Meghan Markle Kept $1,700 Green Gown from Variety Shoot for 'Royal Archive' as Duchess Was 'Allowed' to Swipe Dress
Meghan Markle kept the green gown worn for a 2022 Variety cover shoot as part of an agreement to 'archive' her royal clothing.
Nov. 25 2025, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle kept the $1,700 green gown she wore for a Variety shoot to "archive" her clothes as a royal, according to new claims, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex, 44, say the former Suits star is "required to archive her looks" and "it's known that when things are pulled that they may not be returned."
'It's Known' Particular Clothes 'May Not Be Returned'
Markle wore the same dress in a trailer for her festive special of her 'With Love, Meghan' series.
Markle caused fresh controversy when eagle-eyed viewers noticed she was wearing the same dress in a trailer for her show, With Love, Meghan Holiday Celebration, that she wore for her 2022 Variety cover shoot.
Fashion sources confirmed she did take the pricey one-shoulder, emerald green Galvan Ushuaia gown "without asking."
And in response to the new claims regarding Markle's reasoning behind swiping the dress was down to "royal archiving," a separate source claims the Duchess is "fibbing," believing no such etiquette exists.
However, it's believed Variety isn't exactly fretting, as an insider described such a move as "a weird thing to do without asking, since I doubt they would have said no."
That Looks Familiar
The Duchess of Sussex reportedly took home the dress without asking.
The fashion source explains: "It's not uncommon if talent loves something from a shoot that they ask to keep it or purchase it. They would normally be offered a discount if it's something the designer can’t part with or a sample that needs to be returned."
In October, Markle was spotted in a black-and-white, tweed strapless midi dress designed by Chanel during a date night with Prince Harry at private NYC club Chez Margaux.
She had previously worn the designer piece for a photoshoot in 2022 for The Cut.
Last year, journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis claimed the former royal took "a lot of stuff" after she "wore it in a very high-profile photo shoot."
"What's shocking about hearing these kinds of alleged stories is that somebody who is living in a $15 million plus mansion in Montecito, who's just had $100million deals, would care enough to take home some jewelry and clothes from a photoshoot that she can clearly afford," she wrote.
Form For Swiping Clothes
Markle did a similar trick with a Chanel dress worn for another magazine shoot.
"The thing to do if she wants all those things is to write to the designer in her calligraphy, 'I simply loved wearing this outfit in the shoot,'" Grigoriadis said, referring to Markle's distinct penmanship, about how to obtain the item.
The writer then said the standard practice would be for the star to ask if they could purchase the item, and the designer would almost always respond that they would love for the star to keep it.
"Just not to do that step at all?" Grigoriadis fumed about Markle's refusal to play by the rules.
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Markle allegedly justified taking clothes to stop people selling them on eBay.
As for how the discoveries were made after Markle's photo shoot, Grigoriadis spilled, "What I heard is that the people who were running the shoot returned all the different clothes, not thinking about it, and several months later, the designer said, 'Oh my God, wait a second, where is this dress? Where is this piece of jewelry? How did it not get back here?'"
She continued: "It never even occurred to anybody that she (Meghan) would be the one who would potentially take it. And what I heard is she justified this by saying she didn't want anyone to sell the clothes or jewelry on eBay."
