If there’s one garment that has quietly defined Meghan Markle’s style evolution—from Hollywood ingénue to Duchess of Sussex—it’s the striped shirt. Crisp, classic, and subtly effortless, it’s the piece that has anchored her wardrobe through nearly every chapter of her public life.
It began long before royal engagements and charity galas. At the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto—her first official outing with Prince Harry—Meghan wore a blue-and-white button-down by her friend Misha Nonoo. The look was simple, but the message was clear: confident, composed, and unbothered by spectacle.
Since then, the shirt has resurfaced at pivotal moments. During the 2020 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, Markle appeared via video call in a With Nothing Underneath iteration, embodying remote-era polish. Three years later, she chose a relaxed Ralph Lauren version for a Fisher House Foundation campaign, proving that even as her world changed, her style compass stayed the same.
That same understated uniform reappeared in New York this morning, where Meghan attended Project Healthy Minds’ Festival, introducing a panel on youth wellness in the digital age. Wearing yet another Ralph Lauren striped shirt, neatly tucked into high-waisted trousers, and accessorised with a Loro Piana Loom bag resting discreetly offstage, she struck her signature balance between approachable and elevated.
Prince Harry opened the session with a sobering reminder: “The past five years have taught us painfully that crises rarely arrive in isolation… Our digital world has fundamentally changed how we experience reality.” Together, the couple’s presence underscored a shared message—poise and purpose can coexist.
The outing followed a glamorous night at the World Mental Health Day Gala, where Meghan accepted the Humanitarian of the Year Award alongside Harry. She wore a tailored Armani suit paired with an Anine Bing necklace and Guzema Fine Jewelry earrings. Even so, her daytime look today felt more quintessentially “Meghan”: modern, minimal, and quietly powerful.
It’s a sartorial consistency that speaks volumes. From Balenciaga’s front row to a Zoom screen in lockdown, the Duchess’s devotion to her striped shirts—always blue, always effortless—has become a visual shorthand for her style philosophy: grounded, graceful, and forever relevant.
