Lewinsky Wants The Dress
Back
Monica Lewinsky has asked for
the return of the infamous, semen-stained blue dress she handed
over to the Starr investigation into her relationship with Bill
Clinton. Ms Lewinsky, who runs a company in New York distributing
her own line of home-made handbags, gave the dress to the
Starr commission in return for immunity
from prosecution. DNA tests later supported her claim that the
stain on the dress was Mr Clinton's semen from one of their many
sexual encounters in the Oval Office. A New York dealer has
estimated that the dress, a simple high-necked Gap store special,
which probably retailed for something around $US40.00, could be
worth as much as $US500,000.00 or more to a collector - as long as
its peculiar presidential seal is intact.
Ms Lewinsky's spokeswoman said the dress had not been returned
with the other items sent back to America's best-known former
White House intern at the conclusion of the inquiry. "It's her
lawyer's position she is entitled to have back all of her
possessions," Judi Nadler said. Ms Nadler maintained that Ms
Lewinsky had no intention of selling the dress, despite the high
price it might fetch at auction. Ms Lewinsky said in a 1999
interview that she would burn the dress if she ever got it back. A
number of other items used in evidence have already been returned
to Ms Lewinsky, including several gifts she received from Mr
Clinton. The special prosecutor's office says it will consider Ms
Lewinsky's request for the dresses return "in due course".
"I would love to get my hands on that dress," Robert Schagrin,
a co-owner of Gotta Have It collectables in Manhattan told
reporters. "I could see it going for mid-six figures, maybe even
seven." "When you think of the Monica scandal, you think of that
[blue] dress," Mr Schagrin placed the blue dress in the
same league as the one worn by Marilyn
Monroe when she sang Happy Birthday for John F. Kennedy in
1962. Monroe's dress sold at auction in 1999 for $US1.26million.
Schagrin said "I can see our children's children knowing about
that [blue] dress. It's one of
those items that can transcend time."
Mr Clinton was impeached for lying about his having relations
with Ms Lewinsky and he was eventually acquitted, after a Senate
debate.
