Diana’s 1981 engagement portrait blouse could sell for £79,000 at auction

An evening dress worn by Diana is also being sold.
A top worn by Diana, Princess of Wales (Julien’s Auctions)
Charlotte McLaughlin25 November 2023

A top worn by Diana, Princess of Wales for her engagement portrait in 1981 is among the items in an auction of famous clothing.

The pink crepe blouse with ruff-like collar and loose pleats to the front, worn by Diana, was captured by royal photographer Lord Snowdon and is being put up for sale by Julien’s Auctions.

The garment, with a 80,000 to 100,000 US dollars (£63,490 to £79,360) estimate, was created by designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel who would go on to design Diana’s wedding gown for her marriage to the then-Prince of Wales.

It was previously on display at Kensington Palace in London as part of the exhibition Diana: Her Fashion Story in 2019.

The portrait of Diana, published in Vogue magazine, coincided with the official announcement of the engagement of Charles and Diana in February 1981, according to the National Portrait Gallery.

Meanwhile, the four day event from Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), called Hollywood Legends, will also sell an evening dress worn by Diana.

Designed by Moroccan-born fashion designer Jacques Azagury for the royal, it was worn in Florence, Italy, in April 1985.

Featuring a ballerina skirt, the garment is estimated to be worth between 100,000-200,000 US dollars (£79,360 to £158,720).

Hollywood stars’ clothes also up for auction include a Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in 1963 comedy Charade, a sleeveless gown worn by Gloria Swanson in 1950 noir film Sunset Boulevard and Barbra Streisand’s sailor dress from a 1960s special called My Name Is Barbra.

A range of prices, between 1,000 to 50,000 US dollars (£790 to £39,680), have been estimated for these items.

Elsewhere, an Apple PowerBook G3 laptop used onscreen by Sarah Jessica Parker in her role as Carrie Bradshaw in the hit TV series Sex And The City is also being put up for bids.

The laptop, where the character Bradshaw is seen writing her Sex And The City column that introduces each episode, has been put on sale for between 800 to 1,200 US dollars (£630 to £950).

Julien’s Auctions and TCM Present: Hollywood Legends will be held in Beverly Hills and online from December 14-17.

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