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Here's How To Get Meghan Markle's Favorite Edgy Earring Looks For Less

by Jacqueline Burt Cote

Like Kate Middleton, her royal sister-in-law before her, Meghan Markle has been the subject of near-constant style scrutiny since the second she started dating her prince. In fact, obsessed royal-watchers have probably been even more critical of Meghan: As a free-spirited American, would she take the Queen's strict dress code seriously? So far, the answer has been yes, but the Duchess still finds ways to express her adventurous side. Meghan Markle's earrings are much edgier than her shoes or nail polish, for example, while still being tasteful and subtle enough not to undermine her new royal aesthetic.

As celebrity stylist and designer Katharine Polk told Racked, Meghan's modern approach to accessories in general is a page right out of the late Princess Diana's playbook. The Princess of Wales was known for being particularly "innovative" in her choices, after all, even wearing a diamond and emerald choker from the royal vault as a headband once (in what Racked called a "peak '80s move").

“I predict that we will see a lot of similarities between Meghan and the late princess through Meghan’s accessory choices,” Polk said.

“I think she will be slightly daring like Diana with her clothing too, but I think their styles will be different, which isn’t surprising since they’re from different eras," Polk continued.

"Diana made a lot of statements through her choice of accessories and how creative she was with them, and I think Meghan will do the same.”

Just like Diana's choices inspired the style of millions of non-royals, the so-called Meghan Markle Effect is likely to result in the purchase of countless copies. And while it can be tough to replicate some of her wardrobe pieces without the same resources, there are tons of affordable versions of Markle's favorite earrings available. Try out these non-traditional (but still somehow classic) designs for yourself and you'll be attracting confused paparazzi in no time.

1

Creepers & Crawlers

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When Meghan wore these gorgeous diamond crawlers from Kimai to her first appearance at her new patronage SmartWorks, she became the "first royal ever to wear crawler earrings at a royal engagement," according to Elle. Interested in following suit? You could shell out $555 — for one earring — or you could try this similar style from Anuja by Anuja Tolia for a fraction of the price:

2

Sparkly Studs

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Meghan switched to a slightly more traditional (but still unique) earring shape when she went to visit the Brinsworth House nursing home, as Harper's Bazaar reported. To complement her floral dress by Brock Collection, the Duchess chose a pair of teardrop studs from Maison Birk (sold for $1,495 on their website). Not in your budget? These studs are under $50, and will look pretty much the same from a distance:

3

Bar Bling

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Meghan even went unconventional for her first visit to the National Theatre in London since she was given patronage of the organization by the Queen. The eagle-eyed observers at What Meghan Wore identified her new earrings as a pair of bar style studs from the eco-friendly and sustainable Canadian jewelry company Ecksand; specifically, the Tresses Bar Stud style in 18k recycled gold (about $437 USD; $575 CDN). Lucky for you, Anuja by Anuja Tolia has close dupe for significant discount:

4

Making A Statement

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Meghan favored a black-and-white color scheme on her recent trip to Morocco, reported Town & Country, and went a bit bolder than usual with her Onde Gourmette statement earrings from GAS Bijoux (which can be purchased on the GAS Bijoux website for $148).

A pretty reasonable price for anything that lives in a royal's jewelry box, but you can get the same basic effect for a lot less:

5

Shooting Star

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From far away, you might think the earrings Meghan is wearing are little birds (says this nearsighted person) but she's actually wearing shooting star crawlers from Gabriel Artigas, according to InStyle. The exact same pair will cost you $288 on Shopbop, but Etsy has an extremely impressive stand-in for under 10 bucks!