There’s finally a chill in the air, so Us Weekly is officially declaring it Princess Diana Fall.
The late royal family member had style that’s still talked about years after her 1997 death, but one famously Diana trend makes the rounds every year. Once summer is over and the weather starts to cool down, gone are the crop tops in favor of oversized sweatshirts. What better item of clothing to pair with a comfy crewneck than bike shorts?
A big, graphic crew sweatshirt with a vibrant bike short was Diana’s favorite way to take on the town, and the late Princess of Wales was photographed in her signature look more than once throughout her fame. What makes it fall? Well, with a sweater on top and shorts on the bottom, call it the perfect transitional outfit.
Perhaps the most famous “fall” look from Diana came in 1995 when she was leaving the Chelsea Harbour Club in London wearing a navy blue Fly Virgin Atlantic sweatshirt paired with neon orange spandex shorts. As with her other iconic bike short moments, Diana chose high socks, sneakers and an oversized designer bag to complete the look.
While Diana’s uniform has become a fashion trend, she actually wore sweatshirts for a reason.
“I remember one of her strategies was that she was going to wear the same Virgin sweatshirt every single session,” Diana’s trainer Jenni Rivett told Yahoo in 2018, explaining that her outfit choice was a tactic to deter the paparazzi. (Diana was killed at age 36 while driving through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. Her driver, Henri Paul, crashed while fleeing the paparazzi.)
Another iconic crewneck worn by the royal was her oversized Harvard sweatshirt, which she paired with a white turtleneck underneath and black bike shorts. Yes, the socks, sneakers and purse made an appearance for those images as well. Continuing her United States university support, Diana had a similar look in which she opted for a purple Northwestern sweatshirt instead.
Diana’s outfits have long been recreated by designers, most notably by the brand Rowing Blazers, which debuted “Diana Edition” sweaters in homage to the former princess. While they’ve yet to make their own crewnecks to honor the late royal, there are Etsy artisans out there selling sweatshirts to ensure this Princess Diana Fall is a successful one.
