If you were even a tiny bit worried that the internet was close to running out of things to say about the royal family, fear not. Meghan’s back. I’m not sure any of us were really ready for American Riviera Orchard (established 2024) with its ornate swirling gold font, but the hazy video of Meghan’s flower arranging, mixing things in a bowl, prancing around her mansion in a ball gown is giving one quite clear archetype (to borrow her podcast term): trad wife.
Which is, for the self-proclaimed feminist and activist, quite the pivot. Or is it? I mean she did seduce Prince Harry with a roast chicken, maybe after all this time she’s simply leaning into her truth.
Her version of homely is very Hollywood does the Cotswolds, filtered through Richard Curtis. It’s the kind of whimsical, faux-rustic tweeness that only an American could possibly dream up. But in embracing her inner domestic wench, Meghan isn’t exactly backing a losing horse. Trad wives are one of Tiktok's most flourishing and lucrative communities.
Nara Smith, wife of Mormon-model Lucky Blue Smith, has amassed 3.8 million followers for her seductive Le Creuset-enriched cooking videos (including spending two hours baking fresh bread to make her toddlers a cheese toastie for lunch) — all created with perfect hair and make up, obvs.
See also Hannah Neeleman, aka Ballerina Farm (8.8 million Instagram followers), the ex-dancer New Yorker turned mumfluencer who films herself baking for her 8 children, and recently took part in a Mrs America beauty pageant two weeks after giving birth to the youngest (and you thought Kate on the Lindo wing steps was a stretch).
Or perhaps Meghan’s been eyeing up The Six Bells, the Brooklyn lifestyle emporium, sorry “country store” which is inspired by a fictional English village (no, really). This homely purveyor of floral patterned butter dishes, gingham bolster cushions and wicker baskets is the brainchild of Audrey Gelman, founder of now defunct women’s co-working club The Wing. What's a former girl boss to do but get into antiquing?
Meghan might have also come across Nell Diamond of Hill House Home in her market research, purveyor of the Nap dress, who’s raised $20million in investment off the back of her Victoriana cotton sundresses.
All in all, the Duchess is joining quite the burgeoning market of domestic pioneers, cheerily cashing in on all manner of outdated tropes of womanhood. But what might be troubling for the former “working” member of the royal family, is that in fashion terms, cottage core is a naff donkey. The current mood is more frazzled, overworked, cash-strapped mum. On the spring catwalks Miu Miu and Bottega Veneta models carried bags overflowing with stuff, hair mussed up, collars askew. Ayo Edebiri’s cheerily munching on oranges out of a plastic bag in this month’s Vogue. Even the magazine’s cover star FKA Twigs is pictured on the Tube. Meghan’s hokey, country mom schtick might well chart in Utah, but it’s prairies away from being relevant.
