The black dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, for her first official appearance with the Prince of Wales shortly before their engagement in 1981 surfaces at auction this summer.
It was rumoured that the Princess had destroyed the black taffeta gown - but it turned up recently in a wardrobe at the studio of dress makers David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
Now the iconic dress is set to fetch up to £50,000 when it appears at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London on June 8.
The dress caused a sensation when Lady Diana Spencer, as she then was, bent down to climb out of the car. She was met with a frenzy of flash bulbs and next day's newspapers included the headline: "Daring Di sets fashion as she takes the plunge".
But while 19 year old Lady Diana thought that black was elegant and grown-up, it was deemed an unusual choice as the Royal family wear the color almost exclusively for mourning.
The public, however, went wild over the dress. In the run-up to her wedding, the nervous fiancée lost so much weight that she returned the gown to the Emanuels to have it taken in. The alterations required were so drastic that they decided it would be easier to re-make a smaller version for her. They kept the original and forgot about it, only re-discovering it quite recently.
This gown forms part of the Emanuel Archive of Princess Diana-related material comprising 30 lots ranging from actual clothes worn by the Princess to fashion sketches, invoices, letters and related ephemera and expected to fetch a total of up to £175, 000. It charts the transformation of the Princess from a young, inexperienced teenager into a world-renowned style icon.
A large part of the Emanuel Archive focuses on the Royal wedding gown and includes original designs and toiles for the bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses, the layered tulle petticoat worn by the Princess for fittings and rehearsals at St Pauls Cathedral, a duplicate sequined veil, invoices, letters from the Princess' mother, correspondence with Buckingham Palace and a photographic record of the making of the bridal gown. The collection also features fashion designs for the Princess' official tours to Venice 1984 and the Middle East in 1986.
（英国已故）威尔士王妃戴安娜1981年与威尔士亲王（查尔斯王储）订婚前不久首次出席正式活动时所穿的黑色礼服将于今年夏天拍卖。
相传这件黑色塔夫绸礼服已被戴安娜销毁，但最近它却在制衣人大卫和伊丽莎白•伊曼纽尔工作室的衣橱里被发现。
这件礼服将于6月8日在伦敦凯利•泰勒拍卖行拍卖，目前的预估价为5万英镑。
当时，那时还是斯宾塞小姐的戴安娜身穿这件礼服俯身从车中出来，艳惊四座，现场的闪光灯此起彼伏，并在第二天抢占了报纸头条，标题为《戴安娜风格大胆 引领时尚先锋》。
当时，年仅19岁的戴安娜打破王室常规，选择了这件高雅成熟的黑色礼服。而王室成员一般只在悼念场合穿黑色服装。
但公众却十分喜欢戴安娜的这件礼服。当时，准新娘戴安娜因为筹备婚礼紧张忙碌而消瘦了许多，因此她又把定制好的礼服送请伊曼纽尔改小。由于所需的改动太大，所以设计师最后决定重做一件尺寸小点的同款礼服，原先那件则保留，之后这件礼服被遗忘多年，直到最近才被找到。
参加此次拍卖的共有伊曼纽尔收藏的30件与戴妃有关的物品，除这件礼服外，还包括戴妃生前穿过的衣服、时装设计草图、发票、信件等物品，所有这些物品预计将拍得17.5万英镑。这些物品记录了戴安娜从青涩少女转变为全球时尚偶像的过程。
伊曼纽尔收藏的戴妃物件中以她的婚礼礼服为主，还包括新娘礼服和伴娘礼服的原稿设计和样衣、王妃在圣保罗大教堂试衣和彩排时穿的多层薄纱衬裙、一条亮片面纱复制品、发票、来自王妃母亲的信件、与白金汉宫的往来信件，以及新娘礼服制作全过程的照片记录。藏品中还包括王妃1984年出访威尼斯和1986年出访中东时所穿的服装。
Vocabulary:
taffeta: a stiff shiny fabric made from silk or a similar material, used especially for making dresses 塔夫绸
turn up: to be found, especially by chance, after being lost （尤指失去后偶然）被发现，被找到
take the plunge: to decide to do something important or difficult, especially after thinking about it for a long time （尤指深思熟虑后）果断行事，作出决定
run-up: a period of time leading up to an important event; the preparation for this （重要事情的）前期；准备阶段；准备
take in: 改小
ephemera: things that are important or used for only a short period of time 只在短期内有用的事物
toile: （用平纹细布等廉价织物做的）试穿用服装；样服
tulle: a soft fine fabric made of silk,nylon, etc. and full of very small holes, used especially for making veils and dresses 绢网，丝网眼纱，薄纱（尤用以制作面纱或连衣裙）
petticoat: a piece of women's underwear like a thin dress or skirt, worn under a dress or skirt 衬裙