Princess Diana’s Fluffy Haircut Will Always Be In Style: 25 Ways To Try the Look

Ashley Rubell

Published on February 01, 2025 07:00AM

Princess Diana with Different Haircuts — Getty Images / Byrdie

Meghan Markle is known for her chignons, and Kate Middletown is known for her bouncy blowouts. And while they have worn plenty of other looks, they will forever be remembered for their go-to styles. The same is true of the iconic Princess Diana. Diana wore pixies, bobs, and even classically styled mullets, but what we remember her for most were her copious feathered layers. A trendsetter by default, Diana’s hair went on an identity evolution alongside the Princess, yet her signature hair trait never failed to budge. Below, we’ve rounded up 25 of Princess Diana’s most iconic hair moments featuring her famous layers at varying lengths and styles that we can’t wait to recreate for ourselves.

01of 25

Farrah Fawcett Blowout

Princess Diana wears a feathered back blowout on her blunt bob — David Levenson / Getty Images

Length is not a requirement to get Farrah Fawcett-inspired feathering. Princess Diana used the short layers of her blunt bob to achieve the iconic blowout technique to masterful effect.

02of 25

Extra Layers

Princess Diana in a thick pixie and fringe styled with tons of volume — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

No matter what variation of a short haircut Princess Diana wore, she always managed to incorporate extra layers. This gave all her looks added dimension, texture, and volume. The proof is in this pixie cut, which she paired with her famous pearl choker.

03of 25

International Fashions

Princess Diana wears a feathered back bob adorned with a bejeweled headband — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Princess Diana’s attire at international events often made unforgettable impressions. Take this sapphire and diamond headband she wore to a dinner in Japan. It matched her waterlines, usually chalked with blue eyeliner. She was known for her innovative approach to accessorizing the hair over the years, which entailed converting a watch into a choker that she could wear on her forehead.

04of 25

Smooth and Straight

Princess Diana wears a grown out pixie cut blowdried for height and smooth-straight texture — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Leaning into the odd lengths between haircuts never seemed to be an issue for Princess Di. After a pixie and before a bob, this grown out cut remains stylish in large thanks to her signature layers highlighted by a smooth and straight blowout.

05of 25

Curled Fringe

Bangs often accompanied Princess Diana’s haircuts. Here, the fully curled fringe boosts the height and shape into a rounded curve, straying away from her usual feathered back approach.

06of 25

Ear Tuck

Princess Diana tucks her bob behind her ears to showcase her jewelery — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

An intentional ear tuck is a simple gesture that can go a long way for any hairstyle. It’s a practical way to showcase other elements of your strands or the features of your wardrobe. Here, Princess Diana’s ear tuck highlights her diamond earrings with hanging pearl teardrops and her sleeveless boatneck collar dress.

07of 25

Chin-Grazing Bob

Princess Diana with a longer chin-length cut in heavy layers — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

As Princess Diana settled into the royal family, her hair settled into longer lengths. This chin-grazing bob is as long as it got in the later years of her life. Length aside, it’s clear that her layers never quit.

08of 25

Wavy Lob

Princess Diana with a wavy layered lob — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Roller sets are an effective, hands-off way to get long-lasting movement into the hair. For a wavy finish like Princess Di’s lob, use larger rollers around the top half and slightly smaller rollers along the bottom. This will allow tuck the ends under and add emphasis to those larger waves up top.

09of 25

Ancestral Accessories

Princess Diana wears The Spencer Tiara — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Princess Diana often wore the Spencer tiara, an heirloom that was inherited from her side of the family rather than from royalty. Even as a princess in a tiara, Diana’s hair remains soft, casual, and far from fussy.

10of 25

Classical Mullet

Princess Diana in a mullett shaped bob — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Many of Princess Diana’s most noteworthy hairstyles during her limelight years are a classical variation of the mullet. The mullet shape is short up top, tapered around the sides, and longer at the neck.

11of 25

The OG Flippy Bob

Princess Diana in a sleek hairstyle with a side part and flipped out ends — Terry Fincher / Getty Images

Before celebs like Gigi Hadid and Zendaya wore the flippy bob, there was Princess Di. This retro-infused look has a sleek side part with ends that curve upward.

12of 25

Box Bob

Box bobs are trending today, but Princess Diana was always ahead of her time. This cut is characterized by its flat, blunt ends that allude to fullness. With layers in the mix, Diana’s hair looked full and vibrant in any style.

13of 25

Princess Pixie

Princess Diana in her shortest bob cut topped off by the Spencer tiara — Jayne Fincher / Princess Diana Archive / Getty Images

When Diana Spencer became the Princess of Wales, a new term dubbed the “princess pixie” surged through salons on a global scale. This iconic look was a major departure from the go-to hairstyles of royal women at the time. Short, full, and softly tousled were its defining characteristics.

