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It’s sleek, timeless, and subtly influential—a blue and white candy-striped shirt by Ralph Lauren, understated yet remarkably significant.
For Meghan Markle, this shirt is more than just a fashion staple; it serves as her stylistic emblem for transformation, a garment she chooses during pivotal moments when life is on the brink of something new.
Since its first appearance at Wimbledon in 2018, Meghan’s Ralph Lauren shirt has reemerged at distinct, meaningful events in her life. Each appearance marks a new phase, a thoughtfully chosen marker in the continuous narrative of the Duchess of Sussex’s journey.
Anyone familiar with Meghan’s fashion choices knows that nothing she wears is by accident. Each button, stripe, and sleeve fold narrates a story.
Back in July 2018, marking the start of her royal chapter, newlywed Meghan attended Wimbledon with her new sister-in-law.
While Kate decided on a breezy polka-dot dress, Meghan selected something distinctly different—a crisp Ralph Lauren shirt teamed with wide-leg pants.
The ensemble communicated volumes. Meghan was asserting herself not as a clone of royal tradition, but as a contemporary duchess, with that striped shirt at the heart of her statement.
As she stepped on stage, the Duchess of Sussex turned to her striped wardrobe faithful to give a solo speech at the Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Festival in New York
Meghan’s Striped Ralph Lauren shirt stands out against the many muted colours hanging on the Duchess of Sussex’s clothes rail in New York
Over the following years the shirt was packed away as Meghan’s life shifted from duchess to domestic queen. There were other striped shirts, but that one Ralph Lauren piece stayed conspicuously absent.
Until, that is, it re-emerged on a 4th of July Instagram post in 2025. Arranging a patriotic fruit platter, it was her shirt that was relaying the start of a new beginning.
Just as the shirt had once marked the dawn of her royal life, it was now ushering in her latest reinvention, coming days before the launch campaign for the new season of her Netflix docuseries, With Love, Meghan.
In October, the Duchess of Sussex attended the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival, marking Meghan’s re-entry into the public speaking circuit as she made a solo speech, yet again wearing her iconic shirt.
Meghan’s wardrobe is part of her public language, and the return of the Ralph Lauren stripes felt deliberate and meaningful.
Following on from her speech Meghan was next spotted in her unmistakable stripes reportedly having a private meeting at The Whitby Hotel with US Vogue’s editor Chloé Malle, perhaps signalling a new direction in the fashion and beauty world.
The Ralph Lauren number reappeared on Fourth of July as she posted a fruit platter on Instagram which was followed soon after by a post launching the trailer for a new Netflix series of With Love, Meghan
For her first appearance at Wimbledon in the royal box in 2018, Meghan debuted her Ralph Lauren striped shirt paired with white wide-legged trousers from the same brand to watch the Ladies’ Singles Finals
Each time Meghan reaches for her stripes it’s coincided with a fresh pivot in her story. We even see it on her Instagram story showing some of the shoes and clothes she has worn on her whirlwind trip to New York.
It’s as though she chooses it not merely as clothing, but as armour, a symbolic reset that anchors her through change.
So, the next time the Duchess of Sussex steps out in that now-famous shirt, it’s worth watching closely. Because if the pattern holds true, the stripes won’t just be a style choice, they’ll be a signal that something’s about to change.
