Ruby Slippers From 'Wizard Of Oz' To Be Conserved At National Museum Of American History

WASHINGTON -- Dorothy's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" are being removed from a Smithsonian exhibit to be conserved.

Curators say the famous shoes are old and need to be prepared for a future display at the National Museum of American History. The last day to see the slippers in their current exhibit is Wednesday. They will return to public view April 5 in a new exhibit called "American Stories."

The slippers were donated anonymously to the museum in 1979 and have been on display almost continuously since.

The 1939 movie's costume designer altered red shoes by attaching netting on their tops and heels and covering them with red sequins. Curators say they were made quickly and cheaply.

While the shoes are gone, "Oz" will be represented by the Scarecrow's hat.

Comments

[jdollinter]

02:09 AM on 02/20/2012

Give me back my ruby slippers, I'm the only one who knows how to use them.
Signed- Lawyer representing WW & E. Gulch

[Conservative PitBull]

11:36 PM on 02/19/2012

I have some socks to donate..

[itzselenaxoxo]

06:16 PM on 02/19/2012

Does anyone know when will the slippers be showcased at
the American Museum of Natural History ?!
I can't wait to see them !! ;)

[Chelseay Reynolds]

10:25 PM on 02/19/2012

It says it right in the article.

[leomaglor]

05:28 PM on 02/19/2012

We should give the slippers to Obama, he could put them on click his heels and go home!

[hnnbar]

06:02 PM on 02/19/2012

Obama 2012 whether you agree or not your party has very little to offer- they will be the ones going home.

[diverjay]

11:42 PM on 02/19/2012

Says a sampling of 100 HP posters.....

[Durt Bagg]

12:33 PM on 02/20/2012

didn't know LZ were warmongers... or puppets for corporations...

Let's not forget the real reason Bush/Cheney invaded Iraq at the cost of $1 Trillion tax dollars and over 4,400 American lives.

Fox News -- Greenspan: Oil the Prime Motive for Iraq War
America's elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, has shaken the White House by declaring that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil.
http://tinyurl.com/2726hs

Bush gives new reason for Iraq war
Says US must prevent oil fields from falling into hands of terrorists
http://tinyurl.com/9l3ru

[Husaria]

03:30 PM on 02/19/2012

They were suppose to be silver.........in the real story of Oz.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkq2E8mswI

[Rooster211]

02:31 PM on 02/19/2012

" 'Oz' will be represented by the Scarecrow's hat." ... If I only had a brain ...

[Husaria]

03:34 PM on 02/19/2012

Oz = Federal reserve bank
Cowardly Lion = William Jennings Bryan
The Tinman = labor and industry
The yellow brick road = the gold standard
The scarecrow = shady financiers and bankers

The whole story is an allegory

www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkq2E8mswI

[angellover97]

02:02 PM on 02/19/2012

they've already been in this museum for a while. I went there last year in februaury and saw them

[Poovoh]

06:16 PM on 02/19/2012

The story says they've been there since 1979. It says that they're taking them out for a month to restore them.

[Rosemary Hirsch]

01:18 PM on 02/19/2012

I have read in a book concerning film history that the movie star Debbie Reynolds should be congratulated for saving many of the models of the ruby red slippers used in The Wizard of Oz. Many prototypes of the ruby red slippers had been thrown into the garbage by the costume department of that movie after the film was com pleted. Ms. Reynolds saw the Americana value of the ruby red slipper.Even though these slippers were cheaply made, they still symbolize Americana and the movie, The Wizard of Oz, that many children of all ages adore, including my grown daughter.

[thrtnstars]

01:15 PM on 02/19/2012

The slippers in the book were silver....and the whole story was "real" , NOT a dream like in the movie.

[dragondancer1814]

01:30 PM on 02/19/2012

Hey, considering this was 1939 we're talking about I think they did a wonderful adaptation of the story! The sets were absolutely terrific, and the music and dancing was marvelous. Today's movies with all the computer-generated settings and action, somehow just aren't the same as real hands-on artwork.

[joestuf2]

05:39 PM on 02/19/2012

Amen!

[palmerparanormal]

05:10 PM on 02/19/2012

Studios back then and like today AWAYS changed whatever they wanted to a classic story. So, anyone who reads the "Wizard of OZ" after seeing the movie, they're going to say "Heyyyyyyyy! It didn't happen like that!"

[bob abooey]

12:51 PM on 02/19/2012

my cats breath smells like tuna

[tuco60]

03:29 PM on 02/19/2012

Scope works well.

[joestuf2]

05:40 PM on 02/19/2012

Stop feeding her tuna.

[gp341]

12:43 PM on 02/19/2012

Which ones? Thirteen pairs were made for the movie.

[LisaMarieNyc]

11:54 AM on 02/19/2012

YES......we all knew that there were multiple pairs of ruby slippers used in filming. Not unusual for such an integral wardrobe item. This fact has no bearing whatsoever on their significance and preservation. One thing we can always count on are the Debbie & Donald Downers of the world to project their inability to find joy in simplicity on others. Have a great day!

[rockysparks]

09:27 AM on 02/19/2012

This is not the only pair of ruby slippers, of course. They made several different pairs for the movie. Not all were worn in the movie, but more than one pair was used, is my understanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lHrgBbr6PY

[Caryn Banker]

10:36 PM on 02/18/2012

I do wish they had kept to the silver shoes, like in the book, but I guess technicolor demanded splashier, red shoes. Ah well.

[dragondancer1814]

01:31 PM on 02/19/2012

Also considering the special-effects abilities of the 30's, it was probably easier to put sequins on ruby slippers than to make a pair of silver shoes that were also capable of actually being worn. If nothing else, it was probably a lot more comfortable!

[Caryn Banker]

05:09 PM on 02/19/2012

Well, they had very nice gold and silver lame, (la-maaay!) that those 'Greta Garbo' gowns in the 30's were made of. They coulda used that I suppose. I think they just wanted to maximize the their new toy, technicolor.

[hphp]

06:17 PM on 02/19/2012

Sequins also come in silver...comfort had nothing to do with the color. Good grief - what kind of logic is that?

[Jced]

08:45 PM on 02/19/2012

The red photographed better than the Silver... The red absorbed some of the bright studio light, where the silver reflected it and made them just too bright!

[bradleymw]

05:20 PM on 02/18/2012

I interviewed Debbie Reynolds for a magazine in the '90s and she talked about her collection of movie memorabilia, including numerous costumes she had purchased from the major studios. She was quite animated and passionate about the importance of preserving film artifacts. I now have to check my notes (from the 1990s? Good luck) to see if she made a reference to these famous sequined shoes. I think she did.

[Caryn Banker]

10:34 PM on 02/18/2012

I think they made about 4-5 pairs of them for the movie. Does Debbie Reynolds have a pair in her collection?

[BansheeCry]

02:26 PM on 02/19/2012

I'm pretty sure I saw an movie auction show and a biography... She owns like 2 - 3 sets that she got around the same time she got the full Cleopatra set. Debbie Reynolds is classic and she's likely the anoymous donor of the shoes to the smith. I read somewhere she did have original silver ones but they didn't show on the film so that's why they went red. NOT sure if that's true. But, it was an interesting thing to read.