The outfits that turned style icons into frock goddesses

IN THE world of famous dresses, future royal Kate Middleton cannot top her late mother-in-law. Princess Diana's sumptuous wedding gown, designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, has gone down in history as one of the most iconic items of clothing of all time.

With a 25ft train and a frilly neckline, the 1980s-style puff-ball meringue was made of silk taffeta and decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls.

Perhaps the antithesis of Diana's fairy princess creation, and another gown that will always stand out, was that worn by Elizabeth Hurley to the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994. A clingy, black, safety-pinned sheath, the dress catapulted Hurley, previously a little-known model dating Hugh Grant, into the media spotlight.

Audrey Hepburn's little black Givenchy dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's, pictured, was sold at a charity auction in 2006 for $807,000.