Interest in Princess Diana's life — and wardrobe — has hardly cooled in the nearly two decades since her death. Case in point: a green, sequined Catherine Walker dress that the princess first wore during a 1986 visit to Austria, which just sold for $89,154 [1] in a UK auction. While The Telegraph [2] ran a feature on the handful of pieces that went under the hammer at Kerry Taylor Auctions [3], two were sold to a British museum. Estimates for the final sale price of these dresses ranged from the very low $115 to a high of $144,000.

Catherine Walker, whose designs were a great favorite of Diana's, created the piece for the princess to wear 30 years ago. According to the auction house, the dress has a unique provenance. It was part of a large order Diana placed in preparation for the Austria trip. Diana, trusting Catherine's good taste, didn't ask to see sketches; she trusted the designer would create beautiful pieces. And Catherine delivered.

For the evening in Vienna, Diana wore the dress with a diamond choker, which had been given to her as a wedding gift by Charles's grandmother Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. It would be the first of four times Diana wore the gown publicly. In 1987, she'd wear it to a charity performance of High Society [4] and again in 1988 for the premiere of Biggles [5]. In 1989, it was brought out a fourth time for a ball at Osterley House [6].

Though Catherine has passed away, her company lives on; in fact, Kate Middleton is now a fan of the label and recently wore a red coat dress [7] to an engagement in London.

— Additional reporting by Sarah Wasilak

The Dress

Princess Diana's gown went up for auction on June 14 via Kerry Taylor Auctions [8].

On Diana

Princess Diana wore the green Catherine Walker gown on April 14, 1986, when she attended a gala at the Vienna Burgh Theatre in Austria.