Carey Mulligan Just Broke Windsor Castle's Dress Code

Carey Mulligan might not have an Academy Award just yet—a darn shame!—but she just received something equally exciting (and arguably even more rare). At Windsor Castle today, King Charles made her a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. You might recognize it better by its acronym, CBE.

For the occasion, she wore a polished outfit that perfectly blended fashion-person coolness with royalty-adjacent appropriateness: a beautifully embroidered ivory jacket and black trousers, both by The Row. The honor, awarded for her services to drama, is just a step below damehood and places her among a rarefied group of iconic British actresses.

I love how she shunned the typical royal dress code for women—modest dresses, fascinators, and flesh-colored tights—and instead opted for trendy barrel-leg trousers. It's not a style you'll see Princess Kate wear at Windsor Castle, but Mulligan certainly has no obligation to dress within the confines of royal style.

Now armed with her CBE, Mulligan is heading into a stacked year, with Beef season two arriving imminently and Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew debuting on Thanksgiving. In other words, prepare to see a whole lot more of Mulligan's impeccable style at press events this year. In the meantime, scroll down to see her latest outfit.

On Carey Mulligan: The Row pre-fall 2026 jacket and pants; Jacques Marie Mage Dealan Sunglasses ($1050)

Shop Barrel-Leg Trousers

Dissh

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Barrel Colby Pants

Erin got her start as a Who What Wear intern in 2011—back when the site only published a single story per day. (We have since increased that number twentyfold.) She graduated magna cum laude from USC and lives in Los Angeles. In college, she also interned at Refinery29, where she was promoted to editorial assistant and then assistant editor. After nearly three years at R29, she came back to WWW in 2015, where she is now the Associate Director of Fashion News. From the Oscars to the Met Gala, she leads the site's entire red carpet coverage strategy. She specializes in celebrity and fashion news but also enjoys writing travel features and runway reports. She frequently contributes to WWW's social accounts and has a sizable following on her personal TikTok.