Marilyn Monroe’s iconic long-sleeved pink gown sold at an auction this week for a price eight times its original worth.
The pink Pucci long-sleeved gown with crystal tassel detailing was auctioned for more than $325,000 at an event hosted by Julien’s Auctions on Thursday, March 28, in Los Angeles, California. It was one of the few dresses that were kept for auction that day. The other items included costumes owned by several Hollywood stars along with artifacts from the Hugh M Hefner Foundation, and the Playboy archives. The price of the items ranged from $40,000 to $60,000.
Monroe’s Timeless Fashion Makes Headlines Decades After Her Death
The label says the costumes were created by an Italian fashion designer Emilio Pucci for the US department store Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. In 2016, Monroe’s Jean Louis-designed illusion gown, which she wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to the then-president, was also auctioned off by Juline’s Auctions.
The Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s burgundy smoking jacket and black silk pajamas were sold for more than 15 times its estimate. The original auctioneer value of the set was placed between $2000 to $3000, however, it was sold for $35,750.
Besides his admiration for Monroe, Hefner was known for wearing his red smoking jacket and black satin pajamas all day in his Beverly Hills Playboy Mansion. The first edition of Playboy features a timeless picture of Marilyn Monroe, which was originally shot for a nude calendar. The 1953 Playboy magazine was estimated at somewhere between $2000 and $4000, however, it was sold for a whopping $6500. Other items sold include LeRoy Neiman’s Femlin character images, one of which was sold for a staggering $6500, and the artist’s oil painting, which was featured in the June 1959 issue of Playboy magazine, for a whopping $116,749.
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Michelle Garlick’s one-piece bunny costume design by Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli was estimated at $1000 to $2000, but it was sold auctioned for $4445. The sales continued over the weekend, and most of the die-hard fans of both Monroe and Hefner were present at the Auction site.
Monroe was one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s as well as the early 1960s. She was better called the emblem of the era’s sexual revolution. By the time of her death, she became a superstar with each film grossing $200 million, making her a top-billed actress for a decade. More than three decades after her death, the American Film Institute ranked the fashion mogul as the sixth greatest female screen legend of Hollywood in 1999.
The actress was born and raised in Los Angeles, and she spent most of her childhood in various foster homes and orphanages. She was married to James Dougherty at the age of 16. Her career began after coincidentally crossing paths with a photographer who offered her short-lived film contracts with Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox. After doing a myriad of minor roles, she quickly rose to fame and ended up signing a new contract with Fox in 1950.
The American actress and model, known for playing “blonde bombshell” characters breathed her last in 1962 at the age of 36 after starring in films such as The Seven Year Itch, Prefer Blondes, Some Like it Hot, and The Misfits. Hefner passed away in 2017 at the age of 91.