Kate Middleton Has More Style Influence Than Meghan Markle
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It's safe to say that that the world had a collective panic attack when Meghan Markle stepped out in a rule-breaking tuxedo minidress last week. (No? Just us?)
Everyone seemed to have an opinion on the look (yes, including us), but it all only goes to show how much power Markle has to spark debate through what she wears. Even with all that clout though, she still isn't the most influential in her royal family when it comes to fashion (tough luck, Meghan).
That honor goes to none other than her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, who has been killing the fashion game since long before she married into the royal family in 2011. The Evening Standard reports that eBay's annual U.K. Retail Report paints an interesting picture of just how Middleton has come to beat out Markle as top style influencer.
The report states that Middleton has much more influence over the shopping habits of the masses, particularly when it comes to her pregnancy style.
When she was expecting Prince Louis, she reportedly generated more online searches on eBay than any of the other royals in the past year — including Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during their enormous royal wedding.
While Markle's most influential fashion moment was undeniably her wedding day, the red Jenny Packham dress Middleton wore outside the Lindo Wing after Prince Louis was born shot past it, more than doubling searches for "Jenny Packham."
"While Meghan was clearly the focus of the fashion pages this year, Kate's distinctive style has long been a hit with shoppers on eBay since her wedding in 2011," said Rob Hattrell, U.K. vice president of eBay to ES. "We always see an uptick in searches around landmark royal events and 2018 was a bumper year for small businesses on eBay, with both the birth of Prince Louis and Meghan and Harry's wedding driving purchases across the nation."
Who came in after the sisters-in-law? Surprisingly, not Queen Elizabeth. Princess Charlotte catapulted beyond the elder members of her family to take third place — but looking at how her "net worth" has already surpassed big bro Prince George's, that isn't exactly breaking news.
The women of Kensington Palace are sure making waves in the fashion world. But really, we'd expect nothing less.