THE 1959 Scottish Industries Exhibition was launched with a fanfare at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, that September. Princess Margaret - “serene and dainty amid the built-in grandeur of a giant trade fair”, according to the Evening Times - opened what she described as “this spectacular showcase of Scotland’s industries”.

Such had been the demand for exhibition stands that if every application had been granted, an additional space as large as the hall would have been needed, she observed.

In the Exhibition Club the Princess had a 20-minute private view of festival fashion, all the clothes having been made from Scottish materials “and styled by top-flight British couturiers”. The royal dress-maker, Norman Hartnell, had travelled to Glasgow especially for the occasion. Some nurses took an interest in Scottish silks and satins.

The model is wearing - and it’s as well here to quote directly from the caption on the back of the Bulletin photograph - “a black silk-draped sheath backed with satin and trimmed with pure sparkling white. And just for a little extra,” the anonymous photographer added, “a white ostrich feather fan costing £69!”