Meghan returned to Martin Grant for today’s morning attire, as the Duke and Duchess started Day 11 of the Royal Tour in Tonga.
Today’s first stop: the St. George Government Buildings, where they met with Tonga’s Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva, and Deputy Prime Minister Semisi Lafu Kioa Sika. More from The Express:
The Duchess, wearing a Martin Grant dress and her Husband, Prince Harry, were met by more than 50 civil servants wearing red and black shirts and traditional outfits as they entered the St George Government Buildings for a meeting with Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva and his cabinet.
A video better shows the welcome they received.
Harry and Meghan, wearing Martin Grant, arrive at St George Government Building #RoyalVisitTonga pic.twitter.com/45mBkmDLHP
— Alexander Britton (@adbritton) October 25, 2018
After their meetings with Cabinet members, the couple headed to the Convention Centre. You can see a lovely young lady giving Meghan flowers in this video from Emily Nash.
WATCH: Flowers for the Duchess at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre, where she and the Duke are viewing traditional Tongan handicrafts…#RoyalTourTonga pic.twitter.com/kJG2KK5oSi
— Emily Nash (@emynash) October 25, 2018
We learn more about what transpired at the convention centre via this Daily Mirror story:
Inside, they sat on two throne-like chairs in the centre of the room, while Princess Angelika delivered a short address and called the couple “an inspiration to the youth of the Commonwealth” for “shining a light on youth empowerment”.”
Back to the Mirror piece:
She said: “Your visit today draws attention to the fundamentals of today’s youth, youth leadership, youth empowerment and addressing the social, economic and environmental challenges of our region.”
“Your visits inspires and has been an inspiration for the youth of Tonga to be the best they can be.”
“You are a beacon of hope to us all.”
…headed to an exhibition at the Fa’onelua Centre with Princess Angelika, who greeted them at the airport the previous day. In addition to meeting local Tongan traders and craftsmen and women, Meghan and Harry learned about handicrafts and products, including traditional mats and “tapa” cloth.
The royals saw a native Tongan dance.
And watched a beautiful solo dance, known as a Ta’ulunga, at a National Youth Event.
They also donned traditional ta’ovalas, mats wrapped around the waist, while at the craft exhibition.
Now for our look at what Meghan wore for the morning activities.
Meghan wore a Martin Grant dress which is featured in the designer’s S/S 2019 collection.
Made of 100% cotton, the dress features an A-line silhouette, button front, self-belt, and the full circle skirt. It is not lined.
When offered in Moda Operandi’s pre-sale the piece was $1385. This is the third Martin Grant piece we’ve seen the Duchess in; the first was a trench coat, and the second was the green striped maxi dress worn at Bondi Beach.
Meghan carried a new handbag today. It looked like the Prada Bibliothèque ($1820); available at Orchard Mile.
The bag is saffiano leather, and features distinctive side bellows, a detachable strap in goldtone metal links and magnetic button closure.
Our thanks to Heaven for the find.
Meghan’s pumps appear to be the same pair worn in July for Prince Louis’s christening. These remain a mystery. At times we thought they were Ralph Lauren, or the a pair by Manolo Blahnik, or other brands. We still don’t have a firm decision, but will update this post as well as the July post once we determine who made the shoes.
The Duchess is wearing her Birks ‘Bee Chic’ White Quartz Silver Earrings.
The royals are now at Tupou College for their next engagement, which includes the dedication of two forest reserves, now part of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. In that post we’ll have more on the dress Meghan is wearing below. It is Veronica Beard’s Cary style.
shannon maxwell says
I like this hairstyle on her and wish she would wear it more often,It’s sleek and casual at the same time.
Larissa says
Wow, I didn’t think this would be such a divisive look! I love the dress and think Meghan has styled it perfectly. The olive shoes are a much better choice than something nude. The ponytail was inspired to show off that unique neckline. The thick white stripes make a great backdrop for the colourful Tongan crafts. After reading the comments I now notice how big the dress is but on the other hand it could just be seen as comfortably roomy. My only quibble is with the earrings, as I think gold goes better with olive. But honestly, those diamonds sparkle so wonderfully in contrast to her hair that I’ll let that one slide!
