The first of screen legend Elizabeth Taylor’s eight wedding gown will go under the hammer in London next month.
Elizabeth’s first wedding, to hotel tycoon Conrad ‘Nicky’ Hilton, took place in Hollywood in 1950 when she was just 18 years old.
Her gown, a gift from MGM studios, was a beautiful oyster shell-coloured, floor-length satin garment designed by MGM’s chief costume designer Helen Rose, who was also responsible for Princess Grace of Monaco’s iconic wedding dress.
It is said to have taken 15 seamstresses nearly three months to sew and features a silk gauze off-the-shoulder illusion neckline, long, fitted sleeves, and the neckline, bodice, cuffs and skirt are embroidered with simulated seed pearls and glass bugle beads in a foliate motif.
The gown, which boasts a mere 20-inch waist, was topped off with a matching Juliet cap and is expected to sell for up to $75,000.
Among the guests at Liz’s first wedding were Hollywood’s A-list, including Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire and Esther Williams.
Unfortunately, the wedding lasted less than a year, however, the violet-eyed actress went on to marry seven more times (to six other men) before dying in 2011 of congestive heart failure.
She was 79.
Previous auctions of items from Elizabeth Taylor’s estate have attracted a whopping $210 million in sales, making her the highest-earning deceased celebrity. Most of that was the result of sales of her extensive collection of jewellery, artwork and clothing.
Taylor’s wedding dress will be sold by auction house Christies in London on June 26.
You can view the official website here.
MORE: Elizabeth Taylor’s other wedding dresses go on sale
