IndieWire: Few costumes in movie history are as iconic as the blue and white checkered dress that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz.” MGM’s classic film was one of the first movies to be filmed in Technicolor, and the initial reveal of Garland’s Dorothy stepping out into the colorful Land of Oz is instantly recognizable both for its narrative significance and the technological breakthrough that it signified.
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I had never known any of the lore about the dresses being missing before. It is so crazy that such an iconic piece was right there, in such an inconspicuous place for so long. I read and watch a lot of content that has to do with missing and mysterious objects throughout time and places. I know there are many who despair over the idea that ever since the real explosion of the Internet, that mysteries have been mostly all solved and that there is no real intrigue left in the world. It is stories like these that make me sure that as long as humanity persists, that there will always be fun little mysteries like this left in the world. I am very glad that this school is able to use this missing iconic piece to better fund some of their departments. Especially a department that is so closely related to the piece.
I am mixed on how I feel about where the money from the auction is going; while it is great that the film program will be developed, I think at least a portion of the money should go towards some sort of charity, or maybe Garland’s family, or maybe even give the dress to the family. Judy Garland was put through so much disgusting abuse on the set of The Wizard of Oz, and that costume piece is so attached to her image. To me it is more than just an iconic costume piece, it is a representation of the very dark past of the entertainment industry that we are still trying to improve. The same goes for many other costume pieces in the film, and elements like the green and silver face paint. There are so many horror stories from that set and while I understand people’s love for the film, I can’t help but think about the backstory.
It's so funny to me that somebody can lose essentially a priceless bloodstained relic of cinematic history in a shoe box on top of a mailbox for almost half a century. I guess it was just sort of forgotten about but it's certainly not like The Wizard of Oz only recently became popular so nobody was keeping tabs on the props or costumes.
It's good that it has been found, such relics are so important in the overarching story of the performing arts. I hope it ends up somewhere that it can be loved and appreciated by people that will be able to see it and not end up in some new box, entirely unseen, in some private collection for the rest of the century.
I don't really have anything else to say besides noting how important the preservation of art is for the generations that will come after us.
I find the costuming process for movies extremely interesting. The process of fittings, then alterations, maybe building or designing original pieces, then of course, in my opinion, the most interesting, postproduction. I do not know all of the nuances of what gets kept or thrown away, but from what I have seen in “behind the scenes” clips, many tv series keep everything with the network until they know whether the next season (or few seasons) have been approved. I assume this to be the same with franchise movies or movies with sequels, but I am unsure. However, I do know that some actors end up being allowed to keep certain pieces memorable to that character and that process is something I would love to learn more about. This article explains that they found one of Judy Garlands many Wizard of Oz dresses and will now be auctioning it. As they mentioned in the article, the school that found the dress will be receiving the auctioning money, but I wonder how they came of the possession in the first place and whether MGM had a say in whether or not they get “dibs” on it.
I had no idea Judy Garland’s ‘Wizard of Oz’ dress was even missing before reading this article. Honestly, reading the dress’s journey of rediscovery is quite funny and dramatic in my opinion. Perhaps we should all look through our shoeboxes and offices, maybe something will pop up! As the dress makes its way to the auction, where I’m sure it would sell more millions of dollars, I can’t imagine the significance of this event is to the film and TV industry. I mean, this movie and Judy Garland are both icons of the industry and hold great historical significance. I hope who ever gets hold of the dress will take care of it nicely. The article also mentions that the money earned from the auction will be used to fund a new film program at Catholic University of America and I think this is a very motivating message. I hope this dress gets to be exhibited one day so I can see it in person.
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