Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

Excitement Growing
In London
Australian Associated Press And Our Special Representative
LONDON June 1.
London, 24 hours before the Coronation, is a city jam-packed with
people-many of them camped in the streets — gay with decorations,
fraarant with flowers and Quivering with excitement.
Into this atmosphere there has been released today the first
announcement of the Queen s Coronation gown — de-
scribed by Morna Condell, special writer for 'The Adver
tiser,' as 'a dress of unimagined beauty.'
Its designer, Norman Hartnell, defines its theme as 'embroi-
dered emblems on a lattice of loyalty.' The emblems are
those of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
Morna Condell says
that the whole world
knows Norman Hart
nell 's gift for lavish em
broidery, but never be
fore has such inspiration,
symbolism and craftsman
ship been poured into a
single garment.
'Today Hartnell showed
us sketches of the dresses he
has designed for the Queen's
great day,' she continues,
'and, as if we were not
stunned sufficiently by its
superlative elegance, we were
then shown the Coronation
dresses for the Queen
Mother, Princess Margaret,
the Duchess of Kent, Frin-j
cess Alexandra and the
Maids-of-Honor.
'The Queen's white satin
Coronation dress is embroi
iered with the emblems of
3reat Britain and the
Commonwealth, and the
yhole effect is one of pastel
ight shimmering on a satin
surface.
'The dress has short
sleeves, with, a full flaring
'skirt, a slight train and a
neckline which, square
over the shoulders, curves
into a heart-shaped cen
tre.
'A border of fine perpen
dicular lines of golden crys
tals, graduated diamonds
and pearls edges the sleeves
and hem, but it is in between
these extremes that its glory
lies.
'These bands of jewels
are repeated thrice across
the skirt in deep loops, and
the 'latticework of loyalty'
spreads out across the
material.
'The latticework . is of
thickly-encrusted pearls and
crystals, and across this
spreads the Commonwealth
emblems.'
THE EMBLEMS
A special AAP-Reuter cor
respondent says the last por
tion of the skirt includes
every emblem of the Com
monwealth, closely surround
ing the Tudor Rose of Eng
land, with roses forming the
central motif of a mixed
bouquet of emblematic
flowers, clustered around
which are more emblems.
The emblems are:—
Australia.— Wattle blossom
is shown in mimosa yellow
tufts of silk, with the
foliage in green and gold
thread.
New Zealand.— The fern ap
pears in soft green silk,
veined with silver and
crystal.
Canada.— The maple leaf in
green silk embroideries,
bordered with gold bullion
thread and veined in crys
tal.
South Africa. — The protea
flowers appears in shaded
pink silk, each petal bor
dered with silver thread.
The leaves are shaded
green silk and embellished
with rose diamonds,
[ndia.— The lotus flower of
India appears in mother
of - pearl embroidered
petals, with seed pearls
and diamonds.
Ceylon. — The lotus flower is
shown in white sequins,
mother-of-pearl diamonds!
and soft green silk.
Pakistan. — Wheat, cotton
and jute are shown to
gether. The wheat is in
boat-shaped diamonds and
fronds of golden crystal,
the jute in spray of leaves
of green silk and golden
thread, and the cotton
flower blossom in tiny tufts
with stalks of silver and
leaves of green silk, j
The dress will be worn over
a very stiff crinoline net and
paper taffeta petticoat.
Tiie Queen Mother's' 'cu'esd
will be of white satin. The
skirt trails on the ground at
the back and has side full
ness.
The bodice has a V-shaped
inset of gold lame, which
continues in a narrow panel
down the front of the dress,
eventually -forming a deep
lame border round the skirt.
The dress is embroidered
entirely in a delicate design
worked horizontally, of trail
ing ostrich feathers.
The stems glitter with dia
mante, and each frond is em
broidered with gold, silver
and crystal.
FOR PRINCESS
Princess Margaret will wear
a gown of pure white satin,
with tightly-fitted bodice and
billowing skirt.
The bodice has short sleeves j
and a square-cut neckline,
embroidered with silver dia
mente and pearls and medal
lions of broderie anglaise in
silver and pearls.
The skirt is embroidered
from the hem almost up to
the hipline in a rich de
sign of broderie anglaise
medallions in pearl and
silver.
From the tracery of the
silver thread hang pendants
of pear-shaped pearls, and
the same pendant pearls
fringe the hem of the gown
and the short pearlem
broidered sleeves.
$