Marilyn Monroe’s impact on Hollywood and popular culture remains significant even after her untimely death at the age of 36. Her movies achieved immense success at the box office, and her fame only intensified posthumously.
Authorities officially ruled her 1962 death as a probable suicide, attributing it to her struggles with addiction and mood disorders.
Her legacy as a cultural icon is undeniable. Even decades after her passing, she continues to be a celebrated figure in pop culture.
Flesh-colored dress
On May 19, 1962, the only person who upstaged the president on his birthday was Monroe, who stood on the stage at New York’s Madison Square Gardens and whispered the song, “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy.
The audience gasped as the star of Gentleman Prefer Blondes slowly peeled off her white fur jacket, revealing the flesh-colored dress that tightly hugged her body.
Since then, the custom-made dress that Monroe reportedly paid $1,440, is now worth multi-millions, and has been stored in a dark, temperature-controlled vault, now visible to the public at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Florida.
The dress has been worn by no one since Monroe’s sultry performance.
Until Kim Kardashian, 43, decided to take the dress for a spin at the 2022 Met Gala, that she attended with ex-boyfriend, Pete Davidson.
Speaking with Vogue, Kardashian explains her fashion choice for the annual event: “What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe,” says the reality TV star. “For me the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ to JFK, it was that look.”
When the historical dress was flown on a private jet to her home in Calabasas, from its home at Ripley’s in Orlando, Florida, it didn’t fit Kardashian. “The dress was transported by guards and I had to wear gloves to try it on,” she explains. “I always thought she was extremely curvy. I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger and bigger in places where she was smaller. So when it didn’t fit me I wanted to cry because it can’t be altered at all.”
Instead of opting to wear a different piece for the gala, and with only a few months to go, Kardashian decided to shed some pounds. “I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein,” she explains. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”
The next month, she visited the Ripley vaults for the final fitting and the stunning dress fit perfectly. “I wanted to cry tears of joy when it went up,” she says.
The dress was on loan to Kardashian and she would only wear it on the red carpet, afterwards slipping into replica.
On the day of the Met Gala, held at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kardashian arrived in a dressing gown and then, assisted by a white glove-wearing conservationist from Ripley’s, she changed into the dress. “I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers,…I put the dress on [at] the bottom of the carpet, went up the stairs. I probably had it on for four minutes and then I changed right at the top of the stairs,” says Kardashian, who changed again into the replica once off the carpet and up the stairs.
Introducing Monroe to new generations
Later, speaking on Today to promote her skin care line, the mother of four kids expressed surprise that some individuals, specifically those in the Gen Z crowd on TikTok, were unfamiliar with the world-renowned sex symbol, who lives in perpetuity.
During the interview, host Savannah Guthrie referenced a conversation where Kardashian expressed excitement about wearing the gorgeous gown at the Met Gala, and acknowledged Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for providing the opportunity to let Monroe’s legacy live on, through her.
“That was so shocking to me, and that’s why I was so happy…and that Ripley’s gave me the opportunity to share this moment so that it could live on,” Kardashian said. “I respect her and I understand how much this dress means to American history.”
Responding to the clip shared on YouTube, fans were outraged over Kardashian wearing the dress and for taking credit for Monroe’s popularity.
“You were shocked that some people didn’t even know who Marilyn was lol girl bye,” writes one fan.
A second shares, “People don’t know who Marilyn Monroe was? So what is Kim trying to say, that she needed to introduce Marilyn to the world? Lol.”
A third, suggesting the memory of the dress has been soiled, adds, “She is really reaching out for positive public recognition, and the respect for the dress that it deserved. It has been ruined.”