Dorothy's Wizard of Oz dress to sell

Dorothy's Wizard of Oz dress to sell

A sweat-stained dress worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz could become one of the world's most expensive costume dresses if it sells at auction this year for more than an expected $US1 million ($1.36 million).

Who could ever forget Dorothy Gale's blue-and-white gingham dress? It's one the most memorable dresses in film history, one as unmistakably American as a Kansas cornfield.

Even better is the tell-tale imprint of the iconic American actress/singer who wore it in the 1939 classic.

"What is great about this is it has signs of use: There are sweat stains around the neck, but it is still in fine condition," Catherine Williamson, director of entertainment memorabilia at Bonhams, said.

Bonhams is set to auction the dress, at a starting price of $1.6 million, at its "Treasures from the Dream Factory" sale on November 23 in New York.

If the dress hits this price tag, it will become one of the most expensive dresses in history – as much thanks to Garland's star quality as its prominence in a beloved film.

"Judy Garland is in the top tier for collectability alongside Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, and this costume is in the top 10 of dresses," Williamson says. "I think the market will be international."

Although Garland was a 17-year-old starlet at the time, the dress was designed to make her look closer in age to her 12-year-old orphan character. Wizard helped make her a global star, as famous for her troubles as her talent.

Memorabilia from the Oscar-winning musical Wizard of Oz is highly sought-after, with collectors paying huge figures for mementos, especially items actually seen on screen. Researchers think 10 dresses were made for the film but many were recycled by MGM and reused for other films.

The owner of this dress, who was not identified, has now decided to cash in, and no wonder: The payoff could be huge.

The last time a Wizard dress went on sale, in November 2012, it fetched $US480,000, the highest price of any item sold during a two-day auction of Hollywood memorabilia at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles.

Williamson believes the universal appeal of Wizard will mean high levels of interest for this sale.

"The dress is one of those costumes which are instantly identifiable," she says. "You immediately know it was Judy Garland who wore it as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. It is the costume she wears throughout the film, which is a great movie and the definition of a classic... It is a privilege to be selling it."

Demand for props and costumes from Wizard is at a high. Even a "test dress," which wasn't used on screen, sold for $US245,265 last year at Bonhams, Williamson says.

The Lion costume, however, sold for a staggering $US2.9 million.

And Dorothy's ruby slippers? Researchers say four pairs of the sparkly shoes were made for the film; one pair is in the Smithsonian in Washington. In 2011, a pair used for close-up shots failed to sell at auction for $US2 million, but they were acquired for an unknown price by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012 for its planned museum.

Garland's life of celebrity and tribulation is well documented and contributes to the reverence with which she is held by many of her fans. As a child star she became addicted to drugs. She married five times, had three children, including eldest Liza Minnelli, but she struggled with mental health problems and addictions throughout her life.

The actress died in 1969 at age 47 after taking an accidental overdose of barbiturates in London.

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