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22December   {Style Expert} Channeling Liz Taylor . . . on the cheap.


Finance experts will tell you that clothing and handbags are among the worst investments you can make--they rarely appreciate. This did not hold true for Liz Taylor.

"One of the greatest couture clients of all time," Liz was said to have still been "buying clothes right up until she went into the hospital for the last time." And this week, Liz Taylor's wardrobe was auctioned off for many multiples of it's estimated value, breaking world records and racking up over 154.2 million.

Couldn't make it to Christie's auction house last week? Or, let's be real, couldn't swing those record-breaking prices? There's still hope for you, FOF. We found 10 Liz knock-offs worth investing in.

SLIDESHOW:





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1. Liz Taylor's Gold and Multi-Gem Charm Bracelet, sold for $326,500


Liz for Less: Juicy Couture starter bracelet, starting at $38, and charms, starting at $29







Elizabeth began wearing her signature charm bracelets when she was a teenager. "By the age of fifteen...I really did have a new love in my life: jewelry. And I've been loyal to that love ever since." she writes in her book, My Love Affair with Jewelry. A total of five of Elizabeth's charm bracelets were auctioned off last week--each with the charms symbolizing different events in her life. "Everybody was always gifting her with golden mementos," writes Ruth Peltason in an article for Vanity Fair. "Zeffirelli, for Taming of the Shrew; Burton, for Cleopatra; there was even a Henry VIII gold half-sovereign of 1544. Sweetest yet: a gold ball-shaped locket engraved with the names of Elizabeth’s children."

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2. Liz Taylor's Lavender Gray Crocodile Trapezoid Shape Bag by Gianfranco Ferré, sold for $5,250


Liz for Less: Biyibi Croc-Grain Shoulder Bag, $68 or Manhattan Clutch with Chain from Aspinal of London, $460







Liz Taylor's trademark was her violet eyes and, appropriately, purple was her favorite color. She decorated her home with purple textiles and paint, adored lavender tulips, wrote love letters in purple ink and often donned the signature hue. Many lavender-, violet- and orchid-colored accessories, such as this bag, were among her collection.




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3. Liz Taylor's Donna Karan Black Velvet and White Satin Lined Caftan, sold for $9,375


Liz for Less: Silk velvet tunic from Soft Surroundings, $89.95, or Caftan solid maxi dress from Rachel Pally, $233







Vicky Teal, a designer who created custom caftans for Liz for 25 years, wrote in the Huffington Post, "The caftan was the ideal garment for an imprisoned movie star who loved to eat, and was also the perfect carefree, exotic ensemble to entice her handsome, sensual husband, Richard Burton." An entire corner of Liz Taylor's collection at Christie's auction house was dedicated to Liz Taylor's "cast of caftans," as Meredith Etherington-Smith, curator of the exhibit, called them in an interview with NPR. "A lot of them were made by Thea Porter who used to go around the Middle East, finding fabrics, and then reassembling them as kaftans," she explains in the interview.




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4. Liz Taylor's Ivory Sheer Chiffon and Ruffled blouse, sold for $1,250


Liz for Less: Gold Hawk Ruffled Blouse from Dillards, $99







Among Liz's auctioned clothing was a seemingly endless racks of flowy, silk and chiffon blouses from designers including Valentino, Versace and Christian Dior. According to The Telegraph, Gianni Versace was Liz's favorite designer, and her collection of Versace signature printed shirts is one of the "highlights" of the fashion and accessories sale.




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5. Liz Taylor's Brown Leather Saddle Bag, sold for $5,625


Liz for Less: Vintage Hand-Tooled Purse with Flower Detailing from Frisk Jewelry, $72









The first poster child for equestrian fashion, Liz Taylor starred in National Velvet in 1944, at just twelve years old. The movie, about a girl who prepares a wild but gifted horse for England's Grand National Sweepstakes, won two Oscars and launched Liz's career. Later, Liz recalled that while under contract to MGM as a child, the only time she "felt true freedom" was while riding her horse in the morning. As an adult, she often attended horse races including the 1968 Arc de Triomphe in Paris, with then-husband Richard Burton, and the 1986 races at California's Hollywood Park with Michael Jackson. From 1976 to 1982 she was married to Virginia senator John Warner, an avid horseman. The couple lived at Warner's Atoka Farm in Virginia. This Christian Dior saddle bag was purchased by Liz many years after the National Velvet's heyday, but it symbolizes her lifelong love of horses.




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6. Liz Taylor's Elegant Green Emerald Necklace, sold for $6.1 million


Liz for Less: Elegant Green Emerald Cubic Zirconia and Crystal Necklace from Overstock, $99.99









In the famed, on-again-off-again relationship between Richard Burton and Liz Taylor, Burton would win Elizabeth back each time with his charm... and lavish charms he gave her as gifts. One such gift was this emerald necklace from Bulgari, a jewelry store the two "discovered" while filming Cleopatra in Italy, where their love affair began. "I used to get so excited, I would jump on top of [Richard] and practically make love to him in Bulgari," Taylor is quoted saying in The New York Times in 2002." At first, Elizabeth waffled between a large emerald necklace and a smaller one, finally deciding on the smaller of the two. "Mr. B., you can't hardly get girls like that no more!'" Richard's friend told him. Elizabeth wore the necklace to meet HRH Queen Elizabeth II and for a photo shoot with Helmut Newton in 1985 in Los Angeles.




