KATE AND MEGHAN
Even the royals can fail to pick a fashion winner
WHEN Buckingham Palace announced last week that Prince William and Prince Harry were setting up separate courts, commentators seized on the supposed coolness between their wives.
The Royal sisters-in-law are clearly very different people from very different backgrounds, so you would expect their personal style choices to be equally different.
Meghan is an American-born actress who was at home on the red carpet long before she met her prince. Kate is a middle-class Home Counties girl from a close, supportive family, and she is well aware that her destiny is to be Queen, with all the constraints that this entails.
However, there is another key difference between the Royal style icons: while Kate’s complexion makes her a Summer princess, Meghan is a Winter queen.
Colour analyst Melissa Nicholson has identified the shades that complement both women’s skin tones and believes that they both look best in clothes with a blue tint rather than a yellow one.
But while Kate leans towards a Summer palette, which means she looks best in cool soft tones, Meghan favours bolder Winter colours and is stunning in black.
“Kate looks lovely in French navy, airforce blue, aubergine, plum, burgundy, soft berry and grey,” Melissa says, “Anything from silver to slate.
“Spring colours are too bright and playful for her, Winter colours too overpowering and Autumn ones are too heavy and boring. The Summer colours accentuate her natural beauty – she looks sophisticated and elegant in cool, soft tones. However, Meghan looks stunning in more intense bold colours and is one of a handful of women who look great in black. I think that’s why we see her in so many neutrals.
“The Summer colours that suit Kate so well tend to wash Meghan out.”
Melissa suggests that most women could instantly improve their appearance if they were to choose clothes from the right palette for their skin tone.
‘‘If you have blue tones in your skin, you are either Summer or Winter,” she explains. “Both tend to suit silver jewellery and colours that have a cooler blue tint rather than a yellow one.
“Winter can wear more intense bold colours in high contrast – black and white, dark navy, fuchsia, scarlet. Summer looks better in a softer blend of colours – grey, plum, powder pink, French navy, berry tones dusted with icing sugar.
“If you have warmer, yellow tones in your skin, you are likely to be either Spring or Autumn.
“They tend to look better in gold jewellery and colours that have a yellow tint rather than a blue one.
“Autumn colours are earthier rustic tones – browns, russets, olive greens.
“Spring colours, on the other hand, are brighter, fresher and more playful – yellows, corals and turquoise blues.”
I join with Melissa, from Kettlewell Colours, as we reveal Kate and Meghan’s best style hits (and misses) with colour analyst ratings so you can see how it all works.
●●Claudia Joseph is the author of How To Dress Like A Princess.