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I
have been a huge fan of Dame Shirley for many years. I have seen her many times
in concert, always from the front row, and have a big collection of press
cuttings, photographs and memorabilia going way back to the early days of her
career.When it was announced that Dame Shirley was to auction fifty of her stage gowns for charity I immediately contacted Christie's in London. They sent a catalogue to my home here in New York, and after going through it I knew I simply had to get to London for the sale. I decided to bid, in person, for the Something dress (lot 32); a yellow sateen gown with cut-out paisley pattern shaped sections. It has always been one of my Dame Shirley favourites!
I made all the arrangements and before I knew it I was in London. I arrived the day before the sale and, due to a mix up with my invitation to attend, The Head of Special Events, Maria Estrada, had very kindly offered to personally show me around the viewing that day.
To see fifty of Dame Shirley's gowns on display was truly breathtaking; some of them were being auctioned with the matching coats she is so famous for. Christie's did a wonderful job with the display, everything beautifully lit and presented.
I was in for quite a surprise when Maria told me that Dame Shirley was actually giving a press conference at that moment in Christie's and would be leaving shortly.
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The next thing I knew Dame Shirley was walking toward me surrounded by her
entourage. I just could not believe it when Maria stopped her and introduced me
as "...a gentleman from New York who has come especially for the sale." I will
never forget that moment; Dame Shirley took my hand, looked into my face with
such warmth and sincerity and said, "I really hope you get something." By the
way, she looked absolutely gorgeous, wearing the white pants suit from the Thank
You for the Years CD cover. Believe or not, I ended up donating some money to
charity to get the glass she had drank from during the press conference -
complete with traces of Chanel lipstick!The following evening I arrived promptly at Christie's to attend the pre-sale cocktail party. Dame Shirley arrived in a beautiful full-length evening gown and really was the belle of the ball. "Give me a kiss!" she cried, after autographing my catalogue. She really was fantastic.
The sale was a wonderful, glamorous party. Five hundred of the most beautiful, elegant people. The champagne flowed and Dame Shirley really worked that room! She was on stage with the auctioneer and was as charismatic and dazzling as ever. I had decided, after actually seeing the dresses up close, to go for Lot 1 - La Pigalle dress; a shimmering, black gown that Dame Shirley first wore in 1965. Like many of her gowns it has been remodelled; it now has a slit to the hip, trimmed with black ostrich feathers which extend into a long train. The bidding started and I got to sixty-four hundred pounds. My lucky number is sixty-four and I could not stop myself shouting out to the auctioneer, "Sixty-four is my lucky number - bring the hammer down! The dress is mine!"
"Sold to the gentleman from New York," the auctioneer announced. Dame Shirley blew me a big kiss and I called out; reminded her how, when wearing that dress, she had absolutely wowed them in Chile. She blew me even bigger kisses! For me, all of this was totally surreal.
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The sale continued, each lot being snapped up one after another. Dame Shirley
had a great time entertaining us. "I don't have an orchestra!" she cried, when
we called out for her to sing. But sing she did. She started out with
Goldfinger, acting out with the auctioneer who pointed into the audience,
announcing bids at the end of every line she sang. During the course of the sale
she also sang Something, This is My Life, I Am What I Am and Diamonds are
Forever. Her only accompaniment was her audience; we clapped and sang along with
every line of every song.The grand finale came with the last lot; the Diamond dress. The bidding on this lot was very high. When it reached thirty thousand pounds, Dame Shirley burst into tears. I called out to her, "Shirley, you are magnificent. We adore you!" The audience gave her a huge ovation and it was clear that she really was very touched. The dress finally sold for thirty-five thousand pounds. Dame Shirley then sang her final number, The Party's Over.
Just like her concerts, the crowd did not want to leave. "How much for the dress you're wearing?" I shouted to her. Before we knew it, bidding started on the gown she was wearing! It reached three thousand pounds before she cried out. "I can't sell this - I haven't paid for it yet! And I'm going out to dinner after this!"
Dame Shirley eventually said her good-byes. The people there, many of them friends and colleagues as well as fans, obviously adore her; she has enormous presence, as we all know, and enchants everyone around her.
The people at Christie's were wonderful. When I paid for and collected the dress next day so many of the staff congratulated me and I was given a wonderful poster used to advertise the sale. It is actually a close-up of the Something dress, which I had originally planned to bid for. The auctioneer was there when I collected the dress and told me that I had actually been bidding against Christie's for La Pigalle dress; they had wanted to buy it to put on permanent display alongside a costume worn by Rudolf Nureyev. He also told me that if I ever wanted to part company with the gown that Christie's would buy it back from me. Yes, sure! I told him that if he was nice enough I may let him try it on some time. He then went on to say that in all his years as an auctioneer he had never, ever seen a sale like that; five hundred people singing and having an absolute ball.
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Dame
Shirley's La Pigalle dress had a seat all of its own right next to me on the
flight back to New York - there was no way I would let it out of my sight! Once
home, I examined the dress in great detail; it really is very beautiful and so
heavy! It is lined with gold tissue and the lining of the train actually has a
tear in it where Dame Shirley must have stuck her heel - I love that!My trip to London took hardly 72 hours - I didn't even have time to get jet-lag, but now that I have time to reflect, I can't help thinking, "Not bad for a little boy from Montreal."
Please, if anyone was at the sale and would like to share their experience, or any of you have any comments at all, I would love to hear from you. My e-mail is jfpnyc@hotmail.com
Thank you to Jean-Francois for sharing this story with other fans.