On February 4, the Duchess of Sussex shared a selfie-style video on Instagram which caused quite a shock to a Chicago business owner.
Meghan, 43, donned a black crewneck sweatshirt featuring the names of her two children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 – stitched along the collar in white writing.
The black sweater was from Club Chainstitch, a woman-owned small business that creates custom products using a 1920s chain stitch machine.
Business owner, Ann Leachman, told People Magazine, she was shocked when a friend asked if it was one of her own. She said: “I was so stunned. I had to do a double take and almost didn’t believe it was one of ours, even though the writing on her shirt is in my literal handwriting.”
The business owner explained Meghan’s purchase was a “regular, random order” made through the shop in 2022.
However, Meghan’s name was “nowhere on the order, so I thought nothing of it and never put the connection together with her children’s names as the text choice. That explains how surprised I was to see her wearing it over two years later!”
She said: “Either Meghan loves to support small women-owned handmade businesses or she has great friends in her life who do. Likely both.”
After welcoming a baby and closing her shop for maternity leave, she knew it was a “game-changing” moment for her business and had to open up early.
She explains she is now back from maternity leave, adding: “It has been a wild way to come back to work, and I am so grateful for all the orders and support.”
“Chainstitch embroidery is unlike modern machine embroidery because there are no computers or programmed designs involved,” according to the company’s website.
“The stitching is guided by hand, giving each piece that old-school, hand-drawn vibe. Due to the handmade nature, every item is slightly one of a kind.”
In the selfie-style clip posted on Tuesday, Meghan paired the meaningful crewneck with blue jeans and gold bracelets, wearing her hair swept to the side.
Meghan revealed she met a 15-year-old teenager whilst visiting a community affected by the January LA wildfires. She embarked upon a mission to help her regain a Billie Eilish t-shirt upon learning it was “burnt to ash” during the wildfires.
Through her celebrity connections, the duchess detailed how she reached out to secure the special gift for the teenager.