White dress of Marilyn Monroe
Encyclopedia
Marilyn Monroe
wore a white dress in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch
, directed by Billy Wilder
. The dress was created by costume designer William Travilla
and was worn in one of the best-known scenes in the movie. The dress is regarded as an icon of film history and the image of Monroe in the white dress standing above a subway grating blowing the dress up has been described as one of the iconic images of the 20th century.
, he was still one of the many costume designers of 20th Century Fox. Travilla designed the clothes of the actress in eight films, and according to his revelation, also had a brief affair. In 1955 he designed the white cocktail dress worn by Marilyn Monroe while his wife Dona Drake
was on vacation. It remains his most famous work. According to Hollywood Costume: Glamour! Glitter! Romance! by Dale McConathy and Diana Vreeland
, Travilla did not design the dress but actually bought it off the rack (although the costume designer always denied this claim).
In the film, the white dress appears in the sequence in which Marilyn Monroe and co-star Tom Ewell
exit the Trans-Lux 52nd Street Theatre, then located at 586 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, having just watched the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon
. When they hear a subway train passing below the grate in the sidewalk, Monroe's character steps onto the grate saying "Ooo, do you feel the breeze from the subway?", as the wind blows the dress up exposing her legs. Originally the scene had been scheduled to shoot on the street outside the Trans-Lux at 1:00 a.m. on 15 September 1954. However, the presence of the actress and the cameras caught the curiosity of thousands of fans, so the director Billy Wilder was forced to reshoot on a set at 20th Century Fox. The depiction of Monroe over the grate has been compared to a similar event in the 1901 short film What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City
. It has also been described as one of the iconic images of the entire 20th century.
After Monroe's death in 1962, Travilla kept the dress locked up with many of the costumes he had made over the years for the actress, to the point that for years there was talk of a "Lost Collection". Only after his own death in 1990, were the clothes put on display by Bill Sarris, a colleague of Travilla. It joined the private collection of Hollywood memorabilia owned by Debbie Reynolds
at the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey
, speaking of the Monroe dress, Reynolds stated that "[the suit] has become ecru because as you know it is very very old now." In 2011, however, Reynolds announced that she would sell the entire collection at an auction, to be held in stages, the first on 18 June 2011. Before the auction, it was estimated that the dress would sell for a price between $1 and 2 million, but it actually sold for more than $5.6 million ($4.6 million plus a $1 million commission
).
in a style which was in vogue in the 1950s and 1960s. The halter-like bodice
has a plunging neckline and is made of two pieces of pleat
ed fabric that come together behind the neck, leaving the wearer's arms, shoulders and back bare. The waistband falls immediately under the breasts, and stands out from the top. Below the waistband is a long pleated skirt
.
, is said to have "hated" the dress, but it is a popular element of Monroe's legacy. In the years following Monroe's death, images of her wearing the white dress were shown in almost all the imitations, representations, and posthumous depictions of the actress. It has been emulated even into the 21st century in cinema, worn by Fiona
in Shrek 2
(2004), by Amy Poehler
in Blades of Glory
(2007), and Anna Faris
in The House Bunny
(2008), among others. In the film The Woman in Red
, Kelly LeBrock
repeats the same scene, but wearing a red dress.
The fashion web site Glamour.com has classified the dress as one of history's most famous dresses. A similar survey conducted by Cancer Research UK
voted the dress number one of all-time iconic celebrity fashion moments.
Anna Nicole Smith
appeared a number of time wearing a similar dress and parodied the grate scene.
A Mattel
Barbie doll was created dressed in the white dress of Marilyn Monroe. The image of Monroe also appeared on a postage stamp of Somalia
.
In July 2011, a 26 foot statue of Monroe created by John Seward Johnson II
called Forever Marilyn
displays the dress with the pose from The Seven Year Itch and was unveiled at Pioneer Court
along Chicago's Magnificent Mile
and is intended to remain there until the following spring.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
wore a white dress in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
, directed by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
. The dress was created by costume designer William Travilla
William Travilla
William Travilla , who went by the professional name of Travilla, was an American costume designer for theatre, film, and television. He is perhaps best-known for dressing Marilyn Monroe in eight of her films....
and was worn in one of the best-known scenes in the movie. The dress is regarded as an icon of film history and the image of Monroe in the white dress standing above a subway grating blowing the dress up has been described as one of the iconic images of the 20th century.
Background and history
When the costume designer William Travilla, known simply as Travilla, began working with Marilyn Monroe, he had already won an Oscar for his work in The Adventures of Don Juan in 1948. When Travilla began working with Marilyn in 1952 in Don't Bother to KnockDon't Bother to Knock
Don't Bother to Knock is a 1952 American thriller film starring Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark, directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by Daniel Taradash. Monroe is featured as a disturbed babysitter watching a child at the same New York hotel where a pilot, played by Widmark, is staying...
, he was still one of the many costume designers of 20th Century Fox. Travilla designed the clothes of the actress in eight films, and according to his revelation, also had a brief affair. In 1955 he designed the white cocktail dress worn by Marilyn Monroe while his wife Dona Drake
Dona Drake
Dona Drake was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was born Eunice Westmoreland in Miami, Florida, in 1914. Entering show business in the 1930s, she used the names Una Velon, Rita Rio and Rita Shaw. She settled on the stage name Dona Drake in the early 1940s...
was on vacation. It remains his most famous work. According to Hollywood Costume: Glamour! Glitter! Romance! by Dale McConathy and Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman...
, Travilla did not design the dress but actually bought it off the rack (although the costume designer always denied this claim).
