“I told her she had good legs and she should show them.”
– Christina Stambolian
The revenge dress
In September 1991, designer Christina Stambolian was working at her boutique in Beauchamp Place when Princess Diana strolled in with her brother, Earl Spencer. The siblings had been out for lunch at Diana’s favourite restaurant, San Lorenzo, when they decided to do some shopping.
That trip led to the creation of one of the most talked-about dresses in history: the black silk crepe cocktail gown with an asymmetric ruched bodice and side sash, which Diana wore on June 29, 1994, the night that Prince Charles admitted having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles on national television.
Combining the dress with her favourite sapphire, pearl and diamond choker, which matched her engagement ring, and scarlet nails, Diana stepped out at a Vanity Fair dinner in London. Her gown was christened by the American press the “Revenge Dress”.
Christina vividly remembers the day that Diana walked into her shop. She had already met the Princess at
