Matthew Broderick’s vest from the 1986 high school comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has sold at auction for a staggering sum.
In the film, about a student who skips school for the day with his best friend and girlfriend, Broderick’s starring character Ferris wears a brown and black knitted vest printed with a geometric pattern, layered over a white T-shirt.
It is worn during one of the movie’s most iconic scenes when Ferris crashes a downtown parade and performs a raucous version of the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.”
The vest, which was previously owned by sportscaster and avid collector Darren Rovell, was put up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York.
The item was expected to fetch between $300,000 and $600,000, but ultimately sold for $279,400 (£203,000) after 11 bids, Sotheby’s said in a news release.
Costume designer Marilyn Vance, who worked on the film, told Sotheby’s that the vest was chosen to convey Ferris’s individuality and his unwillingness to conform to adult wardrobes.
Choosing to put Broderick in a vest was one of Vance’s first decisions when working on the film, according to the release.
“The only real expression of color in Bueller’s entire wardrobe, Vance’s sweater vest immediately became the character’s signature piece and emblematic of his most exciting quality – the ability to blend in anywhere, while standing out just enough to get exactly what you want from the world around you,” Sotheby’s said.
The item was given up for auction by Rovell, who founded cllct, a website that documents collectable items from the worlds of sport and entertainment.
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“I feel this is the perfect moment to pass this legendary vest on to another passionate fan and devoted collector,” Rovell said in a statement this month.
The winner also received other memorabilia from the film, including a Chicago Cubs ticket from the game that Ferris attends at Wrigley Field during the movie. The ticket was for an actual 1985 baseball game between the Cubs and the Atlanta Braves.
Other items in the bundle include a 1980s National League baseball with a fake Charles Feeney autograph, as well as an index card with Matthew Broderick’s real signature.
The buyer also receives a 1987 VHS of the film, a 1980s ticket stub to see the movie at a Japanese theatre and at a Showcase Cinemas location.
Sotheby’s vice chairman of popular culture Ralph DeLuca said in a statement: “Few items in film history carry the instant recognition and cultural weight of Ferris Bueller’s sweater vest.”
“It’s more than just a costume – it’s a piece of 1980s Americana that embodies a character, a decade, and a universal sense of youthful rebellion.”
