Diana ' s daring black dress goes on the block
Lady Diana Spencer
The dress was  Lady Diana Spencer thought  so grown-up  just right for her first official engagement after the announcement she was to marry Prince Charles.
 "She just looked fantastic. At that time  she was curvy. Not fat in any way  but she had cleavage -- we love cleavage. And she looked great in this dress " Emanuel said in an interview Friday. "We in no way expected there to be such a reaction. And I think from that moment on  Diana became a fashion icon."
 The dress had been missing for years until David Emanuel recently discovered it in a plastic bag at his home. Along with other garments worn by Diana and designed by the Emanuels  it is to be auctioned off 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.
 For the editors of Britain's voracious press  the dress -- and the snaps of Diana in it -- would kick off a long love affair with the princess.
 "Up until that point  they'd seen her as a floppy-haired puppy " said Christopher Wilson  a seasoned observer who has written extensively on the royals. "And that's the moment Fleet Street fell in love with her.
 Taylor and Elizabeth Emanuel are hopeful the collection will go to a museum -- the black dress is expected to fetch between 30 000 and 50 000 pounds ($44 000 to $73 000) and the prototype of the wedding dress between 8 000 and 12 000 pounds ($12 000 to $17 000) -- but understand that Diana's legacy means there's a strong chance a private collector may snap up the garments.
 and Elizabeth Emanuel are hopeful the collection will go to a museum -- the black dress is expected to fetch between 30 000 and 50 000 pounds ($44 000 to $73 000) and the prototype of the wedding dress between 8 000 and 12 000 pounds ($12 000 to $17 000) -- but understand that Diana's legacy means there's a strong chance a private collector may snap up the garments.
 Despite the reaction to her ballgown  Diana liked it enough to ask the Emanuels to take it in when it became too large for her  as she was constantly losing weight. In the months leading up to her wedding  Diana's waist dropped from 26 to 24 inches  and the Emanuels decided it would be easier to just make her a new  smaller version of the dress. Elizabeth Emanuel said she doesn't know what happened to the second version.
 The collection up for sale includes sketches  notes  invoices -- one shows Diana's mother paid 1 000 guineas for the wedding party's dresses  which was the equivalent of 1 050 pounds -- and even the handbag that Elizabeth Emanuel carried to the wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29  1981. It still has the smelling salts the designer brought along in case her famous client felt faint. (She didn't  Emanuel said  describing Diana as the epitome of calm.)
Diana's mother paid 1 000 guineas for the wedding party's dresses  which was the equivalent of 1 050 pounds -- and even the handbag that Elizabeth Emanuel carried to the wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29  1981. It still has the smelling salts the designer brought along in case her famous client felt faint. (She didn't  Emanuel said  describing Diana as the epitome of calm.)
 "Diana was just fantastic. From the moment we first met her  she was just like a regular client. She was lovely  down-to-earth  very sweet  very calm  very friendly. She made a point of meeting everybody in the work room and she was just so easy to get on with " Emanuel said. "We had so much fun."
The dress was  [TGT] thought  so grown-up  just right for [TGT] first official engagement after the announcement [TGT] was to marry Prince Charles.
 "[TGT] just looked fantastic. At that time  [TGT] was curvy. Not fat in any way  but [TGT] had cleavage -- we love cleavage. And [TGT] looked great in this dress " Emanuel said in an interview Friday. "We in no way expected there to be such a reaction. And I think from that moment on  [TGT] became a fashion icon."
 The dress had been missing for years until David Emanuel recently discovered it in a plastic bag at his home. Along with other garments worn by [TGT] and designed by the Emanuels  it is to be auctioned off 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.
 For the editors of Britain's voracious press  the dress -- and the snaps of [TGT] in it -- would kick off a long love affair with the princess.
 "Up until that point  they'd seen [TGT] as a floppy-haired puppy " said Christopher Wilson  a seasoned observer who has written extensively on the royals. "And that's the moment Fleet Street fell in love with [TGT].
 [TGT] and Elizabeth Emanuel are hopeful the collection will go to a museum -- the black dress is expected to fetch between 30 000 and 50 000 pounds ($44 000 to $73 000) and the prototype of the wedding dress between 8 000 and 12 000 pounds ($12 000 to $17 000) -- but understand that [TGT]'s legacy means there's a strong chance a private collector may snap up the garments.
 and Elizabeth Emanuel are hopeful the collection will go to a museum -- the black dress is expected to fetch between 30 000 and 50 000 pounds ($44 000 to $73 000) and the prototype of the wedding dress between 8 000 and 12 000 pounds ($12 000 to $17 000) -- but understand that [TGT]'s legacy means there's a strong chance a private collector may snap up the garments.
 Despite the reaction to [TGT] ballgown  [TGT] liked it enough to ask the Emanuels to take it in when it became too large for [TGT]  as [TGT] was constantly losing weight. In the months leading up to [TGT] wedding  [TGT]'s waist dropped from 26 to 24 inches  and the Emanuels decided it would be easier to just make [TGT] a new  smaller version of the dress. Elizabeth Emanuel said she doesn't know what happened to the second version.
 The collection up for sale includes sketches  notes  invoices -- one shows [TGT]'s mother paid 1 000 guineas for the wedding party's dresses  which was the equivalent of 1 050 pounds -- and even the handbag that Elizabeth Emanuel carried to the wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29  1981. It still has the smelling salts the designer brought along in case her famous client felt faint. (She didn't  Emanuel said  describing [TGT] as the epitome of calm.)
[TGT]'s mother paid 1 000 guineas for the wedding party's dresses  which was the equivalent of 1 050 pounds -- and even the handbag that Elizabeth Emanuel carried to the wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29  1981. It still has the smelling salts the designer brought along in case her famous client felt faint. (She didn't  Emanuel said  describing [TGT] as the epitome of calm.)
 "[TGT] was just fantastic. From the moment we first met [TGT]  [TGT] was just like a regular client. [TGT] was lovely  down-to-earth  very sweet  very calm  very friendly. [TGT] made a point of meeting everybody in the work room and [TGT] was just so easy to get on with " Emanuel said. "We had so much fun."