Meghan Markle’s Hardest-Working Wardrobe Staple Has Never Changed

A striped shirt is as synonymous with Meghan Markle’s style as Chanel ballet flats and Cartier’s Juste Un Clou bracelet. Think back to the 2017 Invictus Games, when a pre-Kensington Palace Meghan made her first official appearance as Prince Harry’s girlfriend wearing a blue and white button-down by her friend Misha Nonoo. Then along came Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in 2020, where she dialled in from her lockdown living room dressed in a same-but-different With Nothing Underneath shirt, and later, a Ralph Lauren iteration for a promotional video for the Fisher House Foundation in 2023.

Much has changed in Meghan’s life since those early days with Harry, but one thing remains constant: the Duchess’s growing collection of blue and white shirting. It’s a recurring presence in With Love, Meghan as well as her Instagram Reels, and it once again appeared this morning at Project Healthy Minds’ Festival in New York, where she introduced a panel discussion on youth wellness in the digital age. Meghan tucked her shirt—another Ralph Lauren number—into some high-waisted trousers and completed the look with a new Loro Piana Loom bag that was resting somewhere just off-stage. Harry opened the discussion: “The past five years have taught us painfully that crises rarely arrive in isolation,” he said. “The global pandemic stripped away the ordinary scaffolding of life and brought a measurable surge in anxiety, depression and loss of connection. Our digital world has fundamentally changed how we experience reality.”

Photo: Getty Images

Meghan’s corporate-casual ensemble marked a more relaxed turn from the previous night’s look—an Armani suit, Anine Bing necklace, and Guzema Fine Jewelry earrings—worn as she and Harry were honoured as Humanitarians of the Year at the World Mental Health Day Gala. Even that, however, was restrained compared to the ivory button-down, wide-leg trousers and wrap-around shawl she wore to Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut Balenciaga presentation at Paris Fashion Week. “Our children, Archie and Lilibet, are just six and four years old—can you believe it?” she said during yesterday evening’s acceptance speech. “Luckily, they’re still too young for social media, but we know that day is coming. Like so many parents, we think constantly about how to embrace technology’s benefits while safeguarding against its dangers. That hopeful intention of separation is rapidly becoming impossible.”