By the mid 80's, Catherine Walker's coatdresses were becoming a staple of Diana's working wardrobe. As she wrote in her autobiography "I tried to hone a clean silhouette that matched my own brief for the formality and presence I wanted Diana to have. She saw how the slim elongation of the torso increased her poise and matched her clean smile." (page 61) In addition, they were perfect for public life - their simple lines allowed for the use of firmer fabrics that wouldn't wrinkle, the slim skirt didn't blow around in the wind, their simple elegance photographed well from all angles, and the style was flexible enough to adapt to every possible climate, custom or event that Diana encountered. The style was so timelessly elegant yet practical that, years after they were first seen, several were still in her wardrobe at Kensington Palace when she died, and are now in the collection of her clothing at Althorp.
This one saw duty in the spring and summer of 1986. In April Diana and Charles went to Vienna, where she wore it on the last day to, among other engagements, meet the Vienna Boys' Choir (left). A month later the Wales' went on a long tour to Canada and then on to Japan, and the dress made another appearance, this time with a hat (right), on a visit to the Red Cross Hospital Infant's Home in Tokyo. She also wore it that Junewith the same bag, but a different black and white hat) to the Garter Ceremony, where it echoed the black and white robes of the Garter knights.
