Princess of Wales's shocking little black dress sells for £192,000

The dress that marked the transformation of Diana, Princess of Wales from “Shy Di” to one of the world’s most influential fashion icons sold at auction last night for £192,000.

The black taffeta dress worn by Lady Diana Spencer to her first public engagement with the Prince of Wales in 1981 provoked mild outrage at the time because of its revealing neckline. It also gave the world its first taste of the glamour that she would bring to the monarchy.

Photographers could not believe their luck when the 19-year-old aristocrat, who had recently become engaged to the Prince, bent forward as she stepped out of her car outside the Royal Opera House and showed off her cleavage.

Such was the frenzy that the Prince remarked: “Have all the fashion writers finished?” With the benefit of hindsight we know that they had only just begun.

The dress, which was estimated to fetch £50,000, caused similar excitement yesterday when it was sold by Kerry Taylor Auctions in central London. The victorious bidder was Fundacion Museo de la Moda, a Chilean museum.

The garment was rumoured to have been destroyed by the Princess, but it was rediscovered recently in a bin-liner in the garage at the home of the dress’s designers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel.

Mrs Emanuel said that she had no idea of the drama the dress would cause. “She just looked fantastic,” she said. “At that time, she was curvy. Not fat in any way, but she had cleavage — we love cleavage. And she looked great in this dress. And I think from that moment on, Diana became a fashion icon.”

Kerry Taylor, who arranged the auction, said that fashion experts assumed that the dress was lost because it was not in the Princess’s collection. “As the weeks before her wedding progressed Diana lost so much weight that she returned the gown to the Emanuels to have it taken in. The alterations required were so drastic that they decided it would be easier to re-make a smaller version for her.

“They kept the original and forgot about it — only re-discovering it quite recently. It was rumoured that the Princess had destroyed the black dress. It was sold together with an original copy of the invoice, fashion sketches and contemporary photographs of her wearing it.”

The dress was one of 30 lots being sold by Elizabeth Emanuel and David Emanuel, which included the oyster pink chiffon blouse worn by the Princess when she appeared in Vogue shortly after the announcement of her engagement. It was bought by Newbridge Silverware Museum in Ireland for £26,400 against an estimate of £10,000-15,000. The third most expensive item was the final calico toile for the Royal Wedding gown, which fetched £20,400.

Ms Taylor, said that competition for the dress had been intense. “We had a lot of interest from overseas as well as institutional bidding from the UK. The high prices that we saw today reflect the enduring love affair with Princess Diana, who was not only a style icon and beautiful princess, but a humanitarian who touched the lives of so many people.

“The black gown was bought by Jorge Yarur, who has established a world-ranking fashion museum in Santiago, Chile. I know now that dress will be taken proper care of especially when you consider that it has spent the last two decades in a black bin bag in David’s garage.

“I spoke to Mr Yarur after the auction and he announced that upon his death, not only this gown, but all the other important Diana dresses he owns will be donated to Kensington Palace and so I am delighted that one day this dress will come home.”