Elizabeth Taylor’s first wedding dress which she wore when married Conrad Hilton Jr. in 1950 is expected to fetch up to $75,500 at a Christie’s auction in London on June 26.
This oyster silk satin wedding dress designed by M.G.M. chief costume designer Helen Rose is made of 25 yards of satin with a 15-foot train. The stunning gown also features a built in corset which accented the star’s tiny 20 inch waist, a fine silk gauze off-the-shoulder illusion neckline, as well as long silk tulle veil that was attached to a pearl-covered Juliet cap.
The gown is accompanied by a document concerning the provenance and a photograph of the vendor wearing the dress at her big day.
Christie’s also plans to auction off much of fashion critic Suzy Menkes’ wardrobe this summer in an online sale July 11-22. The sale includes designer items going back to the 1960s, because, Menkes says, she has never disposed of anything since she headed off to college.
Elizabeth Taylor surpassed Michael Jackson as the highest-earning deceased celebrity in a survey released by Forbes in October 2012, with her estate pulling in $210 million, much of it from a 2011 auction of jewels, costumes and art work. The auction of her jewels took in $116 million, more than double the record for a single collection, and set new marks for pearls, colorless diamonds and Indian jewels.