The enduring beauty of Marilyn Monroe’s style
An enduring icon of old Hollywood glamour and female sexuality, Marilyn Monroe’s style was anything but basic. Using fashion as a vehicle to express herself and creating a carefully crafted public image of herself as a sex pot, the famous actress is known for stating she wears ‘nothing to bed by Chanel N.5,’ an example of the hyper sexuality in which she dressed.
However, there were many facets of Monroe, and through careful evaluation of the images that still exist of her and historical details we are able to view her more carefully through a stylistic lens and understand the enduring beauty in her fashion choices that will allow the modern-day woman to follow Monroe in her acceptance of both her sexuality and body. Here there are the looks of the starlet!
The blonde bombshell aesthetic that Monroe is so well known for comes from her appearances on the red carpet, the characters she plays in movies, and the photographs of her as her fame begin to grow.
Halter Dresses
In both the Seven Year Itch and Niagara, Monroe was styled in halter dresses to create a simplistic and comfortable summer look. Considering that the image of her billowing white dress has become so deeply ingrained in American society, I do feel the need to note that this was a dress chosen for the character of ‘The Girl’ rather than Monroe herself. But given how she often dressed, I’m sure that she approved of this look!
Trumpet cut and mermaid flare dresses
As far as silhouettes for awards ceremonies go, finding sleeveless figure hugging gowns that flare out at the base to accentuate her hips was seemingly a go-to. While not everyone has a reason to dress for the nines, you can channel your inner Marilyn by finding a simple fit and flare dress for spring and summer!
Show-stopping details
Along with trumpet flairs, Monroe had a penchant for heavily detailed dresses for red carpet events. Think stunning sequins, thigh-high slits and fur stoles for an evening out…
Black turtlenecks
At home and on movie sets, Monroe’s style was a bit more staid and featured comfort as the prominent need. This only highlights that we can’t be over the top all the time and even the most extravagant of us might need to slip into a pair of jeans from time to time. So scroll down for some of Marilyn’s go-tos when she needed to relax.
White pants and either a comfortable black turtleneck or loose button-ups were long used as Monroe’s easy outfit for home life or air travel. And really who could make this look so sophisticated and sultry as Marilyn?
Blue Jeans
Worn on the set of River of no Return (1954) and then in the Misfits (1961), dark wash jeans became increasingly popular for women after Monroe wore them. The exact jeans that became a cultural staple from River of no Return (1954) were eventually bought by Tommy Hilfiger in the 1999 sale of her personal effects. So if someone tells you that jeans aren’t feminine, well, they’re wrong.
Feminine Details
Before her fame, Monroe did have a brief stint as a model and often was dressed in a demure, girlish manner. While her style in front of the spotlight would eventually change, this would be the simplistic style she would bounce back to when she needed a sense of comfort.
Her 3 style keys:
Figure out your signature style for each situation
Be unafraid to try new things
Know your body and what looks best on you
The enduring and classic looks of Monroe might be considered to be vintage now, however, the fact that she always took the time to dress for how she wanted to appear is something that we can all learn from. With the digital age often giving away false senses of who we are, taking this brilliant Hollywood starlet’s way of going on the offensive to dress the way you want to be perceived is a style tip that is timeless.
