The True Story Behind One Of Princess Diana's Most Bizarre Looks

From the iconic revenge dress to her 1980s sheep sweater, so many of Princess Diana's looks have lived on for decades. Yet, even fashion legends make some strange style choices, and Diana was no exception to this. There's one unusual accessory choice that Diana made that lives on not because of her notorious fashion prowess but because of its unique look. In 1985, Diana wore a choker as a headband, and it made quite a statement. The story behind it proves that Diana knew what it takes to be a trendsetter: being willing to take fashion risks.

In 1985, Diana was in Australia with her then-husband, who would later become King Charles III. During their royal tour, Diana wore a stunning one-shoulder cerulean gown. The dress looked like perfection on the princess, but she notably went out-of-the-box with her improvised headband, which was made of cabochon emeralds and diamonds. The reason she decided to wear it around her head rather than her neck is all too relatable. As her hairdresser, Richard Dalton, told People, "I think she had sunburn on her neck so we said, 'Let's make a headband of it."

Richard Dalton recalled the day he and Diana made a fashion choice that would go down in history. While sunburn may have prevented the choker from being worn like a choker, Dalton had an ingenious idea. "I asked Evelyn, her dresser, for six inches of knicker elastic, [the kind used by] grannies," Dalton recalled to People. While the end result may not have been everyone's cup of tea, it was certainly an innovative way to complement the dress' hue perfectly.

The headband may have been a last minute choice, but the dress wasn't. It was designed by Elizabeth Emanuel, who designed many looks for Diana, including her wedding dress. Emanuel opened up about co-designing Diana's wedding dress (and her backup wedding dress) with her then-husband, David Emanuel. "We were students, we loved drama, we had free rein, nobody told us what to do, and I think that was the fun of it," she told People. Diana's wedding dress marked Diana's first fashion statement as an official member of the royal family, but was far from the last. 

In 2017, curator of Kensington Palace exhibit "Diana: Her Fashion Story," Eleri Lynn, told Vanity Fair that Diana "did clearly have fun with fashion, and she took risks ...and experimented with her style." Imagining Diana's clear love of experimenting and going over-the-top when it came to fashion makes it easy to see how the inspired headband suggestion came about.

While the famous headband look may have been one of the most memorable times the emerald and diamond necklace was worn, it wasn't the last. Catherine, Princess of Wales borrowed the necklace from the royal vault in 2022. She wore it while in Boston for the Earthshot Prize Awards. Unlike Princess Diana, though, Kate wore the necklace as a necklace. 

Furthermore, it seems that Diana actually loved the way this look came together. It wasn't the last time Diana wore a headband across her forehead; she replicated the look many times after her original accessory experiment. In fact, the following year in 1986, while on a royal trip to Japan, Diana attended a dinner with Emperor Hirohito. She made headlines with another across-the-forehead headband similar to her original. This sapphire and diamond headband, which she paired with matching earrings, made a splash again, proving that Diana was a big fan of the look and that fashion risks — even bizarre ones — really can pay off.