Both the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex have their own unique sense of style, and royal fans adore seeing the different outfits they step out in whenever they make public appearances. And so it comes as no surprise that both women ranked highly in a new style poll. According to eBay's annual UK Retail Report, Kate was voted as having the biggest impact on shopping habits, while Meghan followed in second place. Although new royal Meghan has been the focus of many fashion reports this year, Kate's top spot in the poll is down to her "distinctive style", reveals eBay's UK vice president Rob Hattrell. "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," he said.
The Duchess of Cambridge topped the style poll, while Princess Charlotte came in third place
Rob continued: "We always see an uptick in searches around landmark royal events and 2018 was a bumper year for small businesses on eBay, with both the birth of Prince Louis and Meghan and Harry's wedding driving purchases across the nation." On the popular second-hand website, searches for tailored maternity coats more than tripled when Kate announced that she was expecting her third baby in November. Kate's effect was also apparent in April after she appeared outside the Lindo Wing with a newborn Louis wearing a Jenny Packham dress, resulting in searches for the designer more than doubling. Meghan, meanwhile, showed her influence during her wedding in May. After wearing her Givenchy wedding dress to walk down the aisle, searches for the French fashion house increased by 60%.
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The Duchess of Sussex's wedding dress had a huge influence on the British public this year
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It isn't just Kate and Meghan who have had a huge fashion influence on the country this year. The top five in the poll were all members of the royal family, with Princess Charlotte, three, coming in at third place. It was revealed that the flower crown she wore with her bridesmaid dress to Harry and Meghan's wedding influenced a search in similar products on eBay by 60 per cent. Prince George, five, meanwhile, came in fourth place in the poll, while the Queen was placed at number five.
