinks her due date is in October, and adds that there were “questions” about whether she would show up to Princess Eugenie’s wedding (she did).
Additionally, Harper’s Bazaar reports that Middleton and Matthews had showed up to the Lindo Wing two weeks ago, but left around an hour later. (This also means it’s important to keep in mind that, just because she’s at the hospital doesn’t mean Middleton is definitely giving birth.)
Previously, Middleton made the announcement of her new addition in her fitness column for Waitrose Weekend. This will be her first pregnancy, as well as her first child with Matthews.
Of course, we’ll report any new information when it breaks.
