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