She took a shot at her ex with one famous "revenge dress," but which of Diana’s iconic
looks had her son turning red?
The Princess’ wardrobe was a masterclass in playing the press.
We've all seen pictures of Princess Diana's famous wedding gown, but did you know its
design team was just out of design school?
Designer Elizabeth Emanuel told Vogue of the inspiration for the dress:
"It was all about drama and making Diana a fairytale princess."
Diana left the design to the designers, apart from her wanting a "tiny waist, big skirts,
puffy sleeves."
“It had to be fairytale and um, which meant larger than life, everybody’s vision of
what a fairytale princess would wear.”
Standout features include its sleeves with 10,000 mother of pearl sequins and its exquisite
25-foot-long train — the longest of any royal bride.
According to Emanuel:
"The gown was typical of early '80s style — overblown, romantic, flouncy — but we
had to get it right because we knew it would go down in history."
Interestingly, a second dress was prepared in case the first details were leaked.
According to The West Australian, copycat dresses appeared only hours after the wedding!
You may have seen photos of Princess Diana alongside then-Prince Charles wearing a peach
suit, embarking on their honeymoon.
It turns out there's an interesting story behind it.
As People tells it, a young Diana entered London shop Bellville Sassoon to find an outfit
for her engagement photos.
Close to closing, a store associate, not recognizing the young princess, turned her away, telling
her to go to Harrod's department store.
There, Diana purchased the famous blue suit she wore for the shoot.
Despite the shop almost losing its chance to outfit the princess, Diana gave them another
chance and was welcomed back when she returned, beginning their longtime collaboration.
Bellville Sassoon created Diana's peach suit, one of two they designed exclusively for her.
As Princess Diana's style evolved, her love of pink remained.
As Glamour noted, one dress in particular earned glowing reviews from the international
media, labeling the princess "pretty in pink" in a tiered pink silk gown for her official
1983 visit to Brisbane, Australia.
While few women could look as elegant in pink, Diana wore the color "mighty well," Vogue noted.
In all, it spoke of both her humanity and relatability.
Pink, of course, is a feminine color.
Fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen told The Zoe Report that "power-adjacent [women]" may
feel the need to emphasize their femininity, but that pink prints can have hidden meanings:
"[They] may have a lot to express but not be in a position to do so.
Patterns allow them to speak [sartorially]."
The princess continued wearing pink even as the press ran rampant about her doomed marriage
— something the psychologist refers to as her use of "dopamine dressing" — a feel-good mechanism.
By 1983, Princess Diana's style became more glamorous — if not daring.
Knowing of Diana's love for one-shoulder dresses, Vogue's Anna Harvey selected a white beaded
gown by Japanese designer Hachi.
Diana looked fabulous in the dress, though the press criticized it for being "too revealing"
for a royal.
Harvey wrote:
"She was proud of her figure and of how feminine it was — and she wasn't going to be pushed around.
Years later, when everyone complained about an outfit, she said to me, 'I'm certainly
going to wear it again.'"
Diana wore the dress several more times, including to a 1983 James Bond film premiere and official
dinners in Australia and Japan.
In May 1987, Princess Diana attended the Cannes Film Festival alongside Prince Charles, where
she honored the late Princess Grace of Monaco by wearing a blue silk chiffon Catherine Walker
gown reminiscent of the one Grace wore in 1955's "To Catch a Thief."
The iconic dress, enhanced by a matching flowing scarf around Diana's neck, was later featured
at the 2017 Kensington Palace exhibit "Diana: Her Fashion Story."
The press praised Diana's look and tribute.
She and Grace reportedly had a special connection, having both married into royalty.
In the 1992 biography "Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words," biographer Andrew Morton
recounts their first meeting at a March 1981 event in which Diana described Grace as "wonderful
and serene" yet "troubled."
"A swim and now this drive. Ms. Stevens, I must say you are a girl in a million."
“That’s a routine compliment, but I’ll accept it.”
Then new to royal life, Diana felt nervous about following royal protocol.
In the biography, she vividly recalls Grace telling her:
"Don't worry, it'll only get worse."
Ironically, one year later, the American film legend died in a car accident, and Diana encountered
the same tragic fate some 15 years later.
In the 1980s, Princess Diana became known as "Dynasty Di" for her flashy outfits of
the decade.
The princess wore a teal puff-sleeve dress, commissioned by Diana's beloved designer Catherine
Walker, during a 1986 state visit to Austria and later to a movie premiere and a charity
ball in London.
