The Reason Meghan Markle’s Wedding Dress Looked So Baggy Despite Duchess Saying Tailoring Is Very Important to Her
Royal watchers everywhere couldn’t wait to see Meghan Markle‘s dress the day she married Prince Harry. But there were mixed reactions when the former Suits star stepped out of her vehicle in front of St. George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018.
The gown was designed by Clare Waight Keller of the fashion house Givenchy and had a bateau neckline, three-quarter sleeves, and a train with a built-in triple silk organza underskirt. While some commented on how lovely the dress was the lack of lace, pearls, and embellishments left others labeling it as “plain” and “underwhelming.” But the biggest complaint from critics is that it was “ill-fitting” which does not reflect Meghan’s personal style. There have been several theories about why the duchess went for a “baggy” dress but the reason may be because she was left with no other choice.
Meghan said her most important fashion advice is to have everything ‘tailored’
Back in 2015, Meghan spoke to Joe Zee and Kristin Cavallari on Yahoo Style about her (now-defunct) lifestyle blog The Tig, her character Rachel Zane on the legal drama Suits, and her fashion tips.
Meghan described her style as “California girl, relaxed.” She revealed: “I like to look polished and put together, but there’s always going to be an effortless quality to it just being from LA.”
The hosts then asked the future duchess about her “one go-to rule — this thing for every woman who’s watching should do if they want to dial up their personal style.”
Meghan replied: “I think the most important thing you can do is tailoring — no matter what you have in your closet. You think that it’s not going to make a big impact but if it fits you to a T, you look a million times better and I learned that working on Suits. We literally do our fittings on the inhale — one, two, three, inhale, then get all the sizing right. When things are fitting you perfectly you’ll look fantastic.”
Why the duchess’s wedding dress was ‘baggy’
Because Meghan admittingly is all about “tailoring,” some found it odd that her wedding dress wasn’t form-fitting.
According to Marie Claire‘s Mahalia Chang, the fabric used to construct the underskirt is “extremely thick, stiff and does not allow for much stretch.” With that in mind, it’s likely that the designer “purposefully chose a more conservative cut along the bodice and sleeves to let the bride move and breathe in the dress more comfortably.”
Chang added: “If the cut had been skin-tight–as some are suggesting it should have been–then there’s a chance that Meghan would not have been able to sit (in the car, or during the service) or freely move her arms, due to the constricting nature of such a thick material being cut so tight.”
As for those who thought the gown lacked that “wow factor” or dubbed it “boring,” Waight Keller said “purity and simplicity were the guiding principles” when creating the Duchess of Sussex’s perfect wedding dress.
