Marilyn Monroe's iconic white dress blows up to make £2.8m at memorabilia sale

THE pleated white dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch has sold for £2.8 million at auction.

In one of movie history's most iconic moments, gusts of subterranean air lifted the dress well above Monroe's knees in a scene from the film.

It was one of the lots up for auction at a sale of movie memorabilia in Los Angeles yesterday.

Others included Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra headdress, the bowler hat worn by Charlie Chaplin in The Little Tramp and the guitar played by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music.

The sale made millions for actress Debbie Reynolds, who collected the items over 40 years.

Some of the items on sale were from the collection that belonged to Taylor, who died this year.

Reynolds, 79, was said to be in tears, as she watched her collection being snapped up by international collectors of movie memorabilia,

She said the responsibility of looking after the items was too much. She added: "I won't have quite so much responsibility and I can rest a little more."

Auctioneer Joe Maddalena, said it was a shame the collection had been broken up.

He said: "The fact there isn't a movie hall of fame, a cultural institute to share this around the world is an atrocity. I don't think anybody cares enough about their heritage to do something about it."

Memorabilia collector Keya Morgan said the prices paid were "totally crazy".