Saturday, August 4 was a great day to have a birthday; just ask our former forever president Barack Obama, The Root’s deputy editor Yesha Callahan, or the newly crowned Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who celebrated her 37th birthday at the wedding of one of her new husband’s besties, Charlie van Straubenzee, in Surrey, England.
If we haven’t checked in with the duchess for a while, it’s because both we and she needed a breather. Thankfully, we hear she’ll be taking one, as she and Prince Harry are reportedly planning a well-deserved retreat from the royal spotlight to hopefully just enjoy being married for a while.
But while the former actress knows how to make a lasting impression, she also knows how to downplay her high profile on someone else’s big day—and Markle did just that when she surprisingly donned perhaps her most affordable outfit to date since becoming a royal.
Making a relatively low-priced purchase in her reportedly one-million dollar wardrobe budget, Markle chose to play it cool for her friends’ nuptials, wearing the $328 color-blocked ‘Shoanah’ shirtdress from Club Monaco that unintentionally played a bit of peek-a-boo with her black lace bra underneath.
But it wasn’t all budget; the duchess accented the dress’s navy, white, forest green and millennial pink pleats with a navy basketweave clutch from Kayu, slingback ‘Deneuve’ pumps from Aquazzura, and a custom fascinator by royal favorite Philip Treacy.
As of late, Markle’s also been trying out a new silhouette: After wearing bateau necklines to the point that they’d become known as a personal trademark, for her last two public appearances, the duchess has opted for cap-sleeved belted shirtdresses with graceful full skirts. In late July, she stunned in a denim version by Carolina Herrera—with a blush version of the ‘Deneuve’—when she attended her new husband’s polo match in Windsor, England.
And after an already unreal year, what was the duchess’s birthday wish for her own personal new year? As Elle UK reports, if her now-defunct blog The Tig is any indication, it’s for: “More surprises, more adventure, more opportunities to grow, more days filled with giggles and cheeky jokes, more delicious meals, and more inspiration. Always more inspiration,” as she wrote in 2016.
We’re certainly finding Markle’s evolving royal style inspiring, and hope a break will only make us more thrilled to see her when she reappears (and hopefully, it’ll give her pesky relatives a reason to simmer down, too). Happy (belated) birthday, Duchess!