True Friend Meghan Markle Once Threw a Party to Give Her Friends Clothes
Meghan Markle, when she hit it big as an actress, gave away a bunch of clothes to her friends. The appropriately titled "Sayonara Zara" party meant that Meghan gave away some of her more inexpensive closet items to her invited guests, kind of like a clothing swap but much, much better than that.

The sliding scale of friendship runs from acquaintance (might text from time to time but rarely ever hang out with) all the way to best friend ever (go shopping together, grab drinks, and even talk to on the phone, shudder). But I'm pretty sure that if I had a friend who just hosted a party to give me free clothes, from Zara no less, it would break that scale entirely and I would be indebted to that person for the rest of my natural life. That's exactly what Meghan Markle did (opens in new tab), according to E! News, when she hit it big as an actress.
The appropriately titled "Sayonara Zara" party meant that Meghan gave away some of her more inexpensive closet items to her invited guests, kind of like a clothing swap but much, much better than that. Greatest friend? Or greatest friend ever?
Interestingly, Kate Middleton still slips a little bit of Zara into her wardrobe from time to time, apparently. Meghan also works a little bit of affordable fashion for a high-low feel, including a cute $90 straw clutch from J. Crew (opens in new tab) that is now, sadly, sold out. The duchess and mom-to-be now dresses primarily in more high-end brands and sticks to some favorite designer labels like Aquazurra and Sarah Flint (opens in new tab).
Meanwhile, the duchess effect has now been influencing Zara. They began selling a very similar boat neck blazer to the Carolina Herrera skirt suit Meghan wore to 2018's Trooping the Colour.
This new insight on Meghan's fashion priorities also puts a little context on the reports that Meghan's wardrobe might have cost as much as £400,000 (opens in new tab), according to the Daily Mail. I wonder at that number a bit, because isn't it very likely she's getting stuff by designers and isn't paying anything for some of those clothes? What we do know for sure, though, is that Meghan looooves her some high-end fashion.
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Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.
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