Diana, the people’s princess, would have turned 60 this month had she lived today. One of the questions that seem to haunt those of us who had followed her life with fascination is how she would have looked at 60.
What would her fashion be as she played the grannie’s role, or the mother-in-law? But social media is rife with that. Pinterest has even morphed her into a “60-year-old” – and I don’t want to look at that.
Perhaps Diana’s most enduring image is of the 19-year-old in a blue suit with the famous sapphire engagement ring. Or in the white Emanuel wedding dress with the train. The innocence coupled with the fairy tale royal life is what we want to hold on to, never mind the sordid drama that played out in public leading to her early, violent death.
If one were to look at Diana’s photos through the years one would find how
her fashion evolved from long dresses and suits, full sleeved tops and flowing skirts to short dresses, low necklines and LBDs once her marriage was in a shambles. One black off-shoulder, skin-tight LBD that she is seen in after the Prince Charles-Camilla Parker-Bowles affair became public was termed the “revenge dress”. There were also stories on how she learned to exit and enter her car in mini-dresses without revealing too much as she lived her life and died in the full glare of paparazzi.
And the more she revealed of her failed marriage, the more she revealed of her toned body complete with abs and shorter went her cropped hair. It was as if she was done with the innocence and coyness that were the hallmarks of her earlier self.
From the incredible sweetness of teens to the radiance and loveliness of a newly-wedded princess to the utterly broken and haggard unhappy wife, Diana’s looks spoke of her life. After the revealing BBC interview, her large kohl-rimmed eyes mirrored the deceit, deception, bitterness and betrayal that she accused the royal family, who accused her of these very things in return.
So how would have Diana aged? Gracefully? One can perhaps assume that Diana would still have looked the way she lived her life. If she had found love, whether in the arms of Dodi Fayed who died along with her, or someone else, she would have looked radiant, dazzling, happy.