Hollywood slippers break auction record

A pair of the ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in the movie The Wizard of Oz was recently auctioned for USD 28 million, to become the most valuable movie prop ever sold. Made with dyed white silk and burgundy sequined organza on the uppers and heels, the shoes are one of only four surviving pairs from the 1939 film. Three of these pairs had orange felt stuck to their soles to deaden the sound of Miss Garland dancing in the famous ‘Yellow Brick Road’ scene.

The ‘Technicolor’ film process used required the sequins to be darker than most modern red versions, or they would have appeared orange on screen. The recently sold shoes had been stolen from a museum in 2005 and were recovered by the FBI 13 years later.

The photograph above shows another pair of the slippers displayed in the Smithsonian.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the January 2025 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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