Meghan Markle Perfectly Embodies the Effortless Santa Barbara Style

Meghan Markle is many things: an actor, a mother, a Northwestern University alum (go cats!), and a former aristocrat among them. But now she’s adding defender of print media to that ever-growing list.

Markle stopped by the brand-new Godmothers Bookstore in Summerland, California (the site of bottleneck traffic for anyone ever driving up the 101 north), ahead of its opening last week. Godmothers, mind you, is no average indie book shop. It’s co-founded by former WME literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, and Markle, Prince Harry, Oprah Winfrey, and Ted Sarandos were among the guests at the star-studded fete.

For her jaunt over to to the shop, the Duchess of Sus𝑠e𝑥 looked the picture of a Montecito mom. She wore a slouchy navy V-neck sweater with a pair of sailor pants, giving her outfit an appropriately nautical energy.

Markle’s accessories elevated her outfit from a casual errands look to a shining example of Santa Barbara style: lowkey and beachy, but extremely luxe. She opted for an incognito look (and sun protection!) with an oversized woven straw bucket hat and a pair of Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses. She added a smattering of gold jewelry—including a Cartier Love bracelet and a Juste Un Clou necklace—and carried a black woven Bottega Veneta wallet and a matchbook keychain from Anya Hindmarch that reads “take what you need.” Personally, we need Meghan Markle’s look in our closets, stat!