A little friendly competition never hurts, right? Even though they probably weren’t aware of it, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle were neck and neck to be crowned the top royal style influencer. Middleton ended up on top with Markle landing the number two slot. This is all according to eBay’s annual U.K. Retail Report via Elle.
The Duchess of Cambridge is reportedly 2018’s Queen of Style. Before giving birth to Prince Louis on April 23rd, Middleton’s maternity style was the most-searched royal-related topic on eBay this year. Specifically, searches for tailored maternity coats tripled in comparison to November 2017.
And when Middleton appeared in a Jenny Packham dress during Louis’s first public appearance, eBay searches for the designer doubled.
In fact, Jenny Packham was just one of Middleton’s favorite designers who saw an increase in interest. EBay reports that searches for Alexander McQueen and Seraphine went up 20% this year, racking up almost 43 searches per hour.
But don’t fret, Meghan. We certainly haven’t forgotten about you. Middleton may hold the top spot as the biggest royal style influencer of 2018, but the Duchess of Sussex is right behind her. When Markle appeared in her Givenchy wedding dress in May, eBay saw a 60% increase in searches for the designer. Givenchy was searched about 55 times per hour during the surge.
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And when Markle wore her gorgeous Stella McCartney reception dress, searches for Stella McCartney on eBay doubled. What can we say? We all wanted to know if we could afford to look like Markle!
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Rob Hattrell, U.K. vice president of eBay told Elle, “While Meghan was clearly the focus of the fashion pages this year, Kate’s distinctive style has long been a hit with shoppers on eBay since her wedding in 2011.” We just can’t get enough of Middleton’s classic royal look.
Princess Charlotte came in third in the family style competition, her brother Prince George ranked fourth, and the Queen herself won fifth place. EBay shoppers adored the flower crown Charlotte wore to Meghan and Harry’s wedding, and people have been seriously eyeing Queen Elizabeth’s brooches.
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We’re sure there aren’t any hard feelings between the royal style icons in light of the eBay Retail Report findings. But if we see Princess Charlotte beginning to wear some outlandish outfits, we’ll definitely know what’s up.