For my birthday, earlier this year, I had a vision to recreate iconic Marilyn Monroe outfits. My party was Old Hollywood themed and I’ve been a fan of the icon since I was a kid — so it all fell into place perfectly. For the first look, I did a pre-birthday photoshoot. And for the second one, I wore it to my party.
My mom and aunt liked Marilyn Monroe when I was growing up. So over the years, I read about her, watched her old films, and even had some of her songs on my iPod. So many people thought she was just a “dumb blonde” and they constantly underestimated and over sexualized her. But, she used that to her advantage. She took the perceptions of her and used them to find major success. She wasn’t dumb at all, she knew how to play the game better than history gives her credit for.
Obviously, I’m not an ultra famous white woman, but I can relate to the fact that she was consistently over sexualized because of her body and underestimated because of her background. But nevertheless, she did her best to create the life she wanted. She experienced extreme trauma throughout her life, but she still created a legacy and had talent that dazzled millions around the world. We all know it ended in tragedy, but I wanted this to be a tribute to what a bombshell she was. A strong, successful woman who people still quote and dress up as today. A legend, an icon. Something I’m working to become in my own way.
Here’s all the details about how my Marilyn Monroe outfits came together!
The White Dress From The Seven Year Itch
Of course, this is one of the most obvious Marilyn Monroe outfit choices. It’s often the one people use for Halloween costumes or Hollywood themed parties. The only challenge I faced when looking for the perfect dress was finding one in plus sizes. There are tons of white dresses out there in the world, but it had to be a halter, about knee-length, and it had to be able to flow with the wind in order to get the shots.
After ordering one failed dress (the fabric and style were just not it), I found what I was looking for on Amazon. It goes up to a 2X, which made me a bit nervous because some stuff on Amazon runs VERY small. However, the fit was perfect! And it only cost around $30. The rest was simple. I added a red lip, faux pearl earrings, and silver heels I already owned.
On the day of the shoot, my hair was not cooperating. I wanted ringlet curls, but they just kept falling out because I didn’t prep my hair properly. Shout out to my good friend Leah V! She did her best to help me get my hair together and she shot the entire thing on her rooftop without much notice at all. We even had a little fan blowing to try to get my dress to blow up! Haha. Totally couldn’t have done it without her and the pictures turned out great!
Fun fact: Marilyn Monroe was also 29 when the film The Seven Year Itch was released, which is where her iconic white dress moment took place. 🤍
Here’s the inspiration:
And here’s the final look:
The Pink Dress From Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
The pink dress is probably her second most well-known look. It exudes glamour! And she performed one of the most iconic songs of all time in it: “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” This was the perfect look for my birthday party. It was a bit harder to find a dress similar to hers when it came to the silhouette — especially on a budget. So I ended up going with one in a similar shade of pink from Fashion Nova (here’s one similar style, and another one). Although the cut of the dress is pretty different, it came with the matching gloves. I figured the gloves, plus layering on tons of fake jewels, would be enough to replicate the look.
I wore the same silver heels and added some jewelry from Amazon and some I borrowed from a friend. I did her signature red lip again and added a faux fur stole. The stole was good for dressing up the look, while also helping to keep me warm since this was in January. Also, I learned from the first shoot and my hair turned out much better this time! (Again, thanks to the help of my amazing friends.)
These photos were taken in my hotel suite at The Williamsburg Hotel, which was the venue for my birthday party. It was such a great night and I had so much fun dressing up as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars of all time!
Here’s the inspiration:
And here’s the final look:
How do you think I did with my Marilyn Monroe outfits?