14of 25

Circle Bob

Princess Diana wears a circular-shaped bob cut — Jayne Fincher / Princess Diana Archive / Getty Images

Before the spherical circle bob was stylized in a way that drew attention to its sleek and soft, tapered edges, Princess Diana wore the cut with a very 80s-centric amount of volume. Regardless of its finished style, this haircut is guaranteed to offer a flattering frame to any face shape.

15of 25

Wedding Hair

Princess Diana wears a long, flat fringe beneath her tiara-topped vail — Anwar Hussein / WireImage

In 1981, when Diana married Prince Charles, most brides were wearing permed hair littered with baby’s breath. The soft subtlety of wearing a tiara against a haircut with minimal styling served as a humble, refreshing choice and brought the mix of high-low into fashion’s consciousness.

16of 25

Feathered Framing

Princess Diana wears a smooth blowout with rounded ends — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

To capture that feathered framing that so many of Princess Diana’s best hair moments have, turn to a wide tooth comb and a can of hairspray. Slowly comb your blown-out strands away from the face with one hand and use the other to spray the section as your comb works through it. This can help lock the hair into place while also maintaining separation.

17of 25

Decadent Details

Princess Diana wears the Spencer Tiara with hair curled up around the edges — Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Royals have always turned to wearing tiaras at moments of significance. While this may not be the most accessible choice to duplicate when it comes to hair styling, a decadent headband will have a similar effect.

18of 25

Timely Tease

Princess Diana looks over her shoulder wearing teased bangs and face framing layers — Georges De Keerle / Getty Images

Even Princess Diana knew that her hair wouldn’t be emblematic of its time without some backcombing or teasing involved. Teased bangs and face-framing layers were a very iconic look in the ’80s for Princess Diana and just about everyone else.

19of 25

Wispy Bangs

Princess Diana was known for her thick, luscious hair looks. These wispy bangs were a perfect way to break up her natural density and lighten the load above her brow line.

20of 25

Natural Crown

Princess Di teases her roots for extra body at the crown — Julian Parker / UK Press via Getty Images

When we think of Princess Diana’s best hair moments, the emphasis always surrounds the natural crown of her head. With all the volume and movement created from her teased back layers, no physical crown could ever outshine her signature traits.

21of 25

Natural Movement

Princess Diana wears her usual cut at a shorter length that emphasizes her natural wave — Julian Parker / UK Press via Getty Images

At a time when so many men and women were getting their hair chemically permed, there was a lot of admiration for Princess Diana’s natural approach to hair. This shorter version of her usual cut gave her strands tons of natural wave, texture, and added movement without causing any damage.

22of 25

Historic Hat

Princess Diana wore a black hat with netting designed by Viv Knowland and a remembrance poppy attending a service commemorating the 70th anniversary of the armistice — Anwar Hussein / Getty Images

There’s a long history of hats and veils going hand-in-hand. Princess Diana wore a black hat with birdcage netting designed by Viv Knowland to a commemoration service and the style became wildly popular among the aristocratic class in the 1980s.

23of 25

Teased Curls

Princess Diana wears the Spencer tiara on a bed of fluffy curls — Jayne Fincher / Princess Diana Archive / Getty Images

Diana’s liberating pixie in the early ’90s held the spotlight, even while wearing the Spencer family tiara. Nested into a bed of teased strands, this fluffed-up crop was all the rage.

24of 25

Floral Arrangments

Princess Diana wears silk flowers in her hair and a one-shoulder chiffon evening dress designed by Catherine Walker to a dinner in Bangkok, 1988 — Anwar Hussein / Getty Images

The placement of these large silk flowers Princess Diana wore while in Bangkok was no happy accident. Strategically placing hair accessories on the opposite side of a one shoulder dress is known to add some symmetry to the entire ensemble.

25of 25

Early Shullet

Princess Diana in a heavily layered shullet in 1983 — Anwar Hussein / Getty Images

Before we had a name for the “shullet”, Princess Diana was wearing it back in 1983. This noteworthy trend is a combination of features from the shag haircut and the mullet.

Hair
Hair Styling
Hair Inspiration

Source URL: https://www.byrdie.com/princess-diana-best-hairstyles-8777982

Princess Diana’s Fluffy Haircut Will Always Be In Style: 25 Ways To Try the Look

Princess Diana’s Fluffy Haircut Will Always Be In Style: 25 Ways To Try the Look

Farrah Fawcett Blowout

Extra Layers

International Fashions

Smooth and Straight

Curled Fringe

Ear Tuck

Chin-Grazing Bob

Wavy Lob

Ancestral Accessories

Classical Mullet

The OG Flippy Bob

Box Bob

Princess Pixie

Circle Bob

Wedding Hair

Feathered Framing

Decadent Details

Timely Tease

Wispy Bangs

Natural Crown

Natural Movement

Historic Hat

Teased Curls

Floral Arrangments

Early Shullet

Analyse

2026-03-05 04:40:07