Meghan and Harry’s comeback is in full force — with a major style upgrade for the duchess

The match—sponsored by Royal Salute, a whisky brand founded to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 1953 coronation—took place in moneyed Palm Beach, America’s answer to Cowdray Park, a.k.a. the “home of British polo.” South Downs of England, South Florida, same thing, right? Harry was joined on the field by his longtime polo pal Nacho Figueras, also a Sentebale ambassador. 

It was certainly a weekend full of familiar sights for royal watchers, most notably the classic “royal wife presents her husband with a polo trophy” photo opp. From Diana and Charles to Will and Kate, the conventions of the ceremony—hand over giant silver cup, peck on cheek (lips for H&M)—is a rare bit of extremely PG royal PDA. 

With the greatest of respect to their royal rizz, however, it’s arguable that the star of that photo opp was neither Harry nor Meghan. Instead, it’s the dress the duchess wore for the occasion, possibly one of her best looks ever.

Made of hemp and linen, the aptly named “Ginger” dress by California label Heidi Merrick sold out shortly after Meghan was photographed wearing it. It also wasn’t the only piece of her outfit that had a name that nodded to her home life: Her sunglasses, also by the brand, are the “Santa Barbara” style, which happens to be the part of the West Coast state she and her family now live in.

What’s interesting about this dress—and the black St. Agni halter dress that she wore to a Sentebale dinner later in the weekend—is that it comes in at a price point that’s certainly not high street but also not the eye-watering designer price tags she has mostly favoured over the last few years.

Is the 1,100-ish dollars you’d pay for this frock affordable? No, but it’s a comparatively more relatable (especially with inflation!) lower-tier sweet spot that leans into sustainability as a justification for its cost rather than the designer label who made it. She hasn’t ditched her love of a big name entirely—she carried a Valentino bag, wore Aquazzura pumps, debuted Chanel earrings—but notably they’re all either re-wears or, in the case of the jewelry, vintage pieces.

Equally, the St Agni dress she wore later was around the $600 mark, paired with some vintage Dior earrings that, while again not bargains, are a world away from the custom Dior she sported (and in some circles, was heavily criticized for) during her working duchess days.

At other points in the weekend, she was seen dressed down in white pants and a button down the internet is convinced belongs to Prince Harry. (It’s giving The Boyfriend shirt that she wore for their first public engagement back in 2017.)

It’s a subtle shift (your average mom shopping at Target she is not), but it feels like a noteworthy sea change from Meghan, particularly when you pair it with two relevant data points: The first being that her old friend Serena Williams joined her at the event, and the second being last week’s news that she was “curating” a lifestyle show for Netflix. (Who, by the way, seem to have been on hand to film her and Harry for his project about the world of polo that was also announced at the same time.)

Both of these things—especially when combined by her forthcoming, very idiosyncratic brand American Riviera Orchard—continue a recent pattern of Meghan returning to the things, and ways of dressing, that were core elements of her public brand pre-royal life.

In again: California casual, charity events, her celebrity girl gang. Out, perhaps: The pointed designer powersuits she experimented with when she and her Harry were in their divisive Global Public Philanthropist Era immediately after they left their jobs as working royals.

Whatever comes next for her, it feels like there’s a real reclamation of her personhood afoot—and, it seems, she doesn’t need big designer labels to hide behind anymore.