The beaded, flesh-colored creation pulled in a whopping $1,267,500 Wednesday night on the first evening of Christie's two-day Monroe auction in New York. (The previous record-holder is a Princess Diana gown that raked in a measly $222,500.)
"We really got the bargain of the century," says the lucky dress co-owner Peter Siegel of New York's Gotta Have It! Collectibles. "We were prepared to go much higher."
His partner, Bob Schagrin, says they were planning to pay up to $3 million. "We stole it," he announced.
Monroemania continued Thursday night. One of the biggest surprises of the night? The actress' used makeup case pulled in $250,000 (a mere $1,000-1,500 was expected).
The auction's opening night pulled in $5.6 million for 55 items, Christie's announced. Thursday night's sale of 500 lots closed the record-setting sale, rounding out the two-day total at $13.5 million.
Some of the highlights: Monroe's 35-diamond eternity band from second husband Joe DiMaggio sold for $772,000, $30,000-40,000 was expected. Designer Tommy Hilfiger snapped up the cowboy boots Monroe wore in The Misfits for $85,000 and three pairs of jeans from River of No Return for $42,550. "This will inspire me for many new ideas," he said. Singer Mariah Carey bought the white baby grand piano belonging to Monroe's mother--one of the star's most prized family heirlooms--for $662,500, compared to the presale estimate of $10,000-15,000. The "Happy Birthday" dress owners also picked up the emerald green evening gown Monroe wore to the 1962 Golden Globe awards for $96,000. "We stole that," Schagrin announced gleefully, in spite of a $30,000-50,000 presale estimate. Ripley's Believe It or Not! paid $167,000 for the Mexican cardigan the actress wore on the last photo shoot before her death. It was expected to collect $30,000-50,000. A set of six snapshots of Monroe's pet dog were expected to sell for $600-800 and instead scored a staggering $222,500. The actress' 1956 temporary driver's license sold for $145,500. A pair of glass slippers fetched $85,000. Monroe's certificate of conversion to Judiasm prior to her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller pulled in $90,500.
The items were left to Monroe's acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and his widow, the woman selling the items, was "thrilled" with the results, according the Christie's.