Advertisement

'Cleavage bags': Why Princess Diana was so fond of clutches

Diana feature
We’d totally do this too… if we had a chance to go on the red carpet [Photo: PA]

There’s no doubt that Princess Diana knew how to work just about any look on the red carpet.

Your classic clutch bag being no exception even if (we can only imagine) she didn’t exactly need to carry much inside it.

In fact, another reason that the Princess was so fond of these bags has recently come to light as Anya Hindmarch – who often helped the princess sort her accessories in the 90s – recently revealed to The Telegraph that each had an alternative use: to subtly cover her cleavage as she stepped out of cars.

Diana arrives at the Tate Gallery for the Centenary Gala Dinner in 1997
Diana arrives at the Tate Gallery for the Centenary Gala Dinner in 1997 [Photo: PA]

After opening her first store in Chelsea in 1993, Hindmarch said that Diana was one of her first buyers and “a very loyal customer and a lot of fun.”

“She would come and see us with no bodyguards or any fuss,” Hindmarch recalled.

“We used to laugh when we designed what she called her ‘cleavage bags’, little satin clutches which she would cover her cleavage with when she stepped out of cars.”

So that explains it – crafty stuff.

Princess diana
Diana’s perfectly-matched clutches were a good enough reason to carry one anyway [Photo: PA]

Diana hasn’t been the only royal to use one in a clever alternative way either. Earlier this year, the founder of Beaumont Etiquette Myka Meier claimed that the Duchess of Cambridge holds hers the way she does so that she can avoid shaking hands when things are a little awkward.

There was us just thinking a clutch is just a clutch, though judging by Princess Diana and Kate Middleton’s great tastes, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that either.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK.

Read more from Yahoo Style UK:

“The shock never leaves you”: Prince William opens up on finding out about Diana’s death

Prince Charles hoped he would “learn to love” Diana

The most iconic celebrity hairstyles of all time: From pob to princess