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Step into the timeless world of Marilyn Monroe’s fashion legacy as we reveal the unforgettable outfits that defined her status as Hollywood’s ultimate style icon. From the dazzling pink gown to the legendary subway grate dress, these looks showcase Monroe’s blend of glamour, confidence, and bold flair that continue to inspire designers and fans worldwide. Discover the stories behind the dresses that made her a true fashion legend.
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00:01Happy birthday to you.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo!
00:08And today, we're counting down our picks for the most memorable ensembles
00:11that helped turn Hollywood's ultimate blonde bombshell into an eternal style legend.
00:16Oh, say...
00:19I figured it just isn't right to drink champagne in Matador pants.
00:22Would you mind fastening my straps in the back?
00:26Number 20, the cut-out fuchsia dress from Niagara.
00:30Rose Loomis knows exactly how to make an entrance,
00:32and this look practically arrives with its own spotlight.
00:35Why don't you ever get a dress like that?
00:39Listen, for a dress like that, you've got to start laying plans when you're about 13.
00:44Designed by Dorothy Jeakins,
00:46Marilyn's hot pink party number in Niagara is all dangerous glamour and technicolor drama.
00:51With an off-the-shoulder neckline, underbust detail, and tiny bow doing maximum mischief.
00:56It's not just pretty, it's plot.
00:58The design makes Rose's confidence impossible to miss.
01:02Against the film's moody thriller atmosphere,
01:04that candy-bright shade feels almost scandalous,
01:07a warning sign wrapped in killer confidence.
01:10Cinema fashion said, behave, and she said, absolutely not.
01:13Make my life perfection.
01:22Perfection.
01:24Number 19, the headscarf and sunglasses look with Arthur Miller.
01:28Here, glamour goes undercover, but it somehow feels even more cinematic.
01:40Photographed with husband Arthur Miller in 1956,
01:43Marilyn makes a simple daytime outfit feel like a masterclass in off-duty movie star dressing.
01:48Dark cat-eye sunglasses, a pale scarf tied snugly under the chin,
01:52a crisp collared shirt, and a soft jacket.
01:55Nothing is screaming for attention, which is exactly why it works.
01:58The look has a breezy Riviera elegance that still feels impossibly chic decades later.
02:04She's relaxed and radiant, but still unmistakably Marilyn.
02:08She may have been going incognito, but the result was still unmistakably iconic.
02:13Number 18, the wedding suit.
02:15For a bride as luminous as Marilyn, a sweeping white gown would have been the obvious choice.
02:20Instead, she went strikingly restrained.
02:23And that's what made the look so fascinating.
02:25The prettiest catch of his career.
02:27Former baseball star Joe DiMaggio wed screen star Marilyn Monroe.
02:32When she married Joe DiMaggio at San Francisco City Hall on January 14, 1954,
02:37she chose an off-the-rack dark brown two-piece suit with a white mink collar,
02:41reportedly bought from a department store.
02:43The look played beautifully against type.
02:46Modest, polished, almost prim, but still unmistakably starry.
02:50It felt private, practical, and quietly glamorous.
02:53Prove that Marilyn didn't need a full bridal spectacle to make fashion history.
02:57They kept the nation guessing.
02:59Then entered wedlock in the unsuspected ceremony at San Francisco City Hall.
03:04A hit with all their fans.
03:06Number 17, the orange dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
03:10I told the coalition leader that what we need is a man who can do something above.
03:19Finish your story, dear.
03:20Lorelai Lee didn't need diamonds here.
03:22She had citrus-toned couture doing all the flirting.
03:25Designed by William Trevia for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,
03:28this vivid orange gown is one of Marilyn's most underrated looks from the film.
03:32The fitted bodice, delicate straps, beaded detailing, ruching, and matching scarf
03:37give the look a polished, high-glam finish without overpowering her.
03:41Don't you feel alone out on a big ocean?
03:43Well, I am.
03:44I just adore conversation.
03:45Don't you?
03:46Well, certainly.
03:47It's a warmer, slinkier counterpoint to the film's famous pink number,
03:51proving Lorelai's wardrobe had range far beyond one signature shade.
03:55Pink may get the headlines, but this tangerine stunner deserves its own standing ovation.
04:00Well, well, well.
04:01Oh, there you are.
04:02I say, Miss Lee.
