I feel that I must come to the defence of 80s fashion (I’m 46, I was a teenager in the 80s).
It wasn’t all shoulder pads, power suits and Dynasty. There was some genuinely good, fun, fashion around. I loved the mid 1980s cycling shorts, bra tops and puffball skirts. It was the first time that sports clothes became something you could wear everyday.
Of course, there were some shockers around and princess Di and Fergie wore most of them. Don’t judge 80s fashion by what they wore. Look at Neneh Cherry or even Bananarama and Claire Grogan instead.
Diana was not a style icon, no matter what anybody says. She always looked a bit frumpy and ungainly. Google for the picture of her in a puffball skirt. Christ, it was terrible. The wrong length and worn with a terrible long line padded shoulders double breasted jacket and those terrible shiny beige tights the royal women always seem to wear, dictated by QE2.
She had an equally disastrous foray into polka dots and her most famous outfits, like that Elvis horror, were really aging on her. Although possibly the worst thing I ever saw her wear was an Escada trouser suit with a gilt belt shaped like elephants.
The best thing she did, when she got divorced, was ditch the yawn British designers, let Sam McKnight cut her hair and bust out the Versace. She looked miles better, although her attachment to the terrifying hosiery continued.