This 2008 doll should have been named the  "Princess of Childhood," but instead was nicknamed Versailles by collectors for the palace where Diana wore the gown to a UNESCO event in 1994.   

Diana wore this sexy black beaded velvet halter gown by Catherine Walker to a charity reception billed as the “Night of Childhood” at the French palace of Versailles in November 1994. Ironically, photos of the event don't seem to include any children.  Catherine Walker described this as the first "sexy" dress she designed for Diana. 

Diana's FM gown was in black velvet with a two-inch wide band of black bugle beads edging the halter strap outlining  the neckline and backline.  A similar wide band of beads accents a “pocket” at the left hip where the skirt gathers asymmetrically.   According to information displayed at a Catherine Walker exhibit of Diana’s gowns at Kensington Palace, Diana had two versions made of the Black Versailles gown (Lot 66). She initially wore the crêpe version, but didn't feel the beading was well enough supported by the crepe and asked Catherine Walker to redo it in silk velvet. That would explain why it has a sheen in some photos and not in others--the shinier version is velvet and the matte is crêpe.

• • Black beaded gown

  • Pearl drop earrings

  • Two bead bracelets

  • Black evening clutch

  • Black vinyl shoes

  • Black nylon hose

  • Doll and doll stand

According to information at Kensington Palace, Catherine Walker was inspired to make this gown by a picture frame.  The frame was on display with the muslin toile mock up of Diana’s gown.  The gown’s beading takes its shape and texture from the beaded appearance of the black frame, several inches wide with long, thin tube shapes that look like the bugle beads.

This insight into the design process is an example of how Diana’s wardrobe took shape.  Often the colours she wore had a significant or complimentary symbolism.  For someone who was supposedly banned from wearing black to public events for most of her marriage unless royal protocol called for it, Diana wore a lot of black, especially the last few years of her life. Just goes to show how much tripe was written about Diana.

One auction on eBay in 2020 identified the nylon hose as a stole. The idea of Diana with her pantyhose wrapped around her neck was amusing to me. The seller wasn't convinced at first, but eventually came around and changed it.

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