Dress worn by Marilyn Monroe worth a small fortune
玛丽莲·梦露价值连城服饰拍卖

Hollywood icons are known for setting trends, and few were better at it than Marilyn Monroe.

A harem dress she wore in Richard Avedon's iconic photo shoot published in Life magazine in December 1958 is now up for auction in London.

The photoshoot was a month after Marilyn Monroe completed filming for “Some Like It Hot.” In the photos, Monroe posed as various femme fatales from the world of cinema, including Marlene Dietrich, Lillian Russell, Jean Harlow, Clara Bow and Theda Bara.

The costume on sale is from Monroe's personal collection.

"Obviously, she loved it a lot because she kept it for her own collection and it was sold in Christie's estate sale of the personal property of Marilyn Monroe in 1999," Christie's Pop Culture specialist Caitlin Graham said.

"She also was desperate to play the role of Cleopatra, so she used the image of herself wearing this costume. She sent it to the president of Fox, trying to persuade him to give her the role, but unfortunately it went to Elizabeth Taylor in the end."

The costume is one of more than 100 pieces of film and music memorabilia available at Christie's 20th and 21st century pop culture auction.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's bullet ridden jacket from James Cameron's “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and the Roman body armor worn by Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's “Gladiator,” are each expected to sell for 15,000 pounds sterling.

Highlights available from the world of music include gold discs presented to the Beatles, a sequin covered bicycle used on tour by Elton John and a rare portrait painted by Bob Dylan of his first wife Sara.