Not everyone gets their favorite luxury handbag renamed just for them—but, in all fairness, not all of us are Princess Diana.
Diana’s favorite accessory eventually became the Lady Dior handbag, and was originally called the “Chouchou.” Diana was seen carrying the piece for the first time in September 1995, when the then Princess of Wales attended an event in Paris with the never-before-seen design hanging from her arm, Bustle reports. “Then unreleased, it made an even bigger splash when she carried it months later in Argentina,” the outlet reports. “The luxurious accessory quickly became a staple within her wardrobe.”
Tatler reports that Diana was given the Chouchou by France’s former First Lady Bernadette Chirac, who had Dior “craft one in leather for the first time—and in record time: one night (a last-minute gift, perhaps?),” Tatler writes. The bag “instantly became her favorite, so much so she wore it day and night, and bought several Diors at Harrods upon her return to London.”
The bag has dual top handles, a boxy shape, and Dior’s signature Cannage quilting, inspired by the rattan chairs used in early couture shows. Diana was photographed with the accessory so frequently the bag was renamed the “Lady” in her honor in 1996, the year before she died. (Before she married into the royal family and became the Princess of Wales, Diana was Lady Diana Spencer.)
“Princess Diana’s influence was immediate and lasting,” Bustle reports. “The Lady Dior has garnered a steady base of loyal fans since the ‘90s and, as a result, it has been constantly updated in the years following.” Many of those fans include celebrities—the bag counts Rihanna, Bella Hadid, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sarah Jessica Parker, Paris Hilton, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Kristin Davis as fans.
“[The Lady Dior] became a symbol of her newfound freedom, both personal and sartorial,” Tatler writes. “Less ‘Shy Di.’ More, come to think of it, ‘Dior Diana.’” Diana paired it with a John Galliano for Dior slip to the Met Gala in 1996, the same year the bag was renamed for her. “No longer were fabulous fashion houses off limits for Diana, no extravagance at odds with royal protocol,” Tatler reports.
When Maria Grazia Chiuri was appointed the creative director of Dior in 2016, she initiated the Dior Lady Art Project, where a rotation of artists would be tapped to interpret the bag through their own vision. These annual makeovers of the bag “injected a dose of fun to the classic style, presenting the bag in a whole new way,” Bustle writes.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
A crocodile skin version with crystal-embellished charms once set the “world record for a Lady Dior bag sold at auction” when it sold for $21,420, said Kiara Cooper, associate specialist of handbags and accessories at Christie’s Auction House. “The Lady Dior has a tremendous following, with admirers on every corner of the globe,” Cooper told Bustle. “Shoppers love the subtle yet iconic appeal. Like many other iconic luxury bags, the silhouette acts as a quiet logo, making its presence known without the need for logomania.”
The small Lady Dior—which comes in 28 colorways—retails for $6,000. The quilted leather comes in lambskin finishes, including matte, patent, and ultra-matte; other outers include printed calfskin, pearl-embellished, embroidered, bedazzled, and exotic skins. Yet, Cooper said, despite the many options, the classics are still the most coveted, Cooper said: “The Black Cannage Quilted Lady Dior will always reign supreme,” she said.
As for size, “While shoppers still have a preference for mini bags, the next most desired sizes for the Lady Dior are the small and medium, as they are most classic,” Cooper said.
The price of a Lady Dior goes as low as $5,000 for a mini, the aforementioned $6,000 for a small, and as high as $11,500 for a small embellished bag.
In a testament to The Crown’s commitment to details, the Lady Dior was featured in season five of the show and was, of course, carried by Elizabeth Debicki, who played Diana.
“I loved Diana’s sense of freedom in fashion, using clothing as a kind of empowerment, as a way to feel confident and ready to face any situation,” Chiuri told British Vogue. “This is also true for Dior, a brand that today offers every woman the possibility of wearing clothes to consciously decide who she wants to be.”
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Don't Be Scared to Get a Rook Piercing
Here's everything you need to know.
By Gabrielle Ulubay Published
-
Preventative Haircare Is Trending—This Is What You Should Use
Sponsor Content Created With KilgourMD
By Emma Walsh Published
-
Charithra Chandran Wants You to Take Yourself on a Date
The "Bridgerton" star is ditching the dating apps.
By Gabrielle Ulubay Published
-
Diana Spencer, Then 19, Started Sobbing in the Ladies’ Room As She Asked Princess Grace of Monaco for Advice About Marrying Royalty
As their stars collided that night in March 1981, neither the former Grace Kelly nor the future Princess of Wales had any idea that they’d both someday die far too young in the same manner.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Revealed to a Royal Author the Real Reason Why Her Marriage to Prince Charles Ended Not Long Before She Died in 1997
And no, it apparently wasn’t Camilla Parker-Bowles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Told Queen Elizabeth Through Tears That Her Then-Husband Prince Charles Was “A Nightmare” and That She “Hated” Him, Royal Author Claims
Ingrid Seward’s new book examines the relationship between mother and son, Her late Majesty and her heir, Charles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Would Be "Absolutely Distraught" Over the State of Prince William and Prince Harry's Relationship, Expert Claims
She wanted them to have each other's backs.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Princess Diana’s Wedding Dress Designer Is Working On a Modern Interpretation of the Iconic Gown 43 Years Later
“I wouldn’t change a thing on the dress in 1981, but if I was looking at it through my eyes now, there’s so many possibilities.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana’s Brother Earl Charles Spencer Speaks Out on the Kate Middleton Drama: “I Do Worry About What Happened to the Truth”
He also weighed in on whether the media frenzy was worse in the 1990s with Diana or in the present day with Kate.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Despite Being 5,000 Miles Apart, Prince William and Prince Harry Still Couldn’t Bear to Attend an Event at the Same Time—Even One That Honored Their Mother Princess Diana
Their separate appearances at the Diana Awards were carefully timed so that William, onsite in London, had zero opportunity to interact with Harry, calling in from California.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
New Book Claims Queen Elizabeth Wanted Diana Spencer to Marry Someone Else in the Royal Family, Not Prince Charles
In the leadup to Charles and Diana’s 1981 wedding, the Queen had some reservations.
By Rachel Burchfield Published