Calay News
Next week, three dresses belonging to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, will be up for auction for the second time. We’ve got all the details on the auction and a look at how Diana accessorized these gowns.
Three dresses from the Diana, Princess of Wales, collection, two by Catherine Walker and one by Bruce Oldfield, will be auctioned off by Julien’s Auctions in its “Hollywood: Legends & Royalty” sale on Friday. Martin Nolan, co-founder of the auction house, posed with two of the dresses in Beverly Hills last week.
All three dresses were part of Diana’s dress sale at Christie’s in the summer of 1997. She hand-selected 79 dresses from her closet to auction to benefit AIDS and cancer charities. The sale raised more than $5 million for the selected organizations.
These three dresses will be auctioned in Beverly Hills this September. All were purchased at Christie’s auction by Ellen Louise Petho, an interior designer from Michigan. Her daughter, Katherine, was a collector of Diana memorabilia, and Ellen bought five dresses at Christie’s auction with her in mind.
Over the next decade, Ellen allowed the dresses to be displayed in various exhibitions in Michigan and around the world, always specifying that ticket sales should benefit charitable causes. In 1998, she told the Port Huron Times Herald: “When I bought the dresses, I always believed they were an investment and could earn money for charity. I really think they are doing more good work than being stored.”
In December 2014, after owning the gowns for over a decade, Ellen sold two of them at a Julien’s auction: the beaded peach silk gown and the emerald green silk georgette gown, both by Catherine Walker. Both represented a significant return on investment for Ellen, who had paid $21,850 and $24,150 for the dresses in 1997.
Sadly, Ellen Petho passed away in January 2023 at age 82, just months after celebrating her 60th wedding anniversary. Now, the final three dresses from her collection are going up for auction. The New York Post, writing about the upcoming sale, noted that “Petho’s estate is selling the dresses, with part of the proceeds going to charity, an act that would have met with Diana’s approval.”
Let’s take a closer look at the three dresses Julien’s will be auctioning off this week:
- Bruce Oldfield Dress: Described as a “scarlet chiffon metallic jacquard gown,” worn at various times by Diana in the late ’80s and early 90s Auction Estimate: $200,000–$400,000
- Catherine Walker Dress: A black and green gown described as “structured with a black fallle corset and jade crepe silk skirt. Diana wore it once during a royal tour of Canada in 1991. Auction Estimate: $100,000–$200,000
- Catherine Walker’s Black and White Dress: A black and white strapless dress Diana owned it, but there are no photos of her wearing it publicly. Auction Estimate: $60,000–$80,000
These gowns, along with other royal-related items, will be available at Julien’s auction. Diana’s memorabilia remains highly coveted, and time will tell who will become the next lucky owner of these royal garments.
