Ferris Bueller's iconic vest hits the auction block
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Ferris' vest. Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby's
A famous piece of Chicago film history is for sale.
The big picture: International auction house Sotheby's is selling the sweater vest Matthew Broderick wore as the titular character in John Hughes' classic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Driving the news: Bidding started Thursday for an online auction that includes other movie momentos as well.
Reality check: Sotheby's has placed a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $600,000 for the vest.
Flashback: Ferris, his girlfriend Sloane and best friend Cameron play hooky from their North Shore high school on June 5, 1985, and have the best day any teen could dream of.
- They stare at the Seurat at the Art Institute, taunt the Braves at Wrigley and, of course, Ferris serenades the crowd at a weekday downtown parade.
- The film was released in 1986 and grossed over $70 million globally.
Zoom in: Ferris' vest, worn over a white tee, was the creation of Hughes' regular costume collaborator, Marilyn Vance.
- Vance found the camel and chocolate-colored sweater at another Chicago icon, Marshall Field's, according to a press release from Sotheby's.
- Vance has said she cut off the sweater's sleeves to make it a vest.
State of play: In addition to the vest, the lot includes a baseball used in the movie, a ticket stub from a Chicago Cubs vs. Montreal game on September 24, 1985, where Hughes filmed the Cubs scene, and a 1986 "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" ticket stub from Showcase Cinemas, among other ephemera.
- It comes from the personal collection of sports business reporter and memorabilia collector Darren Rovell, Sotheby's says in a press release.
What they're saying: "Bueller's universal popularity at his suburban Illinois high school stemmed from his ability to unite his peers against a
common enemy: the adult world and its rules. Thus, Vance's design for Bueller needed to be different from the norm in an era defined by mainstream style," Sotheby's Vice Chairman Popular Culture Ralph DeLuca said in a statement.
- Ferris' look needed to convey the "happy-go-lucky effusive charm that made [him] the 'righteous dude' and paragon of late-'80's adolescent cool he has become."
Zoom out: The Ferris Bueller vest sale is the first for Sotheby's new Popular Culture Department, with items from the arts and collectibles markets, including film, music, television and comic art.
What's next: Bidding for "The Ferris Bueller's Day Off" auction closes on June 24.