It was a dress for a museum. Its lustrous white satin billowed from the waist into a crinoline that coruscated with flowers of pearls and leaves of gold. Shim mering gold-and-pearl-embroidered lace swathed the noble bodice, gold and pearl paillettes festooned the ample skirt. It cost $20,000.
When Queen Elizabeth, touring Canada with King George VI in 1939, wore it at a royal reception in Ottawa, Canadians agreed that Her Majesty looked radiant.
To enshrine the legend, the Queen gave the gown (one of her favorites) to the Dominion as a gift. In December 1940 it was elegantly displayed on a...