DIANA, PRINCESS OF STYLE.

Byline: Linda Gillan Griffin Houston Chronicle

Since her death, Britain's Diana, Princess of Wales, has become an official fashion icon, enshrined in an international hall of the fashionably famous.

Although no such honor exists in reality, in the public consciousness it is as real as the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the latter half of this century, such a fashion honor has been awarded to a handful of other notables - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn, Eva Peron, Princess Grace of Monaco. The mention of each name conjures an instant image.

What sets these women apart from the others named annually to New York publicist Eleanor Lambert's International Best Dressed List?

Basically, these women would have been famous regardless of what they wore. Yet each learned to use clothing to add luster to her aura, becoming a symbol of fashion confidence and independence. Each became an icon to whom other women looked for inspiration and validation.

But icons are made, not born. None of these famous women sprang fashionably attired into the international spotlight without first making some major mistakes - unfortunately, not always in the privacy of their own homes, palaces or Hollywood movie lots.

On July 1, Princess Diana's birthday, the publication of a new book may help us understand how a fashion icon is created, or creates herself, as the case may be. Titled ``Dressing Diana'' (Welcome Rain; $40) the book examines her transformation from the almost unknown ``Shy Di'' and Sloane Ranger to a svelte and stylish beauty, albeit one not known for cutting-edge fashion.

With more than 200 pages of photographs by Tim Graham and text by Tamsin Blanchard, the book chronicles Diana's wardrobe from her first tentative experiments with color, cut and pattern to the bold fashion statements she made almost weekly in the months before her death.

The book also takes a look at the details of her wardrobe - the handmade shoes and bags, the beading and froufrou, her decolletage (to show or not to show was endlessly debated in the media) and her penchant for remaking dresses and hats in order to wear them again.

It was Graham who made the photographs of Diana's dresses sold at Christie's charity auction shortly before her death, and Graham who photographed her many couturiers, their sketches and finished garments.

With unfailing British understatement, author Blanchard resists pointing a sharp finger at mistakes and excesses, such as the early poufed skirts and socks with high heels. But the real story is in the pictures. Graham's photographs are invaluable eyewitness accounts of the process of one woman's achievement of fashion maturity.

Learning curve

As a royal, Princess Diana did not have the luxury of a classics wardrobe. ``But whether she was in Africa seeing babies or in New York at an exhibition, she was always elegant,'' said Joan Wilson, regional fashion manager for Neiman Marcus stores.

That elegance was the result of years of trial and error: overly detailed clothes, absurd hats, styles all wrong for her age, too many patterns, too little confidence. She battled eating disorders, depression, diets and exercise regimens to achieve what finally looked easy. And all painfully within the public eye.

If there is a lesson in Diana's fashion transformation, it is this: It takes hard work.

Women may have to fight not only the stereotypes that others apply to them, but their own hopes for a look that can never be achieved.

Leonard Rutan, owner of Leonard Rutan boutique, said he sees two types of customers.

``One type wants to look covered and sophisticated, always with sleeves that come down to at least her elbows, although she might wear something strapless in the evening. The other is so confident of herself she wants to show off her body, to maximize its impact, even at lunch.

``One woman,'' said Rutan, ``wants to take her place in a room without turning heads. The other wants to have all eyes on her.''

Diana, said Rutan, crossed the line: ``She was an example to both.''

Rutan said he is amazed at the number of women who are interested in improving the way they look, whether through wardrobe, diet, exercise or even surgery.

Not being afraid of making fashion mistakes is one route to deciphering your own style, said Pryorities boutique owner Judy Pryor Otto, and for that reason she is much in favor of teens experimenting with fashion.

``It's a really good thing. They are reaching out for something, to make their own niche. It's never bad not to be a cookie-cutter image of everyone else.''

Do women need fashion icons?

``Yes,'' said image consultant Cathy Fitzpatrick, ``it's how they learn. Diana, as an example, had a little bit of something for everyone - clothes, personality, walk, posture.''

British subject Christine Lee-Smith, who now lives in Houston, said she hopes Diana's influence will continue. ``Most British women seem to dress for the weather instead of for fashion. They never seem to wear enough color.''

What Diana knew

Diana learned well the lesson of using clothes.

For political reasons, she seldom chose the top designers for her wardrobe, even though two of the names at the top of fashion charts these days - John Galliano and Alexander McQueen - were Londoners. Instead, she turned most often to Catherine Walker, Jacques Azagury, Victor Edelstein, Murray Arbeid, milliner Philip Somerville and shoe designer Jimmy Choo for her handmade, size-6-1/2 pumps.

Yes, she put the seal of approval on the new quilted Miss Dior tote bag with its dangling gold-toned letters, given to her by Madame Chirac. But most often she carried small, nondescript envelope bags made to match her evening dresses.

In the early years, there were the princesslike dresses of Elizabeth and David Emanuel, who designed her wedding gown, and David Sassoon of the house of Bellville Sassoon. She had been introduced to Sassoon by her mother, Frances Shand-Kydd, and would later take the young Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, daughter of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, for her first evening dress.

After her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana added the slink of an occasional Gianni Versace design (although not the sexier pinned-together versions worn by Elizabeth Hurley). She added the snap of Chanel suits and other designs from Valentino, Emanuel Ungaro, Christian Lacroix, Louis Feraud, Cerrutti and Moschino.

How does a woman know when she has achieved fashion maturity?

Wilson of Neiman Marcus said it may be when all the ultra-trendy things she would have purchased before become less interesting.

As a woman settles into her own style, she is able to accommodate fashion without going overboard, said style consultant Gayla Silva Bentley. As women around the world were paring down their looks in the '90s and gaining confidence, so was Diana.

The night of Charles' interview on BBC television, when he admitted his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, Diana donned an off-the-shoulder, ruched black chiffon with a neckline that dipped low into her cleavage and a hem that began above her knees and hiked well up one thigh.

Was this fashion maturity, in effect showing off what Charles was missing? Perhaps not, but it makes for a fascinating read.

CAPTION(S):

10 photos

PHOTO (1) Princess Diana was known for breaking the rules, such as when she wore her necklace as a headband.

(2 -- color) With a tiara or sunglasses on her head, she always looked regal and comfortable.

(3 -- color) From the moment she wed Prince Charles, Diana started a fashion legacy.

(4 -- color) Diana made sapphires popular throughout her reign.

(5 -- 6 -- color) Even with those awful hats, Princess Diana walked with elegance, above and below.

(7 -- color) She rocked the fashion world with those off-the-shoulder dresses that forced observers to focus on her bust line ... and jewels, left.

(8 -- 9) Princess Diana's sense of style turned her into an American cover girl.

(10 -- color -- cover) Diana The fashion icon