Lady Kitty Spencer’s deep-purple Dolce & Gabbana gown – worn at the label’s July 2026 show in Taormina, Sicily – is this month’s most-searched royal fashion moment, and you can thrift the look for $30-$150 secondhand instead of couture money. The silhouette to hunt is simple: a strapless or bandeau column gown in deep purple with a soft, flowing hem – or, for the deeper cut, the 1990s velvet route her aunt Princess Diana made famous. Here is exactly what to search, what each budget gets you, and why this is also the week to sell a purple gown if you own one.
The moment everyone is searching for
Kitty Spencer – Princess Diana’s niece and a longtime Dolce & Gabbana muse – stepped out in Taormina in a bandeau-cut, deep-purple gown with a billowing hem, and royal-watchers immediately saw the reference: Diana’s early-90s purple velvet gown by couturier Victor Edelstein, the one with the sculptural sweetheart neckline and tulip skirt. That original dress sold at Sotheby’s in New York in 2023 for almost £500,000, which tells you everything about how iconic this exact shade of purple is in royal fashion history. When a moment like this trends, high-street copies follow within weeks – but the secondhand market already has the raw material, today, for a fraction of the price.
The look, broken down
Get the three elements right and the reference reads instantly:
| Element | What to look for |
|---|---|
| The colour | True deep purple – aubergine, plum or royal purple. Not lilac, not burgundy; the drama is in the saturation. |
| The silhouette | Strapless/bandeau column with a clean straight neckline (the 2026 Kitty version) or a sweetheart neckline with structured skirt (the Diana version). |
| The fabric | Fluid satin or crepe for the Taormina look; crushed or panne velvet for the 90s Edelstein energy. |
What to type into the search bar
Secondhand shopping is a keyword game – the gown you want was listed by someone who has never heard of this trend. These searches surface it:
Try “purple satin gown”, “plum maxi dress” and “aubergine evening dress” for the colour; “bandeau dress”, “strapless column gown” and “bias-cut slip dress” for the shape; and “90s velvet dress” or “vintage velvet gown” for the Diana route. On WishThrift’s women’s section you can filter by condition and price, and because sellers here pay no fees, gowns are routinely listed below what the same dress asks on commission platforms.
What each budget gets you
| Budget | What to hunt secondhand |
|---|---|
| $20-$60 | High-street formalwear resold once and barely worn: ASOS, Lulus, H&M occasionwear in plum satin. Prom and bridesmaid re-sales are the sleeper source – thousands of one-night purple gowns enter the market every summer. |
| $60-$200 | Premium labels and true vintage: Reformation and Ganni occasion dresses, 90s velvet gowns, vintage slip dresses in deep jewel tones. Best value-to-drama ratio on the market. |
| $400-$1,500+ | The actual label: secondhand Dolce & Gabbana. Resale typically runs 35-60% of retail – authenticate before buying with our fake-spotting guide. |
The look is already hanging in someone’s closet. Browse purple gowns secondhand – worldwide, in your currency.
Styling it the royal way
Both Kitty and Diana let the colour do the work: hair up or softly back, minimal jewellery – a pearl or diamond stud, at most a simple choker as the 90s nod – and plain heels or metallic sandals. Resist adding a statement necklace to a strapless purple gown; the moment you do, it stops reading royal and starts reading prom. A simple wrap or cropped jacket in a neutral keeps the gown as the single focal point, which is the entire grammar of this look.
Own a purple gown? This is your selling window
Trend moments cut both ways. Every royal purple headline sends shoppers searching for exactly what may be hanging in your closet – that bridesmaid dress, a velvet gown from the 90s, an occasion dress worn once. Demand spikes are when smart sellers list: photograph it in daylight, name the colour precisely (“aubergine”, “plum”, “royal purple”), include the fabric and measurements, and put it up while the searches are hot. On WishThrift listing is free and you keep 100% – our designer selling guide covers pricing if yours carries a label, and the same logic applies to that prom dress waiting for a second night out.
Purple is trending. If you own the gown everyone is searching for, list it free today.
FAQ: getting the Lady Kitty Spencer purple gown look
What purple gown did Lady Kitty Spencer wear?
A deep-purple, bandeau-cut Dolce & Gabbana gown with a billowing hem, worn at the brand’s July 2026 show in Taormina, Sicily – widely read as a tribute to her aunt Princess Diana’s famous purple Victor Edelstein gown from the early 1990s.
How can I get the look for less?
Search secondhand for a strapless or bias-cut gown in deep purple satin, crepe or velvet. High-street versions resell for $20-$60, premium and vintage pieces for $60-$200, and actual secondhand Dolce & Gabbana typically runs 35-60% of its retail price.
What was Princess Diana’s purple dress?
A purple velvet evening gown by couturier Victor Edelstein with a sweetheart neckline and tulip-shaped skirt, worn in the early 1990s. It sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2023 for almost £500,000, one of the highest prices ever paid for a Diana dress.
Is now a good time to sell a purple evening gown?
Yes – searches for purple gowns spike when royal purple moments trend, and listings that name the colour and silhouette precisely catch that traffic. Listing is free on WishThrift, so a trend-timed listing costs nothing to try.
Maya Chen is Senior Editor at WishThrift, where she writes about the global secondhand market, sustainable shopping, and the resale economy. Her work focuses on practical buyer guides — designer authentication, online thrift tactics, used-book hunting, and what to look for on every listing before you pay. She edits the WishThrift seller knowledge base and reviews every guide published on the site.