Any good romcom devotee knows the iconic scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts's character, Vivian Ward, is refused service at an exclusive Beverly Hills boutique. Vivian, dressed in a short, revealing outfit, leaves in humiliation—but the next day, after Richard Gere helps her with a shopping spree—she comes back in a full designer outfit and gives the shop assistant a taste of her own medicine. It's hard to imagine this ever happening to Princess Diana, but she, too, was once dismissed from a London boutique when an employee "didn't recognize" the future Princess of Wales.
Lady Diana Spencer was running out of time to find an outfit for her engagement announcement to Prince Charles, and turned to Bellville Sassoon's London studio for help. Author Claudia Joseph, author of Diana: A Life in Dresses, told the "Royally Us" podcast (via the Express), Diana's "mother knew the designer David Sassoon who worked for Bellville too, so she went in by herself one Friday evening and the shop assistant didn't recognize her."
"Diana didn't know what she wanted. And I think the assistant became a bit impatient with her and basically said, 'why don't you go to Harrods dear, you'll find what you're looking for there.'"
Per the Daily Mail, David Sassoon found out what happened from another employee, stating, "We nearly had a fit." Diana did, indeed, "go to Harrods," finding an off-the-rack blue Cojana skirt suit for her engagement photo call.
All was not lost for Belinda Bellville and David Sassoon, however. With some convincing, Diana returned to the boutique and enjoyed a long relationship with the designers throughout the rest of her life. "From then on, whenever Diana appeared, we kept the vendeuse out of the way," Sassoon said of the saleswoman in question.
One of the late royal's most famous Bellville Sassoon designs is the blue floral "Caring Dress" she wore on dozens of occasions. Diana often chose the style to visit sick and vulnerable children because of its bright colors and cheerful design. On June 26, the legendary dress will hit the auction block during the Julien's Auctions Princess Diana's Style & A Royal Collection event.
