Princess Diana’s Legendary “Revenge Dress” to Go Under the Hammer: Iconic Gown Expected to Fetch Up to $300,000

Princess Diana’s famous black dress, which went down in history as the “revenge dress,” is set to go under the hammer once again — and this time, the iconic gown could fetch a six-figure sum.

The dress Diana wore to a Vanity Fair party in 1994 will be offered as a standalone lot at Sotheby’s auction in New York on December 9. The auction house estimates its value at between $150,000 and $300,000.

The silk mini dress by designer Christina Stambolian features off-the-shoulder styling, a dramatic sweetheart neckline and a fitted, draped skirt finished with a small train.

Diana completed the look with a pearl necklace, red manicure and black tights. But her most striking accessory that evening was her confidence — just hours before the princess stepped out, her husband, then-Prince Charles, publicly admitted to having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles in a televised documentary.

That is why the outfit later became known as the “revenge dress.”

Former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter recalled that none of the guests knew the context behind Diana’s appearance that evening.

“It was one of the first dinners at the Serpentine Gallery that we held together. None of us had any idea that Charles was going to speak publicly about the problems in their marriage,” Carter told Page Six Style.

“So when Diana arrived, we simply thought she looked incredibly beautiful. It was only the next day, when we read the newspapers, that we learned she was wearing the ‘revenge dress,’” he added.

Diana and Charles had separated back in December 1992. The iconic gown, however, had been created long before the final collapse of their relationship. The princess commissioned the dress after asking the designer to create something “special” for her, but then kept it in her wardrobe for nearly three years before deciding at the last minute to wear it to the event at the Serpentine Gallery.

The appearance became one of the most iconic moments in the history of royal fashion and had a significant influence on the evolution of Diana’s style.

The princess rarely wore black, as the color was traditionally associated with mourning in the royal family. She had also rarely appeared in public in cocktail dresses that fell above the knee.

Even Diana’s accessories that evening carried special significance. Her pearl-and-sapphire necklace was created from a brooch that the Queen Mother had given her as a wedding present. The princess also wore Collingwood earrings with pearl drops, which had been given to her as an engagement gift, as well as a diamond-and-sapphire bracelet that complemented her famous engagement ring.

The “revenge dress” was first put up for auction in July 1997, just weeks before Diana’s tragic death. At the time, the gown sold for £39,098, equivalent to around $53,000 at today’s exchange rate.

Now, the iconic dress is returning to the auction block nearly three decades later, with experts expecting the final price to potentially far exceed the initial estimate of $150,000 to $300,000.