Plum Velvet / Taffeta ET Gown

This lovely ballgown by Gini Fratini was worn in 1982 to the London premiere of E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial, where Diana was handed a plush E.T. stuffed toy by a tiny Drew Barrymore.  She also wore it to a Shirley Bassey concert in Cardiff. 

The gown is a strapless plum velvet bodice over a full taffeta ballgown skirt in four shades of striped taffeta: purple, lilac, mauve and maroon. The folds of the skirt give it a sort of plaid vibe.  

The strapless bodice has a small, tight ruffle of the skirt fabric on its edge, and could be converted to an entirely different look with a Spencer style jacket in matching plum velvet.  The jacket lapels are in the same taffeta as the skirt, plus there is a scarf that drapes from the neck in the same fabric.

Diana varied her accessories, but stuck to silver shoes. For E.T. she carried a silver clutch and wore her Art Deco ermald choker. For Shirley Bassey, she wore a cabochon and diamond cluster choker, mounted on a short string of pearls. The central stone suggests it's the one that was later seen mounted on a double strand choker of amethyst beads as the matching cabochon amethyst double cluster drop earrings are seen with it, and finished with at least one bracelet.

The key to getting this outfit right is finding the taffeta skirt fabric in the right colours and the right scale, then matching a velveteen of a light enough weight that it won't go bulky on the bodice seams.

I'm guessing from the number of replicas, fans had a general fondness for the gown. If the fabric of several seem to be similar, it is. I found the fabric in the back room of a doll shop in Glendale, Arizona, and spread it all over the world in deals and trades. It went to California, Virginia and Australia. I believe some of it may have ended up elsewhere