Leona Helmsley’s Couture Wardrobe for Sale
By Jane Ivory
16:28, March 10th 2008
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Leona Helmsley’s Couture Wardrobe for Sale

Real estate magnate Leona Helmsley’s designer clothing will go on the auction block in mid-May, a Chicago-based auction house has announced.

The luxurious outfits of Leona Helmsley, the real estate billionaire dubbed Queen of Mean who went to prison for tax evasion and fraud in the early 1990s, will go on the auction block on May 18.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, a Chicago-based auctioneer who specializes in vintage clothing, will be handling the auction. Leona’s gowns and dresses, in size 6 and 8, by designers Bob Mackey, Yves Saint Laurent, Bill Blass and Christian Dior will be priced from $200 to $500, the New York Daily News reports.

“The clothes are beautiful, really over the top,” Hindman told the paper. “There are some ... kooky things - a gold lamé vest with fur trim, but a lot of our younger clients would love to buy them to wear to a cocktail party.”

She also said Leona’s notoriety might help raise the going price for the garments.

The billionaire’s auctioned wardrobe also includes the Chanel suit she wore during her trial for tax evasion as well as numerous creations from her own staff of seamstresses, the Daily News reports. A special wing of Leona’s home housed her personal tailors.

Those wishing to buy can also offer a price for any of the 250 pairs of Leona’s signature Ferragamo shoes or for any of her accessories and furs.

Forbes.com estimates that the collection could fetch as much as $100,000.

Another sale of Leona Helmsley’s belongings is being held at Christie’s; the auction house is selling more than 500 works of art, furniture and other valuable objects that belonged to her.

Leona Helmsley died in August 2007 at the age of 87 from heart failure. Born Leona Mindy Rosenthal on July 4, 1920, she left college to become a model and, within two decades, married a lawyer, divorced him, then married a garment industry executive, and divorced him.

She married flourishing New York estate investor and broker, Harry Helmsley in 1972; at that time, his fortune amounted to some $5 billion, as owner of the Empire State Building, The Helmsley Building in New York City and the Harley Hotel chain.

In 1980, Harry appointed Leona president of the Helmsley hotels, a chain that included, among others, the Park Lane and St. Moritz in New York and the Helmsley Palace. She helped develop her husband’s business and became a household name in her own right.

In the late 1980, the two were indicted by federal and state authorities on charges of tax evasion worth $4 million. The 80-year-old Harry was spared the trial because of his failing health. Leona was convicted of $1.2 million income tax fraud; she was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $7.1 million for tax fraud.



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