When Diana Spencer became engaged to Prince Charles, she confessed to having only ‘one long dress, one silk shirt, one smart pair of shoes, and that was it’.

Consequently, she hurriedly purchased ‘six of everything’ ahead of her royal wedding in 1981.

On the big day, the bride made her grand entrance at St Paul’s Cathedral in an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, featuring a dramatic 25-foot train, by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.

 

Diana handpicked the designer duo to create her outfit after taking a liking to a chiffon blouse they had provided for a formal photo session with Lord Snowdon.

The Emanuels described it as a dress that ‘had to be something that was going to go down in history, but also something that Diana loved,’ and which would be ‘suitably dramatic in order to make an impression’.

Indeed, it did. But so did many other outfits that Diana wore over the years.

They included the iconic ‘Revenge Dress’ – showcased on the same night in 1994 that Prince Charles confessed to his affair with Camilla – and the polyester frock she wore for Live Aid, seemingly a deliberate choice to provoke her love rival. 

Below, we look back at Diana’s enduring style legacy on what would have been her 63rd birthday. 

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When Diana Spencer became engaged to Prince Charles , she confessed to having only ‘one long dress, one silk shirt, one smart pair of shoes, and that was it’. Consequently, she hurriedly purchased ‘six of everything’ ahead of her royal wedding in 1981. On the big day at St Paul’s Cathedral, the bride stunned in an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, featuring a dramatic 25-foot train, by David and Elizabeth Emanuel

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Easily one of her most unforgettable dresses, this Christina Stambolian dress became known as the ‘Revenge Dress’ when Diana wore it in 1994 on the night that her husband admitted to an affair with the then Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana wore the dress to a glitzy fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery. Royal writer Tina Brown even described it in her 2007 book The Diana Chronicles as her ‘f*** you dress’

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Princess Diana wore this black and white check top with cap sleeves and a white pencil skirt and black belt – designed by Alistair Blair – when she was in Thailand in 1988

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Princess Diana wore this double breasted pink Versace suit in Argentina in 1995

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In 1985, the Princess sent a clear message to Camilla by selecting ‘a rather curious polyester frock in polka dots and stripes’ for Live Aid, which was broadcast to millions. The dress was part of the Kanga line, a clothing collection designed by Charles’s former lover, Dale Tyron. Diana then wore the dress again for a joint photo with Charles at Kensington Palace in October 1985 (right)

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Diana wore this Jacques Azagury black dress on her 36th Birthday at the Tate Gallery’s Centenary in London in July 1997

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Diana wore this lavender purple Versace suit when she made an anti-landmines speech at the Red Cross headquarters in Washington in 1997

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The bold navy accents on Diana’s bright green skirt suit were echoed in her statement hat at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where she was a guest at Lady Helen Windsor’s 1992 wedding to Timothy Taylor

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Princess Diana arrived at a dinner in Argentina wearing this red lace Catherine Walker gown in 1995

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This incredible Catherine Walker dress embroidered with sequins was worn to the Christie’s Pre-auction Party in 1997

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This trouser suit was designed by John Galliano for Dior in 1997 and was easily one of her best looks when she had lunch with Raine Spencer at the Connaught Hotel

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Diana wore this white sleeveless shift dress by Versace with a black Christian Dior handbag in 1995

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This light blue dress by Jacques Azagury was a vision when she turned up for a performance of Swan Lake by the English National Ballet in 1997

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Diana appearing for a Christmas church service at Sandringham alongside Prince William in 1990. She wore an iconic two-tone set by Moschino

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Prince Charles and Princess Diana looking chic and not out of place in the 2024 fashion stakes with her on trend padded jacket,  emerging from a car on the race track for the Royal Visit Pace at Charlottetown Driving Park, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 1983

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The red silk georgette column dress Diana wore to the Red Cross Ball Gala dinner in Washington was by Jacques Azagury

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This look by Diana with Puffed sleeves and pleats add drama for a Cirencester polo match in 1983

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Diana looked her best in Versace, everything from the shoes, the bag and her jewellery matched this stunning gown she wore in Chicago

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This  ‘black sheep’ jumper was the work of the knitwear brand Warm & Wonderful, which was founded by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne in 1979 and Diana was with her friend Sarah Ferguson at Guards Polo in 1983

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This Bruce Oldfield creation was recently compared to the gold dress worn by Kate Middleton by Jenny Packham at the Premiere of No Time To Die in 2021

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Princess Diana wore this navy and white suit by society dressmaker Tomasz Starzewski for the VJ parade in 1995

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While attending the premiere of Julie Walter’s film Just Like a Woman in 1992, Diana wore a red silk gown designed by Victor Edelstein

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The Princess of Wales wore this ‘upcycled’ Catherine Walker gown in Seoul, South Korea in November 1992

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This pale blue Chanel suit was worn by Diana  when she attend the the British Lung Foundation in Hatton Garden after being presented with the first rose named after her and her handbag was by Lana Marks

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Princess Diana wore an Emanuel dress while in Australia with Prince Charles in 1985

