Wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer
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| Artist | David and Elizabeth Emanuel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Type | Ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown |
The wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer was worn by Lady Diana Spencer at her wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales, on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. Diana wore an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, with a 25-foot (7.62 m) train, valued then at £9000. It became one of the most famous dresses in the world, and was considered one of the most closely guarded secrets in fashion history.
The dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who described it as a dress that "had to be something that was going to go down in history, but also something that Diana loved", and which would be "suitably dramatic in order to make an impression". Diana Spencer personally selected the designers to make her wedding dress because she was fond of a chiffon blouse they designed for her formal photo session with Lord Snowdon.
The woven silk taffeta was made by Stephen Walters of Suffolk. The Emanuels consulted Maureen Baker, who had made the wedding dress of Princess Anne, during their construction of the gown. One observer wrote "the dress was a crinoline, a symbol of sexuality and grandiosity, a meringue embroidered with pearls and sequins, its bodice frilled with lace". The gown was decorated with hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls. The lace used to trim it was antique hand-made Carrickmacross lace which had belonged to Queen Mary. In contrast, the wedding dress of Kate Middleton, for her marriage to Prince William, Diana's eldest son, incorporated motifs cut from machine-made lace appliquéd to silk net.
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