How Princess Diana used fashion to steer the conversation – cleavage bags, boycotting Chanel and that revenge dress
The beloved British royal lived by her own rules and used her dress sense to make a statement – or to carefully avoid making one, especially in relation to her former husband Prince Charles – employing that infamous LBD to steer the limelight from their divorce
Whether it was to defend herself from the prying eyes of the press, or intentionally train the spotlight on herself to be the talk of the town the next day, Diana, Princess of Wales, knew how to work her way around fashion – and send the right message.
The double purpose of Diana’s cleavage bags
If all the queen has to do is switch her handbag from one arm to another to signal to her aides that it’s time to wrap up a conversation, Princess Diana had a secret message behind her signature clutches, too. Diana’s satin clutches, tiny enough to only fit essentials, were more than a fashion statement.
English designer Anya Hindmarch, known for the early “it bags” and the “I’m not a plastic bag” tote, revealed in The Telegraph how Diana candidly called the little satin purses she made for her “cleavage bags”, explaining how the royal especially needed her clutches whenever she wore low-cut dresses, as she’d use it to cover her chest while getting out her car, to shield herself from photographers.
The story behind Diana’s revenge dress
In 1994, on the eve of her then-husband, Prince Charles, publicly admitting his affair on television, Princess Diana decided not to hide, and hit the town glamorous and unscathed, turning to fashion to show her power. She appeared at a Vanity Fair summer soirée event at the Serpentine Gallery wearing a drop-dead gorgeous dress that was made to make heads turn.
It was a Christina Stambolian frock that had all the elements for a show-stopping moment: an off-shoulder neckline, styled with her seven-strand pearl and sapphire choker, a flattering fit that hugged her frame, and a chic asymmetrical hemline. Diana almost did not wear the dress, the designer told Marie Claire, as she was worried it’d be too revealing.