Sarah Jessica Parker’s tutu in ‘Sex and the City,’ which cost $5, is sold at auction for $52,000
The iconic look was one of the many lots up for sale, such as a cocktail dress worn by Princess Diana, which went for $325,000, and the gown that Grace Kelly wore to meet the Kennedys
On Thursday morning, at 10 a.m. in Los Angeles, the auction house Julien’s kicked off one of its much-anticipated auctions: Unstoppable: Signature Styles of Iconic Women in Fashion. Up for sale were Hollywood costumes and props, as well as garments worn by different celebrities on special occasions, such as birthdays or award ceremonies. But the star of the auction was lot 31: the white three-tier tutu skirt that Sarah Jessica Parker wears in the opening credits of the TV show Sex and the City. Her character Carrie Bradshaw also wears the skirt in a scene from the 2018 Sex and the City movie.
The starting price for the tutu was $2,000, and Julien’s estimated that it could sell for $8,000, or even $12,000. But it quickly exceeded expectations. The online bids pushed the price up higher and higher. By the fifth bid, it was already at $30,000. The winning bid was $52,000. The skirt had cost costume designer Patricia Field just $5 when she bought it 25 years ago (although adjusted for inflation, the price would be closer to $10). An investment well worth it.
In its lot description, the auction house described the design as an oyster white tulle three-tier tutu skirt with a matching satin waistband. Its measurements are waist 23 inches; hips 32 inches (not stretched) and length 16 inches. The pink tank top featured with the skirt was not the original one from the production, added Julien’s.
The skirt has no label, nor size. It was Field who found it in the so-called Garment District of New York in a $5-bin. Field’s original idea was to have Carrie wear a Marc Jacobs dress, from the designer’s 1998 spring collection — the same one that Kate Moss wore on the catwalk. But the esteemed costume designer — who Parker personally requested be in charge of the show’s outfits after working with her in the 1995 film Miami Rhapsody — realized that she wanted something more timeless. Field thought the tutu was the perfect fit, and Parker also loved the idea.
Five skirts were used for the Sex and the City opening credits. The tutu on auction was one of the original five, but since it does not have any identifying labels, Julien’s provided a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Field.
In an interview with Vogue, Parker explained that several skirts were needed because in the opening credits, she is splashed when a bus drives past a puddle. “A lot of people claim they have the tutu. I think Pat [Field] has one, [writer-director] Michael Patrick has one. We just used one, but my guess is that sequence required a splash so there were probably four, five or six,” she said.
The skirt was combined with a pink tank top and Jimmy Choo high heels. According to Parker, they rehearsed the scene several times and didn’t have to do too many takes. “Pat and I, as we always did, talked about a bunch of choices. And at the end of the day, this is where we landed: tank top, tutu and heels. So there were a lot of these [tutus], which explains why people will claim to have one. I don’t think I have... do I have a tutu? I do. I have it,” she said, smiling.
Sex and the City became a massive success, and Carrie’s style inspired many women. In the 2018 movie, the character finds the skirt when she is cleaning out her closet. Her friends, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, who are there as she tries it on, demand she keeps it.
The other big star of the auction was a cocktail dress worn by Princess Diana. The black velvet gown was designed by Catherine Walker, one of the princess’s favorite fashion designers: Lady Di is estimated to have worn more than 1,000 of her designs throughout her life. In this case, the princess wore the dress at a private event in 1993. The bids started at $25,000, and the winning bid was $325,000. This, however, does not beat last year’s record, when Julien’s sold Princess Diana’s blue and black gown by Jacques Azagury for just over $1.1 million, making it the most expensive dress worn by the late royal to be ever sold. Last September, her iconic black sheep sweater was sold by Sotheby’s for $1.1 million.
Another draw of the auction was a green Givenchy haute couture dress, with a matching jacket, worn by Grace Kelly when she visited the Kennedys in 1961. The starting price was $15,000 and the winning bid was $325,000.
A gold Burberry trench coat that Whitney Houston wore on stage at a performance in Morocco in 2008 was also auctioned. The starting price was $700 and the winning bid was $4,550.
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