Debbie Reynolds Marilyn Monroe Costumes

The Seven Year Itch

Profiles in History will sell the massive memorabilia collection of Debbie Reynolds through a series of auctions starting with part one in June 2011 and part two in December 2011. Reynolds' entire collection contains over 3,500 costumes, 20,000 original photographs, several thousand original movie posters, original costume sketches and hundreds of key props from film history.

“I heard the news that MGM was going to sell their inventory of costumes and props,” says Reynolds on how she started collecting, “I went everyday for weeks and focused on purchasing the costumes and props of Academy Award winning films. It soon turned into an obsession. Until now! I've concluded that my dream of having a museum cannot be fulfilled, so I have decided to share my fabulous collection with other collectors.”

Part one of this auction will have approximately 700 of Debbie’s very best and most historic costumes and props including the most famous costume in screen history with an estimated value of 1 to 2 million dollars, Marilyn Monroe's ‘subway’ dress from The Seven-Year Itch.


Other Marilyn Monroe costumes from the Reynolds collection include:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (20th Century-Fox, 1953) Marilyn Monroe costume worn as Lorelei Lee: signature red sequin dress from “Just Two Little Girls from Little Rock” opening musical number, designed by Travilla.

There’s No Business Like Show Business (20th Century-Fox, 1954) Marilyn Monroe black, white and pink, tropical-print “Heat wave” dress and hat by Travilla.

Anticipation is building for what is deemed to be the most significant collection of Hollywood costumes and props since the liquidation of the MGM and FOX studios in the 1970’s.

Debbie Reynolds Collection to be Auctioned in May

The Seven Year Itch

In following up to my September 11, 2010 post, "Is the Most Iconic Dress in Film History Coming to Auction?" the answer appears to be...yes.

In a recent interview with the Orange County Register, Debbie Reynolds confirmed that her entire collection of film costumes will be auctioned by Profiles in History May 26th and 27th, 2011.

Reynolds' collection is much more extensive, of course, and efforts to create a museum for it all have failed for various business reasons, she said. "I am going to stop collecting and I am putting it all up for auction May 26 and 27 in Los Angeles with the auction firm Profiles in History.

"You sometimes have to let your dreams go. I have been trying since 1970 to share my collection with the public. I couldn't get the backing. It's just a shame. I am sad I couldn't have achieved that dream come true. It was a very hard decision," she said.

It was originally reported last year that Reynolds would be using Christie's to sell the collection. Profiles in History has evidently scored the collection.

Of course, Reynolds owns the original costume Marilyn Monroe wore over the subway grate scene in the Seven Year Itch. The question of the day is, "What will the hammer price be for what is undoubtedly the most iconic film dress of all time?"

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