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Lucille Ball's 'I Love Lucy' dress sells at auction for $168K

At first glance, it's just a tailored polka-dotted dress. But since it was once owned by Lucille Ball and worn on her iconic "I Love Lucy" show, it's worth a whole lot more than retail — $168,000 as it turns out. That's how much a bidder purchased it for when the dress went up for auction through Profiles in History at the end of July.Bidding on the dress and some of the other items surprised e
Owner James Comisar holds up Lucille Ball's dress prior to its being auctioned off.
Owner James Comisar holds up Lucille Ball's dress prior to its being auctioned off.AP file

At first glance, it's just a tailored polka-dotted dress. But since it was once owned by Lucille Ball and worn on her iconic "I Love Lucy" show, it's worth a whole lot more than retail — $168,000 as it turns out. That's how much a bidder purchased it for when the dress went up for auction through Profiles in History at the end of July.

Bidding on the dress and some of the other items surprised experts, wrote WENN. Ball's Lucy Ricardo (the name of her character on the series) dress was expected to draw around $40,000 to $60,000. 

Other big bids came in for showbiz-related items, including a costume worn by James Gandolfini in his final "Sopranos" scene. Added prior to the actor's death in June, it sold for $22,000. 

A dress used by Judy Garland to test in for "The Wizard of Oz" and worn during the first two weeks of filming in 1938 was expected to fetch between $80,000 and $120,000 and instead brought in $360,000. In 2011, another test dress sold for $910,000; last November, one of her iconic gingham pinafore dresses worn in the finished film sold for $480,000. 

Additionally, costumes used in "The Sound of Music," including Julie Andrews' key Maria dress and floral lederhosen worn by the Von Trapp family children, fetched $1.3 million.