Rough Estimate

Markle’s preference for designer clothing shows through in her choice of maternity dresses which are almost all high end

According to estimates from Love the Sales, an online fashion search engine, Markle’s entire maternity wardrobe costs a total of $632,000 or £478,920 in pounds. They came up with the amount after considering all of the 75 outfits Markle wore in public outings since she started showing in October 2018. That’s an average of $8,426 per ensemble.

As expected, people were surprised about just how expensive her wardrobe cost considering that Kate Middleton spent seven times less than Markle has for her own maternity clothes. Elizabeth Holmes, a royal commentator on Instagram also questioned why the Duchess of Sussex is debuting new custom outfits instead of just rewearing maternity favorites.

The answer seems to be quite obvious though. The former actress is known to have a penchant for wearing expensive designer clothes. Some of her favorite luxury brands include Oscar de la Renta, Gucci, and Erdem.

Fortunately, British taxpayers have nothing to worry about as Markle’s expenses are funded by her father-in-law Prince Charles. These expenses include everything she spends on official visits and staff as well.

The Duchesses’ Wardrobes

While Markle has a more classic, expensive style, her sister-in-law prefers to wear more formal and sensible ensembles

Of course, the spread of this news once again led people to compare the two Duchesses. Love the Sales’ Liam Solomon weighs in on these.

As Solomon explained, Markle, who’s a former Hollywood actress, was used to a glamorous life walking red carpets and living in Los Angeles. Even before she married into the British royal family, she’s been known to wear expensive brands like Givenchy and Dior. Solomon observed though that her tastes have gotten even better after her marriage to Prince Harry last year perhaps because of the bigger budget she has now.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge didn’t come from a similar background than Markle leading to their differing styles. She often sticks with understated brands for her everyday clothes and chose affordable maternity dresses as well.

The Meghan Effect

Markle became an instant fashion icon inspiring designers and even putting some on the map by just wearing them.

While there are many who criticized Markle’s expensive tastes in clothes, it seems there are more who admire her for it. In fact, some fashion commentators even observed a phenomenon the Duchess caused: the Meghan Effect.

Markle’s extensive fashion influence began right after she became a member of the royal family in May 2018. Her wedding dress even broke the Internet when websites selling similar looking dresses crashed because of the many orders they were receiving. Even high-street brands were said to have made copycat dresses to meet the demand.