Princess Diana’s ruff-collared blouse, worn in engagement portrait, is going on sale
Diana wore the blouse for an engagement portrait taken by Lord Snowdon in 1981.
(CNN) — A ruff-collared, pale pink blouse Princess Diana wore in a 1981 engagement portrait is expected to fetch up to $100,000 when it goes up for auction next month.
Diana wore the blouse while posing for a portrait taken by Lord Snowdon that several magazines and newspapers, including Vogue, used when her engagement to the then Prince Charles (later King Charles III) was announced.
The blouse, which is complete with a satin ribbon tied in a bow underneath the collar, was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel, who famously went on to design Diana’s wedding dress.
The fabric of the blouse was salvaged from a dress that had been damaged when a client left a mascara stain on the skirt while trying it on, Elizabeth Emanuel wrote in her book “A Dress for Diana,” according to Julien’s Auctions, the Beverly Hills auction house conducting the sale.
“When (Diana) saw our blouse on the rack she fell in love with it, asked who had made it and was directed to us,” Emanuel recalled.
After the blouse was worn by Diana, the designer held onto it until she sold it in 2010. It was displayed at Kensington Palace from 2017 to 2019 as part of an exhibition of the princess’ clothes.
Another of Diana’s outfits, an evening dress she wore in public twice, is expected to sell for up to $200,000 at the same auction.
With its black velvet bodice embroidered with stars, a dropped waist, padded shoulders and blue skirt, the dress is evocative of the fashion of the 1980s, when Diana became a style icon.
Other items in the auction include memorabilia used or worn by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1950s and 1960s.
A yellow wool Givenchy coat worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1963 movie “Charade” is expected to sell for up to $40,000 while a carriage clock once owned by Marilyn Monroe could fetch $4,000.
The sale is due to take place in Beverly Hills and online between December 14 and December 17.
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