The making of a costume for a movie is something that often requires a lot more work than most of us imagine. For example, the dress that Judy Garland dons in The Wizard of Oz was not the original dress. A prototype of the dress she wore in the movie was made so that the producers and directors of the film could see the actress in the dress and capture photos of film of the dress so they could see if it needed any additional work.
The 1939 classic is one of the most famous movies in the world, and the prototype dress that was originally created for Garland is up for sale at an auction by Bonhams. The dress was not used in the film, but Bonhams’ own Catherine Williamson states that the dress is, in fact, a collector’s item thanks to the fact that there are photos of the actress wearing the dress and of the dress’ use in the movie.
“It doesn’t appear on screen but we do have stills of Judy Garland modeling it. They took pictures and then the producers would take a look and see if they liked it or whether they wanted to make more tweaks,” she says of the dress that is expected to sell for at least $320,000 when it’s sold by the auction house. The dress has had several different owners, though their identities are unknown. The dress was originally sold to a collector by Metro Goldwyn-Mayer back in the 70s, and it’s been sold privately ever since.
The dress is going to be for sale at Bonhams on November 24 in New York City. The original dress that was worn in the film was sold in 2012, and the final sales price for this dress was more than $480,000.
(Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
