'Dissected cell by cell': how the Australian press covered Diana's tour wardrobe
27 Images'The Crown' spotlights the significance of the Wales' 1983 Australian tour in the princess' transformation. But what did journalists on the ground make of her attention-grabbing outfits?
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Day 1: Diana jets into Alice Springs wearing a Jan Van Velden turquoise dress. Each day of the tour, the palace released a press statement detailing Diana's outfits. Credit:Gerrit Fokkema
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In 'The Crown', some outfits from the tour pop up out of order, or in different countries. This dress most resembles one Diana wore on the New Zealand leg of the tour.Credit:Netflix
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March 21: Diana wears a white cotton dress by designer Benny Ong. According to reports from The Sydney Morning Herald at the time, Diana was self-conscious about her dresses blowing in the wind and revealing something they shouldn't. Credit:Gerrit Fokkema
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March 21: In golden Jan Van Velden in Alice Springs, at the start of the tour. The dress got a second wear at Yandina, Queensland, on April 12. Some reports said the high neckline helped cover the Princess' sunburn.Credit:Rick Stevens
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March 24: Diana touched down in Canberra in a turquoise two-piece and matching hat.Credit:Princess Diana Archive
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The Canberra outfit, replicated in similar scenes in 'The Crown'.Credit:DES WILLIE
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March 24: "The Princess wore an apricot taffeta evening dress," began a report in The Sydney Morning Herald the next day about Diana's dinner with Prime Minister Bob Hawke at Government House in Canberra.
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March 25: Diana, wearing a pink dress by Catherine Walker, chats with Prime Minister Bob Hawke at the RAAF Base Fairbairn in Canberra. Credit:Princess Diana Archive
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March 25: The royals meeting bushfire-affected communities in Cockatoo, outside Melbourne. Diana wore a blue striped dress with frills, and her white kitten heels, which made multiple appearances on the tour.Credit:Victor Colin Sumner/Fairfax Media
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March 25: more detail of the dress in Cockatoo, where they met firefighters and children from the fire-stricken communities.Credit:David Levenson
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March 26: Diana loved a sailor dress, including this one by Arabella Pollen.Credit:John Shelley Collection/Avalon
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March 28: In Sydney, Diana caused a minor fashion controversy when she wore the same floral dress she wore to Prince William's christening the year before. Keen observers noted that on this occasion, she wore her John Boyd hat "turned down not up".Credit:Fairfax Syndication
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March 28: The Age said the blue Bruce Oldfield gown Diana wore to a charity ball in Sydney was "dissected cell by cell" by attendees. "Sydney socialites had burst themselves to outdo the princess ... many had visited their Double Bay safety deposit boxes to bring out the real rocks."Credit:Staff
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A replica of the Bruce Oldfield dress in 'The Crown'.Credit:Alex Bailey
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March 29: On the day the Princess visited Maitland, The Sydney Morning Herald ran a story on the Good Living page about Diana's positive effect on hat sales. Meanwhile, The Age's Janet Hawley wrote of Diana's pink Catherine Walker dress and John Boyd hat: "[Diana] could have used four hands as she struggled to wave and hang on to the jeep, her hat and her billowing dress." Credit:John Shelley Collection/Avalon
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March 30: Diana in a striking red dress by Bruce Oldfield with the Spencer tiara at a reception in Hobart. Credit:Getty
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March 31: In Hobart, wearing a Jasper Conran suit and a hat by John Boyd. Credit:Getty
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April 5: Wearing a suit by Arabella Pollen and John Boyd hat in Adelaide.Credit:Getty
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April 6: In Port Pirie, South Australia, Diana opted for a red two-piece by Jan Van Velden.Credit:Princess Diana Archive
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April 7: At the Perth Hockey Stadium wearing a pink Donald Campbell dress and hat by John Boyd.Credit:Getty
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A similar outfit was created for 'The Crown', down to the likeness of the hat.Credit:GTres / SplashNews.com
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April 11: Diana wearing a pink Victor Edelstein dress and the Spencer tiara at a state reception at Brisbane's Crest Hotel.Credit:Princess Diana Archive
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April 14: According to The Age writer Alan Atwood, one onlooker likened Princess Diana's Catherine Walker gown, worn to a concert in Melbourne, to "a pink musk Lifesaver".Credit:Anwar Hussein
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April 14: 'Radiant', was the word agreed upon by the press pack to describe Diana on the day she walked through the centre of Melbourne, though some commentators thought she'd have a tougher time in the style capital of Australia than elsewhere.Credit:John Lamb
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April 14: To open Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall, Diana wore a polkadot dress and jacket by Catherine Walker.Credit:Princess Diana Archive
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April 15: For a step back in time at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, Diana wore a Liberty print suit and John Boyd hat.Credit:Getty
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April 17: Diana departs Melbourne for New Zealand in a red printed shirt and a blue feathered hat. Some called her tour wardrobe 'frumpy' while others declared it a triumph. Credit:AP Wirephoto