A purple velvet dress worn by Princess Diana has sold for over £56,000 at auction.
The crushed velvet number was created for the late Princess by Bruce Oldfield, and features an off-the-shoulder neckline and 18th-century style overskirt.
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Diana originally wore the dress in 1987 at a dinner given by the then Portugese president Mario Soares at the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon, reports The Telegraph.
The dress was originally sold to an American named Donna Coffin, who bought it for $26,450 (around £20,000) at a 1997 Christie’s auction of Diana’s clothes.
However, the dress hasn’t been worn since Diana wore it, making it an extra special purchase.
‘The people looking to buy at these auctions aren't doing it for the fashion but for the Princess alone,’ says vintage fashion auctioneer Kerry Taylor. ‘When you think of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and even Diana, they are these personalities who were beautiful and died young. There's the sense of tragedy about a life cut short, the romance of unfinished business.’
Other dresses which were sold included a brown tartan dress that Diana wore to the Highland Games in 1982.
There is also a bright turquoise number made by Diana’s favourite designer Catherine Walker, which the Princess wore on her 1983 tour of New Zealand and Australia.
Both were sold by a mother and daughter who found them in a charity shop – quite the find!
(Images: Getty, Rex)
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