By Emma Powell Deputy Showbusiness News Editor For The Daily Mail

Published: 19:52 EDT, 21 July 2022 | Updated: 20:09 EDT, 21 July 2022

Diamonds are a girl's best friend – or so the saying goes – but designer handbags and haute couture certainly come close.

And for those with a taste for the latter, there is a chance to snap up more than 180 high-end items at Bonhams auction house as part of the current sale of one owner's collection.

The Craft of Luxury: Haute Couture and Handbags is expected to make just over £370,000 as items by Valentino, Hermes, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Dior go under the hammer.

The sale runs on bonhams.com until midday on Tuesday.

The Craft of Luxury: Haute Couture and Handbags is expected to make just over £370,000 as items by Valentino, Hermes, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Dior go under the hammer

A blue Colvert Porosus Crocodile Birkin from 2015 is expected to go for the same price, while an Izmir Alligator Constance bag from 2015 in a similar colour could make £12,000

The most expensive lot is a 2014 Hermes handbag which is estimated to fetch up to £35,000. The black Porosus Crocodile Birkin 35 has a starting bid of £25,000

Dolce and Gabbana Alta Moda: a Mint Green 'Sunflower' Dress Spring 2014 Blistered floral damask mint green and gold silk with printed reproduction of Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers - Estimated price £1,000-1,500

Chanel's pistol heels sparked controversy when Madonna wore a pair to the New York premiere of her directorial debut Filth and Wisdom in 2008. Anti-gun campaigners branded her 'utterly senseless'. 

The most expensive lot is a 2014 Hermes handbag which is estimated to fetch up to £35,000. The black Porosus Crocodile Birkin 35 has a starting bid of £25,000.

A Bordeaux version, one of which Victoria Beckham was once pictured holding, could make up to £26,000. A blue Colvert Porosus Crocodile Birkin from 2015 is expected to go for the same price, while an Izmir Alligator Constance 18 bag from 2015 in a similar colour could make £12,000.

A pewter python double flap bag by Chanel could sell for £6,000, while a shiny green alligator shopping bag, also Chanel, could make up to £8,000. Four pairs of Massaro for Chanel pistol-shaped heels, once worn by Madonna, have an estimated price tag of between £500 and £800 a pair. A Chanel evening ensemble from 2016, featuring rose gold and silver-tone beading, has an estimate of between £2,000 and £3,000.

A green Dolce & Gabbana dress featuring a printed reproduction of Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' could make up to £1,500, while a Valentino floral embroidered silk dress and jacket from 2006 is estimated to fetch £1,500 to £2,000. It also includes a copy of the original fashion sketch.

Meg Randell, of Bonhams, said: 'These pieces are works of art, with hours of work going into each creation by incredibly skilled craftsmen. This is the most incredible single-owner couture collection I have ever seen.'

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Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

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