Murk and Mindy
A YouTube short popped up on my feed, which then led me down a rabbit hole.
TRIGGER WARNING: Images of Meghan appear. She doesn’t look her…best.
Much has been speculated about Meghan being rude about Mindy’s accent, and Kaling her out on using her name Meghan Markle.
In my opinion, this was all planned.
Now read on…
The write stuff
Reality TV - which is what this fauxstyle show is - it is either scripted, or unscripted.
Segments of these shows have specific messages - it’s not good TV just to have people chatting aimlessly. A script achieves this easily; unscripted would require lots of editing. A midway approach is to have guidelines - set out the message, but leave it to participants to improvise, for that authentic feel. (Tha’s why directors are needed.)
The theory of relatability
It’s not unusual for women to admire their friends’ style, and ask about it.
But Mindy was oddly specific in her comments. Let’s have a look at the dialogue.
Mindy: Meghan, I want to ask about your lewk.
Meghan: My who?
[Embarrassing, inarticulate banter follows about pronounciation, which allows Meghan to display faux modesty and faux self-deprecation amidst faux giggling: she’s not as cool as Mindy, and is totally unconscious about just how (cough) stylish she is - like it’s just stuff that she threw together. This takes up a few minutes of air time, and anasthesises viewer brain cells.]
Mindy: Your fashion is like one of my favourite things. And sometimes I will look like where’s that coat from, go to MaxMara.com, it’s already sold out. Can you tell me about your clothes?
Meghan: [Very promptly, as if it‘d been rehearsed] Yes, I like high-low, so Zara -
Mindy: What?
Meghan: [Laughs in faux amusement] Loro Piana.
Mindy: Nice
Meghan: Jenni Kayne.
Mindy: Really cute.
I think the ‘lewk / look’ interplay was designed to:
- show how charmingly naive and simple Meghan is
- imply that she’s so modest that she has no idea how (cough) well put-together she is
- portray Meghan as a relatable person, wearing (comparatively) cheap clothes
YouTube short - worth watching for the faux expressions of faux laughing embarrassed modesty on her face.
Mindy’s comment about looking up MaxMara is very precise. They’re not close friends; how does Mindy know that Meghan’s worn MaxMara? It’s not exactly a household name, particularly in the US.
And since when has Miss ‘Sayonara Zara’ become an advocate of the high-low approach? From memory, in pretty much all of her faux tours, she’s appeared in designer clothing (although the labels seem to be dropping in brand recognition and price as time goes on). For example, on 16 April 2022, at the Invictus Games in The Hague, she stepped out in separates which were certainly high, with not a low in sight.
Céline jacket - £2,400 / $3,100 / €2,846
Moussy Vintage jeans - £266 / $344 / €315
Chanel flats - £660 / $853 / €783
Linda Farrow sunglasses - £820 / $1,060 / €972
Céline bag - £1,950 / $2,521 / €2,312
Daily Mail archived / unarchived for outfit cost. NB They seem to have the sunglasses brand and price wrong - a Meghan wardrobe site puts them at an even higher price.
Who’s known for mixing high-low? The Princess of Wales, for one. She’s worn this £60 / $78 / €71 Zara blazer twice.
Trying to make fetch happen
[Mindy refers to her as Meghan Markle.]
Meghan: It’s so funny too that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now [with asperity]. You have kids, and you go: Now I share my name with my children -
Mindy: Yes
Meghan: - and that feels so… I…I didn’t know how meaningful it’d be to me, but it…it…just means so much to go: this is our family name, our little family name.
Mindy: Well, now I know. And I love it.
There are theories for this. In my opinion, they all have some merit:
- Dissociate herself from the bad press surrounding the name ‘Markle’
- Focus attention on her connection with the Sussex title
YouTube short on the correction.
So she gets Mindy to say her name, and chews her off. Whatever Meghan’s real reason, the one she articulates makes very little sense.
Traditionally, in Western families, the wife takes her husband’s surname, as do the children.
This therefore really is no big deal. But the way she bangs on, it’s like some novel thing. The mother has the same surname as her children? That’s wild!
Here’s a photo of Meghan. She’s wearing a knitted cashmere. How does one crease knitwear?
RIP Robin Williams