Princess Diana's 1986 Visit to Austria

For a few days in April, 1986, Her Royal Highness charmed the Austrian crowds.  Have a look at what she wore.

Date:  April 1986
Place:  Vienna, Austria
Event:  Prince and Princess of Wales Official Tour of Italy

Upon arriving in Vienna (on the Concorde, no less), Diana was photographed wearing this red-striped outfit and matching hat, designers unknown.  (Again, I suspect Frederick Fox as having designed the hat because of the brim-style.  For the suit, I have two suspects:  Catherine Walker and Bruce Oldfield.)

Later, the Prince and Princess visited the Burgtheater for a performance.  For the evening, Diana wore a glittering sequined gown, designer unknown.  In this photo, the dress looks decidedly blue.  However, in video of the event (scroll to the bottom of this post), the dress looks undoubtedly green!  (It's definitely the same dress; you can see Charles' broken finger in the left corner of the photo.)  She wore it again in 1993 and here it looks turquoise.  You decide.

The next day, Diana was seen walking about Vienna with Charles wearing this cute, pink Victor Edelstein suit and Frederick Fox hat.

The couple were trying to drum up support for British Week in Vienna.

For instance, here, she was inspecting British cars as part of the week-long event.

Later on, she was regaled by the Vienna Boys Choir.  For the event, she wore this white and black suit (designer unknown).

Then, she attended a performance of the London Philharmonia Orchestra (at the Vienna Philharmonic's music hall) and wore a navy blue velvet Victor Edelstein gown.

This navy blue velvet gown is the one she famously wore to the White House state dinner in 1985 at which she danced with John Travolta.

Finally, as she left Austria (again on the Concorde), Diana wore a blue dress (designer unknown).  Must have been a comfortable outfit to turn around in her seat as such.

And, as a bonus, here's a photo (no joke) of Diana's passport and Concorde ticket.

Arrival:

Day two:

Day three:

That's all for today.  Check back for more of royal fashions throughout the years!  Thanks for reading.

Easter 1987

Actually, the royals didn't look too bad considering it was 1987!  Decide for yourself.

Date:  19 April 1987
Place:  St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Event:  Royal Family Easter Service

First up, Princess Diana wearing a pastel blue Catherine Walker spring coat.  Prince William, seen here holding hands with his first cousin Peter Phillips, is wearing a matching coat that Diana had specially made.  In fact, Harry had one too (not pictured).

There the trio go, joined by Prince Charles on the right.  Not sure who made Diana's hat, but it looks like it could be a Frederick Fox creation (based on the brim-style).

Next up, we have Princess Anne wearing a baggy navy blue and yellow plaid suit and yellow pillbox hat with veil (worn at a jaunty angle), designers unknown.

Anne, seen here walking with her son Peter, is the famously thrifty royal and wore this outfit to at least two other Easter services at Windsor in later years.  Even us regular folks don't wear the same thing for Easter year after year.

Finally, we have one more glimpse of Anne (on the right) as well as her youngest brother, Prince Edward (on the left) and her first cousin Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Chatto, in the middle).  Sarah is an attractive woman, daughter of the stylish Princess Margaret, but those baggy, boxy clothes did her no favors!

Well now, aren't you glad the 1980s are behind us?  I know I am.  Stay tuned to Fashionably Royal for more flashbacks and current news on what the royals wear!  Thanks for reading.

Princess Diana's 1985 Visit to Italy, Part 2

Now, for part 2!  (See Part 1 from yesterday.)

Date:  April-May, 1985

Place:  Anzio, the Vatican, Rome, Milan, and Venice, Italy

Event:  Prince and Princess of Wales Official Tour of Italy

While on a visit to a military cemetery in Anzio, Diana wore this striking purple striped Catherine Walker suit.

The hat was created by Frederick Fox.

Notice the red hose, which she first wore on this trip with a red suit in Florence.

While in Rome, the Prince and Princess visited the Vatican and met Pope John Paul II.  Diana wore the obligatory black dress and veil.  In this case, they were designed by Catherine Walker.

