Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Diana prove that belted jackets are indispensable

Jacket with belt. Do you hear those two words and what comes to mind? Ali McGraw in her iteration of camel wool in 1970s Love Story, or maybe Anne Hathaway in pristine cream in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada?

Either way, it is undoubtedly worn by a woman who exudes absolute chic.

But the once modest belted coat has now cemented its place in the public consciousness as the epitome of classic taste – and is the rigor for royals.

It’s a staple in the recent fashion trend labeled “quiet luxury” by insiders.

Meghan looks radiant in this deep red belted Sentaler wrap coat while visiting Birkenhead in 2019. Here she pinned it elegantly against the cold January air

Prince Harry and Meghan wearing her beltless Sentaler wrap coat to show off a gorgeous purple dress underneath in 2019

Led by a group of eternally chic, timeless designers (think The Row, Saint Laurent, MaxMara), “quiet luxury” favors natural fabrics, tailoring and quality. No flashy logos or fleeting trends here.

While the Princess of Wales occasionally wears a belted coat, it’s the Duchess of Sussex who has relied on their easygoing elegance (especially those in wrap styles) to see her through many events – and rightly so.

The belted wrap coat first gained popularity in the 1920s among flappers who embraced androgyny. Isn’t a belted jacket made to accentuate the figure, I hear you say? Well, yes. But originally this was the male figure: the jacket with a belt originated at a time when men still emphasized their waist. A pair of slacks sat flattering high – no exposed knickers here, thank you very much.

An amalgamation of the Norfolk coats popularized for shooting in the 1860s (a single-breasted tweed jacket with box pleats and a belt) and the trench coats Burberry made for British Army officers during the First World War. Look no further than Richard Gere in 1980s American Gigolo for the perfect example of how chic a belted coat can look on a man.

And for today’s woman, a belted coat offers a balanced fusion of masculinity and femininity. The boxy silhouette reminiscent of military uniforms is combined with an accentuated waist in the ultimate cool-meets-smart cocktail.

For the royals, a belted coat makes them look neat but not stuffy, tailored but not rigid. Approachable. No wonder Meghan chose a cream belted wrap coat from Canadian designer Line the Label in November 2017 to announce her engagement to Prince Harry.

And a camel design from another Canadian brand, this time Sentaler (the Princess of Wales wore another belted coat from the same designer in 2016) for another all-important occasion: her first Christmas at Sandringham that same year.

Meghan’s Sentaler jacket was so fit for purpose that she wore it again in October 2019 to attend the WellChild awards in London. You know something is good when you buy it in two colors and Meghan did just that by introducing the same coat in red for a visit to Birkenhead in January 2019.

Part of the appeal of the belted coat is that it’s an outfit in itself – the fact that it closes so tightly means that the clothes underneath are barely visible. In Birkenhead, Meghan left her coat open to reveal the gorgeous purple of her dress underneath (and perhaps so as not to constrict her tummy), but on other occasions she ties them tightly for a neater effect, such as when she arrives in Wellington in October 2018 in a checkered coat by New Zealand designer Karen Walker.

The coat suited both the joy of arriving in Wellington and the ceremony of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior that Meghan and Harry performed shortly afterwards.

Princess Diana looked effortlessly chic in a Caroline Charles wrap coat on a visit to Wandsworth in December 1982

Kate wore a Hobbs London’s Lori Wool Cashmere Belted Coat when she visited Colham Manor Children’s Center with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance in November 2022

Kate in Canada wearing a gray wrap coat from Canadian brand Sentaler as she visited Montana Mountain in Carcross, Canada in September 2018

Queen consort, Camilla visits the Komische Oper in Berlin as part of the state visit to Germany in March 2023 in a belted coat and an Aspinall crocodile handbag on top

Queen Máxima in a mustard wrap coat with belt at the welcome ceremony for the state visit of the French presidential couple in Amsterdam, April 2023

Meghan wears a belted plaid coat by New Zealand designer Karen Walker at a traditional welcome ceremony in Wellington while touring New Zealand in October 2018

All wrapped up against the cold weather in December 2018, Meghan wore a £500 wintry wool wrap coat from Canadian brand Soia & Kyo when she visited Brinsworth House in Twickenham, the residential home for retired theater performers

Meghan wore a mix of two seasons in this photo from December 2018: a £500 winter wool coat from Canadian brand Soia & Kyo and a £834 short-sleeved summer dress from US label, Brock Collection

Meghan’s ‘greige’ coat is Mackage’s belted Mai wool coat with waterfall collar, which she wore beltless when she visited the Titanic Belfast Maritime Museum in March 2018

Meghan Markle wrapped up warm in a tie-front coat by British designer Stella McCartney when she visited Cardiff Castle with Prince Harry in January 2018

Meghan wore a Sentaler camel wrap coat for Christmas at Sandringham with the entire royal family in December 2017

There aren’t many pieces of clothing that can so easily bridge two such different events. Warmth is also guaranteed by the ability to close the jacket tightly with the belt, as Meghan did when visiting a care home in London in December 2018 in a gray Soia & Kyo design.

Princess Diana also knew the power of a belted coat to combat a frosty British December day. For a visit to Wandsworth in 1982, she wore a camel design by Caroline Charles that would be right at home in Meghan’s wardrobe today. Warmth, practicality (no flapping lapels and jacket skirts here) and a one-piece, tie-and-go outfit? A triple fashion threat if there ever was one.

It’s safe to say we’ve got the ultimate safe investment here: there aren’t many pieces of clothing that would look as at home in 1982 as they do in 2023. Whoever said practicality and style are mutually exclusive had clearly never heard of the belted coat. .