Woman finds £35,000 dress shoved in a cupboard
A UK woman has made an amazing discovery while cleaning out her grandmother’s attic, finding that it’s also worth a small fortune too.
After finding her grandmother’s 50-year-old Christian Dior dress, Adeline Vining took to TikTok for help on dating the dress.
She received plenty of advice from viewers, as well as fashion history expert Henry Wilkinson, and decided to take the dress for valuation at Kerry Taylor Auctions, where she discovered that the forgotten gown was actually worth £35,000 ($AUD 61,986 or $NZD 68,266).
“It was a bombshell,” Vining said. “£35,000 worth of dress shoved in a suitcase in an attic for 50 years. Given to me, which was then shoved in a bag in a cupboard for 25 years.”
Vining believes the mystery garment is the ‘Hortense’ dress, designed by Christian Dior as part of the Fall/Winter 1949-50 collection.
She also believes the dress was made especially for her grandmother, as its hem doesn’t match the Hortense dress kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Despite its eye-watering monetary value, Vining stresses that her personal connection to the dress is more important to her, as it has helped her unravel stories about her family, especially as her grandmother passed away relatively young.
“For me, the dress has never been about its value,” she said.
“I wanted to wear it, I still do want to wear it, Kerry [the valuer] told me never to wear it.”
Before the valuation, Vining wore the dress a few times, even washing the dishes while wearing the gown in one of her videos.
In one of her most recent videos, Vining made another surprise discovery about the gown: it has pockets.
“I can never get rid of this dress, it’s the most perfect dress in the world,” she says in the clip.
Now, she is unsure about what to do with it or where she could even wear it.
“The only time I can wear a dress like that is the Oscars, and no one is ever going to invite me to the Oscars,” Vining said.
She has told fans she may even donate it to a museum, and has apologised for wearing the dress so casually.
“I’m sorry to the dress and to everyone out there who recognised its value straightaway.”
Images: @adelinevining (TikTok)