I'll make a pretty penny by selling dress Pippa wore

Now the new owner of the blue and turquoise dress is set to put it up for sale in a move that is expected to fetch thousands of pounds after its royal connection was revealed.

Vanessa Morgan, 30, who lives in London, purchased the dress for 190 just a few days after helping to organise the Edinburgh University fashion show at City Nightclub in March 2004.

During the annual show, it was modelled by 27-year-old Pippa Middleton - the sister of the future Duchess of Cambridge - but Vanessa, and many others attending, didn't realise who she was.

Vanessa, who was studying for an honours degree in philosophy and religious studies at Edinburgh University at the time, loved the dress so much that shortly after the show, she bought it from Godiva Boutique in the Grassmarket.

It was made by freelance fashion designer, Rowan McIntosh, 29.

Vanessa, a design and PR manager for Atelier Swarovski in London, said: "I didn't know it was Pippa who was wearing the dress, so I didn't buy it for that reason. I wasn't even aware of that until Rowan sent me an e-mail on Saturday to tell me.

"My initial instinct was that I should probably start wearing it more!"

She added: "I just thought it was a one-off piece and I love turquoise.

"I still have it in my cupboard; I haven't worn it for a little while."

Vanessa is now deciding on the best way to sell the dress. "I work in fashion and PR and I've been trying to think of the best avenue to sell it," she said. "I was going to contact Kerry Taylor, the auction house which sold Kate's dress. I'm open to offers! I have no idea how much it would sell for."

Vanessa has had plenty of use out of the dress and wore it to her father Stephen Young's wedding in Langkawi in 2004.

Rowan, who lives in Viewforth, spotted a photograph of the blue dress after the Evening News revealed Pippa's catwalk turn last week.

The Edinburgh College of Art graduate said: "It was great to sell the dress at the time but in hindsight it would have been much better to have kept it!"

The see-through black and turquoise silk tube dress worn by Kate Middleton at a 2002 charity fashion show while at St Andrew's University, and which caught Prince William's eye, sold for 78,000 at auction in March.

Anna Freemantle, 31, an ex-Louis Vuitton and Versace model, who now lives in Edinburgh and works as a creative consultant in fashion, estimated that the dress could easily fetch 5000-10,000 - and much more at auction.

She said: "Someone might have a particular obsession for the royal family and royal circles. Kate will be a public figure for many years, as will Pippa, so it will accumulate value in the years to come. Someone could buy the dress as an investment, because it's only going to go up in value."

Do you know what happened to the other dresses modelled by Pippa? Contact the Evening News on 0131 620 8733.