LOS ANGELES — The Marilyn Monroe dress that flirted revealingly with a gust of New York subway air in “The Seven Year Itch” fetched $4.6 million at an auction of film memorabilia.
A more sedate outfit worn by Audrey Hepburn in the Ascot race scene of “My Fair Lady” drew a $3.7 million bid at the sale of nearly 600 Hollywood costumes and props collected by film star Debbie Reynolds.
The buyers, who were not identified, also paid a sum to the auction house and other fees, according to auction publicity firm Nancy Seltzer & Associates. That brought the total price to more than $5.6 million for Monroe’s white dress and $4.5 million for the black-and-white gown worn by Hepburn.
In filmmaker Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch,” Monroe’s character cooled off by standing over a subway grate to catch the breeze as a train sped underneath — which sent her dress north and exposed a shocking amount of leg and undergarment for a 1955 movie.
