On June 29, 1994 — the same day her then-estranged husband publicly acknowledged his infidelity — Diana, Princess of Wales, stepped out wearing a chic, black dress, making a fashion statement that reverberated around the world. Now, the silk gown that became known as the “revenge dress” is heading to auction at Sotheby’s in December. Although the dress had been created by the Greek fashion designer Christina Stambolian for Diana three years earlier, it hung in her closet until that fateful evening. She selected to pair the form-fitting dress with Manolo Blahnik heels, a pearl-and-sapphire choker and a Salvatore Ferragamo clutch bag. She couldn’t have gotten her message across more clearly had she shouted, “I am not a victim anymore!” The public adored it, and Diana was back. The dress is expected to sell for around $300,000. However, in 2023 a black-and-blue evening dress Diana wore to a 1985 dinner sold for a record $1.15 million, 11 times the pre-auction estimate.
