The photos came in fast and furious today once it was wheels up in Fiji. After unveiling a statue at their last port of call there and then touching down in Tonga to be greeted by the princess, Meghan and Harry changed once more for a reception at which they met the King of Tonga — and yes, I mean the actual king, and not just the shirtless Olympian, although there was a rumor he may have been around, too (and SHOULDN’T HE BE?).
The gown is Theia Couture, and it appears to be a custom white version of a sheath that was originally for sale in navy. It’s elegant. I do not dislike it. But having written three posts in a short span, and covered the Zimmermann and the blue Safiyaa two days ago — PLUS the round-necked Roksanda on Day 4 — all I can think is, MY KINGDOM FOR A NEW NECKLINE. And a new cut. (Sundresses notwithstanding.) There is something to be said for wanting to carve out an aesthetic that’s unquestionably yours, but there is also acreage between that and being in a rut. These high rounded necks give her the least leeway with fit — surely we could wrangle her into a vee of SOME ilk? — and so I feel like a broken record fretting about the fact that, yes, the dress is fine, but, yes, it’s pulling here and there (although the fit seems better than some of what we’ve seen even earlier in the tour, so yay), and yes, I do wonder why Team Sussex made the whole tour a harder degree of difficulty than it needed to be. I have heard speculation that it’s a Zika issue — that they’re trying to give her as much coverage as possible in certain spots — and while that tracks for me with the high necks, it isn’t consistent with the sundress she wore, and doesn’t explain short sleeves/no sleeves, because wouldn’t her arms be susceptible, too? So I wonder if that’s only a minor consideration and/or an excuse for cleaving to a particular style. It might have been fun for her to wear a slightly flowier gown skirt, for example, too, or a beaded bodice. Thoughts? Again, it’s not that I dislike this, and the fit issues aren’t to me as pronounced as they have been. Looking at it in isolation, I’m happier than when I mull the overall picture, and both are relevant. Actually maybe I just staggered into something: It’s a 16-day tour chock-a-block with events that you want to feel distinct and celebrated in their own way rather than all run together, and so I’m interested to look back on the whole thing in a slideshow (you know we will) and see if she strategically varied it up enough between blocks of these types of dresses. I’m rambling. I’m tired! Imagine how THEY feel.
The clutch is Givenchy, and the earrings, we’ve seen before — they’re her Birks Snowflake Snowstorms, which she’s worn a couple times, such as here in Ireland (with a taupe Roland Mouret that underscores just how much bodice fits have always bedeviled her). The shoes are the Aquazurras. For me, shoes are the thing I overpack, because I always want options in case one pair chops up my feet unexpectedly; she, however, seems to have gotten very far by circulating just a few pairs. I would not fault her if she showed up back in Australia wearing Uggs for a day. I mean, hey, at least they’re local.
