Think about you’re about to host pals for dinner. How would you go about it?
It’s easy. You begin within the lush, verdant backyard that abuts your property, strolling by way of rows of ripe, juicy berries, gathering tomatoes, squash blossoms and jewel-toned lettuce leaves in a dainty wicker basket. You then cease by an apiary and gather contemporary honey.
Ensure you have roughly seven acres’ value of edible flowers readily available to embellish the flowery salads, doughnuts and drinks you’ll serve your visitors, all of whom are fabulously rich and well-known celebrities.
I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, it’s so apparent. Additionally, your husband is a prince.
If this wasn’t all instantly apparent to you – wow, embarrassing! – don’t fear. This week, the trailer dropped for Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s new Netflix present, With Love, Meghan, which premieres on 15 January. In keeping with Netflix, the collection, produced by the duchess, “reimagines the style of way of life programming” by “mixing sensible how-to’s and candid conversations with pals, new and previous”.
“We’re not within the pursuit of perfection,” Meghan assures us from someplace deep inside a Nancy Meyers-esque farmhouse kitchen the scale of a small airplane hangar. “We’re within the pursuit of pleasure!” In keeping with Elle Decor, the Thermador range and vary seen within the trailer may set one again wherever from $12,000 to $16,000.
The trailer, which appears to be like like a “quiet luxurious” Pinterest board come to life, is a symphony of beige: beige sweaters, beige hummus, beige focaccia, personalised beige candles and an assortment of beige flowers. “I see what coloration I gravitate to, and the whole lot goes from there,” Meghan says, re: beige flower preparations.
There are a couple of non-beige issues, too: a single carrot slices lengthwise, caprese toasts made to seem like ladybugs and plump raspberries on prime of a three-layer cake that Meghan serves to actor Mindy Kaling, who declares it “most likely some of the glamorous moments of my life”. Kaling has been to a number of Met Galas and Oscar events, however a slice of Victoria sponge is sweet too.
There are additionally a number of pictures of Man, Meghan’s aged beagle, who I hope will get a minimum of three hours of uninterrupted airtime. He’s additionally sort of beige.
The collection was not filmed at Meghan and Harry’s $14.6m Tuscan-inspired property however a couple of miles away on the $8m Montecito property of philanthropists Tom and Sherrie Cipolla. A less expensive, extra relatable backdrop.
On-line, reactions to the trailer have been … blended.
“OMG. She is darling. Simply the loveliest. Can not anticipate this,” one commenter wrote in response to a Deadline article concerning the collection.
“Who is that this present for? It’s focused to folks with a ton of expendable earnings and time. Really feel it comes off as tone deaf and pushes the narrative of elite classicism [sic]” wrote one other.
“What within the Joanna Gaines cosplay is that this?” requested one Reddit person, referencing the HGTV host and farmhouse stylish inside decorator.
Who is this present for? It’s a very good query. Maybe it’s for these drawn to the trad spouse aesthetic, however who aren’t fairly able to go full Ballerina Farm. Possibly it’s a launchpad for American Riviera Orchard, Meghan’s model of jams and nut butters that she launched in 2024 and has but to provide any content material or merchandise.
It’s definitely for Netflix, with whom Meghan and Prince Harry’s manufacturing firm, Archewell Productions, signed a $100m contract. Ah, the quaint pursuit of pleasure!