04:03Will you dance with me?
04:04I shall be jolly well pleased, if you will.
04:06Thank you ever, sir.
04:06I'd love to.
04:07The fact is, if you hadn't asked me, I was going to ask you.
04:10Number 16.
04:11The 23rd Academy Awards Gown.
04:14Before her stardom went supernova, Marilyn floated into Hollywood's biggest night
04:18like a starlet already fluent in spectacle.
04:20Do you remember Miss Caswell?
04:21I do not.
04:22How do you do?
04:23We've never met.
04:23Maybe that's why.
04:24Miss Caswell is an actress.
04:26At the 23rd Academy Awards in 1951, where she appeared as a
04:30presenter, she wore a dramatic evening look by Charles Lemer, then head of wardrobe at
04:3420th Century Fox.
04:36The strapless silhouette, sheer overlay, and sweeping tulle skirt gave her a soft, almost
04:41storybook grandeur.
04:42Less screen siren, more Midnight Cinderella.
04:45Vogue notes the piece had previously appeared on Valentina Cortese in The House on Telegraph
04:49Hill, but Marilyn gave it a dazzling second life under the Oscar lights.
04:53Well done.
04:55I can see your career rising in the east like the sun.
04:58Number 15.
05:00The Tiger Gown from The Seven Year Itch.
05:02She's probably getting herself all fixed up.
05:05She'll probably be wearing some kind of an ice-cold evening dress.
05:08The subway dress may be the headline act, but this feline fantasy deserves just as much
05:14applause.
05:14Created by William Trevia for The Seven Year Itch, the golden gown is covered in black sequin
05:19stripes, with black tulle along the neckline and cascading down one hip above a dramatic
05:24slit.
05:25It appears in one of the film's fantasy sequences, giving Marilyn's character a flashier, more
05:30theatrical edge while still keeping her soft, irresistible charm.
05:35The second piano concerto.
05:38It isn't fair.
05:40Not fair.
05:41Why?
05:43Every time I hear it, I go to pieces.
05:45Animal print can go costume party fast, but on Marilyn, it purrs.
05:50Even her lesser known looks had main character energy.
05:52It makes it feel goose pimply all over.
05:55I don't know where I am, or who I am, or what I'm doing.
06:00Number 14.
06:01The Gold LeMay Dress.
06:02Now if you should meet the Queen Darger.
06:04Oh gosh, another one?
06:05She is addressed as your majesty or ma'am.
06:08Now the young king, the regent's son.
06:10Oh no.
06:11Well it's extremely unlikely that you will meet him, but he is your majesty or sir.
06:16I'm shaking.
06:17This is worse than the first night.
06:18This was not a quiet little meet the monarch moment.
06:21This was Marilyn arriving like molten gold.
06:24At the October 29, 1956 Royal Command performance at London's Empire Theatre, she attended a screening
06:30of the Battle of the River Plate.
06:32For the occasion, she wore a body-hugging gold LeMay gown with spaghetti straps and a dramatic plunging neckline.
06:38According to People magazine, female attendees had reportedly been asked to dress conservatively when meeting Queen Elizabeth II,
06:45which made Marilyn's gleaming choice especially unforgettable.
06:49Protocol may have raised an eyebrow, but fashion applauded.
06:52Where are you dressed up as a revolutionary?
06:55Is this a new game?
06:57If it is, you should have, let me know.
06:59I love games.
07:00Number 13.
07:02Purple Sparkle for the Troops
07:03This look shimmered, but the real glow came from the woman wearing it.
07:07In February 1954, Marilyn traveled to South Korea during her honeymoon with Joe DiMaggio
07:12to perform for U.S. troops stationed there.
07:15Waves of frenzied approval greeted her.
07:18It was, she said, like an embrace.
07:20Her purple sequin cocktail dress, paired with heels and hoop earrings,
07:24looked almost dreamlike against the chilly outdoor setting.
07:27But that contrast is what makes the moment so moving.
07:30I stood out on an open stage and it was cold, but I swear I didn't feel a thing except
07:34good.
07:35She brought warmth, humor, and dreamy movie star magic to men far from home, turning sequins into a morale boost.
07:42Marilyn reportedly called the trip one of the greatest experiences of her life.
07:46And it's easy to imagine the soldiers who saw her perform felt the same.
07:50I'm 74 years old now.
