See 40 of Princess Diana’s Most Glamorous Looks

From her decade-defining wedding gown to the iconic “revenge dress,” look back at Diana’s most alluring style statements

When it came to making a sartorial statement, Princess Diana took the crown.

As one of the most stylish royals ever, the late princess knew that all eyes were on her whenever she stepped out, and her looks didn’t disappoint. Case in point? The gorgeous, Cinderella-esque Catherine Walker frock she wore in 1987 to the Cannes Film Festival and the 1994 black “revenge” dress that caused jaws to drop.

Many of Diana’s iconic looks were designed by London-based designers Walker, Bellville Sassoon and Jacques Azagury.

“She was the most beautiful woman; she didn’t need very much,” Azagury told 9honey in June 2025. “It was all about the fit, gorgeous fabric and the right color for her — that’s all you needed to do with her.”

The lasting allure of Diana’s style is clear — her dresses have sold for six figures at auction, with one Azagury velvet number selling for a record-breaking $1.14 million.

From that legendary “revenge” LBD to her show-stopping wedding dress, relive some of Princess Diana’s most glamorous looks.

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Princess Diana at her engagement announcement in February 1981

Lady Diana Spencer (later Princess Diana) was the epitome of class during her and then-Prince Charles (now King Charles III)’s engagement announcement on Feb. 24, 1981. Her cobalt blue skirt suit from Harrods became a classic, and it paired well with her sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring.

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Princess Diana on her first public outing with then-Prince Charles in March 1981

On her first official public engagement outing with then-fiancé Charles to Goldsmiths’ Hall in London, Diana stepped out that evening in a black taffeta strapless evening gown by The Emanuels — comprised of the former design duo and exes Elizabeth Emanuel and David Emanuel.

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Princess Diana at the ‘For Your Eyes Only’ premiere in June 1981

Diana sparkled in an embellished red-and-gold Bellville Sassoon chiffon gown at the London premiere of the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. She leaned into metallics with gold jewelry and a chrome clutch.

The red carpet event took place one month before her royal wedding, and Diana later rewore the dress for an evening at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Many of Diana’s most glamorous looks over the years were designed by Bellville Sassoon, a British couture house founded by Belinda Bellville and David Sassoon in 1958.

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Princess Diana on her wedding day in July 1981

Diana was a fairy tale bride when she married Charles on July 29, 1981. The new Princess of Wales tapped The Emanuels to design an ivory silk taffeta ballgown with puffed sleeves, a ruffled neckline, lace trim and a record-breaking 25-foot train. She completed the bridal look with the Spencer Tiara, a family heirloom, and a 153-yard tulle veil.

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Princess Diana at the ‘Splendours of the Gonzaga’ exhibit in London in November 1981

The princess floated into the Splendours of the Gonzaga exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in a white chiffon Bellville Sasson gown. The dress featured a periwinkle off-the-shoulder sheer ruffle overlay, pastel paisley details along the skirt and a ruffled hem, all tied together with a matching ribbon belt. She paired the confection with a choker, chunky bracelet, metallic clutch and drop earrings.

Three years later, in November 1984, Diana rocked the same dress to a Royal Variety Performance in London (pictured above). However, she swapped the choker for a dainty necklace and wore a bracelet on the opposite arm.

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Princess Diana at a state reception in Australia in April 1983

Diana was pretty in pink at a state reception in Brisbane. Her bubblegum-hued Victor Edelstein gown featured delicate tiers and ribbon-tie straps, and she dialed up the glamour with the Spencer Tiara and matching sapphire earrings-and-necklace set.

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Princess Diana at a state dinner in Canada in June 1983

Diana reached for the Spencer Tiara again for a New Brunswick state dinner in Saint John, Canada, in June 1983, where she wore a shimmering aqua gown with ruffled sleeves by Bruce Oldfield. She continued the icy streak with silver accessories: a waistband by the designer, a tiara, a clutch and a pair of pointy heels.

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Princess Diana at the P&O Liner naming ceremony in November 1984

The royal was radiant in a red skirt suit and matching beret, which she paired with black accessories at the christening ceremony for the P&O cruise liner named in her honor — the Royal Princess.

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Princess Diana at a naval base in Italy in April 1985

During a royal tour of Italy, Diana gave a nautical nod while visiting a naval base in La Spezia, where she wore a white pinstripe collared dress by Walker and a Kangol hat.

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Princess Diana at the ‘A View to a Kill’ premiere in July 1985

Diana shimmered at the London premiere of the Bond film A View to a Kill, donning a pleated, long-sleeved gold lamé gown by Oldfield that featured shoulder pads and a back cut-out. A matching metallic clutch and pointy heels completed the look.

