7 Crafty Hacks Lady Di Used to Bring Her Old Clothes Back to Life
Despite the modern unwritten rules where celebrities are expected to follow the trends and dress up as society asks, many celebs recycle their clothes and create a completely new look by just adding some elements to old pieces. Like many others, Princess Diana didn’t grow up royal and famous and learned to respect various things. As a princess, she had a vast wardrobe, but she also brought back some of her favorite items from the past.
In this article, 5-Minute Crafts decided to pull out some of the most inspiring recycled outfits that princess Diana wore despite the new trends.
7. Small attention to detail
Diana had a great eye, and she was really good at making multiple outfits out of the same clothes. The purple and yellow striped set that she was wearing in 1981 came together with a matching skirt, blazer, and a tucked-in blouse. 2 years later, in 1983, she brought the same set back to life, but this time she buttoned the blazer, made a skirt set, and combined it with different accessories.
6. Breaking up the sets
With no intention of throwing away expensive clothing just because she was a princess, Diana used to try out different clothes and experimented with lots of colors. In 1985, at a polo match in Cirencester, she wore the same skirt with a white top after shattering the matching floral set she had worn to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 1981. Many people didn’t think it was the same skirt because when combined like this, the skirt looked like a different piece.
5. The same top with a different bottom
Diana wore a floral embroidered top combined with a purple ball gown skirt to a meeting in 1989. A couple of years later, she brought an altered version of this look on the last trip with Prince Charles. She changed the wide skirt out for a slim lavender skirt that fit her perfectly. Princess Diana was a product of her time and always followed fashion trends. She kept her style fresh and reused as much of her closet as she could.
4. Different combinations of the same pattern
The polka-dot style was one of Diana’s favorites. In the first picture, the princess is wearing a white dress with red polka dots during a visit to Atlantic College. The next year, she wore her Mondi spotty skirt and matching ankle socks at a polo match in 1986. Diana later packed her iconic skirt for a royal tour of Australia and wore it to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. Lady Di carefully chose a red and white dress the same as the skirt she owned for the trip to Japan the same year.
3. Removing extra fabric
The light blue gown that the late princess wore in Lisbon, Portugal in 1987 was given a second chance to glow. She recycled the outfit with minor changes in 1989. The dress was updated with an altered version when she removed the sleeves to achieve a heart-shaped part on the top.
2. Removing extra accessories
Many royals enjoy wearing the plaid pattern, and so did Diana. She wore a red tartan suit paired with a black hat and black belt for the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland in 1981. Before re-wearing it again nearly 4 years later in 1985, the late princess changed up the neckline in combination with a white blouse and removed the extra accessories she wore earlier.
1. Changing her accessories
Diana favored 2-piece outfits and frequently wore them. The most common thing she did to breathe new life into old clothes was pair them with various accessories. She paid attention to the colors and knew how to experiment with them.
It’s amazing to see how one small detail can change the overall look. Within one year, Princess Diana appeared in public wearing the same pleated midi skirt and a structured off-white blazer with a black collar twice. The first time, in 1985, she used an elegant white hat. The second time, in 1986, she complemented the look with an envelope-clutch bag and a pearl necklace.
Do you have any favorite pieces of clothing? What changes do you make to them to achieve a new look?