Style Icon. Marilyn Monroe

Hi everyone,

Okay so it might not come as any surprise that I have decided upon Marilyn Monroe for my first Style Icon  post. Since I was a young girl probably 7 or 8 years old I was fascinated by the beauty that is the woman. Marilyn Monroe was more than a fashion/style icon but also an international sex symbol and representation of Old Hollywood at its finest in my eyes.

Marilyn was a young housewife, married at sixteen. A fact that shocks me, I couldn't even imagine being married at such a young age. She wore the typical styles of the 40s, and it was a number of years before she became the blonde Sex Goddess we revere today. First there was a modeling career, which in turn led to dozens of bit and small parts, usually as the "dumb blonde," in low grade movies of the day. Marilyn achieved stardom in a series of films for 20th Century Fox Studios in the early 1950s: How To Marry A Millionaire, River Of No Return, There's No Business Like Show Business, The Seven Year Itch, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Some Like It Hot, and others are among my very favourites. Along with an excellent singing voice (never adequately appreciated), like Harlow, she also had a flair for comedy with impeccable comedic timing :)

The ladies from 'How To Marry A Millionaire' L-R: Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable & Lauren Bacall

Paired with her blonde curls, bright red lipstick, dramatic eyelashes, and high-arched brows, Marilyn created a signature look all of her own, which she is still recognised today. It is both classic and unique, and will forever be identified as “the” Monroe style. Whether it was her bodacious curves, or those full lips and flirtatious eyes, Marilyn’s legend extended far beyond the time of her passing, at the early age of 36.

 So if you're looking for Marilyn-style clothes, think: 1950s, everything tight, cinched waists, halter dresses, spaghetti strap dresses with slim skirts, skin-tight capri pants worn with flats, sleeveless blouses tied at the waist, cardigan twinsets...in other words, unsubtle figure flattering outfits.

Which style icons inspire you?

x.k.