An Auction For The Ages - 252 Never-Worn Chanel Haute Couture Pieces

Clothes clothes everywhere, but not a drop to wear.

Mouna Ayoub owns over 2,700 pieces of couture, many of which she purchased during when she was only permitted to wear a black hijab. Art pieces to look at and dream about - to preserve in museum-grade boxes, untouched.

At the age of 18, while waiting tables at a restaurant in Paris, Mouna met Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid, a billionaire from Saudi Arabia. The two married, and as Ayoub details in her memoir, her life became "...a gilded cage where I felt myself to be unjustly treated and powerless... I was given the most sumptuous dresses and amassed a huge collection of jewels, yet I could only wear my black Arab robe and a veil. I was forbidden to speak to men, forbidden to see female friends not approved by my husband, forbidden to play sport, forbidden to laugh, or speak loudly in public."

No matter her inability to sport her hard-won treasures (the haute fashion world is quite competitive, after all), couture became a passion that offered Mouna a beautiful distraction from her unhappy marriage.

Divorced since 1997, the Parisian social staple is now digging into her archives for a cause, auctioning off 252 pieces of Chanel Couture designed by Karl Lagerfeld to support Fondation des Femmes. 

By her own estimate, 90 percent of the painstakingly crafted items have never been worn.

And you thought you were bad about buying things and not wearing them!

Certainly the auction will be one to watch. Fingers crossed our favorites below go to a good home that'll take them out on the town.

Coromandel Evening Coat
Estimate: 150,000 Euros - 200,000 Euros

Evening Gown In Embroidered Gold Lace
Estimate: 30,000 Euros - 50,000 Euros

Black Satin Corset Dress
Estimate: 1,800 Euros - 2,500 Euros

Ball Gown In Pink-Grey Taffeta
Estimate: 1,500 Euros - 2,500 Euros

Cocktail Dress & Evening Coat In Black Chantilly Lace
Estimate: 1,000 Euros - 2,000 Euros