In the film, the white dress appears in the sequence in which Marilyn Monroe and co-star Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell was an American actor.-Early life and career:Born Samuel Yewell Tompkins in Owensboro, Kentucky, where his family expected him to follow in their footsteps as lawyers or whiskey and tobacco dealers....
exit the Trans-Lux 52nd Street Theatre, then located at 586 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, having just watched the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
. When they hear a subway train passing below the grate in the sidewalk, Monroe's character steps onto the grate saying "Ooo, do you feel the breeze from the subway?", as the wind blows the dress up exposing her legs. Originally the scene had been scheduled to shoot on the street outside the Trans-Lux at 1:00 a.m. on 15 September 1954. However, the presence of the actress and the cameras caught the curiosity of thousands of fans, so the director Billy Wilder was forced to reshoot on a set at 20th Century Fox. The depiction of Monroe over the grate has been compared to a similar event in the 1901 short film What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City
What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City
What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City is a 1901 American short film depicting a woman walking over a grate, the hot air lifting her skirt....
. It has also been described as one of the iconic images of the entire 20th century.
After Monroe's death in 1962, Travilla kept the dress locked up with many of the costumes he had made over the years for the actress, to the point that for years there was talk of a "Lost Collection". Only after his own death in 1990, were the clothes put on display by Bill Sarris, a colleague of Travilla. It joined the private collection of Hollywood memorabilia owned by Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
at the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, speaking of the Monroe dress, Reynolds stated that "[the suit] has become ecru because as you know it is very very old now." In 2011, however, Reynolds announced that she would sell the entire collection at an auction, to be held in stages, the first on 18 June 2011. Before the auction, it was estimated that the dress would sell for a price between $1 and 2 million, but it actually sold for more than $5.6 million ($4.6 million plus a $1 million commission
Commission (remuneration)
The payment of commission as remuneration for services rendered or products sold is a common way to reward sales people. Payments often will be calculated on the basis of a percentage of the goods sold...
).
Design
The dress has a simple design. It is a light-colored ivory cocktail dressCocktail dress
A cocktail dress or cocktail gown is a woman's dress worn at cocktail parties, and semi-formal, or "black tie" occasions.The length of cocktail dresses varies depending on fashion and local custom. The length ranges from just above the knee to touching the ankle...
in a style which was in vogue in the 1950s and 1960s. The halter-like bodice
Bodice
A bodice, historically, is an article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist. In modern usage it typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from...
has a plunging neckline and is made of two pieces of pleat
Pleat
A pleat is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference....
ed fabric that come together behind the neck, leaving the wearer's arms, shoulders and back bare. The waistband falls immediately under the breasts, and stands out from the top. Below the waistband is a long pleated skirt
Skirt
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...
.
Reception
Monroe's husband at the time the movie was filmed, Joe DiMaggioJoe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
, is said to have "hated" the dress, but it is a popular element of Monroe's legacy. In the years following Monroe's death, images of her wearing the white dress were shown in almost all the imitations, representations, and posthumous depictions of the actress. It has been emulated even into the 21st century in cinema, worn by Fiona
Princess Fiona
Princess Fiona is the princess and the tritagonist in the films Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After. Actress Cameron Diaz provides her voice to the character, and Fiona's singing is provided by Renee Sands of Kids Incorporated and Wild Orchid.-Shrek:In Shrek, Lord Farquaad sends...
in Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
(2004), by Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
in Blades of Glory
Blades of Glory
Blades of Glory is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, and starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. The movie was released on March 29, 2007 by DreamWorks and MTV Films...
(2007), and Anna Faris
Anna Faris
Anna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
in The House Bunny
The House Bunny
The House Bunny is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Fred Wolf, written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, and starring Anna Faris as a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be the "house mother" of an unpopular university sorority after being conned by a rival into believing she's now...
(2008), among others. In the film The Woman in Red
The Woman in Red
The Woman in Red is a 1984 romantic comedy film starring and directed by Gene Wilder. It co-stars Charles Grodin, Gilda Radner, Joseph Bologna, Judith Ivey and Kelly LeBrock.- Background :...
, Kelly LeBrock
Kelly LeBrock
Kelly LeBrock is an American actress and model. Her acting debut was in The Woman in Red co-starring with comedian Gene Wilder. She also starred in the film Weird Science, directed by John Hughes.-Early life:...
repeats the same scene, but wearing a red dress.
The fashion web site Glamour.com has classified the dress as one of history's most famous dresses. A similar survey conducted by Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...
voted the dress number one of all-time iconic celebrity fashion moments.
Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith
In 1992 Smith was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March issue of Playboy, where she was listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown. The centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda. Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe". Becoming one of Playboys...
appeared a number of time wearing a similar dress and parodied the grate scene.
A Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
Barbie doll was created dressed in the white dress of Marilyn Monroe. The image of Monroe also appeared on a postage stamp of Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
In July 2011, a 26 foot statue of Monroe created by John Seward Johnson II
John Seward Johnson II
John Seward Johnson II also known as J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and Seward Johnson is an American artist known for his trompe l'oeil painted bronze statues, and a grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I ....
called Forever Marilyn
Forever Marilyn
Forever Marilyn is a giant statue of Marilyn Monroe designed by Seward Johnson. The statue is a representative of one of the most famous images of Monroe, taken from 1955 film The Seven Year Itch...
displays the dress with the pose from The Seven Year Itch and was unveiled at Pioneer Court
Pioneer Court
Pioneer Court is a plaza located near the junction of the Chicago River and Upper Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Magnificent Mile. It is believed to be the site of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable's original residence and trading post. In 1965, the plaza was built on the former site of his homestead as...
along Chicago's Magnificent Mile
Magnificent Mile
The Magnificent Mile, sometimes referred to as The Mag Mile, is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, that runs along a portion of Michigan Avenue extending from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side community area. The district is located adjacent to downtown; it is also one block...
and is intended to remain there until the following spring.