I know plenty of women would do questionable things to get their hands on the contents of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s wardrobe. The Royal has become somewhat of a style icon since she found herself on the world stage, and it’s now not unusual for her choices to sell out within hours of her leaving the house palace.
But, naturally, not everyone shares her taste.
The former Suits actor encountered one such person at British charity, SmartWorks, one of the four organisations for which she is now patron. The not-for-profit helps vulnerable women seeking employment in a variety of ways, including outfitting them with clothes to wear to job interviews.
During a recent visit to the SmartWorks HQ at St. Charles Hospital in London, the Duchess joked co-founder Lady Juliet Hughes-Hallett (a former editor of Vogue UK) about a woman who rejected one of her donations.
“The last time I was here I suggested a purse, and it was one that I had donated. And she didn’t like it! … I was like, ‘Oh, OK,'” she laughed.
“I thought it was great.”
(Sounds like a woman who knows what she wants.)
During her time touring the organisation on Thursday, the Duchess spoke to women who worked for and had benefited from the outfitting services.
“It’s not just donating your clothes and seeing where they land, but really being a part of each other’s success stories as women, right?” she said.
“It’s not just hand-me-downs, it’s saying, ‘This is the blazer I wore that helped me win that interview’… So to know, as a woman coming in, that you have so many other women believing in you on all the next phases is the piece that makes it so special.”
Along with her support of SmartWorks, the Palace announced on Thursday that the Duchess has taken over from the Queen as patron of the National Theatre and The Association of Commonwealth Universities, as well as animal rights organisation Mayhew.
“The Duchess is delighted to become Patron of both national and grassroots organisations that are part of the fabric of the UK, and is very much looking forward to working with them to bring wider public attention to their causes,” the statement read.