The white gown – designed by David Emanuel who made Diana’s wedding dress – was one of the most romantic and ornate frocks the princess ever wore and is expected to fetch in excess of $150,000 at auction.
Unlike almost all of Diana’s other ball gowns, this dress was not custom-made for her. Instead, she saw it at a Red Cross benefit fashion show in 1986 and bought it in a size 10 at auction.
“The dress has a pretty, fairy-tale princess feel to it – with its opulent, shimmering gold panels, jewel-like rhinestones and pearl adornments,” the listing on the auction website reads.
“Importantly this is a dress that was not specially designed for the Princess but one she chose herself from an existing collection and one she chose to wear repeatedly.
“Elizabeth Emanuel said that because of its lavish decoration and striking gold and white colours that it was something that one either would love or hate and she remembered that the Princess had told her that she ‘loved it’.”
Diana wore the dress on several occasions, including at the 1987 London premiere of James Bond film The Living Daylights and a visit to the Royal Opera House in 1986.
The dress will be sold by Kerry Taylor Auctions in Long Lane in London on December 3.
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