Princess Diana Often Wore 1 Special Dress to Visit Children in Hospitals
Princess Diana was one of the most famous royals of the 20th century. She made her mark on the world in many different ways, and her fashion was one of them.
Diana wore a number of memorable outfits. She also had a special dress she often wore when visiting sick children.
Princess Diana did a lot of charity work
Diana was the patron of many charities when she was alive. She often supported people whom society left behind, such as AIDS and leprosy patients. Diana even gave these patients hugs and handshakes at a time when others would avoid them.
Royals traditionally kept their distance when interacting with people during engagements, but Diana willingly abandoned the protocol. Aside from giving hospital patients hugs, she also got down on children’s level to talk to them and held people’s hands to show her love and care.
After Diana’s death in 1997, people around the world mourned her and gave her the posthumous nickname “The People’s Princess.”
Princess Diana wore a special dress when visiting sick children
While visiting charities can seem like an easy task, Diana put a lot of thought into her work. For example, people often noticed her fashion, so Diana wore a special dress when visiting sick children, according to Matthew Storey, who is curating the Royal Style in the Making exhibit at Kensington Palace.
“She called it her caring dress. It’s this blue dress with bright flowers on it and it was one of the princess’ favorite dresses,” Storey told Us Weekly. “She wore it over and over again. So much so that the press said, ‘Give it a rest. Stop wearing it.’”
Storey added, “She knew that children really responded to this dress. Children love bright colors. So, she often wore it when she was going to visit children — and sick children in particular.”
The dress originally was supposed to be worn with a broad-brimmed hat, but Diana usually ditched the hat.
“You couldn’t cuddle a child in a hat,” Storey said. “For me, that unlocked my understanding of Diana’s wardrobe. She thought about the people who were going to see her and the people she was going to meet when she made style choices.”
Other royals often emulate Princess Diana’s fashion
Diana’s style had a huge impact on the fashion industry when she was alive, and it continues to affect many royals’ outfits today.
Most notably, her daughter-in-laws, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, like to pay tributes to her by wearing patterns she has worn and donning some of her jewelry pieces.
Kate, in particular, also dresses with other people in mind. For example, when attending weddings, she tends to re-wear dresses or coats instead of donning new ones. This would allow the press to take some attention off of her and put more onto the brides at hand.
