Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Need a Place Like Home

  • Share
  • Read Later
Laura Johansen / Getty

The magical, coveted shoes of yore could be yours — for a hefty price.

What’s old and rose-colored and shiny all over?  If you guessed Joan Rivers, you’re out of luck. If you guessed Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (meaning you read the headline) and have about $3 million to spare, then it’s your lucky day.

(READ: ‘Avatar’ to Become Even More Three-Dimensional With Disney Theme Park)

On December 16, the illustrious sequined heels will be auctioned off as part of a Hollywood memorabilia sale at California’s Profiles in History auction house. The pair up for grabs is one of four surviving specimens made for the 1939, and were worn by Judy Garland herself. They’re marked “#7 Judy Garland,” and are reportedly in perfect condition, save for a few light scuffs on the soles.

A costume department worker found the shoes on the MGM lot in the early 1970s; they were later sold to a private collector during an auction in 1988. The whereabouts of the other three remaining pairs are scattered: one is on exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington; one pair is privately owned; and the third was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in 2005.