Whenever we think of the most iconic looks from the 50s, the first person that comes to mind is none other than Marilyn Monroe herself. She was and still is one of the most famous faces of Hollywood. Always showing off her hour-glass physique and spreading body positivity, and oh! How can we ever forget her signature red lip? Monroe blew the popsicle stand with the most elegant and outstanding looks. Let’s look at 5 times Marilyn Monroe proved over and over that she could pull off some of the best outfits that would still be the talk of the industry even after 6 decades.
1. Silk dress with a fur stole
Source: harper’s bazaar
During the premiere of the movie “Call me Madam” Marilyn arrived in the most beautiful figure-hugging strapless prom style dress with a fur stole. This dress was the epitome of grace and delicacy. Marilyn was the talk of the entire premiere even without starring in the movie. She paired the dress with opera length gloves which were the cherry on top. This dress was supposed to be a subtle version of the pink dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in her “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” performance. The designer of this beautiful dress is not known, but unlike some, Marilyn did not mind repeating looks, so, she wore the same outfit again during the premiere of “there’s no business like show business”.
2. Gold Lamé dress from “Gentlemen prefer Blondes”
Source: bygonely
This stunning sleek gold dress was designed by William Travilla. Marilyn Monroe wore this dress in “Gentlemen prefer Blondes” only for a quick second but turned out to be one of the most staggering dresses in the entire film. This dress has a plunging neckline and an open back, which was not appreciated by many, as at the time, revealing dresses were still considered to be very gutsy. The gown had defined pleats all over. Marilyn was so in love with the dress that she asked designer William Travilla if she could wear it again for the photoplay awards, while the designer refused saying it would be frowned upon by others due to its open concept, Marilyn managed to get permission from 20th century fox and managed to wear the dress anyway.
3. Pink dress from “Gentlemen prefer Blondes”
Source: luxuo
This is yet another iconic look from the film “Gentlemen prefer Blondes”. This pink dress with a big bow at the back was also designed by William Travilla. By this point it is pretty obvious that Travilla was Marilyn’s favorite costume designer. This dress is what inspired Marilyn to wear her white silk strapless prom style dress during the premiere of the movie “Call me Madam”. People will be shocked to hear this but, the truth is that this exemplary dress was actually Travilla’s plan B. In 1999 this dress was sold for $1.26 million dollars during an auction which was said to be twice the estimated price. This dress was further accentuated by the diamond jewelry and matching pink opera length gloves worn by Marilyn Monroe. This dress was such a hit that later on many other celebrities recreated this look. One of the hit recreations was by Madonna where she wore a similar recreated dress in her “material girl” music video.
4. Happy birthday Mr. President dress
Source: the guardian
In 1962, while Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday” to president John F. Kennedy, she wore this beautiful nude dress which was embroidered with 2500 rhinestones. This dress was designed by a French costume designer named Jean Louis. In the year 2016, this dress was sold for a whopping $4.8 million dollars, and the day she performed in this dress was also said to be her last public performance before she passed away. This dress was seen again in the early months of 2022 when Kim Kardashian borrowed and wore this dress to the Met Gala for a short period of time.
5. Polka dot dress from “The seven year itch”
Source: alamy
This simple yet unique white and black polka dot halter neck style dress was worn by Marilyn Monroe in her movie “The seven year itch”. This dress is what started the trend of halter necks back in the 50s. in the scene where Marilyn shows up wearing this dress, she has her signature red lipstick on and she paired the dress with some white gloves which help emphasize this perfectly simple yet trendy look.
Written by-
Neha Tadipalli