On July 1st, Princess Diana would have celebrated her 55th birthday. The infamous Princess Di, was known and celebrated for being many things. She was an avid entrepreneur, a humanitarian, a loving mother, and of course a fashion icon. In today’s modern world where every Instagram star can be a “fashionista”, it’s nice to take a look back and examine a woman who didn’t follow the trends, but created them.
Someone once said that Diana would always be imitated but never duplicated, and wow were they right! Different fashion houses report many scenarios where items flew off the shelves after she stepped out wearing something new in public. Mark and Spencer wrote that after her engagement photos, a side-tying top that was close to Diana’s style became their fastest selling shirt. Although Diana was very much a fashionista, as time went on she became less interested in trends and more interested in creating a personal style that worked well for who she was. Today we call that, creating your own brand. Designer Dominque Mearns of Dominique Mearns Couture stated “Anyone can mimic, but a powerful woman stands in her own spotlight”. Dominique Mearns has created a successful brand with over 20K Instagram followers, many who are royalty themselves.
Best Seller 'Duchess Gown' is boned and lined with net frou frou under skirt
As a younger person, who wasn’t even born when Diana was still alive, it’s powerful how her legacy still reigns today. You would think that an icon whose style was a bit more retro would not be well received by the younger generation. Think again. A certain pop star and maybe someone who you’d never expect, told Glamour Magazine that “’You know who is the best who ever did it? Princess Diana. Every look was right. She was gangsta [sic] with her clothes. She had these crazy hats. She got oversize jackets. I loved everything she wore.’ Who said it? Princess Ri Ri of course. Rihnanna has pulled much fashion inspiration from the princess herself, showing the world that even tho Princess Diana was hailed as a humanitarian she was also a woman who took pride in what she wore, and that you can be a philanthropist, and a girly-girl at the same time.
It has been 19 years since Diana’s death, but her influence is just as prevalent today as it ever was. For example, Diana was very involved with the making of her clothing and made frequent visits to a particular silk production house, where the silk is hand loomed and has a silk worm farm on site. Dominique Mearns Couture offers a very similar dress making experience by using that exact silk house to create gorgeous gowns, many of which have rose quartz, jade, peridot, and even moonstone sewn in the dresses. Each stone has a special meaning, moonstone in particular means to be loved to the moon and back. How bougie is that? – Literally puts a whole new meaning on the phrase, dressing like a Queen. In addition, Dominique Mearns is a firm believer in not only dressing like a princess but in acting like one too, Like Diana threw herself into her charity work, she donates portions from each sale to Destiny Rescue, an organization that helps young girls get out of the sex trafficking industry.
Fashion Icon Princess Diana has now passed the royal baton to daughter-in-law, Princess Kate. Another royal who has been all over fashion magazines since that infamous long sleeved wedding gown. A simple Google search will show pages on pages of references like “Princess Kate dresses like Princess Diana”. Diana had a style that will remain classically relevant through the ages, but Princess Kate has also developed her own personal style that once again can never be replicated, only imitated. Both clearly have styles that are simple, chic, and can be easily imitated if you desire to truly dress like a princess.
