Designer handbags and shoes auction could fetch a fortune (From Oxford Mail)

Designer handbags and shoes auction could fetch a fortune

7:50pm Saturday 27th October 2012 in News

A collection which would make the Sex and the City women weep will be sold to the highest bidder.

The auction of more than 400 pairs of designer shoes, 200 handbags and almost 1,000 items of women’s designer clothing at Bonhams is expected to fetch well over £100,000. They are all from the private collection of one mystery owner.

Claire Browne, head of Bonhams textiles department, said: “It has been an absolutely crazy thing to be involved in.

“I have been dealing with this collection for over a year now, we’ve been selling things in bits and pieces but this is the biggest single sale we’ve done.”

Another part of the collection, a series of Hermès handbags, sold for more than £500,000 in Knightsbridge earlier this year.

Items from the buyer in total have raised more than £1.4m to date.

The final sale at Bonhams in Oxford on December 4 will feature 60 Chanel tweed suits, dozens of coats, jackets, dresses, sunglasses and Hermès silk scarves.

Shoes come from Dior, Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Stella McCartney and Yves Saint Laurent, while clothes include pieces by Valentino, Prada and Ralph Lauren.

Most date from the past five years, have never been worn and are still in their original dust bags and boxes.

Ms Browne said: “For many of items, we still have receipts and the original receipts.

“The lady who owned these bought the items, stuck them in her house and never used them. Some we have traced back to catwalk shows.”

Raising particular interest will be a set of around 30 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage.

Ms Browne said: “This is very unusual for us, we often have textiles but they may be battered or out of date.”

The pieces will be available to view three days before the sale.