Princess Anne proves once again that the best vintage shop is your own closet.
The 75-year-old princess attended the Master Mariners’ 100th anniversary banquet at London’s Guildhall on Thursday wearing a pale yellow gauze dress printed with pink flowers.
Royal watchers were quick to note that the dress was a reenactment of the royal engagement from 42 years ago.
Video showed Princess Anne arriving at the event wearing a black tie and greeting the host in the arms of her husband, Lieutenant General Timothy Lawrence. She joins as a past master of the centuries-old maritime guild, along with her brother Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.
The princess debuted this floral dress during a trip to Gambia in 1984 as a patron of Save the Children UK.
For both outings, which are decades apart, she styled her gown with white opera gloves and a coordinating yellow clutch. It’s unclear whether the 1984 gold and pearl statement necklace is back.
“Still fits like a glove. Such beauty and elegance,” one fan wrote to X. “True beauty never ages,” added another fan.
At Royal Ascot this month, Anne brought back the pink skirt suit she wore at the races 25 years ago. back grid
Royals are known for repeating their outfits, but no one digs deeper into their closets than Anne. In March, the 57-year-old ‘Queen of Recycling’ (as she is nicknamed) re-purchased the coat she first wore at age 18 for Nigeria’s state dinner at Windsor Castle.
Earlier this month, she brought to Royal Ascot the pink skirt suit she first wore at the races in 2001.
Her frugality dates back to her post-war childhood. “A good suit lasts forever,” Anne said of investing in a suit that lasts.
“If it’s well-made and has a classic look, it will last forever.”
She also dressed in honor of her late mother, wearing Queen Elizabeth’s sapphire brooch during her 2022 visit to Uganda.
Forty-two years later, the yellow dress is still going strong, as is her insistence on buying her own closet.
