A pink, rhinestone-studded silk cocktail dress by Givenchy worn by Audrey Hepburn in Truman Capote's 1961 romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany'swas sold at Christie's in New York yesterday for €l20,000 to an Irish bidder.
William Doyle of Newbridge Silver in Co Kildare fought off international competition to purchase the dress for more for than six times its pre-auction estimate.
The frock will be flown to Dublin next week along with a number of other items acquired at the sale, where it will be exhibited at the company's purpose-built new Museum of Style Icons, which opened yesterday at its visitor centre in Co Kildare.
Last December when the famous little black dress immortalised by Hepburn in the same movie was sold at auction for a record price of €600,000 to the House of Givenchy,
Mr Doyle was the unsuccessful underbidder, though he did purchase a cocktail outfit worn by the actress in Charade for €203,000.
This time he not only purchased the pink dress worn in the scene where Holly Golightly learns that her brother has died, but also a substantial number of dresses - worn by stars such as Garbo, Betty Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Swanson, Vivien Leigh, Barbra
Streisand, Susan Sarandon and Sarah Jessica Parker - on a buying spree that came to more than a quarter of a million euro. "It means we now have a permanent exhibition," said Mr Doyle.
"Our plan will be not only to have our own permanent collection, but also a base for international travelling fashion exhibitions."
The company's new €1 million museum is currently hosting a temporary display of artefacts relating to Marilyn Monroe including a wedding dress.
All the items will be auctioned in Los Angeles by Julien's, a US company specialising in Hollywood memorabilia, on June 15th.