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Lot #62, a pair of classic blue jeans from the 1950s believed to be worn by Marilyn Monroe, is estimated to sell for $30,000-$50,000 at auction this month.
The jeans are part of Julien’s Auction’s “Bold Luxury: The Limelight Edit,” which will take place on March 27 online and at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.
Worn in the 1954 film “River of No Return,” the zip-fly jeans from J.C.P. Co. (J.C. Penney Company) have distressing on the front of the leg. An inside label reads “1-68-1-0435 Helen Thurston A-713,” referencing Monroe’s body double Helen Thurston.
“Evidently, Marilyn and Thurston must have interchanged jeans during production because this pair ended up being in Marilyn’s possessions when she died in 1962. The waistband and the hips have been taken in on this pair, likely for Marilyn’s exact measurements, which is possibly why she took them home with her after filming wrapped,” Julien’s states in the product description.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this item will benefit Next for Autism.
The jeans were acquired by designer Tommy Hilfiger for $37,000 at the Christie’s New York auction titled “The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe.” It was through this same auction that the famous “Happy Birthday Mr. President” was originally sold for a then-record-breaking $1.267 million.
Marilyn Monroe’s jeans up for auction.
The jeans were part of Lot 7, which included three pairs of jeans, this pair being one of them. Hilfiger reportedly gave Britney Spears and Naomi Campbell the two other pairs of jeans.
Though Hilfiger put the jeans up for auction in 2017, it appears the designer held onto them. Julien’s reports that the jeans have been framed in a shadowbox which hung in Hilfiger’s office for more than 20 years.
Other unique denim pieces are up for grabs in the auction, including a reproduction of the crystal-embellished Levi’s 501 jeans worn by Britney Spears in a 2001 issue of “In Style, and a pair of white flare jeans by Rock & Republic owned by Victoria Beckham. The singer-turned-designer wore the jeans to FIFA World Cup game in 2006.
Other notable items include vintage 70s-era Levi’s flare jeans, a jacket and jeans by Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding embellished with black Swarovski crystals, 2015 jeans by Dolce & Gabbana, a pleated denim skirt by Chanel from 2001, a Rick Owens DRKSHDW denim jacket and a 2018 Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons jacket.
Julien’s has become a go-to source for rare and celebrity-worn denim. Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s Levi’s jeans fetched $412,750 in 2023. In January, it auctioned off a customized Levi’s Trucker jacket worn by Bob Dylan for $25,400. Last week, Timothée Chalamet, who portrayed Bob Dylan in the biopic “A Complete Unknown,” posted photos of him wearing the patchwork jacket on Instagram.
