Princess Diana's 1981 engagement portrait blush pink chiffon Emanuels blouse, left, and Jacques Azagury 1985 ballerina-length evening dress, centre, are displayed during Julien's Auction's press preview ahead of the public exhibition and auction Hollywood Legend presented by Julien's Auction and Turner Classic Movies at Julien's Auction in Gardena, Calif., on Dec. 11.VALERIE MACON/Getty Images
An evening dress worn by the late Princess Diana has sold for $1.1 million, 11 times its estimate, breaking the record price for one of her gowns going under the hammer, Los Angeles-based Julien’s Auctions said.
Diana first wore the black and blue ballerina-length evening dress, by designer Jacques Azagury, in Florence in 1985. She was also photographed in it a year later on a visit to Vancouver, the auction house said.
The dress, along with a matching illustration, sold for $1,148,080, Julien’s Auctions said on Sunday, after listing it with an estimate of $100,000 – $200,000.
“Julien’s now holds the new world record for most expensive dress worn by Princess Diana sold at auction,” it said in a statement, adding that the previous auction record was $604,800.
The dress is made up of a long black velvet bodice embroidered with blue stars and a two-tier blue organza skirt adorned with a sash and bow.
It was sold as part of the four-day “Hollywood Legends” sale by Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), which featured a range of memorabilia.
A pink chiffon blouse which Diana wore for her 1981 engagement portrait to then Prince Charles by Lord Snowdon sold for $381,000.
The blouse, by David and Elizabeth Emanuel who went on to design Diana’s wedding dress, had an estimate of $80,000 – $100,000.