Marilyn Monroe’s Top 10 Most Iconic Outfits

In honor of what would’ve been Miss Norma Jean’s 91st birthday this June 1st, I put together some of her best and most recognizable outfits. While Marilyn looked fabulous in everything she wore, these are are especially fabulous!

10. Here’s Marilyn in one of her best colors – white! This one has her wrapped in white fur. Winsome in White Fur, NY, 1955 © Milton H Greene / Archive Images

9. Marilyn in glasses! Fabulous 50’s cat eye glasses! This image is from the 1953 movie How to Marry a Millionaire where she played Pola Debevoise.

8. Next up is Marilyn Monroe in a casual black turtleneck. Photographed in the spring of 1953 by Alfred Eisenstaedt at Monroe’s Beverly Hills home for LIFE Magazine.

7. No one wore high waisted short shorts like Marilyn wore high waisted short shorts!

6. We’re now getting down to the gown portion of our post! These fabulous matching red sequined gowns designed by William Travilla were worn in the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Marilyn and her co-star Jane Russell.

5. The infamous gold Travilla gown that she wore when she sang Happy Birthday Mr. President to JFK. Marilyn photographed at President Kennedy’s Birthday Gala, May 19th 1962.

4. This pink beauty is another one of the many William Travilla designed dresses that Marilyn has worn. Worn in the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes during her Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend number.

3. Ah, the gorgeous Travilla (yet again!) gold lame gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (again!).

2. The “Ballerina” series is one of Milton & Marilyn’s most recognized collaborations and was created in October of 1954 at his New York studio. Marilyn was in New York for the opening of the Seven Year Itch. Designer Anne Klein sent various outfits for Marilyn to wear, however all were 2 sizes too small, so the poses in this sitting amusingly deal with her problem of holding up the ill-fitting tulle and satin dress. The most recognized image from this sitting was chosen as one of Time-Life’s 3 most popular images of the 20th Century.© Milton H. Greene, 1954

1. Finally! Another gorgeous Travilla designed dress, it’s the most iconic dress Marilyn Monroe ever wore. The image is from the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch and the dress even has it’s own Wikipedia page!

Which of Marilyn’s iconic dresses is your favorite?

xo
Justine

Vera & Schumacher

Wonderful article on Vera Neumann and her prints with Schumacher.

cristina buckley

Vera (Neumann) had a prolific career as an artist and designer. Her hand painted designs have appeared on everything from scarves to dinnerware, bedding, fashion, and towels. Her first foray into licensing her name and artwork was with the fabric house F. Schumacher in 1947. It was a pairing of two textile powerhouses. The first design Vera did for Schumacher was called “Tibet”, a landscape of Himalayan pine trees and traditional architecture.

“Tibet” by Vera Neumann

One of Vera’s most popular and recognizable designs with Schumacher was her “Jack in the Pulpit” which was introduced in 1949. This fabric was used in the Sun Room of the White House by the Trumans in 1952. “Jack in the Pulpit” remained available in Schumacher showrooms until 1986 – a noteworthy long run for any pattern. It featured ferns, one of Vera’s signatures that she depicted in many of her patterns.

“Jack in…

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Label Love: Carlette

Carlette label

When I found this super cute vintage dress, I immediately had to start looking up the label. Most of the time I don’t come up with much on these general kind of name labels. There’s so many of them and most have long lost the history of their origins. Every so often I’ll read a blog post out there that unearths some great grandchild of the legacy of a lable and I always find it fascinating. Check out my friend Lizzie’s blog The Vintage Traveler if you’re fond of historical stories about vintage. Especially her interview with Vera Neumann’s nephew and Enid Collin’s son. Both excellent reads!

Sadly, I don’t have the killer detective skills of Lizzie, but I do love vintage labels and researching them a little for my own curiosity. This time around I took a gander around for Carlette. Turns out Emmanuelle Khanh was one of the lines contributing designers. I’ve had another Khanh piece in my possession some years ago. That one was for Youthquake and included her name on the label, so we know it was her design.

Emmanuelle Khanh

Emmanuelle Khanh was born in Paris in 1937 and started in the fashion industry as a model for Balenciaga and Givenchy in the 50’s. She started designing ready-to-wear in the 60’s and collaborated with another ex-Balenciaga model, Christiane Bailly, to design their own groundbreaking Emmachristie collection in 1962. And Missoni in 1965 when she met Rosita on a trip to New York.

Sometime in the 60s she also did work for Youthquake, Cacharel, Krizia and our own little Carlette! I bet she even designed one or more of these great examples.

vintage 60s mod mad men blue linen and lace dress m by vintspiration

1960’s Carlette “Mary Jane” Knit Vintage Wedding Dress

CARLETTE // Rayon Linen Dress // Drop Waist // Large Plaid by lindaowen

vintage 1960s to 1970s dress / carlette yellow drop waist mod shift horizontal layers pleated skirt by SHESABETTIE

Lovely Lilly

Designer Lilly Pulitzer passed away yesterday at the age of 81.

Lilly Pulitzer was one of those labels that early on in my vintage hunting career was one of those top labels you knew were a real score when you snagged one. Lilly’s fun prints and great preppy vibes were always a hit on the online action circuit. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve picked up a vintage Lilly in a thrift shop so it goes to show that the masses were totally picking up on the labels value.

Lilly Pulitzer, the fashion designer known for her tropical print dresses, in Palm Beach, Fla., circa 1955.

Reading Lilly’s New York Times obituary, there’s one line that just crushed my soul as a vintage lover – “Although Ms. Pulitzer occasionally consulted with the company in recent years, once she retired, she threw out most of her archives and went on with her life, quite privately, in Palm Beach.” Ahhhh, that’s heartbreaking.

Vintage 80’s Dress, LILLY PULITZER Novelty Print Mini Dress by luvofvintage

 

1970s Floral Maxi Skirt / Lilly Pulitzer Inspired by DollyMaeVintage

Vintage LIZA by LILLY PULITZER Wrap Skirt by GreenandGroovy

Vintage Lilly Pulitzer Dress / 1960s Ruffled Sundress Pale Yellow Pink Peach Sherbet by zestvintage

Label Love: Pucci, Please

To honor the prince of print, Emilio Pucci, on what would have been his 98th birthday, here are some amazing Pucci pieces I spotted on Etsy.

Vintage 1960s Emilio Pucci Babydoll Nightgown Slip Dress $220.00 by boobooretro

vintage 1960s AUTHENTIC emilio pucci blue / silver / and white mod dress $142.00 by mondayschildvintage

960s Emilo Pucci Velvet & Leather Pipping Clutch Handbag $355.00 by EstateJewelsByGR

RARE 70s Emilio Pucci Velvet Coat $295.00 by ChelseaGirlNYC