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Princess Diana arriving in a blue evening dress designed By Catherine Walker for the charity Premiere Of The Film ‘haunted in 1995

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Princess of Wales, wore a white dress with black polka dots designed by Victor Edelstein and a matching hat designed by Frederick Fox at Royal Ascot in 1988

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Princess Diana wore this Catherine walker gown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987. For film buffs, the dress is reminiscent of Grace Kelly’s character in the Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch A Thief. Walker was inspired by the famous Hollywood gown and decided to emulate the look worn by Kelly with the dress she made for Diana

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Diana attended the premiere of the James Bond film ‘The Living Daylights’ in London, June 1987. She wore this strapless Emanuel dress

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The Princess of Wales, wore a red and purple chiffon evening dress designed by Catherine Walker to the Premiere of Burning Secret in 1989

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This was one of Diana’s most regal gowns and she wore it at the Elycee Palace and at the Winter Garden in New York

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This stunning two piece cream suit with red pocket scarf was worn by Diana and complimented the First Lady, Nancy Reagan’s outfit perfectly in 1985

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 Diana wore a pink polker dot dress by fashion designer, Donald Campbell and a hat by John boyd when she visited Freemantle Hospital, near Perth in 1983

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Princess Diana was wearing the Spencer Tiara and and emerald and Diamond choker necklace to match her aqua-blue gown when she attended a banquet at Claridges being held by the President of Turkey at the end of his State visit

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This stunning scarlet red silk Bruce Oldfield gown worn by Princess Diana while attending a State banquet at Claridges in 1989

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Diana wore this Catherine Walker Column dress for a performance of the ballet ‘Swan Lake’ at the Coliseum in London in 1989

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This Navy and white Catherine Walker suit was worn by the Princess of Wales when she was presenting new colours to the Light Dragoon  Guards regiment in 1995

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Princess Diana looked so chic in a pink gown designed by Victor Edelstein and the Spencer tiara while attending an Australian reception in 1983

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Here, Diana wears a nautical-inspired skirt suit with a twee little ribbon at Buckingham Palace, the day that their wedding was sanctioned by the Privy Council in March 1981

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The Princess of Wales was very clever at changing the look of a dress with a simple piece of jewellery

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The Princess wore this Hachi gown at the Melbourne Hilton in April 1983

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Lady Diana wore this David Neil mauve and gold silk striped suit with a matching straw hat for Royal Ascot in June 1981

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Lady Diana Spencer, wore a red and gold spangled chiffon gown designed by Bellville Sassoon, when she arrived  to attend the premiere of the James Bond film ‘For Your Eyes Only’ at Odeon Leicester Square on June 24, 1981

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Prince Charles was seen holding Princess Diana’s hand on board The Royal Yacht Britannia at the start of their honeymoon. Diana was wearing a dress by Donald Campbell

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Princess of Wales, wearing a suit designed by Bill Pashley, pose for a photo on the banks of the river Dee in the grounds of Balmoral Castle in 1981

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This romantic floaty ball gown by Bellville Sassoon was part of Diana’s early fairy-tale era

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Princess Diana appeared in this David Sassoon red maternity dress at the Barbican centre in March 1982

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Dancing around the puddles and making a splash in beige coords on her first official visit to Wales in 1981

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This sequinned tulle dress in pale blue was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel and seen here in Cardiff for a charity concert in October 1982

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The Princess of Wales wore this cream satin dress by Gina Fratini with the Queen Mary Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara in Auckland, New Zealand in 1983

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Diana’s famous blue engagement suit was by Cojana and was ought off the peg in Harrods for the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981

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Diana in this strapless Catherine Walker at a performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Royal Opera House in 1989

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Princess Diana wore a Catherine Walker suit as she arrived on the Governor’s launch during a visit to Hong Kong, November 1989

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Diana attended this gala evening in aid of Cancer Research at Bridgewater House wearing a dress designed by Jacques Azagury 1995

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Diana wore this beaded sheath dress designed by Catherine Walker in Budapest Hungary in 1990

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Diana’s gowns were becoming more revealing and her heels were getting higher towards the end of her marriage

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Another sensational one-shouldered dress made of ivory silk crepe embroidered with pink sequins in 1991

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Princess Diana arrived for this Pavarotti concert at the Royal Albert Hall wearing a red and black military style evening dress designed by Catherine Walker in 1995

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Diana, Princess of Wales attended a concert in Italy wearing this short white dress by Versace in 1995

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This stunning blue Versace dress with matching shoes and handbag was a huge hit when she attended The Victor Chang Research Institute dinner in Sydney in 1996

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This stunning white lace halter-style evening dress with embroidered pearls, sequins and crystals worn by the princess to a gala in Washington in 1996 was by Catherine Walker

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Diana wore this John Galliano dress without anything underneath so that it didn’t spoil the line of the dress when she attended the Met Gala Ball with Liz Tilberis

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For her last official engagement in July 1997, Diana wore this red Catherine Walker Shift dress when she attended Northwick Park & St Mark’s Hospital