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.