* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *
Princess Diana is one of the most famous women in my living memory and her legacy continues today, more than a quarter of a century after her death. There is a revival in Lady Diana inspired fashion choices and I find it interesting that many of the women following the trend were born after she died in 1997. Perhaps Princess Diana is to this generation what Marilyn Monroe is to me, a captivating icon of a not too distant era. Princess Diana's public and private life were scrutinised in life and continue to be analysed after death and yet a fresh perspective via her wardrobe choices and fashion statements was too appealing to resist.
Eloise Moran is a fashion journalist and her Instagram account @ladydirevengelooks is so successful, we are now lucky enough to view her work in this collection, The Lady Di Look Book - What Diana Was Trying to Tell Us Through Her Clothes.
Beautifully presented in a wonderful hardcover, this collection showcases many styles and fashion choices as Moran documents Diana's life with her accompanying essays. As the author admits, Moran was only 5 years old when Princess Diana died in 1997 and came to look up to her as a fashion icon much later, after experiencing her own breakup. I think there's a lot of theorising and projecting going on by the author - and the rest of the world - when it comes to imagining what Lady Diana was thinking or feeling in these photographs but aren't we all guilty of that? I know I am.
This book has been described as a 'smart visual psychobiography' and I'm not embarrassed to admit I didn't know what this was. Apparently a psychobiography is a biography that aims to understand an historically significant individual through the use of psychological theory and research. I wonder if The Lady Di Look Book is my first psychobiography. I think it'd be fun to find out so I'll need to go back through my reading list. In the meantime, if you know any you think I might like, please recommend them in the comments section.
If you enjoyed this review, you might also enjoy my review of Our Rainbow Queen - A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and Her Colourful Wardrobe by Sali Hughes. It seems I have developed an interest in the fashion of the Royal family and I'd love Eloise Moran - or Sali Hughes for that matter - to produce a book about the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton.
If you're an anglophile, photographer, fashion guru, influencer or history lover (wow, this book appeals to many different audiences) then I highly recommend this.
Thanks to the publisher, you can also Look Inside before deciding to read this for yourself.
