Judy Garland's Wizard of Oz gingham dress sells for $1.5m

The dress in questions is probably one of the most iconic in cinematic history - the gingham pinafore worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

The blue and white pinafore is believed to be one of 10 made for Garland to play Dorothy in the classic film, according to The Telegraph.

Featuring Garland's sweat stains around the neck, the dress had been expected to sell between $800,000 (£500,000) and $1.2 million (£750,000).

The dress displayed before the auction

The final price for the dress, made by MGM's famous costume designer, Adrian, was $US1,565,000 including commission. On Monday, an unidentified buyer snapped it up for $1.5 million over the phone during an auction at Bonhams in New York City.

"The dress is known as an authentic and eternal icon of classic Hollywood", she added.

In the past the Lion costume sold for a staggering £1.9 million while Dorothy's slippers would likely sell for a similar figure if they were put up for auction.

Surprisingly, Garland's dress is not the most expensive Wizard of Oz memorabilia sold at auction.

It is one of only two complete Dorothy costumes in existence, said Bonhams' director of entertainment memorabilia, Catherine Williamson. Bonhams put the iconic frock up for sale as part of its TCM "Treasures from the Dream Factory" auction on Monday.