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Princess Diana in Australia in October 1985

Diana danced with her husband in a cerulean one-shoulder gown with a drop waist during a visit to Melbourne, Australia, in October 1985. In a uniquely fashionable move, she crowned the look with a necklace-turned-headband.

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Princess Diana at the British Embassy in Washington in November 1985

It was all about royal regalness at the British Embassy, where Diana stood by Charles’ side in a cream lace long-sleeved Murray Arbeid gown and the Queen Mary tiara. The visit to Washington, D.C., marked Diana’s first official tour of the United States.

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Princess Diana at the National Gallery in Washington in November 1985

On the same visit to Washington, D.C., the Princess of Wales turned heads at a gala dinner at the National Gallery. The showstopping cream silk chiffon column gown by Japanese designer Hachi stood out with its beautiful crystal beading, asymmetrical silhouette and embroidery at the shoulder and hip. She wore this dress on a few occasions, including the 1983 premiere of Octopussy and the 1989 premiere of A License to Kill.

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Princess Diana in Canada in May 1986

The Princess of Wales wore a black trouser suit designed by Jasper Conran with a white ruffled blouse for an evening out in Vancouver (that’s singer Bryan Adams she’s chatting with!). She added feminine flair with drop earrings, a Butler & Wilson snake brooch and black pumps.

Decades later, Diana’s daughter-in-law Meghan Markle would step out in similar power pantsuits.

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Princess Diana at the America’s Cup Ball in England in September 1986

Harlequin vibes abounded when the princess stepped out at the America’s Cup Ball in London in a drop-waist strapless gown by Arbeid that featured a black bodice, red full skirt and mismatched red and black gloves.

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Princess Diana at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England in April 1987

Diana saluted service members while sporting a white military suit by Walker. The set featured gold majorette drum frogging and epaulets, and she topped the look with a white Graham Smith at Kangol hat.

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Princess Diana at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1987

Cinderella of Cannes! Diana was every inch the princess at the Cannes Film Festival in France, stepping out in a strapless ice-blue chiffon dress by Walker with a matching stole. The dress — which she also wore for a portrait sitting that same year and to a London performance of Miss Saigon in 1989 — sold for $132,000 at an auction in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 2011, per Reuters.

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Princess Diana in Bonn, Germany, in November 1987

The royal wore a midnight-blue, sleeveless Edelstein velvet gown with a portrait collar to an evening event in Bonn, Germany. She topped it off with the Spencer Tiara and a diamond necklace.

Diana wore this dress multiple times, including famously while dancing with John Travolta in November 1985.

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Princess Diana at the Munich Opera House in Germany in November 1987

Standing alongside Charles during the same visit to Germany, Diana beamed in a deep purple velvet evening gown by Walker for a night at the Munich Opera House. She accessorized the strapless number with matching elbow-length gloves, a complementary choker necklace and earrings.

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Princess Diana in Thailand in February 1988

The princess honored Thailand during a state dinner in Bangkok, where she glowed in a red-and-purple chiffon evening gown by Walker. The hues were nods to the lotus blossom, Thailand’s national flower, while the draping paid tribute to the Thai Chakkraphat, a traditional dress of the country. In a nod to the tropical climate, Diana accessorized with flowers in her hair.

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Princess Diana at the Guards Polo Club in England in May 1988

Even casual cool turned glam when the Princess of Wales wore it. For an outing at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor, Diana layered a blazer over a sweatshirt, then completed her look with jeans tucked into cowboy boots and a baseball cap. The ensemble instantly became one of Diana’s most beloved and copied looks.

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Princess Diana at the British Consulate in the United Arab Emirates in March 1989

She stepped out in a semi-sheer periwinkle Zandra Rhodes dress with a celestial motif at a reception at the British Consulate in Dubai.

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Princess Diana in the United Arab Emirates in March 1989

Diana had a penchant for color blocking, and that fashion-forward inkling shone through during the same trip to the U.A.E., where she looked sharp touring Dubai in a white-and-blue Walker suit and Philip Somerville turban hat.

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Princess Diana at a ‘Moulin Rouge’ performance in London in March 1989

Diana looked like an ethereal princess in a baby-blue strapless gown by Walker for a performance of Moulin Rouge at the Savoy Hotel in London. She completed the look with a matching pastel clutch and silver stilettos.

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Princess Diana at a ‘Swan Lake’ performance in London in July 1989

When she attended a performance of Swan Lake at the London Coliseum in July 1989, the princess had her own ballerina moment in a two-toned white-and-rose dress by Walker.

