As the royal wedding day approaches and speculation and anticipation about what Meghan Markle will wear as she walks down the aisle grows, we're beginning to wonder how Meghan will accessorise her wedding gown, which many believe will be designed by Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Erdem or Ralph & Russo.
We know Meghan will be wearing two gowns on her wedding day, as Kate did on the day of her wedding to Prince William; Catherine wowed when she changed out of her Alexander McQueen for Sarah Burton lace ceremony gown, and into another, simpler silhouette by Burton for her evening party.
While one can draw some similarities between Meghan and Kate, stylistically they are quite different. Meghan prefers streamlined silhouettes, sharp tailoring, minimal vibes and clean lines; Catherine prefers a dose of ladylike romanticism in her dressing, often going for florals, lace, pastels and A-line skirts.
Unlike Kate, who tends to sport more practical pumps with a small platform for comfort for most of her royal appearances, and opts for high street brands like L.K. Bennett when dressing for daytime, Meghan is all about killer heels. The actress turned soon-to-be Duchess is likely used to sporting sky-high heels from her days on Suits, and her various red carpet appearances.
When dressing for the red carpet, actresses often borrow and wear of-the-moment shoe styles from brands, regardless of their practicality. Odds are, Meghan has a ton of experience walking in super-high stilettos, which explains her penchant for pointed toe, single sole pumps from brands like Manolo Blahnik, Aquazzura and Jimmy Choo.
Lately, Markle also wore a 3-strap pump by Tamara Mellon, who started her own namesake label after years as Jimmy Choo's creative director.
Turns out, all of Markle's favorite brands for shoes also offer bridal collections, and are considered some of the best when it comes to wedding-day footwear. Jimmy Choo's bridal boutique features a wide range of options for the fashion-forward bride, including bridal versions of the "Romy" style Meghan recently wore on an appearance with Harry in Belfast. The bridal "Romy" comes in four different versions: classic ivory satin, crystal-scattered, glitter, and appropriately, a pump capped off with a crystal tiara on the toe. As for the price? Jimmy Choo's bridal pumps range from $650 to $1,395–depending on how embellished they are.
Manolo Blahnik is also a top shoe choice for fashion-forward brides, with their stiletto pump 'Hangisi' having been made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex and the City (Mr. Big proposed to Carrie Bradshaw at the end of the first SATC film with the pump in cobalt).
Manolo offers more traditionally bridal versions of the style, as well as other wedding-day appropriate options, like the Chaos minimal sandal, that we could see Meghan getting behind.
But then there are the younger brands, like Aquazzura and Tamara Mellon that Meghan has been sporting as of late. Both offer bridal capsules on their websites that could very well feel the impact of the 'Meghan Effect'–Markle's ability to spike sales for brands she supports–should Markle opt for one of their pairs on her wedding day.
We're hoping that after getting a much-anticipated glimpse of Meghan's bridal gown and reception dress on May 19th, that she takes a moment to flash us a peek of what are likely to be some very killer heels.