Maluhia says
I think this is my favorite dress of the tour so far! Really perfect for the tour.
Preppyhippy says
I actually really love this dress on Meghan, and I think it’s one of the first dresses shes worn that actually nails what I would call her own personal Royal style. I’m usually quite underwhelmed by her fashion choices and find them a bit too simple, but I feel the bold print is both a nod to her African heritage and is casual beachy, yet still professional.
On a completely unrelated note, in one picture there is a woman behind Meghan with flowers in her hair and wouldn’t that have looked absolutely stunning if Meghan had donned a few in the local style. I used to live in Hawaii as a child and was always delighted when there was some special event and I got to wear a few Plumeria in my hair…they smell absolutely divine!
Susan Graceman says
Could you describe the traditional necklaces the couple are wearing? What are they made of?
WhatMeghanWore says
My understanding is, that the skirts are made from various types of tree bark and leaves – much like the tapa cloth for Meghan’s bag she carried in Fiji (I wrote up a bit about that in Susan K’s post the other day). Incorporated into the garlands and skirts are native flowers. I’m not entirely sure about the necklaces they are wearings, however it looks as though it is much the same types of materials – native flowers, leaves, tree bark – taken through a process and made into these beautiful traditional pieces.
I hope this helps. Thanks, Susan C.
Maureen says
I quite like this look. The sleek ponytail is wonderful, and, as usual, her shoes and clutch are perfect. There are many things that I like about this dress. Olive is a great color on Meghan, and I love these broad white and olive stripes on her. I’m a fan of shirt dresses, and this one is no exception. I’m not crazy about the strip of horizontal stripes along the front and the high collar though. This combination of the horizontal stripes and high collar make her look wider than she is. If the stripes were to be vertical or even diagonal and if the collar was more open, the dress would look more slimming. Still, I really like it. 8/10
Jessica says
I am so off-kilter with so many commenters on this site! So much praise earlier for what, to me, looked like an ill-fitting silk bathrobe in a print to make the eyes bleed, and so much disfavor for something here that checks all my boxes: crisp, fit-and-flare, tie waist, round collar, and STRIPES. I will always and forever be a sucker for stripes.
Anyway, I think that this is a fantastic look, and while I’m on record as not being particularly fond of olive green, I find that it works here with the relief of the cream-colored stripe. I’m even enjoying the olive suede heels as an accompaniment–a very ladylike shoe for what seems to me a very sophisticated-lady-on-a-tropical-vacation dress.
As for her ponytail, I’ll summon up a favorite quote originally directed to the DoC: it made me want to be a better person. It’s flawless.
Amelie says
Haha I’ve often noticed you seem to like looks that the majority of us don’t. I’m not sure if you notice but that dress does not fit her well at all. And I don’t think that’s my opinion, I think that is a general consensus! The flare of the dress overwhelms her making her look wide where she is not and the extra fabric in the sleeves bunch around her and not flattering at all (you can see it in the picture where she’s holding hands with Harry). Usually I disagree when commenters say something doesn’t fit her because it really does seem most people don’t know anything about tailoring. But this just jumped out at me right away, the dress looks like it’s a size too big which is understandable given that this is Meghan’s first pregnancy and she had no idea exactly what size would accommodate her bump.
Other things I didn’t like which is just my taste: the high neckline reminds me of a priest, it looks very constricting and uncomfortable. I’m also just not a fan of shirt dresses in general and think they look sloppy in general. It’s a fun design but it’s just way too big on her. Love the shoes though!
Jessica says
I am going to have to respectfully disagree about the fit. Yes, I do notice things like that, and in this case I noticed in the very second picture how trimly the dress fits her in the bodice. The sleeves and skirt are full, yes, but that is how the dress is designed; that’s not indicative of a poor fit. She absolutely could not have gone a size down.