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Princess Diana at the ‘When the Whales Came’ premiere in London in September 1989

The Princess of Wales looked fabulous in florals when she stepped out in this strapless pale pink dress by Walker for the When the Whales Came premiere. The pastel piece, now one of her most iconic looks, featured a blue floral pattern and a bow at the back.

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Princess Diana in Hong Kong in November 1989

The princess looked exquisite on her tour of Hong Kong in a pearl-spangled white gown and bolero jacket by Walker, which she topped with the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara. The studded number was quickly nicknamed the “Elvis dress” because it had a high collar like Elvis Presley’s classic jumpsuits.

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Princess Diana in Washington in October 1990

Diana smiled in scarlet at a Washington, D.C., gala dinner, where she paired a portrait neck Edelstein number with pearl earrings and matching red pumps.

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Princess Diana at the Diamond Ball in December 1990

The princess suitably sparkled at London’s Diamond Ball in a turquoise Walker sequined long-sleeved dress with a center slit. She teamed the look with a matching clutch and an emerald choker.

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Princess Diana in Egypt in May 1992

Diana looked impeccably chic in a soft green dress by Walker and a matching white and floral silk headscarf while visiting Egypt.

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Princess Diana at a banquet in South Korea in November 1992

Not only did the late royal know how to rewear a dress, but she also knew how to remake one. After choosing a floral frock with a pleated pink skirt for a Nigerian state banquet in London in 1989, she stepped out in 1992 for a banquet in Seoul, South Korea, in a reworked version by Walker, featuring the floral long-sleeved bodice paired with a sleek lavender column skirt.

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Princss Diana at the Serpentine Gallery in London in June 1994

Diana made fashion history at a Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery in London in June 1994, donning a fitted black off-the-shoulder Christina Stambolian dress with an asymmetrical hemline and flowing chiffon train. Instantly christened the “revenge dress,” she strategically stepped out in the revealing ensemble the same night that Charles confessed on national television that he had been unfaithful.

The dress, which Diana had in her closet, was a last-minute switch, as she had originally planned on wearing a Valentino look that evening.

“Three years went by, and she hadn’t worn it. I was very disappointed,” Stambolian recalled in Claudia Joseph’s 2022 book Diana: A Life in Dresses, per HuffPost UK. “Then I realized she had been waiting for the right occasion. She looked like a beautiful black bird in it.”

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Princess Diana at the CFDA Awards in New York City in January 1995

Sleek and chic was the name of the game at the CFDA Fashion Awards, where Diana sported a navy blue crepe Walker number with corded detailing. She paired the dress with a gemstone-adorned pearl choker and a slicked-back ‘do.

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Princess Diana at a ‘Vanity Fair’ party in June 1995

Diana arrived at a 1995 Vanity Fair dinner, also held at the Serpentine Gallery, in a beaded, pale blue-and-gray knee-length halter dress by Walker, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe’s famous white gown from 1955’s The Seven Year Itch.

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Princess Diana at a charity concert in Italy in September 1995

For the Children of Bosnia Charity Concert in Modena, the princess chose a white Versace mini shift dress with a scooped neckline and silver buckles on the straps. She finished the look with a matching clutch and pointy, slingback heels.

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Princess Diana at a cardiac research benefit in Australia in October 1996

Always stunning in blue, Diana opted for a one-shouldered cobalt Versace gown with a matching clutch and T-strap heels for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute Dinner Dance in Sydney.

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Princess Diana at the Met Gala in N.Y.C. in December 1996

Three months after her divorce from Charles was finalized in August 1996, the style icon attended the Met Gala. In a self-assured fashion statement, she hit the carpet in a navy silk slip dress with black lace detailing from John Galliano’s debut couture collection as the Creative Director of Dior. Years later, Meghan and Kate Middleton would follow in their late mother-in-law’s footsteps with their own Christian Dior looks.

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Princess Diana at the ‘In Love and War’ premiere in February 1997

For the London premiere of her friend Lord Richard Attenborough’s 1996 film In Love and War, Diana opted for a fitted, lacy navy blue gown designed by Walker.

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Princes Diana at a ‘Swan Lake’ performance in London in June 1997

Diana — who died at age 36 in a fatal car crash in Paris in August 1997 —stepped out for what would be one of her last public appearances in June of that year. As a patron of the English National Ballet, the princess attended a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in London wearing a beaded ice-blue mini dress by Azagury. She amped up the look with satin Jimmy Choo heels and a South Sea pearl necklace custom-made by Garrard.

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Princess Diana at a Christie’s auction gala in N.Y.C. in June 1997

Diana wore a floral cocktail dress by Walker to a dinner gala for her Christie’s auction, where many of her other pieces by the designer were up for sale. The auction raised more than $3 million for her charities.

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