The turquoise silk and lace-trimmed net gown with velvet ribbon trim and matching stole was from the UK couture firm of Regamus, long the favorite go-to label for aristocratic debutantes and their mothers - such as Diana and her mother, who found it at Harrods on a last-minute shopping trip before the ball. At this point Diana had little experience of couture fashion and relied on her mother, as she would up until her marriage. Still, the gown showed that while she wasn't yet a fashion icon, she knew what she liked. It was strapless but not daring, had the flounces and ruffles and lace romantic look she liked at the time, and the blue picked up the color of eyes.

This gown has an interesting history. After her engagement to the Prince of Wales was announced, part of the hoopla surrounding the upcoming wedding included a request from Madame Tussaud's for a gown to dress a wax figure of Diana they were putting on display.(Above right) Diana gave them this one, which may have been the only one she had. (She would tell Andrew Morton a decade later that when she was dating Charles she had only one long gown and often had to put together suitable outfits by borrowing from her flatmates.) In 2005 Madame Tussaud's auctioned some of its Diana items, including this gown, where it was the subject of a bidding war between Kensington Palace and an American nurse, who was an avid collector of Diana memorabilia. The nurse won - and found it stained on the front, from what she was told was Lady Diana spilling a half bottle of perfume on the dress. The dress subsequently was loaned to and travelled with the Pink Ribbons Crusade (Below right) for charity, along with other of Diana's gowns. Kensington Palace finally did get hold of it some years later, had it repaired by their conservators, and put it on display. It was showcased in their 2017 "Diana: Her Fashion Story" exhibit.