Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Style

    The secret detail hidden in Princess Diana’s ‘cleavage bags’ has been revealed

    Penny Goldstone's avatar
    By Penny Goldstone
    Published 20 August 2021 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    As we all know, the royal family has many style hacks to navigate all kinds of social situations, and their accessory of choice? The humble handbag.

    The Queen uses hers to send signals to her staff, Kate Middleton always carries a clutch for this specific reason, while Princess Diana had a bag secret herself.

    Her trick? Using clutch bags to hide her cleavage when exiting cars at evening events, so as to avoid any lurid shots making the tabloid covers the next day. This was such a signature move that the accessories became known as her 'cleavage bags'.

    It's thought she used the move more often after leaving the royal family, as she wore more daring dresses, which tended to be more low cut in the evenings.

    She usually chose satin Anya Hindmarch clutch bags for those events, and they went beautifully with the cocktail dresses she loved in the late 1990s, by the likes of Versace and Chanel.

    You may like
    • Celebrity Handbags Everyday Handbags are Stealing the Spotlight—These are the 9 Styles Celebrities Including Rihanna and Kaia Gerber are Championing
    • Michelle Obama Liffner bag Michelle Obama Just Wore the Sophisticated Bag Brand Every Fashion Insider is Obsessed With
    • AW Power Pieces These Autumn/Winter 2026 'Power Pieces' Are the Low-Effort Styling Hacks That Will Make Every Outfit Better

    In fact, she is said to have had such a close relationship with Anya, that the designer started embroidering the letter 'D' inside the clutches, as a sweet nod to their friendship.

    This way, no one but the two confidantes knew about the little secret detail.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
    Penny Goldstone
    Penny Goldstone
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Fashion Editor

    Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

    She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.

    Read more
    Celebrity Handbags
    Shopping Everyday Handbags are Stealing the Spotlight—These are the 9 Styles Celebrities Including Rihanna and Kaia Gerber are Championing
    Michelle Obama Liffner bag
    Fashion Michelle Obama Just Wore the Sophisticated Bag Brand Every Fashion Insider is Obsessed With
     
     
    AW Power Pieces
    Fashion These Autumn/Winter 2026 'Power Pieces' Are the Low-Effort Styling Hacks That Will Make Every Outfit Better
    Work bags
    Shopping Need a New Office Tote? These Are the 19 Best Work Bags Fashion Experts Swear By
     
     
    Latest in Style
    Chanel shirts
    Fashion How Much is Too Much to Spend on a Shirt?
    What Lily Loves
    Shopping These Black Leggings Are My Secret to Easy Autumn Style Plus the Celine Loafers I’ll Never Regret Buying
     
     
    collage of October fashion collaborations
    Fashion From Rixo to Burberry and M&S Lingerie, These are the Fashion Collaborations We’re Excited About Right Now
    Chloe
    Fashion Fashion Has Officially Escaped to the Country—From Kilts to Coats, These Are the Brands We’re Wearing
     
     
    Latest in News
    New Beauty Launches: Burberry Beauty / Mes Beauty / rhute / Jo Loves / Ziip Beauty
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Jennifer Lawrence’s Unexpected Haircare Launch, Burberry’s Exquisite New Perfumes and Jo Loves Sparks Festive Joy
    New Beauty Launches: Amouage, Haus Labs, XERF
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Is XERF Worth the Hype? Plus, Amouage’s New Body Collection & The Beauty Beat Returns
     
     
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
    Next
    Shopping NEXT’s Autumn/Winter 2026 Collection Has Everything We Love About Getting Dressed in the Colder Months
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.