Not everyone gets their favorite luxury handbag renamed just for them—but, in all fairness, not all of us are Princess Diana.
Diana’s favorite accessory eventually became the Lady Dior handbag, and was originally called the “Chouchou.” Diana was seen carrying the piece for the first time in September 1995, when the then Princess of Wales attended an event in Paris with the never-before-seen design hanging from her arm, Bustle reports. “Then unreleased, it made an even bigger splash when she carried it months later in Argentina,” the outlet reports. “The luxurious accessory quickly became a staple within her wardrobe.”
Tatler reports that Diana was given the Chouchou by France’s former First Lady Bernadette Chirac, who had Dior “craft one in leather for the first time—and in record time: one night (a last-minute gift, perhaps?),” Tatler writes. The bag “instantly became her favorite, so much so she wore it day and night, and bought several Diors at Harrods upon her return to London.”
The bag has dual top handles, a boxy shape, and Dior’s signature Cannage quilting, inspired by the rattan chairs used in early couture shows. Diana was photographed with the accessory so frequently the bag was renamed the “Lady” in her honor in 1996, the year before she died. (Before she married into the royal family and became the Princess of Wales, Diana was Lady Diana Spencer.)
“Princess Diana’s influence was immediate and lasting,” Bustle reports. “The Lady Dior has garnered a steady base of loyal fans since the ‘90s and, as a result, it has been constantly updated in the years following.” Many of those fans include celebrities—the bag counts Rihanna, Bella Hadid, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sarah Jessica Parker, Paris Hilton, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Kristin Davis as fans.
“[The Lady Dior] became a symbol of her newfound freedom, both personal and sartorial,” Tatler writes. “Less ‘Shy Di.’ More, come to think of it, ‘Dior Diana.’” Diana paired it with a John Galliano for Dior slip to the Met Gala in 1996, the same year the bag was renamed for her. “No longer were fabulous fashion houses off limits for Diana, no extravagance at odds with royal protocol,” Tatler reports.
When Maria Grazia Chiuri was appointed the creative director of Dior in 2016, she initiated the Dior Lady Art Project, where a rotation of artists would be tapped to interpret the bag through their own vision. These annual makeovers of the bag “injected a dose of fun to the classic style, presenting the bag in a whole new way,” Bustle writes.
A crocodile skin version with crystal-embellished charms once set the “world record for a Lady Dior bag sold at auction” when it sold for $21,420, said Kiara Cooper, associate specialist of handbags and accessories at Christie’s Auction House. “The Lady Dior has a tremendous following, with admirers on every corner of the globe,” Cooper told Bustle. “Shoppers love the subtle yet iconic appeal. Like many other iconic luxury bags, the silhouette acts as a quiet logo, making its presence known without the need for logomania.”
The small Lady Dior—which comes in 28 colorways—retails for $6,000. The quilted leather comes in lambskin finishes, including matte, patent, and ultra-matte; other outers include printed calfskin, pearl-embellished, embroidered, bedazzled, and exotic skins. Yet, Cooper said, despite the many options, the classics are still the most coveted, Cooper said: “The Black Cannage Quilted Lady Dior will always reign supreme,” she said.
As for size, “While shoppers still have a preference for mini bags, the next most desired sizes for the Lady Dior are the small and medium, as they are most classic,” Cooper said.
The price of a Lady Dior goes as low as $5,000 for a mini, the aforementioned $6,000 for a small, and as high as $11,500 for a small embellished bag.
In a testament to The Crown’s commitment to details, the Lady Dior was featured in season five of the show and was, of course, carried by Elizabeth Debicki, who played Diana.
“I loved Diana’s sense of freedom in fashion, using clothing as a kind of empowerment, as a way to feel confident and ready to face any situation,” Chiuri told British Vogue. “This is also true for Dior, a brand that today offers every woman the possibility of wearing clothes to consciously decide who she wants to be.”
