From Marilyn Monroe to Indiana Jones: how much did iconic movie costumes sell for

The costumes of iconic movie characters have long been turned into collectibles. Several million dollars were paid for Marilyn Monroe's dress from The Itch of the Seventh Year, the Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard of Oz went for more than $ 3 million, and the Indiana Jones hat exceeded the initial estimate and was sold for $630 thousand. Record amounts, legendary films and a costume made of real lion fur are in the material of Izvestia.

Marilyn Monroe's dress from The Itch of the Seventh Year

One of the most expensive movie outfits in history is the white pleated dress that Marilyn Monroe wore as the nameless Girl in Billy Wilder's The Itch of the Seventh Year (1955). It is in it that the heroine stands above the ventilation grate of the subway, after which the air flow lifts her skirt. The image was created by costume designer William Travilla, who worked a lot with Monroe.

The scene became almost more famous than the film itself. The location shooting took place at night on Lexington Avenue in New York in the presence of thousands of spectators. The crowd noise turned out to be so strong that the scene had to be reshot at the 20th Century Fox pavilion in California, although the photos from the New York shootings became some of the most recognizable shots of Monroe.

After filming, the dress ended up in the famous collection of actress Debbie Reynolds, who has been collecting Hollywood costumes and props for decades in the hope of creating a museum. When the project failed, the collection began to be sold.

The Profiles in History auction house sold the dress for $4.6 million on June 18, 2011. Taking into account the buyer's premium, the cost reached approximately $5.52 million. The buyer was a private collector, whose name was not publicly disclosed. At that time, the deal set a record for movie clothing at auction. Travilla himself, despite the worldwide fame of the image, later rather ironically called it a "silly little dress."

Eliza Doolittle's dress from "My Fair Lady"

In the same Reynolds collection there was another exceptionally expensive movie image — Audrey Hepburn's black and white dress from the musical "My Fair Lady" in 1964. The actress wore it as Eliza Doolittle in the famous horse racing scene at Ascot.

The costume was created by British photographer and artist Cecil Beaton. A white dress with black decor and a huge hat was supposed to emphasize the transformation of the former flower girl Eliza into a representative of high society. It was for the costumes of "My Fair Lady" that Beaton later won an Oscar, and the film itself won eight Academy Awards.

At the Debbie Reynolds auction in June 2011, Eliza's outfit went under the hammer for $3.7 million. After the commissions, the total amount was approximately $4.5 million. The identity of the buyers of neither this suit nor the Monroe dress was disclosed.

The Cowardly Lion Costume from The Wizard of Oz

An even more unusual auction item is the Cowardly Lion costume in which Bert Lahr starred in The Wizard of Oz in 1939. The costume was made using real lion skins and fur.

His creation is associated with MGM's chief costume designer Gilbert Adrian. At least two versions of the lion costume were made for the film. The sold copy was authenticated as the one worn by Lar during filming, and its headpiece reproduced the actor's facial features.

Before the sale, the costume belonged to the collector James Komisar. It was discovered in one of the old MGM studio buildings, after which it ended up in a private collection. Komisar was going to use the money from the sale to develop an exhibition project with his collection of television and film memorabilia.

Bonhams sold the suit in New York on November 24, 2014 for $3.077 million. The winner of the bidding was an anonymous participant who placed bets on the phone. The deal entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the record sale of a "Wizard of Oz" memorabilia.

Holly Golightly's black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's

Audrey Hepburn's black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's became one of the main visual symbols of Hollywood in the 1960s. In the image of Holly Golightly, the actress appears at the beginning of the film near the window of Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue.

The outfit was created by Hubert de Givenchy, a long-term friend of Hepburn and the author of much of her on-screen wardrobe. Three close versions of the black dress were made for the painting. The copy sold later was in Givenchy's possession, and then the designer presented it to Dominique Lapierre to raise funds for the charity organization City of Joy Aid.

On December 5, 2006, the dress was exhibited at Christie's in London. With an estimate of only 50-70 thousand pounds. It was sold for 467.2 thousand pounds. The winning bidder placed bets over the phone and remained anonymous. Christie's said only that the buyer was from Europe.

All proceeds were allocated to City of Joy Aid. The founder of the Dominique Lapierre foundation noted after the auction that the money from one dress would allow significant funds to be allocated to schools for children from poor families in India. At the time of the sale, it was a world auction record for a dress created for a movie. It was later surpassed by the costumes from "The Itch of the Seventh Year" and "My Fair Lady."

The Indiana Jones Hat from the Temple of Doom

It is not necessary to sell the entire suit in order for the price to reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. In August 2024, Propstore displayed an Indiana Jones fedora from the 1984 Steven Spielberg film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

The hat was worn by Harrison Ford, and in some episodes by his understudy Dean Ferrandini. Propstore was able to match this particular copy with film footage, production photos, and behind-the-scenes footage from filming in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The fedora was made by London-based Herbert Johnson Hat Company, which also made hats for the first film in the series. Costume designer Anthony Powell and his assistant Joanna Johnston adjusted the design: compared to the first part, the crown became more narrowed.

The object has preserved numerous traces of filming. The satin lining was removed from the hat, pieces of foam rubber were added inside to make it fit more tightly on the head, and the bow that had split during work had to be sewn on manually. There are also traces of makeup and the initials "I J" inside.

After the film, the item remained in Ferrandini's personal collection. It came to the auction with proof of authenticity from his wife, Keefe Ferrandini, and previously unpublished photographs of a stuntman in an Indiana Jones costume. With a preliminary estimate of $250-500 thousand, the hat received 37 bids and was sold for $630 thousand. Propstore has not publicly named the buyer.

Sandy's outfit from Grease

One of the most interesting auction stories is related to the final image of Sandy Olsson from "Grease" in 1978. In the scenes with the songs You're the One That I Want and We Go Together, Olivia Newton-John appears in a black leather jacket and tight black trousers. It was this outfit that symbolized the dramatic transformation of the heroine in the finale of the film.

Albert Wolsky was responsible for the costumes of the painting. At the same time, the famous trousers were not made specifically for filming — it was a real vintage thing from the 1950s. The zipper was already broken, and the trousers fit so tightly that Newton-John had to literally "sew" them into them every morning before filming.

The leather jacket is branded by the Western Costume Company. Newton-John kept the clothes after the movie and owned them for over 40 years. In November 2019, the actress herself put things up at Julien's Auctions. The jacket went for $243.2 thousand, and the trousers for another $162.5 thousand. The money from the sale went to Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Center.

The buyer of the trousers turned out to be the founder of Spanx, Sarah Blakely. She explained that Sandy's look was inspired, among other things, by her company's popular black leggings, and decided to place the original trousers at Spanx headquarters. With the jacket, the story turned out to be even more unusual. It was purchased by a businessman who wished to remain anonymous, whom the media described as a doctor and entrepreneur in the field of media technology.

A few weeks after the auction, he met with Newton-John and returned the jacket to her for free, saying that such a thing should stay with her, and not lie in the collector's closet. At the same time, the money for the purchase remained with the charitable foundation. After Newton-John's death, the jacket reappeared at Julien's and was sold for $476,000 in 2025.