to Louis to have him create a similar design for her.
Marilyn told Jean Louis, “I want you to design a truly
historical dress, a dazzling dress that’s one-of-a-kind, a
dress that only Marilyn Monroe could wear.” Her wish was
his command and he constructed the gown, featuring over
6,000 hand-sewn rhinestones and sequins
in five different sizes and flesh-colored
silk soufflé gauze. The gown is
not lined, and Marilyn did
not wear undergarments. The
nude-colored gown perfectly
matched Monroe’s skin tone,
and the rhinestones were
strategically placed to cover
her body and twinkle under the
stage lights. The finished product
fit like a second skin and created
the illusion that Monroe was wearing
nothing except rhinestones. The dress took over a month
to create and was not completed until seconds before
her live appearance. Jean Louis stitched Marilyn into
the dress, just moments before she appeared on stage,
causing her to miss her curtain call twice. When she finally
arrived on stage, Peter Lawford, Kennedy’s brother-in-law
and actor, introduced her as “the late Marilyn Monroe.”
Now, an ironic statement as Marilyn would pass away,
under mysterious circumstances, less than 3 months later.
While Dietrich had been seen wearing her version
before Monroe, the press coverage surrounding Monroe’s
appearance at Madison Square Garden, swept the globe.
This dress became – besides the white halter pleated
one, from The Seven Year Itch – Marilyn Monroe’s most
famous. The white dress from The Seven Year Itch
remains the second most expensive dress in the world.
The World’s Most Expensive Dress will be on display at
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! on I-Drive through January 2018.
Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Odditorium
8201 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
www.ripleys.com/orlando
407.345.0501
DECEMBER 2017
|
WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
|
17