Celebrity Auctions at Sothebys.com
Rare apparel and accessories, shoes and handbags from the LaRose Exquisite Footwear Collection are being offered at an online auction this month at the Sotheby’s Web site [www.sothebys.com]. Joseph LaRose, who sold shoes for 50 years in Jacksonville, Fla., numbered among his celebrity clients Joan Crawford, Jayne Mansfield and Betty Grable, and in addition to the shoes and accessories he collected correspondence from Crawford and others. LaRose’s own sketches of shoe designs will be among the items at auction.
One of the auction’s highlights is apparel from Marilyn Monroe’s estate. The items are from the collection of the late actress’s half-sister, and include a wedding dress from her first marriage to U.S. serviceman James Dougherty (when Monroe was still known as Norma Jeane), and the Jean Louis design for the famous and emblematic sequined dress Monroe wore during her infamous “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” serenade to President John F. Kennedy on his birthday. Bidding for both collections will take place between Feb. 8 and March 1, 2001. —Louis Chunovic
