Diana wore the dress most famously on the Wales' trip to Japan in May of 1986 (left), and there is some report that the pink color was chosen to echo that of cherry blossoms, but she first wore it in July of 1985 to a Torvill and Dean Ice Show Gala in aid of “Help the Hospices” at Wembley. This may have been a cost-saving measure on the part of her husband - if worn on as part of a foreign tour wardrobe it would have been paid for by the government's Foreign Office, and not Charles.
In June 1986 she wore it to a charity concert at the Tetbury Parish Church (which was the 'home' church to Highgrove House) in aid of the Malcom Singer Cancer Fund, of which she was patron. In June of 1987 she wore it again when she and Prince Charles attended an evening of entertainment in aid of London City Ballet (of which she was patron) at Charleton Manor in East Sussex ( above right), and in May of 1989 to a Newspaper Society dinner and ball at the London Hilton Hotel.(below right)
When Diana auctioned 79 of her gowns for charity in 1997, this was Lot 47, described as "a mid-length formal dinner dress in pink chiffon", and fetched $27,600. It was purchased by Maureen Scripps (of the publishing family) and was part of the Pink Ribbons charity exhibit of various Diana outfits. It was auctioned in London in 2011 and bought by Historic Royal Palaces at Kensington Palace for about $35,000.
