Steve Jobs’ black turtlenecks are almost as iconic as the Macbook — and soon, you could own one, worn by the late tech genius himself.
Julien’s Live, an auction house that frequently works with celebrity estates, is auctioning off a whole lineup of the Apple founder’s possessions, including button-ups, ties, a “worn” leather jacket and, yes, those long-sleeved ebony tops.
PHOTOS: Stars Gone Too Soon
As the story goes, Jobs visited Sony in the 1980s and discovered that everyone in the company’s factories wore a uniform: a nylon jacket with removable sleeves, designed by Issey Miyake. Jobs loved the idea, so he contacted the Japanese designer for something similar. While Apple’s employees rejected the idea of the vest outright, the CEO stayed friends with the fashion visionary, who made him at least 100 of his signature black turtleneck. “That’s what I wear,” Jobs told author Walter Isaacson for his biography. “I have enough to last for the rest of my life.”
Jobs rarely gave a press conference without one of those turtlenecks, so it’s quite special that one is available. However, it isn’t solid like his best-remembered style, but branded with the logo for NeXT — where he worked from 1985 to 1997, after he resigned from Apple. (He, of course, returned to Apple in 1996, when the brand bought out NeXT.) The bidding for the shirt started at $500, but it’s already up to $1,000.
PHOTOS: Celebrity Look-Alikes!
Naturally, with about 50 pieces available, there’s more than just sartorial goodness up for grabs. Jobs’ keys, some of his books, his ID badge and even his portable Sony CD player — ode to a time before iPods! — are can also be purchased.
