Ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz

Sixteen-year-old Judy Garland wore ruby slippers as Dorothy Gale in MGM's 1939 The Wizard of Oz; the costumers changed Baum's silver shoes to red for Technicolor. Between seven and ten pairs may have been made; MGM's production records were destroyed. Each began as a commercial white silk and leather pump, dyed red and covered with sequins on a silk faille overlay. In spring 1970, as MGM cleared its Culver City backlot, costume worker Kent Warner found several pairs; the pair he delivered for MGM's auction sold for $15,000 to a buyer who gave it to the Smithsonian in 1979. The right shoe is from pair #1, probably the primary pair for non-dance scenes and close-ups, and the left from backup pair #6; the mix-up may date from the 1970 auction. The reciprocal mismatched pair, owned by the collector Michael Shaw, was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, recovered by the FBI in 2018 and sold in December 2024. After a conservation project funded by a 2016 Kickstarter campaign, the Smithsonian pair returned to display on 19 October 2018.

1. 1939

   CreatedC

2. 1939

   Made for MGM's The Wizard of OzC

   Commercial Innes Shoe Company pumps dyed red and sequinned by MGM's costume department.

3. Spring 1970

   Found on the MGM backlot by Kent WarnerB

   Found while MGM cleared its Culver City backlot ahead of its auction.

4. 1970

   Sold at the MGM auction for $15,000B

   Bought by a buyer who was not named at the time.

5. 1979

   Given to the Smithsonian InstitutionC

   Credit line: Merle Banta, Fred Carr and Stephen Hinchliffe.

6. 2016–2018

   Conserved after a public Kickstarter campaignA

   Nearly 6,500 backers pledged almost $350,000; conservators spent more than 200 hours stabilising the sequins.

7. 19 October 2018

   Returned to display in a new protective caseA

Worn by · 1939

Judy GarlandC

Designed by · 1939

AdrianC

Discovered at · 1970

Kent WarnerB

Made by · 1939

Metro-Goldwyn-MayerC

Exhibited at · 1979–present

Smithsonian National Museum of American HistoryC

1. A

   Smithsonian Magazine, 'The Return of Dorothy's Iconic Ruby Slippers, Now Newly Preserved for the Ages'

   ↗ View original record
2. B

   Smithsonian Magazine, 'How Dorothy's Ruby Slippers Came to the Smithsonian'

   ↗ View original record
3. C

   National Museum of American History, 'Ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz' (1979.1230.01)

   ↗ View original record