Poppy Red Chanel Coat

This gorgeous red wool coat was worn on arrival to Paris with Charles in 1988 during an official visit. It was part of the ready to wear collection from AW1988-89, and Chanel loaned one from their archive to dress Kristen Stewart in the 2021 movie Spencer, however it's not the red coat worn with the black hat as this one has brass buttons and a straight waist as shown in the film and promotional materials

Diana reportedly told a confidant that she was worried about not being able to hold her own in a French conversation and this outfit was her way of dealing with that. Her plan was to cover herself head to toe in Chanel and the French wouldn't notice that she wasn't speaking. Her plan worked because everyone raved about this chic look.

It was indeed head to toe from the red Chanel side-cap to the black pumps and accented with black accessories, with an elegant line and sophisticated tailoring. She later scaled back her Chanel wearings; reportedly she confided to Jayson Brunsdon that she could no longer bear to wear their logo as the intertwined C's raised unhappy connections.

Pity, as Diana's Chanel outings were always fashion fantastic (although I do not agree with K-Stew's claims that Diana was more herself in that label than others...I think Diana most shone in Catherine Walker and Victor Edelstein.)