Diana: Her fashion story

Nostalgic exhibition at Kensington Palace of dresses and outfits worn by Diane, Princess of Wales.

The exhibition aims to show how Diana used clothes enhance her image both within the royal family and after her split from Prince Charles however you do get overwhelmed by seeing outfits you recognise. I went round with friends and much of our time was spent reminiscing about clothes we had which were influenced by her style, yes I had a frilly blouse and ballet pump style shoes!

I was fascinated to see photographs of the outfits alongside them as very often the colours in the picture were very different from the reality. Some of the clothes also looked much softer on than on a model such as the iconic tweed suit Diana wore for a photo shoot on her honeymoon.

It was interesting to see how Diana changed from just using British designers when married to looking to iconic foreign designers in her later years. It was lovely to see an ornate Versace dress from a late photo shoot. My favourite outside was the pearl encrusted white dress and bolero by Catherine Walker. It is so simple and elegant and yet opulent at the same time.

A top tip from one the guides is that the outfits will change during this long exhibition so it may be worth making more than one trip. I did indulge in an annual ticket to all the historic palaces so I can go back plus visit some of the others this year.

Closed on 28 February 2018

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