Meghan Markle's status a fashion icon was cemented when she joined the royal family last May and her pregnancy has done nothing but reinforce her unofficial title as Duchess of Style Inspo the world over.
According to research from Love the Sales, Meghan's maternity wardrobe has cost over half a million dollars so far—which more than seven times the amount Meghan's sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, spent on her maternity wardrobe.
"Meghan has a well established background before [marrying] Harry as a woman who enjoyed designer clothing," Love the Sales' fashion editor Liam Solomon explained to MarieClaire.com. "From walking red carpets to living a glamorous LA lifestyle, the former actress was already wearing brands like Dior and Givenchy. You could argue that her new found fame in the Royal family has only enhanced her style choices, which would obviously mean bigger budgets."
Kate, on the other hand, doesn't come from quite the same high-fashion background as Meghan, which Solomon says could explain why she's traditionally opted for more affordable maternity looks.
"Quite the opposite environment Kate has grown up in, has meant she has stuck with more understated brands," he says. "As Meghan was wearing Stella McCartney & Victoria Beckham during her pregnancy, Kate favored pregnancy brands like Seraphine, which were much more affordable."
Other interesting insights from Love the Sales' research into Meghan's maternity looks include:
Meghan's most "liked" (in a social media sense) maternity look has been her silk Givenchy gown, which has accumulate more than 356k likes on the old interwebz:
Her least "liked" maternity look was from very early in her pregnancy—the Givenchy sweater and skirt combo she wore in October during her tour of Australia and New Zealand.
The outfit apparently garnered a mere 39,000 likes online. Oh, the horror.
The Meghan Markle Effect has been in full swing during the duchess' pregnancy, with searches for brands Karen Gee and Outland Denim skyrocketing by 5,800 percent and 3,900 percent, respectively, when Meghan stepped out in them.
'Meghan in a simple white dress from Australian designer Karen Gee. '
The Meghan Maternity Effect is real, guys.
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