We are currently photographing and cataloguing a donation of stylish garments that were influenced by the fashion house of Chanel and especially by the garments that were worn by Princess Diana (1961-1997).
The pieces were donated by Ms van Dijk, a Leiden resident, and come from her personal wardrobe. They were worn at the end of the 1980s and until the mid-1990s. The donation consists of items mostly sewn by the donor's mother and a friend, supplemented with a few ready-to-wear pieces.
Princess Diana watching a polo match in Cirencester, in 1983. She is wearing a blouse with black spots, and a white skirt.
White blouse with black spots (TRC 2021.2983b), made in imitation of Princess's Diana blouse that she wore at Cirencester, 1983.
By the 1980s Ms van Dijk had just started a professional career and she felt she had to dress accordingly. At the time, suitable business clothing was difficult to find for women, especially as she was petite.
Ms van Dijk admired Diana’s style because it was traditional, but often with a dramatic twist, especially with respect to the choice of colour, colour combinations and cut. She felt that Princess Diana was never boring, so she decided that if the British princess could wear this type of clothing, so could she!
One of the outfits given to the TRC consists of a white blouse (TRC 2021.2983b) with black spots. This is based on an outfit worn by the princess in August 1983 to a polo match. The blouse was then worn by the princess on various occasions, sometimes with a white skirt, on other occasions with a black one.
The clothing donated to the TRC also includes both black and white pencil skirts that were suitable for wearing with the blouse.
Princess Diana wearing a red suit designed by Catherine Walker, mid-1990s.
Red jacket and skirt made in imitation of a jacket and skirt worn by Princess Diana in mid-1990s (TRC 2021.2970a-b).A second outfit is more formal and consists of a tailored jacket (TRC 2021.2970a) with a flat collar, three large buttons down the front and short splits at the hem. The jacket was worn with a pencil skirt (TRC 2021.2970b) in the same material.
The original suit was designed by Catherine Walker (who remains a popular designer with the British royal family) and was worn in the mid-1990s for various events, including an Aids charity meeting. The outfit was worn with black tights and plain court shoes.
The entire donation will be photographed and added to the TRC Collection over the next few weeks. The collection can then be accessed online through our website,
Is there someone who inspired you in the way you dress?
Joshua Verkerk and Augusta de Gunzbourg, TRC volunteers, 30 October 2021
