It was black and strapless, with a sassy sequinned flounce at the bodice and a gloriously full, swishy skirt. The dress was, Lady Diana Spencer thoug-ht, so grown-up, just right for her first official engagement after the announcement she was to marry Prince Charles. But when photographs emerged of the then 19-year-old emerging
from a limousine at a March 1981 charity event, there was a minor scandal over the revealing cut. The dress had been missing for years until David Emanuel recently discovered it at his home. Along with other garments worn by Diana and designed by the Emanuels, it is to be auctioned off on June 8 in a sale that includes the silk chiffon blouse chosen for the Princess of Wales’ official engagement portrait by Lord Snowdon, and the calico prototype used to fit her famous ivory wedding gown. —AP