The detailing shows up much better in this black and white photo.  (I wonder what that sly smile was about.)

Also in Rome, she wore this multi-colored striped Bruce Oldfield suit.

With white hose, this time!

Then, on a visit to the Sistine Chapel, Diana wore this pink and white polka dot dress, designer unknown.

This was probably my favorite outfit of her trip.  (Still white hose!)

Still in Rome, Diana wore this rather bulky and unflattering white and black Bruce Oldfield suit with a hat by Viv Knowland.

Then, in Milan, she wore this blue silk Bruce Oldfield suit. 

The heart-shaped earrings were made for her by Butler and Wilson.

In Milan, Diana again "recycled" an old outfit.  This time, it was a pink Victor Edelstein gown, worn here to Turandot  at La Scala.

She had worn it almost exactly two years previously in Brisbane with different jewelry.

In Venice, she wore this white and blue polka dot suit by Jan van Velden, again with the heart-shaped earrings from Butler and Wilson.

Bruce Oldfield designed this extremely flattering blue dress, which she wore in Venice.

Unfortunately, on her last day in Venice (and Italy), she wore this green suit created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.  (Not sure who made the hat, but it looks like it may have been by John Boyd.)  The Emanuels also created her wedding gown four years previously.  It and this green suit swallowed her.

Here she is aboard the royal yacht Britannia looking better for the railing obscuring her outfit.  Their children rejoined them there and they set sail for home from Venice.

So, like a little Prince William, we too wave goodbye until next time.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned to Fashionably Royal.

Princess Diana's 1985 Visit to Italy, Part 1

All right, it's fun and all when a royal wedding comes along, but eventually you have to get back to business as usual.  So, here we go!

Date:  April-May 1985
Place:  Livorno, La Spezia, Florence, Molfetta, Sicily, and Sardinia, Italy
Event:  Prince and Princess of Wales Official Tour of Italy

The Prince and Princess' tour of Italy was only their second major official tour together, the first having been in 1983 to Australia.  (Technically, they had one previously--a three day tour of Wales in late 1981.)  By 1985, Diana was beginning to come into her own and showed a lot of personality in her clothing.  Her tour of Italy was a very big fashion opportunity for her.

The first outfit she was seen wearing was this white striped nautical Catherine Walker suit upon arrival in La Spezia.

In reports from the time there is some confusion over whether her hat was made by John Boyd or by Kangol.  I'm still looking into it.

As the royal couple arrived on the royal yacht Britannia, Diana wore a suit and hat themed to match.  Charles, too, was in his Royal Navy uniform.  (Makes one wonder if he was in really in charge of the ship, then.)

The couple's trip lasted several weeks and necessitated quite a large load of clothes for Diana.  Here, you can see her luggage disembarking from the ship.

Diana wore this cute green Jasper Conran suit and tie as she left Livorno, just south of La Spezia.

In Florence, she wore this red suit with white polka dotted blouse also by Jasper Conran.

I love the red hose she wore--she wore them again later on the trip (see Part 2).

While still in Florence she wore this white suit and bow tie, again by Jasper Conran.

For formal wear in Florence, she chose this black and bluish-purple gown with star embellishments by Jacques Azagury.

Very 1980s!

In Molfetta, she visited a deaf school wearing this white patterned Jasper Conran dress, which she had worn previously (two years prior).

Traveling on to Sicily, Diana wore a very springy pink Catherine Walker suit and John Boyd hat.

The waistline was very flattering for her figure.

Then, in Olbia in Sardinia, she wore this light blue Jan van Velden suit and John Boyd hat.

Its waistline was not as flattering and the hat hearkened very much back to the hats she wore in her first few years as a princess.  A bit of a step back, as it were.

In fact, the Waleses trip to Italy was so long that I've had to break this blog into two posts.  Come back tomorrow for the second half and more interesting fashion choices!  Until then, thanks for reading Fashionably Royal.