Melody Thomas Scott, Beverly Hills, CA

“I recently read an article about how a woman’s passion for shoes can manifest as early as childhood, while observing their mother’s feet from their lower vantage point. High-heels are, allegedly, an early symbol of independence and power. I don’t know how true that is, but I am very passionate about shoes.

While we were preparing for the sale, just for fun, I said, ‘Let’s count how many shoes and boots we have here.’ It was over 600 pairs. Utterly crazy! It was so difficult discerning which ones I could let go of and which I should keep. Maybe a pair didn’t fit me anymore (because your feet grow as you grow older, sorry to be the one to tell you), or maybe they weren’t worn enough, or maybe they were what my daughter and I call, ‘sitting shoes.’ As long as you’re sitting, they are fine and you are fine, but when you stand up to walk you’re in agony – that’s a ‘sitting shoe.’ I knew I would never wear them again, but they were so beautiful to me that I regarded them as works of art. I keep them positioned in my closet on display.

Another issue is that my older daughter Alex is a fashion designer, and while we were sorting some of my fashion pieces she said, ‘Mom, you cannot give this away, this is couture that we’ll never ever see again.’ So in an effort to keep the process moving, I sent her to the rack to take what she felt like she needed to use in her career as inspiration or research, and she did. But I have no doubt that we’ll be having another sale in the near future – you’ll be hearing from me again!” – Melody Thomas Scott, star of the #1 Daytime Television Series, The Young and the Restless

Which of these items have some real Hollywood history (or at least a magazine cover) behind them?

There is the red dress I wore on the cover of TV Guide. That was definitely in the ‘80s. I mean, look at our hair. It was unfortunate because before that shot was taken, both Eileen and I had our hair down – long, beautiful, gorgeous. Then at the last minute, the photographer said, “Let’s do one last shot with the girls’ hair up!” Well, I have a lot of hair, and you can’t just put my hair up so easily and have it look good. All of us were unhappy with that setup, and we even said, “Just watch. That’s the photo they’re gonna use for the cover.” And they did! To this day, both Eileen and I still talk about how much we hated our hair in that photo.

In addition to gowns, you have an incredible collection of vintage skirt suits.

I bought the purple Thierry Mugler suit at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills. I always loved Thierry Mugler. It’s harder to find these pieces nowadays, but in the 80s it was so chic and I would go to Paris to buy them. I still have some Mugler pieces but gave a lot of them up – they don’t fit me anymore!

The antique sewing machine…

Yes. I was raised by my grandmother who taught me how to sew on one of the original 1903 White sewing machines. These obviously didn’t operate it by electricity as they do now, you raised and lowered the needle entirely with your foot.

What about your husband? Are any of his items in this sale?

The model trains in the sale are his. It’s just ridiculous, these boys! One of our directors on the show was a train freak. The train was set up in an entire room, it’s a huge system. Boxes and boxes filled with train parts, and they would play like little boys! I knew he was not ever going to play with the trains again, it’s been many, many years. I don’t even know if he knows they’re in this sale, so we’ll keep that on the down low! See how easy it is for me to give away his things?