With its all-over sequins, ruched waist, and thigh-high slit, it's a perfect example of
the over-the-top glitz and glamour of the decade.
The princess accessorized with an emerald and diamond choker-style necklace she once
received as a gift from the Queen Mother.
Over the years, the glamorous gown has tripled in value — from about $58,000 when it first
sold at auction in 1997 all the way to $155,000.
When Princess Diana and Prince Charles separated in 1992, it was amid speculation of infidelity
— particularly in terms of Charles' ongoing relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
During this time, stories of the couple's crumbling marriage were plastered across gossip
magazine covers worldwide.
Two years later, in June 1994, Charles revealed to The New York Times that he had, indeed,
been unfaithful to his wife.
That same night, Diana attended a dinner in London hosted by Vanity Fair, stepping out
in a revealing off-the-shoulder black cocktail dress made of silk crepe, featuring a ruched
bodice, side sash, and asymmetric hem.
Considering the headlines that evening, the dress quickly became known as her "revenge dress."
According to Reader's Digest, Diana had owned the Christina Stambolian dress for some time
but was nervous about wearing it.
Diana reportedly planned to wear a different dress that evening but decided to wear the
now-iconic dress last minute.
Anna Harvey of Vogue, Diana's then-stylist, explained that Diana's goal that night was
to, quote, "look 'like a million bucks.'"
It goes without saying that she achieved her goal.
Some of Princess Diana's most flattering looks are the simple tank dresses which became a
staple of her style in the mid-'90s, a look Vogue described as her "secret wardrobe weapon."
To keep the focus on the dresses, Diana kept her jewelry minimal, a far cry from her days
of bold accessories.
Anna Harvey, former Vogue deputy editor, wrote in 1997:
"She wore a lot of Versace — the sample shift dresses and evening columns that he
and Catherine Walker were doing for her [after the divorce] were probably her most successful
look to date."
Two of her most memorable were from Gianni Versace: the little white dress with gold
detailing on the straps, which she wore to a 1995 concert, and a similar black dress
she wore to the premiere of "Apollo 13" in London.
The princess' confidence clearly came through in these simple, stunning looks.
Per Glamour, the white dress "[topped] Best Dressed lists," while her black dress and
pearl earrings combo was "perfection."
Versace himself even saw the princess' spark.
He said in 1997:
"I had a fitting with her [...] and she is so serene.
It is a moment in her life, I think, when she's found herself — the way she wants to live."
One of Princess Diana's most famous dresses is one she almost didn't wear.
In 1996, she attended the Met Gala wearing a lace-trimmed navy blue Dior slip dress from
then-creative director John Galliano's collection.
Accessorized by diamond, sapphire, and pearl jewelry, most notably a large sapphire and
pearl choker, Glamour referred to the look as "an early contender for the underwear-as-outerwear
trend" and one that, per Who What Wear, is "just as stylish in 2022."
According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, Diana worried that the somewhat revealing
dress might embarrass her then-teenage son, Prince William.
A childhood friend of William's spilled the tea, explaining that, at the time, the media
regularly spoke of trouble in Diana and Prince Charles' marriage.
She said:
"I do remember William being distracted by what was going on at home.
William told me, 'Papa never embarrasses me but Mummy sometimes does.'"
"Usually she'd find something very embarrassing, very funny card, and sort of write very nice
stuff inside."
One example is the birthday cake she had designed for him in the shape of women's breasts.
As Express reported, Prince Harry found the cake so hilarious that he wanted one for himself.
Even the dress designer vouched for Diana's, quote, "most wicked sense of [humor]," per Vogue.
In the 1990s, Princess Diana's style leaned toward simple, tailored outfits, including
one of her fashion staples: the skirt suit.
While Diana owned skirt suits in various colors and fabrics, her sleek Versace skirt suit
with short-sleeved double-breasted jacket and matching pillbox hat, which she wore to
a May 1995 military event, is one of her best.
Vogue described the outfit as:
"...a 'Roselette' peony-hued look, which to this day remains nothing short of sublime."
The look, which drew inspiration from the clean, tailored style of former First Lady
Jackie Onassis Kennedy, is just as relevant today.
The former first lady wore a similar pink skirt suit the day President John F. Kennedy
was killed in Dallas.
And, just like Jackie-O before her, Diana's style has continually inspired the style choices
of her daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton.
Per Newsweek, Philip Somerville, the creator of Diana's iconic pillbox hats, shared after
her death that she had once asked him,
"Do you think, one day, people will think of me as the Jackie Kennedy of my day?"
With this outfit, the answer is clearly yes.