Laurie says
Here’s my take on why so many people are divided on this one! I agree with you about the bathrobe dress! This dress is beautiful and absolutely does scream sophisticated-lady-on-a-tropical-vacation. But in my opinion, the execution is off. The dress is at least one size too big for the duchess and therefore a lot of excess fabric appears to be overwhelming her. Also the buttoned up mandarin collar is not doing her any favors. The colors are beautiful and the bag and shoes are perfect. The sleek ponytail is amazing! It’s a great look, but with a smaller size and a tweak to the styling could have been a knock-out!
Jessica says
I disagree about the fit. If you look at the second picture, the dress is fitting quite closely through the ribcage and bust. There’s no way she could have gone a size down. And I like the collar; to me, that’s part of what makes it such a ladylike look.
ElizaMo says
Oh I love the dismissal of the silk bathrobe!! I confessI echo your sentiments on that one 😉
Ali says
This dress is awful. The neckline, especially, did nothing for Meghan, especially with her hair pulled off of her face. Might have looked better with her hair down.
Chrissy says
I’m loving the low ponytail that Meghan is rocking, she looks youthful and it calls attention to her beautiful face
Becky says
I absolutely love this dress. Its funny to me because, much like on WKW, when there is an outfit that I love, the first round of comments seem to be negative, and vice versa when there is an outfit I don’t like.
The shirt-waist style of this dress makes it less formal (slightly), but the olive green in it is lovely, I love how she brought those shoes back, and her hair looks very nice (no one can complain about the hair being in her face!) The dress is both trendy and classic, which I’m starting to think is Meghan’s “thing”. Looking forward to the post about the ODLR from last night!!
Kate says
Like the freshness of the colours but the dress appears too big, even considering pregnancy. HRH can’t seem to choose outfits that really compliment her size, always either a touch too tight or swamping her. A size smaller here would make a world of difference. Love the ponytail and simple jewellery!
Lr says
It’s almost as if as soon as Jessica mulroney left the clothes got better. I like the dress but again fit is way off. Honestly you are barley up a size at 3 months. Really only the white dress for the state dinner would need extra room at this stage. So I think blaming the pregnancy is wrong. I think if she opened the collar a button or 2 it would have helped. I am curious why she didnt curtsey to the higher ranking royalty and harry didn’t bow?
Becky says
I don’t think she is three months. I think she is definitely more around 4 months, maybe 18 weeks. She has definitely popped out over the past two weeks of the tour. I didn’t have a bump until after 20 weeks with either of mine, but with the second one I definitely “lost my waist” and could not wear normal clothes at 14 or 15 weeks, so it makes sense to me that her clothes need a bit of extra space.
Lr says
Good point. It just feels like everything is 1 size to big.
Jacqui says
I feel like she had the fit problems before her pregnancy. I think her figure might just be one of those hard to fit figures and she hasn’t figured out tailoring yet
Heather says
This isn’t something I would wear but I do think it looks fine on her. Meghan truly seems to be searching for her royal style on this trip and I’m sure the unpredictable body changes aren’t helping. Some of the pieces look like they were made in her regular size with some stretch whereas others such as this one seem to perhaps have been made a size larger. Given the Zika threat and her affinity for pants, I’m surprised we didn’t see at least one baggy linen trouser. I do love those olive green shoes though. Such a hard color to find in shoes unless it’s in season.
Hannah says
This outfit is truly awful for the DoS, it completely swamps her frame. Her hair and accessories are wonderful though.
Jackie says
50s style dress with sweet, sleek ponytail and high heels? I love it!
Juniper says
Oh gosh no, I find this swallows her up in all the wrong places with excess fabric and stripes going every which way. The dress is great and looks very cool (love that it’s all cotton) and comfortable — I’m a huge fan of the shirtwaist — but looks plucked from off the rack in the wrong size and in desperate need of tailoring. I know her figure is changing daily and maybe it was hard to predict what would fit but there have been dresses that fit better than this on the tour for sure. I do love the olive pumps and the fact that she has worn a couple other colors in suede ie. black and navy. Very chic. She certainly is mixing up her hairstyles which is fun to observe.
