A slice of old Hollywood is up for grabs as a multi-million dollar collection of original glamour photography is put up for sale.

An iconic Vanity Fair portrait of Jean Harlow lounging on a bearskin rug is among the tens of thousands of pieces in the Michael H. Epstein and Scott E. Schwimer collection, set to hit the auction block on March 25 2010.

The auction catalogue reads like a who’s who of old Hollywood with the photographic lots including stars such as Clark Gable, Veronica Lake, Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo captured in the evocative sepia tones of the day.

“It’s time for Scott and me to share the fruits of our 25-year collection with the rest of the world,” collector Epstein remarked.

“I am certain that Scott and I will be back collecting once the auction is over.”

Master prints of works by Man Ray, Cindy Sherman, Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon will also be available at the auction, hosted by California-based house Profiles in History.

Fashion, fashion, fashion. It's all I've ever wanted to do!" cries Ali Redcliffe, a young designer and protagonist played by Leonora Crichlow in the BBC's new drama Material Girl, which airs tonight. "Does that make me a bad person?"

Yes, Ali, it does. It irrevocably and overwhelmingly means you will never, ever be one of the nice ones – on TV, at least.

Both the movie and television industries can't get enough of fashion at present. Dramas such as Ugly Betty and The Devil Wears Prada went behind-the-scenes at glossy magazines to follow hapless interns and abused assistants trying to worm their way into this most ruthless and competitive of industries, facing adversity in the form of bullies and vampiric bosses. Then there were the reality shows, like Project Runway, where wannabe designers competed for a job at a prestigious label, and America's Next Top Model, a literal face-off to win a contract with a top cosmetics firm. Needless to say, the judges were either beastly or crazed, and the participants ruthless or wretched.