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Old 4 Mar 17, 11:40 PM  
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Diana – Her Fashion Story – Kensington Palace

Diana – Her Fashion Story – Kensington Palace

This is more likely to be of interest to the ladies of the Dibb.

Friday 3rd March 2017. It’s cold and it’s wet and it’s a darn miserable morning but I arrive at High Street Kensington tube station feeling cheery. I’m on my way to Kensington Palace to see the new exhibition there = Diana – Her Fashion Story. I arrive early and I need a loo. Whenever you are in that situation always head for Marks & Spencer. They always have a loo!

Once that is sorted I go to the café for a cappuccino and a croissant. Now, either they are having a sale or something wasn’t tilled up properly but I’m charged £3.60. That didn’t sound right but I kept my mouth shut. Well, I did until I put around the croissant and the coffee.

I walk across Dial Walk as they call it. It’s the top right hand corner of Hyde Park but classed as part of Kensington Gardens.



Oh! That the Palace was viewed in sun like this:



When I arrive there are some 50 people crammed under a metal and glass gazebo built in front of the public entrance to the Palace. It commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen.
At 10:00 a.m., on the dot, a member of staff appears but opens the Group Entrance announcing that those who have booked online should enter there. I do. I’m first at the ticket desk and first into the Diana exhibition.

So let’s start. The first outfit you are presented with this……..



As a young socialite, Diana wore the earliest dress in the exhibition - a Regamus with nylon net lace overlay, a velvet ribbon and scarf - to a ball at her family home, Althorp House, in 1979. Before she met Charles she had a very limited wardrobe. She often borrowed outfits from her friends. This was something new for her.

Not very flattering methinks.

This pink satin Catherine Walker gown with an off the shoulder shawl-style raw silk white collar and cuffs was Diana's choice for the Royal Opera ballet on February 11, 1987 in Berlin, Germany. In July 1988 she wore it at a dinner to honour the President of Turkey.



Diana also wore this gown in April 1990 at a banquet given by the President of India at the end of his visit to the U.K. She also wore it for a formal portrait with Prince Charles. It raised $ 28,750 for Diana's charities when auctioned.

Another Walker creation – blue chiffon (for some reason it looks white in my photo).She wore this for the Cannes film festival in 1989. The dress was modelled in a Grace Kelly style.





There is a wall of sketches by the various designers.






There now follows 3 more outfits.
The first is a blue dress coat designed by the Emanuels (they designed her wedding dress) worn for a visit to Italy in 1985.





The pink blouse by Catherine Walker was worn for the official engagement photo taken by Lord Snowdon.



And the honeymoon outfit worn at Balmoral also by Catherine Walker:



The stunning midnight blue velvet “Travolta” dress worn at a White House reception in the USA and so called because she danced with John Travolta.





Once again, the lighting is so low on these exhibits that the midnight blue appears black. The dress sold for $362,424 (£ 240,000) at auction and was bought by "a British gentleman as a surprise to cheer up his wife."

The red / black “flamenco” outfit was for a Spanish visit in 1987. Diana daringly wore one black glove and one red glove. That set the media on fire.





Diana attended a gala concert at the Barbican Centre, London in celebration of the 85th anniversary of the London Symphony Orchestra. The Princess wore this design by Lorcan-Mullany- Sassoon.



It consists of a cocktail suit with a black silk and lace bodice embroidered with black sequins. The top has a white satin collar trimmed with a central black satin bow. Cuff-links that match the buttons are worn to secure the wide white satin cuffs. A straight black velvet skirt completes the suit.

This is my favourite. The two piece crepe “Elvis” outfit. She wore this white silk strapless dress encrusted with pearls and sequins, with a matching bolero jacket in 1989 at the British Fashion Awards at and again on a visit to Hong Kong.



The Golden Falcon dress was designed for a visit to Saudi Arabia. The country’s symbol is a falcon. Yet another fantastic creation from Catherine Walker.




A long dinner dress made of burgundy velvet by Catherine Walker was worn by Diana at the film premiere of "Steel Magnolias" in 1990.



A Versace dress worn purely for a photo shoot with Harper’s Bazaar magazine.



This stunning creation, a glitzy Catherine Walker sea green dress was worn by Diana for the state visit to Austria in 1986 during a trip to the Vienna Burgtheater and to the film premiere of Biggles in 1993.



This is one of the shortest dresses in the collection. It’s another Walker. Diana wore it on a shopping trip in Kensington and caused quite a stir.





After her separation from Prince Charles Diana started to change direction with her fashion. Her famous quote was “I’m a workhorse not a clotheshorse!” This red two piece was worn when Diana visited HIV/Aids patients. She deliberately removed her gloves to shake hands with them. The press went wild.



This was the last “public” dress that Diana wore. The cream printed silk dress appeared at a launch party for her sale of 79 dresses at Christies in N.Y.C. on June 23, 1997.



The sale raised over $4 million for charity and signified a fresh start in her life as she cleared out her closet for the cause. Tragically, she died in a car crash in Paris a little over two months later on August 31, 1997.

I've showed a few of the 45 dresses / outfits that are on show. Hope you enjoyed them.

After the exhibition I toured the King and Queen’s State Apartments which was also included in the ticket price, Report here: https://DIBB.in/12339637

Edited at 08:51 PM.
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Old 4 Mar 17, 11:47 PM  
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Thank you Geoff, I'd love to see the exhibition. I saw Diana in Sheffield many years ago, on a walk about.
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Old 4 Mar 17, 11:49 PM  
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A lovely insight into the exihbit Geoff, detailed and appreciated as always, i love hearing about your travels x
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Old 4 Mar 17, 11:50 PM  
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Geoff. A lovely report, such a pity her life was cut so short.
Excellent photos.
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Old 4 Mar 17, 11:53 PM  
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Another great report thanks for sharing
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Old 4 Mar 17, 11:58 PM  
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Brilliant thank you. I'm hoping to go and see this exhibition, your description makes me want to even more. Hopefully should be taking my 10 year old DD too- am sure she will love it.
As a previous poster said i also love hearing about your travels. :-)
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Old 4 Mar 17, 11:58 PM  
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Thank you for sharing, I probably will not get to go and see the exhibition so it was lovely to see your photos and experience.
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Old 5 Mar 17, 12:04 AM  
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What amazes me is the dresses look nothing until you see the pictures of her in them, I reckon she could have worn a bin bag and looked glamorous and classy .
Such a tragic waste of a young life, I feel sad that she never got to see her sons grow up, she would have been such a proud grandparent .
Thank you for posting Geoffa .
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Old 5 Mar 17, 12:19 AM  
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As someone who won't be able to get there to see it I am very appreciative, so thank you very much for this one Geoff.
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Old 5 Mar 17, 12:29 AM  
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Originally Posted by Lindaelaine View Post
What amazes me is the dresses look nothing until you see the pictures of her in them, I reckon she could have worn a bin bag and looked glamorous and classy .
Such a tragic waste of a young life, I feel sad that she never got to see her sons grow up, she would have been such a proud grandparent .
Thank you for posting Geoffa .
I totally agree with you Linda..
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