The LBD that Diana, Princess of Wales wore to an event at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994 is without a doubt one of the most famous dresses in history. Over two decades on from her head-turning appearance, the “revenge dress” – Diana wore the glamorous Christina Stambolian mini the night that a controversial programme aired about Prince Charles’s infidelity – has reentered the limelight.
Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana in the new series of The Crown, broke the internet earlier this month when she was photographed wearing a replica of Lady Di’s off-the-shoulder black evening dress. Global shopping platform Lyst reported a 58 per cent spike in searches for black off-the-shoulder dresses shortly after the behind-the-scenes pictures of Debicki were released and within a day, interest in black dresses with sweetheart necklines was up a whopping 103 per cent.
Read more: Every Question You Have About The Crown Season 5, Answered
As Diana proved, nothing spells out elegance quite like a killer little black dress. The neckline, the length… hers was sheer perfection and a formula that has been emulated time and time again since. Take Adele, for example. The woman of the hour recently had her own off-the-shoulder dress moment courtesy of Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière for her An Audience With Adele concert. Within 24hrs of the ITV special, page views for off-the-shoulder dresses jumped 138 per cent in the UK alone. The power of a Bardot neckline, it seems, never dates.
As party season draws closer, why not side step the trends for a classic LBD that has the royal stamp of approval? “Diana wanted to look a million dollars,” said her former stylist and the late Vogue editor, Anna Harvey, of the princess’s memorable Serpentine party look. “And she did”. Here, six of the best off-the-shoulder little black dresses to buy now and wear forever.
