I've always thought this looked like an 80's prom dress. With the diamante stars and excessive layers of tulle, it has a 'what was I thinking when I wore it?' vibe. Fast forward 34 years and, as far as I'm concerned, the verdict is still out.
Diana must have liked the dress, because she wore it on several occasions. It was made for a private dinner given by former King Constantine of Hellenes at Claridges in 1986. She also wore it with shocking pink gloves to the premiere of Phantom of the Opera, The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and in Paris in 1988. She even modelled it for the Christie's auction catalogue.
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It is described as 'A Ballerina-Length strapless Dance Dress.' According to the auction catalogue:
Of midnight blue silk tulle, the dress has a dropped waistline, the bodice is dropped with vertical pleats and embroidered with diamante brilliants placed at random. The top layer of the tulle skirt is embroidered with diamante stars. The skirt comprises four layers of tulle, with a deep purple silk petticoat, the bodice is also lined with deep purple silk to create a shimmering effect.Embed from Getty Images
The dress was lot 28 at the Christie's auction in 1997 and sold for $48,300 to Memphis philanthropist and fashion designer, Pat Kerr Tigrett. She bought four dresses at the auction, paying $133,000, but the tulle one was the most expensive. She has a significant collection of royal memorabilia and textiles, dating back to the 17th century, including items belonging to Queen Victoria and the Duchess of Windsor.
However, shortly after she purchased the tulle dress she found another version, advertised as the original in The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. That dress was owned by Gene London and John Thomas, New York dealers in theatrical costumes who claimed the dress was sold to them by the original Christies buyer.
Although Ms. Tigrett, purchased the dress from Christies, the actual design was not unique, or exclusive to Diana. In fact, Murray Arbeid, who died in 2011, made several. According to the designer, in an interview for a documentary about the auctioned dresses:
"That dress was a very, very successful dress in the collection and there is certainly more than one of them. I would like to say, many more, there are possibly 15, 20 of them still floating around. It was a very good evening dress and after all, the Princess never said, 'this has got to be the only one, you mustn't make it for anybody else'. Simple as that."
After Diana's death, Ms. Tigrett kept the four dresses out of the spotlight to avoid the macabre frenzy that followed. In 2002 she allowed her four gowns to be included in an exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum. Two of her Diana dresses were included in the Kensington Palace exhibit Diana: Her Fashion Story.
As of 2020, she still owns her dresses. In 2013 she lent the Arbeid, for three years, to Kensington Palace for their Fashion Rules exhibit. It was the first time it had been exhibited in the UK. Afterwards, it made a newsworthy return to Memphis on what would have been Diana's 55th birthday.
© Marilyn Braun 2020
Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.
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DRESSES from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales, Christie's auction catalogue
Diana, Woman of Style by Jackie Modlinger
Diana - Her Life in Fashion by Georgina Howell
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