Let’s take a look at the infamous Princess Diana and her many influential styles:
After the very revealing sit-down Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had with Oprah early this month, the British royals seem to be all the buzz. We learned that through the palace doors, something deeper was going on. In fact, it was serious enough to cause both the prince and princess to step down from their titles and speak out against the palace. This experience is very similar to that of Princess Diana. Princess Diana is the late mother of both Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Princess Diana was married to Charles, Prince of Wales, from 1981 until 1996. Shortly after her splitting from Charles, she died in a fatal car accident, leaving the world speechless.
With everything coming to light about Harry and Meghan, it is inevitable to talk about Princess Diana again, and with that, her unforgettable fashion sense. While Diana was married to Prince Charles, she was known for bending the rules the royals had to follow, most of these rules being largely related to fashion. Once they divorced, it didn’t stop there. Princess Diana was known for wearing risqué clothing, especially after her divorce. One example is the black, off the shoulder dress she wore after learning about the prince’s affair. Her reasoning for this? “To look like a million bucks.” This would be known as Princess Diana’s “Revenge Dress.” She continued to provide amazing fashion looks long after this as well, some of the most influential being biker shorts, bow ties, and stunning dresses.
Biker shorts were a big part of the 80’s and 90’s with many celebrities following the trend, including Princess Diana, Cher, and Madonna. Diana frequently wore biker shorts to run errands and would accompany them with sweatshirts, high top socks, and tennis shoes. Biker shorts have made a successful comeback and can be seen very often today, both casually and formally. The photo below is a perfect example of this.
Bow ties were also a big part of princess Diana’s wardrobe. She had been spotted wearing bow ties with skirt suits, different color pant suits, and even a bright orange silk blazer. In recent years we have seen bow ties worn to special events, much like Blake Lively did to CinemaCon in 2018. This is something that may be surprising to some people–a princess wearing a bow tie? But this is just one of the many instances of Princess Diana defying the stigmas of being a princess and being her own person.
Lastly, princess Diana was very well known for the dresses she wore. One of the most well known is her wedding dress. Worn during her 1981 wedding, the dress had an extremely long train and was later put into a museum. Another stunning dress was her 1985 silver, backless, lamé dress, which later earned her the nickname “Dynasty Di.”[1] On the right, we have an open back, mermaid dress, the style of which can often be seen today at high school proms. This is a similar concept to what Princess Diana wore in 1985. The dress Diana wore to the 1985 White House ball, by Victor Edelstein, is just one more of many looks that would largely influence the fashion industry. This dress can be seen in the famous photos of Princess Diana dancing with John Travolta.
While I may have only discussed three different fashions statements made famous by Princess Diana, don’t be fooled–Diana was full of influential looks that would later become trends, some even being seen still to this day.
