The secrets of Marilyn Monroe’s dress that Kim Kardashian wore

Sixty years after Marilyn Monroe sang “Completely happy Birthday, Mr. President” for John F. Kennedy at Madison Sq. Backyard, her iconic nude costume has been put again within the limelight.

Kim Kardashian, 41, took the costume for a spin ultimately night time’s Met Gala, making her the one particular person moreover Marilyn to ever put on the costume. 

The skin-tight mesh costume, which has greater than 6,000 hand-sewn crystals, was a part of the Monroe property till Anna Strasberg enlisted Christie’s to promote it in 1999, in response to the Day by day Mail.

Ripley’s Imagine It or Not! Museum in Florida purchased the costume at a Julien’s Auctions occasion in 2016 for $4.8 million. After taxes and costs, the costume was valued at over $5 million, making it the “world’s costliest costume” ever offered at public sale, Ripley’s informed The Publish.

The dazzling robe is now valued at over $10 million.

When Monroe requested costume designer Jean Louis to make a costume for her, she informed him, “I need you to design a very historic costume, a blinding costume that’s one-of-a-kind, a costume that solely Marilyn Monroe may put on,” in response to Ripley’s.

Bob Mackie drew the unique sketch as his first job out of school. 

The unlined robe made it inconceivable for Monroe to put on undergarments. The nude shade completely matched her pores and skin tone, with the crystals strategically positioned to cowl her up. 

It’s been reported that the costume was so tight that Monroe was sewn into the costume seconds earlier than her curtain name. Kim Kardashian admitted she went on a weight loss plan to lose 16 kilos in three weeks with the intention to match into the costume for the Met Gala.

The famed costume has stayed preserved at Ripley’s Imagine It or Not! till the truth star confirmed up at their headquarters in Orlando, Florida in late April.

Kardashian, a Monroe fan herself, was set on carrying the traditional costume.

“The concept actually got here to me after the gala in September final yr. I assumed to myself, what would I’ve performed for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What’s probably the most American factor you possibly can consider? And that’s Marilyn Monroe,” Kardashian informed Vogue.

In fact, Ripley’s didn’t grant the request with out hesitations. 

Monroe’s efficiency within the costume is without doubt one of the most noteworthy moments of her profession, so so much has gone into defending the costume and holding it in its authentic kind. 

Kardashian and the Ripley’s crew spoke to garment conservationists, appraisers, archivists and insurance coverage for steerage on make the Met Gala look occur.

It was agreed that no alterations have been to be made to the costume with the intention to hold it in its present situation, which sparked Kardashian’s brow-raising weight loss plan. 

“That is Marilyn Monroe’s costume. It’s sixty years previous. I had this concept to place it on and take a look at it on,” Kardashian stated on the purple carpet of the Met.

“They got here with armed guards and gloves. I attempted it on and it didn’t match me. I needed to lose 16 kilos,” she added.

Kardashian additionally dyed her hair platinum blond to channel the “Diamonds Are a Woman’s Greatest Good friend” singer.

“It was like making ready for a task,” Kardashian informed Vogue visitor host La La Anthony.

As a result of the robe’s preservation was the utmost precedence, Kardashian solely wore the unique costume for the purple carpet. She later become a duplicate. 

Although the “Completely happy Birthday” efficiency in 1962 sparked rumors of an affair between Monroe and President Kennedy, the costume itself was the true scandal. Its barely-there kind was “designed to shock” and Monroe “deceived organizers and stated she was going to put on a high-necked demure robe,” Ripley’s stated.

Ripley’s Reveals and Archives crew believes this costume is the “most well-known merchandise of clothes from twentieth-century tradition,” and can function it on show at Ripley’s Imagine It or Not! Hollywood for a restricted time starting Memorial Day weekend.