There's no place like home, and Judy Garland's original ruby slippers from 1939's The Wizard of Oz are officially headed to their new home after being sold at a competitive live auction in Dallas, Texas on Saturday (December 7).
According to People, the iconic Hollywood memento was predicted to sell for $3 million, but the "fast-paced" sale quickly surpassed all expectations. Synonymous with Tinseltown's golden era, the iconic slippers sold for a whopping $28 million and ended up costing the new owner $32.5 million after fees. The unprecedented sale actually broke the record for the "most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction," surpassing Marilyn Monroe's iconic white dress from 1955's The Seven Year Itch, which sold for $5 million in 2011.
The ruby slippers lived multiple lives before getting into the hands of their new owner as they were purchased by Micheal Shaw in the '70s, placed in Minnesota's Judy Garland Museum in 2005, and were stolen from said museum by "former mobster" Terry Jon Martin before being recovered in 2018.
People mentioned that between six and 10 pairs of ruby slippers were created for Garland to wear in the film, and the pair that recently sold just so happened to be "cross-matched sister shoes to the pair at The Smithsonian Institution."
In addition to the slippers, the auction also saw the sale of Margaret Hamilton's "black Wicked Witch of the West" hat, granted to the highest bidder at $3 million.
The identity of the new owner of the ruby slippers was not revealed.