Whitney Houston's funeral was just Saturday and her burial yesterday, but some items from her movie The Bodyguard has already been sent to an auction house. A black velvet dress and earrings that she wore in the movie will be available next month to the highest bidder the New York Post is reporting.

Darren Julien is a celebrity auctioneer that says it's not unusual that items come up for auction after a star dies and that Whitney's items became available after she passed on February 11. He says such items are an investment:

"It proves a point that these items, they're an investment," Julien said. "You buy items just like a stock. Buy at the right time and sell at the right time, and they just increase in value."

The timing, however, seems really soon to a lot of people:

"It's a celebration of her life," Julien said. "If you hide these things in fear that you're going to offend someone — her life is to be celebrated. These items are historic now that she passed. They become a part of history. They should be in museums. She's lived a life and had a career that nobody else has ever had."

Houston is "someone who's going to maintain a collectability," he said. "For people who are fans of Whitney Houston and never would have had a chance to meet her and never got to talk to her, these are items that literally touched a part of her life. They are a way to relate to her or be a part of her life without having known her."

The dress is currently valued at $1,000 but is expected to fetch far more than that. The vest that she wore in The Bodyguard is also up for auction and valued at $400. Fake pearl earrings are currently at $600 but like the dress both items are expected to fetch more.

The items are available to bid online on March 31 and April 1 at Julien's Auction as part of a 'Hollywood Legends' auction. What do you think, too soon to be auctioning off Whitney's items?

Stay connected with us! Follow us on Twitter, fan us on Facebook, grab our RSS feed, or subscribe to us via a News Reader. We would love to hear from you.

Source