Tips for Buying Jayne Mansfield Owned or Worn Items

Ok, so I think that this is a very important subject to discuss and is actually something I have not posted about previously. I want to make sure that all Jayne fans take care when purchasing Jayne Mansfield owned items. I myself do not own anything that once belonged to Jayne. These particular items are very hard to come by these days. In fact majority of Jayne Mansfield items that pop up for auction today are fakes. I never really did take notice of some items for sale as I honestly thought to myself 'who would bother to have reproductions made only to sell them as the real deal' but it is scary, there are people out there who do. I am not so naive towards it anymore. I am not at the point where I am ready to purchase something owned by Jayne but if I did I would do the extensive research to prove it is real. I would not just take someone's word for it and accept a photo of Jayne wearing an item that 'looks similar' to the item for sale. It would be nice to believe that certain Jayne items are real and that we can all own a piece but honestly they are harder to obtain than you may think. Jayne fans have been taken advantage of for too long.

I will start by posting a few items that have sold in recent years that are in fact real items.

Jayne Mansfield's Leopard Print Gown
Sold 2012 for $16,250 from Julien's Actions

Jayne Mansfield Rock Hunter Costume Dress
Sold 2011 for $4,750 From the Collection of Debbie Reynolds

Jayne Mansfield The Girl Can't Help it Costume
Sold in 2002 for $2,987 from the Planet Hollywood Vault

Jayne Mansfield Costume from The Girl Can't Help it
Sold in 2002 for $7,767 from the Planet Hollywood Vault
(The fur trim has been removed from around the bottom hem however I still believe this dress is the real deal)
There are reproductions of this dress out there too.

And then of course there are the questionable items. The one's that you just aren't too sure about. These are a few that I am stuck on.

Jayne Mansfield Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter Dress
Sold in 2010

Jayne Mansfield 1955 Award
Sold in 2008 for $660

Jayne Mansfield Gown
Sold in 2012 for $3,200 

Lastly is the very obvious fake or reproductions. When comparing them to the image of Jayne wearing the item numerous differences are visible.

Jayne Mansfield Mr Blackwell Dress
Sold in 2008 for $1,680
Now while it says in the listing that the dress was shortened this is not the dress Jayne is wearing in the image.
 Jayne's dress has a different neckline and the silver spills into the black on Jayne's dress where as with the fake the two colors merge together in a solid horizontal line. 

Jayne Mansfield Birthday Dress
Sold on ebay sometime between 2011-2012
(This is one of the dresses I completely overlooked at first, as you will see it is not real)

Another thing to be weary of is the auction house you choose to purchase your item through. If you decide to make a purchase through eBay make sure that the certificate of authenticity is not one personally made by the seller because one persons word is not enough when authenticating your item, especially when they are the one who stands to make a small fortune from selling the item. It is more than likely they will fabricate tales to sell their item for a better price. If your eBay item comes with a COA made by a reputable company it won't hurt to get in contact with that company and check with them that it was indeed authenticated by them as a sole seller on eBay could forge a COA from a reputable company to get more sales. If after contacting the company you find it was/is authenticated by them, asking questions about what measures they took to authenticate it is a good idea. When dealing with the big auction houses like Julien's and Live Auctioneers there may not be much mentioned in the listing as to where the item came from and how they authenticated it. Inquiring to this is highly recommended if you are serious about making a bid. Sadly not all auction houses can be trusted. In 1989 there was a large Jayne Mansfield auction held by an Auction house called Berdan's Deerfield Beach Auction Gallery. This auction house were caught out selling fake jewellery among other things. Here is a link to an article pertaining to the auction house and its misdoings.

 http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-08-07/news/8902240759_1_grand-theft-sapphire-ring

Also here are two adverts for Berdan's Jayne Mansfield Auctions.

My point with this post is just to make sure everyone is aware of what is out there. If you are interested in buying a Jayne Mansfield owned or worn item in the future don't fret, it is possible to achieve. Just be cautious and know that it most probably will not be cheap. Do your research before sending out your dollar bills, don't take an individual sellers word for it and be aware that you most probably will not find it on eBay. And all will be fine. Good luck with your future collecting fellow fans xxx