Ferris Bueller's iconic vest goes up for auction 40 years after famously skipping school

Chicago Tribune

05-06-2025

Few films have done more to cement the city of Chicago's reputation in American culture than 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off,' the 1986 teen comedy classic that follows Ferris and his two friends as they skip school in the suburbs to explore everything the Windy City has to offer.
Now, 40 years after cameras first rolled, an iconic piece of the film's wardrobe is jumping off the screen and into one lucky fan's closet.
Starting today, Sotheby's will be auctioning off the signature sweater vest worn in the film by Matthew Broderick, who starred as the teenage slacker Ferris.
The vest is featured in some of the movie's most memorable scenes: Ferris electrifying the Von Steuben Day Parade audience with his performance of 'Twist and Shout,' the gang taking in a Cubs game at Wrigley Field and the trio making a trip through the Art Institute of Chicago.
''There are few costumes in Hollywood history that are instantly recognizable and this is undeniably one of them,' Darren Rovell, Emmy Award winner and the vest's owner, said in a statement.
Rovell said that the piece has been not only photo matched to the vest seen on screen, but also has been inspected by costume designer Marilyn Vance before being made available to the public.
The film was Vance's fourth collaboration with John Hughes, the man behind the Chicagoland-set classics, 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Pretty in Pink.' As the entire film takes place over the course of one day, Vance wanted to ensure each lead had a costume that told viewers everything they needed to know about the characters in just one look.
Early on, she decided Ferris should wear a sweater vest, as Vance felt it would quickly demonstrate his disregard for the conformist style rules of the adult world of the decade. Her search for the perfect vest eventually led her to a Chicago institution: Marshall Field's. There, she picked up an off-the-rack cardigan, trimmed its sleeves and created one of cinema's most iconic looks.
The vest manages to be retro, weird and cool all at once — perfect for the vision both Vance and Hughes had of the character.
'Bueller's vest is emblematic of the character's most exciting quality,' Sotheby's said in the statement, 'the ability to blend in anywhere, while standing out just enough to get exactly what you want from the world around you.'
As Ferris Bueller turns 30, Northbrook invites the world to sit and look at his favorite water towerThe winner of the auction will go home with more than just the costume. Three pieces of baseball memorabilia are included: the baseball Ferris catches at Wrigley Field and tickets from both baseball games featured onscreen (though the scene takes place over a single game, footage from two games was used in the final film). A pair of movie tickets from the film's original run are also included: one from a Showplace Cinema and one from a theater in Japan.
The bidding for the vest opens today, June 5 — the day Ferris himself left the suburbs and headed downtown, celebrated across the country as Ferris Bueller Day — and doesn't close until June 24.
For more information about this and other auctions, check out .