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7. Liz Taylor's 33.19-carat diamond ring, sold for $8,818,500


Liz for Less: Cubic Zirconia Ring form Overstock, $62.99









"My mother says I didn’t open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was her engagement ring. I was hooked!" Elizabeth Taylor once joked, according to InStyle. Her own "engagement ring" (or, at least, the ring she wore on her ring finger) was the "Krupp Diamond," a gift from Burton, who paid $305,000 for the 33.19-carat Harry Winston piece in 1968 (a record price for a diamond at that time). "This remarkable stone is called the Krupp diamond because it had been owned by Vera Krupp, of the famous munitions family that helped knock off millions of Jews," wrote Elizabeth Taylor in her book, My Love Affair with Jewelry. "When it came up for auction in the late 1960s, I thought, how perfect it would be if a nice Jewish girl like me were to own it. In truth, though, there's nothing funny about the Krupp. When I look into it, the deep Asscher cuts—which are so complete and ravishing—are like steps that lead into eternity and beyond. With its sparks of red and white and blue and purple, and on and on, really, it sort of hums with its own beatific life. To me, the Krupp says, 'I want to share my chemistry—my magic—with you.'"




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8. Liz Taylor's Van Cleef & Arpels turquoise and gold "Alhambra" Necklace, sold for $31,250


Liz for Less:
Clover Necklace from Bliz Of Glitz, $29.00









Among Liz Taylor's jewels at auction, there were at least four pieces of "Alhambra" jewelry, the now-ubiquitous clover-shaped charms, originally sold by Van Cleef & Arpels. Of course, Liz's pieces are the real thing, but a New York Magazine article from 2007 documents that knockoffs in this particular style have run rampant. "A New York socialite I know had her Alhambra necklace made on 47th Street for a quarter of the retail price... and Web sites such as Overstockjeweler.com offer copies for $180." Despite the cloverload of "Alhambra" necklaces on the market, one buyer paid $31,250 for Liz's bauble last week.




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9. Liz Taylor's
Fish Charm Necklace, sold for $30,000


Liz for Less:
Rainbow Trout Necklace from Etsy, $23 or Mermaid Tail Fish Starfish Necklace, $119 from Betsy Johnson









One fish, two fish... $30,000 fish!? Elizabeth Taylor's Van Cleef & Arpels fish charm necklace reeled in $30,000 at auction, surprising Christie's appraisers who valued the piece between $400 and $600. It seems Elizabeth may have had a fish fetish--there were multiple fish-themed jewels up for auction, and in 1993 she created a collection for Avon including some aquatic pieces. The reason behind her love for sea creatures is anyone's guess, although, one theory--the star, born February 27, 1932, was a Pisces.




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10. Liz Taylor's Gautier Poncho, sold for $35,000


Liz for Less: House of Holland poncho dress, $409.05 or West Coast Wardrobe Hooded Stripe Poncho, $52







"Ms. Taylor was going through a sort of modified hippie phase," said Meredith Etherington-Smith, about the period in the 1960s and 70s when Liz favored caftans and ponchos. Meredith is the curator of the fashion part of the Elizabeth Taylor exhibit. Perhaps, at the height of this "modified hippie" phase was her purchase of this Gautier Poncho "made of lycra mesh and woven with Mexican stripes."



  

Leave a Comment

34 Comments

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  3. sandy eckstein

    liz was a one of a kind woman. ‘the less’ looks great and works well.and no one will know it’s the ‘less, unless you tell them or they read this web site!

    Reply
  4. Margarida

    Elizabeth Taylor was such a classical beauty, actress and human being. She excelled as a spokeswoman for AIDs and in her love of beautiful jewellery.

    Reply
  5. MaryAnn

    I could never pull off all that jewelry on my petite frame. Would just look gaudy and awful. Liz on the other hand could wear anything!

    Reply
  6. Ann

    What a fun story. I know most women consider Chanel, Hepburn, Kennedy as their style icons….I have finally found mine: Elizabeth Taylor.

    P.S. I’m so glad charm bracelets are back!

    Reply
  7. Debe

    She could pull off wearing different pieces of jewelry and outfits as she was so beautiful. I looked online at her jewelry and clothing at Christys – some gorgeous pieces.

    Reply
    1. Julia Ray

      Liz! What a woman! She had an incredible “eye” for good Jewelry. She always said that the museum collectors’ pieces, like my fave, the pearl worn by Queen Mary, La Peregrina, were hers only as their carer, because jewelry would last several life times, as proven by this pearl with a 500 year history.

      Reply
  8. Diane

    Liz Taylor was “one of a kind” and most of her jewelry and clothing were also “one of a kind’s” and looked especially wonderful on her. I always looked forward to her movies as well as seeing her when she made public appearances. We lost a legend when she passed.

    Reply

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