Epay Stories - Mink Jacket of Marilyn Monroe Page 2

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  There are a lot more fur items for sale for women than I would have ever thought possible. Even when the selection narrows down to mink, there are still many hundreds. Then I realized what I was really looking for was the image of the coat Marilyn Monroe wore in the film I had just seen. So I narrowed the selection down even more to vintage items. This showed a more reasonable group. I wanted more than something to throw over the shoulders but less that a full length coat. While the white mink looked good in the film, it seemed a bit much for someone not trying to stand out like a flashing light. A glossy dark mink jacket seemed to be to my taste. I like shiny things and a shiny, dark mink coat would seem to indicate the fur had been well maintained. Scanning through the available items there was one that immediately struck my eye. Then I read the title, "Mink Jacket of Marilyn Monroe." At first I didn't believe it, especially when I saw the low price at which it was being offered. What was the catch?

  Ah, here it was in the description. The word "of" indicated to me that it had been owned by Monroe but that was not how the seller meant it. Here it meant "worn by." The description explained that the jacket had been owned by the wardrobe department of a major studio for a number of years. It had been worn not only by Monroe but by many other women over at least fifteen years until it was retired. There were multiple pictures of the jacket which showed it to be in excellent condition. The description said the jacket had always spent the warm months in refrigeration. In fact, it seemed to have spent several years in the fridge while tastes changed. Eventually it was sold off by the studio to an individual. The coat was now being sold in an estate sale. This seemed to have deterred many bidders but I did not know why at the time.

  As the end of bidding approached I was outbid a number of times. Against my normal rules I increased my maximum offer each time. The jacket had attracted me as if it still had an actress in it. I had looked around and learned that items actually owned by Monroe had soared in value over the years. I was not interested in this as an investment, but in comparison to her true property it was a bargain. I believed she really had worn it.