The Journey of Dorothy’s Ruby Red Slippers

Feature image: Judy Garland wearing the original red ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz via Rolling Stone

For over eighty years, we’ve been mesmerized by the film The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Dorothy’s magical ruby red slippers that helped her get through the land of OZ. Fortunately, in 2024, we revisited the land of Oz and the famous ruby red slippers through the movie Wicked. On Saturday, December 7th, 2024, a pair of Judy Garland’s original ruby red slippers were auctioned for 28 million dollars at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas. The buyer is anonymous, but bidding for the slippers began online and by phone on Thursday, December 5th, before selling them. To this day, the ruby red slippers are the most expensive film memorabilia ever sold in history. The ruby red slippers auctioned off are one of the four surviving pairs Judy Garland wore in the film. Her ruby red slippers symbolize how long a journey takes, and they’ve had their journey down the yellow brick road as movie memorabilia. 

In the 1939 MGM film, seven pairs of ruby red slippers were made for Judy Garland to wear. Yet, in the 1900 book by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy’s shoes were silver, not ruby red. MGM only made the shoes red for the film because red stood out best with technicolor, which was very new at the time. The 1939 ruby red slippers were designed by Gilbert Adrian, MGM’s chief costume designer. The first design was a curled-toe “Arabian” ruby slipper, like an Aladdin shoe, as a costume test, but the team felt it did not give the “farm girl” look for Dorothy, who’s from Kansas. The official ruby red slipper for the film had red bulge beads, which later proved too heavy. So, the designers replaced the bulges with 2,300 sequences to give a ruby sequence. No genuine rubies were used, and all the shoes were sizes 5 and 6. Judy Garland had tiny feet. 

Over the years, the pairs of ruby red slippers have appeared in various museums, including the Smithsonian’s American Museum of Natural History, the Judy Garland Museum, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. However, thieves often targeted the iconic shoes, much like the Wicked Witch of the West sought them in the novel. In 2005, Terry John Martin famously stole a pair from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Authorities rediscovered the slippers in 2018, and Martin pleaded guilty during two trials in 2023 and early 2024. An article from PBS wrote, “He gave into temptation after an old associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value, his attorney revealed in a memo to the federal court ahead of his sentencing in Duluth.” Martin claimed he stole the ruby red slippers as a final thrill after a lifetime of crime. 

Recently, in November 2024, we revisited and honored the ruby red slippers through the film Wicked and the auction of the slippers. On November 22nd, 2024, Wicked was released after much anticipation. Dorothy’s slippers are different colorwise because they foreshadow elements of the original Wizard of Oz novel since Wicked is a prequel. For instance, the shoes in Wicked are silver and glass and are worn by Nessarose (played by newcomer Marissa Bode), who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the East. Nessarose’s silver shoes paid tribute to the original novel by being silver, and the costume designer behind these new pairs is Paul Tazewell. In an article for Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), Tazewell shared, “I wanted for it not just to be another ruby red slipper, but to be specific to the world we were creating.” Then, On Saturday, December 7th, 2024, Judy Garland’s ruby red slippers were auctioned for 32.5 million dollars at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas. The bidding for the slippers began online and by phone call on Thursday, December 5th, before they were sold to an anonymous buyer who paid 32.5 million dollars. The ruby red slippers were sold along with Margaret Hamilton’s original witch hat, which she wore as the Wicked Witch of the West, which sold for 2.93 million dollars. Fortunately, we’ll honor the Wicked Witch of the West again at the 2025 Academy Awards. On January 23rd, 2025, it was announced that Cynthia Ervino, who portrays Elphaba in Wicked, has been nominated for Best Actress. 

The Wizard of Oz is a wholesome American film that captures the American Dream during the Great Depression. The film appeals to everyone through the human desires of the main characters: Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West. Regardless, Dorothy's ruby red slippers remind us that the journey will be long but worthwhile. If Dorothy meets her goal of getting home, so can we. 

©ArtRKL™️ LLC 2021-2025. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ArtRKL™️ and its underscore design indicate trademarks of ArtRKL™️ LLC and its subsidiaries.