Whenever there’s “shoes news” around, our team at The Leprosy Mission Australia’s ears prick up. Shoes, feet, and foot care are all subjects we think about daily.
So, last week, when we heard that the ruby slippers had gone up for sale, you can be sure we tuned in.
In case you missed it, the famous pair of ruby-red shoes worn by actress Judy Garland in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film sold at auction for $28 million.
Heritage Auctions had estimated that the auction item would fetch $3m or more, but that amount tripled in just a few minutes. Some bid online, others placed bids via phone, and others were in the room. Fifteen minutes later, the sparkling heels shoes became the most expensive movie memorabilia item to auction.
Now, while we love the idea of owning a piece of #iconic Hollywood as much as the next person, we can’t help but be struck by the gargantuan price the slippers’ new owner has paid for the privilege. And that’s without even talking about the whopping $4.5 million in fees that they will need to pay to the Dallas-based auction house in fees.
Granted, the sequined beauties have an intriguing history. A famous thief stole them from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, believing they were embellished with real jewels (they were not). They then went mysteriously missing until the US FBI recovered them in 2018.
But this particular pair was only one of several used in the original film, four of which still survive today.
Perhaps these are the actual pair that Dorothy Gale from Kansas clicked the heels of together three times while repeating one of film history’s most famous phrases – “There’s no place like home” – but we’ve no way of knowing.
So, what makes these shoes so valuable to the winning bidder? We can only speculate.
Here at The Leprosy Mission Australia, we understand that, given the right circumstances, a pair of shoes can be worth their weight in gold. However, we beg to differ about what those circumstances might be.
Take, for example, a pair of shoes customised for someone affected by leprosy. It’s important for many people affected by leprosy to wear special shoes that protect their nerve-damaged feet and toes. Their feet may be numb, so they can’t feel the injury. Feet with nerve damage from leprosy can become cut or wounded and then infected.
This can lead to deformity and even amputation. And it all can unfold in a community where leprosy is still misunderstood and stigmatised.
Special footwear protects the feet and ensures that people with leprosy can still work, do chores, or attend school safely. For a person with leprosy, a pair of shoes can be life-changing.
Thankfully, while the protective shoes and prosthetics The Leprosy Mission provides to people affected by leprosy are “invaluable” in their own right … the price tag on our beauties is nothing like the eye-watering sum that brought the hammer down on Dorothy Gale’s shoes last week.
Call us crazy, but we think that’s genuinely #iconic.
