The Fabulous Estate of Derrill Osborn Is Mysterious Like the Fashion Icon

This is an estate sale as intriguing as the man himself.

From the moment I read this controversial full-page, full-color obituary in the Dallas Morning News, which was written and hand-delivered to the newspaper downtown earlier by the deceased himself, I knew the estate sale of Mr. Derrill Osborn would be epic.  The venerable icon of international fashion planned every detail of his funeral down to dress code, including his final wishes to “be cremated, and at his wish, ashes will be flushed down the commode.” His sister assured mourners at his funeral that he was kidding and his cremains were bound for his hometown of Abilene (though his faint British accent remained a mystery).

Osborn nearly always wore a flower in his lapel, something he picked up from his New Mexico rancher grandfather. Fittingly at his July 2019 funeral, he posthumously asked that men wear dark suits, white shirt, white handkerchief, and a black or gray tie, and women wear couture red or black. All guests were presented with red rose boutonnieres to wear.

Just as mysterious as Osborn was, so is this estate sale listing we spotted late Friday afternoon. Did Osborn plan this, too? We went to his estate sale Saturday to find out. 

If you want to see Osborn’s fabulous abode and own a trinket from the fashion icon, this weekend is your chance. The Dallas Estate Sale for Derrill Osborn will take place at 4151 Wycliff Ave from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Friends and Neiman Marcus associates were invited to attend Friday as a special pre-sale.

The listing is dryly understated as if Mr. Osborn was some average but fashionable Joe:

“This is the Estate of Fashion Legend Derrill Osborn. The sale contains art, Deft, Bacarat Crystal, antiques, Clothing, Oriental Rugs, and Linens.”

An understatement. We wondered if his favorite auction house, Dallas Auction Gallery, posted this on-site sale as part of their estate auction held earlier this week. But of course the esteemed company wouldn’t have misspelled Delft and Baccarat. Points for the oxford comma though. Instead, a handful of Osborn’s friends, including longtime friend Benny Jack of Benny Jack Antiques on Riverfront, posted it on EstateSales.net, we found out Saturday.

Back in 2009, Osborn pared down at least 500 pieces of his collection for auction at Dallas Auction Gallery, which 700 people attended, including the president of Sotheby’s. Before this weekend’s estate sale was set to take place at his Wycliff townhome, about 50 items from the Osborn estate were auctioned live on Wednesday.

Items included Venetian carved wood blackamoor figures, original oil paintings of Osborn, and paintings by New Jersey painter and former Ralph Lauren design director Nicholas Gamarello. One of Osborn’s favorites was the untitled cows at the watering hole, valued at up to $2,000 and sold for a steal at $750.

Also on the auction block, two of Osborn’s signature ensembles. This magnificent lot of London-based Lock & Co bowler hat, silver bowtie, three-piece suit, a pair of monogrammed Shipton and Henege velvet loafers, and of course, a cape, projected to sell for $350-$500, sold for $800. About those loafers, Osborn told Texas Monthly in 2017, “The monograms on these slippers are sewn by the blind. It is my own handwriting that is translated to braille, and they sew the monograms to match my signature.”

Credit: Dallas Auction Gallery via LiveAuctioneers.com

Another ensemble with his wide-brimmed hat with the front turned up, signature red and green plaid vest and trousers, wool cape, and a pair of Fort Worth-based M. Leddy’s leather cowboy boots, no doubt custom and handmade, sold for $750. He had a penchant for tucking his trousers into his custom western boots or ropers.

This estate sale is special because it’s a chance to go into this icon’s Oak Lawn home and sanctuary that he meticulously curated over a lifetime. Osborn had once described it as “a little Oriental here, a little French thrown in there, red and green, and a whole lot of cows.”

In 2017, he invited Texas Monthly into his inconspicuous two-story apartment where “there is another world hidden inside the walls of apartment number 102.” Lauren Smith Ford writes, “Almost every inch of former Neiman Marcus men’s fashion director Derrill Osborn’s one-thousand-square-foot space, from the green felt-lined walls to the surface of each nineteenth-century-era table, is covered with one of the hundreds of antiques he has collected over the years.”

Indeed, walking into Osborn’s townhome on Saturday was like walking into another world. (Continue reading for a footnote on what I purchased.)

 

Unique Finds

Among the walls of framed personal memorabilia that displays a fascinating life he lived, he had an impressive collection of bovine-themed art, china, and menswear for sale this weekend. Osborn had famously impeccable taste, so here’s a chance to shop his closet with shirts, ties, sportscoats, slacks, shoes, and iconic hats he was known for wearing. Above, a collection of berets and straw brimmed hats, similar to what he’s wearing in the framed photo and correspondence on sale for $95.

 

Additional men’s clothing includes a collection of neckties, bowties, and fine leather shoes, including alligator skin lace-up oxfords (price marked as $45), boots, and a pair of green slip-on boat shoes. There are dress shirts and sportscoats, including a red jacket, a green jacket, and a bold houndstooth. There may be some of Osborn’s favorite Anderson & Sheppard bespoke suits from Savile Row hidden away in there. Osborn has said that all of his jackets have a keeper for a flower boutonniere, his signature.

 

Osborn traveled well with this Louis Vuitton garment bag, which I found tucked under a few layers of accessories on the bed. The leather needs some conditioning and the corners are a little beat up, but it’s a bag built to last and only $350.

 

There’s a vibrant red and green motif throughout the lovingly crammed Wycliff Avenue townhome, built in 1962. In his small living area, he had more than 50 lamps, many with red silk lampshades, including this pair from the 1920s for sale. A green and gold mirror dates back to the 1890s and 18th century Delft featured on Osborn’s Instagram page are for sale, as well.

 

This Asian-inspired red secretary, custom made for him in Beijing, has a fold-down writing table with compartments for stationary and small hidden drawers above. This room centerpiece sold within the first 30 minutes that the estate sale was privately opened to friends on Friday.

 

Also for sale are his collection of canes and walking sticks collected throughout the world, shown above left by the secretary. He selected his canes by the uniqueness of the handle, he told Texas Monthly.

 

Osborn collected hundreds of first edition books in his lifetime. One of note is an original copy of Stanley Marcus’ book “Minding the Store,” originally published in 1974 that was tucked away on a shelf next to the secretary.

 

And what did I buy from the fabulous estate of Derrill Osborn? Cows, of course. Though the Louie tempted me, I purchased Christmas ornaments, a necktie, a small picture frame of St. Theresa, another small frame of a painted holiday card, and this. I am beyond the moon to find this professional Sparco brand racing suit worn by Osborn. I need to do some more research, but Benny Jack tells me he’s got a picture of Osborn wearing the suit designed by Hugo Boss and created especially for him with D. Osborn embroidered on the belt slung around the back. I thought it might be from the days of the Dallas Grand Prix, but Benny says it’s from a Le Mans race in Italy. I can just picture it.

 

 

If You Go

Address: 4151 Wycliff Avenue Town House 102, near Throckmorton Street

Sale Dates: 9am-5pm Sat. Nov. 23 and 9am-4pm Sun. Nov. 24

Cash and check only, no debit cards.

The apartment is small, so expect a crowd as I’m sure a limited number of people will be admitted into the estate sale at a time. Estate sale decorum dictates that carrying very large handbags may be frowned upon, as are four-legged children and possibly small two-legged ones as well.

Presented by, well, we don’t know officially. Typically estate sales list the company or individual hosting the sale with contact information. Before now, we only had these mustard trousers and a vest for a clue. Now we know it was hosted by his lovely friends that we met Saturday to assist Osborn’s sister Karen. Here’s the complete EstateSales.net listing.