Kate Middleton's Fashion Show Dress Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Feb 14th 2011 at 7:00PM

They call it the dress that may have started it all. By all they mean the Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. The pair were friends but the romance reportedly began after the prince saw Kate Middleton wear a transparent knitted dress over a black bra and panties at a 2002 charity fashion show at the University of St. Andrews. The dress, created by Charlotte Todd (who did not pursue a career in fashion and now works at an aquarium), is expected to sell for more than 8,000 pounds ($12,800) at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London on March 17. The see-through piece was originally meant to be worn as a skirt but Kate wore it as a short dress.

The auction also includes two gowns worn by Princess Diana. The Zandra Rhodes pink chiffon dinner gown worn by the Princess of Wales for her Official State visit to Japan, 1986 is estimated at £30,000-40,000. The Catherine Walker formal white lace evening gown she wore for a state visit to France, November, 1988 is estimated to bring in £40,000-60,000. The third Royal strand of the sale relates to another 20th century style icon. The sale also features a collection of Duchess of Windsor accessories, jewelry and lingerie which are being sold to benefit the Dodi International Charitable Foundation.

Last year Kerry Taylor auctions sold a variety of other pieces related to Princess Diana. The black taffeta gown that Princess Diana wore on her first official appearance after her engagement to Prince Charles.The dress was estimated at 30-50,000 pounds but sold for 192,000 pounds. The chiffon blouse worn by the Princess when she appeared in Vogue shortly after the announcement of her engagement went to the Newbridge Silverware Museum in Ireland for 26,400 pounds against an estimate of 10,000-15,000 pounds. The calico toile prototype for the Royal Wedding gown, brought in 20,400 pounds against an estimate of 8,000 and 12,000 pounds.

Tags: catherine middleton, kate middleton, kery taylor auctions, prince william, Princess Diana, royal wedding