Tessa says
I love the full skirt and the light, fresh fabric. But the high collar and contrast placket are just too much. A shirt dress has so much going on anyway, it’s better not to try to conquer every corner of sartorial possibility. A regular shirt dress collar with a thinner, less attention-grabbing placket would have helped. Also, the tie best doesn’t fall where the two pieces of fabric meet, so there’s more distraction. However, it must be cool and comfortable for her and her sleek ponytail is wonderful.
Karen says
Just love this Martin Grant dress with the cut and style and direction of stripes. Looks stunning and then a quick change into the sky blue shirt maker dress and fab shoes. Wow, would just love her stylist helping me choose my outfits. Knocking it right out of the park. Can’t wait to see what Meg wears tonight at the formal reception. Perhaps a J’Aton or Matischeckvi which are both great Aust designers
Christina O. says
Back on October 18th I saw this dress on Martin Grant’s website when I was checking out his description for the trench coat. I loved the green and white striped dress back then and on my 5:53 pm post for “Meghan Makes a Quick Change For Melbourne Beach Visit,” that day, I mentioned this dress and called it “royal lovely.” I didn’t know Meghan had this dress already secured for this tour but it sure caught my eye and I could imagine one of the royal ladies looking fab in it. It’s energized, versatile and the volume of the full skirt is fresh.
This evening I was thrilled to see Meghan in this dress. The skirt looks lovely in the photo of her and Harry seated on the dais watching the solo dancer. Her sporty ponytail is neat and sharp and goes with this dress.
WhatMeghanWore says
What a great spot, Christina!
ElizaMo says
I don’t find this dress a happy combination of design elements, the different features seem to be almost fighting each other. The overall effect seems to add a lot of unnecessary bulk and the trick with stripes that worked so well for a beach dress backfires in this style.
The broad stripes going in different directions make Meghan look wider and the waist is riding high over her bump with the skirt flaring out too soon from beneath it. On the bodice Meghan has once again fallen foul of raglan sleeves as this fabric seems slightly stiff so the extra involved over the shoulder area is once again bulking up.
This is then compounded by the high collar up to the throat topped off with a pony tail style that makes her head smaller by comparison. It’s a shame because it’s a very sleek hairdo. The olive colour of the stripes is once again wonderful on Meghan and I love those shoes and the slightly mismatched clutch. The whole is rather improved by the Tongan variations!
Bonnie says
I like to see ElizaMo’s take on fashion and I see that she was not keen on this look. I absolutely love this striped dress. I know others find the stripes, going in so many different directions, to be confusing and over busy, but I love that feature I think the many directions add such interest. The combo or olive and white is unique and the olive shoes are a nice touch.
On this tour, my favourite looks have been the unstructured one…the pink with the pom poms, the sundresses and this olive striped one come to mind. I like the flowing, comfortable look on Meghan. Given her pregnancy, many of the tailored clothes are too tight. I’m sure this cotton, roomy, breezy style is so easy to wear.
Maureen says
I agree, Bonnie! I too love to read ElizaMo’s comments. I always read ElizaMo’s, Jessica’s, and yours, even if I don’t comment at all. 🙂 This and the WKW communities are wonderful. WKW and WMW are my guilty pleasures.
ElizaMo says
Thanks for commenting Bonnie, always like to see your take on things too! I’m sorry to fail to see the good in this dress and I appreciate everyone who can sing its praises and persuade me otherwise. In fact, the more I go back to look at it, the less overwhelming it seems.
I heartily agree with you about the comfort of cool cotton in tropical climes and the stripes look very crisp and fresh in that context. It’s possible that their greatest crime for me is that my summer school uniform used to dictate green stripes, albeit thinner ones than these.
I’m afraid I’m an even bigger disappointment to you re the Figue frock, I liked it even less than this one. But I refrain from commenting on it because it’s all a matter of taste in the end and I really respect how well Meghan is coping with all this new life and the sincere effort she is putting into her wardrobe choices. I loved the maxi sundresses though!