Los Angeles, Jan 25 (IANS): The three-tiered tutu that Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw’ wears in the opening credits of 'Sex and the City' sold $52K (over Rs 43 lakh) and its original cost was $5 (over Rs 415).
The skirt was one of many iconic items included in Julien’s Auctions' Unstoppable: Signature Styles Iconic Women In Fashion auction.
It was also one of the biggest earners and featured items spanning “from the Golden Age of Hollywood to today's trendsetting celebrities and influencers," reports people.com.
The tulle skirt, a white, three-tier tutu with a satin waistband, was topped only by a velvet cocktail dress worn by Princess Diana and the Givenchy ensemble Grace Kelly wore to meet President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, both of which sold for $325,000.
The winning bid on Bradshaw’s skirt was one of the auction's most shocking, as it was estimated to sell for $8,000 to $12,000 and SATC costume designer Patricia Field sourced the piece for just $5 before the HBO series’ 1998 premiere.
Field originally planned to style Carrie in a spring 1998 Marc Jacobs runway dress, but ultimately decided to go with something more timeless for the opening credits, per the Julien’s Auctions website.
After rummaging through a $5 bin in Manhattan’s Garment District, she found the skirt and with Parker’s stamp of approval the iconic tutu became a critical part of not only SATC history, but also fashion history.
And, because of the nature of the opening credits sequence, in which Carrie and her iconic tutu gets splashed by a passing bus, the auctioned-off skirt is just one of five that were used on SATC.
The tutu makes another appearance in the 2008 SATC film as Carrie gives friends Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) a closet clean-out fashion show.
As the chic squad bands together to decide which items the fashionista should keep or toss, the tulle number earns a unanimous “keep.”
Also up for bidding were an autographed SATC cast photo, which sold for $1,170, and Carrie’s laptop, which raked in $12,700.
The fashion-focused auction also featured items worn by icons like Whitney Houston, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and Elle Woods’ chihuahua from Legally Blonde.