07:53It remained doing me through most of my life.
07:58Number 12.
07:59The Ombre Gown from There's No Business Like Show Business
08:02I'll hang your dress up back here.
08:04Thanks, Katie.
08:05Now look, when she gets here, let me get things started.
08:08Pale Blue has never looked this heavenly.
08:10Created yet again by William Trevia, Marilyn's ombre gown gives the film a rush of old-school stage enchantment.
08:17There's no people like show people they smile when they are low.
08:24An ivory base is veiled in airy chiffon, shifting from the faintest blue near the bodice into a deeper ocean
08:30shade toward the skirt.
08:31Tiny sequins and dangling crystals scatter light across the fabric, while the petal-like tool pieces at the hem create
08:37a soft rippling effect around every step.
08:40It's delicate, dramatic, and impossibly dreamy.
08:43The kind of costume that turns a film into a fairy tale.
08:46Let's go on with the show.
08:51Let's go on with the show.
08:58Number 11.
08:59The Lace Dress
09:00I'll tell you right now, before you put them on, I already think you're quite a strudel.
09:05Honestly?
09:06Absolutely, I've thought so from the first minute I saw you.
09:09At the 1953 Los Angeles premiere of How to Marry a Millionaire, Marilyn stepped onto the carpet with the kind
09:15of glow money couldn't buy.
09:17Designed by William Trevia, her strapless white lace gown balanced sweetness with serious star power, pairing romantic floral texture with
09:25a polished sculptural shape.
09:26The long gloves, glittering diamond earrings, and soft fur stole pushed it into pure old Hollywood dream territory.
09:33But the look never felt overdone.
09:35It was elegant, luminous, and quietly commanding.
09:38The movie may have been selling the millionaire fantasy, but Marilyn made glamour look priceless.
09:44You don't think they make me look like an old maid?
09:46I've never seen anybody in my whole life that reminded me less of an old maid.
09:49Number 10.
09:50The Figure Hugging Bikini from Something's Got to Give
09:53While Marilyn was considered a pin-up and sex symbol, first and foremost, she was an icon for body positivity.
10:00A swimwear model in her early career, Marilyn celebrated her enviable figure and natural curves whenever she could.
10:07Whether she was posing for her Miss Morale photoshoot or revealing her hourglass silhouette on the set of Something's Got
10:12to Give,
10:13Marilyn gave us plenty of swimsuit inspiration.
10:16Sadly, she was fired from the movie and it remained unfinished.
10:20Punctuating the action with an exclamation point, he ordered his lawyers to file a $500,000 breach of contract suit
10:26against the actress that same day.
10:28It wasn't until 1989 that the material was rediscovered and the following year, it was aired in a one-hour
10:34documentary, giving us another glimpse of this fashionista.
10:38And it's been accepted ever since that her work on Something's Got to Give was a sad finale to an
10:43otherwise spectacular career.
10:449. The Split Thigh Green Dress from River of No Return
10:50I've looked around the country and I've seen it all
10:54While the movie failed to make a lasting impression, the same can't be said for this dress.
11:00Playing a dancehall singer named Kay, Marilyn wears a daring green and red velvety dress with a beguiling thigh slit
11:06that allowed her to move around the bar with ease.
11:11Looking for nuggets?
11:16Mush.
11:18The outfit accentuates her covetable shape as she expertly maneuvers the material to tease her audience and keep them hanging
11:24on to her every word.
11:25It seems like one fan was particularly taken by this look, as they reportedly successfully bid more than half a
11:32million dollars when it went up for auction in 2011.
11:36Who's gonna help me file my claim tonight?
11:448. The Polka Dot Halter Neck Dress from The Seven Year Itch
11:48Yes? What is it?
11:50I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but I forgot the key to my front door so I had to ring
11:53your bell. I feel so silly.
11:56It's perfectly alright.
11:57Marilyn liked outfits that emphasized her figure, often opting for white dresses, halter necks, and fitted waistlines.
12:04The dress she wore for the handprinting ceremony outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre is certainly stunning, but there is another polka
12:11dotted number that is simply breathtaking.
12:13Anything else I can do for it?
12:16Yes, would you mind pressing it again?
12:18Press what?
12:19The button. My fan's caught in the door.
12:21In The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn enters in a flattering tailored dress paired with white gloves and her signature bold
12:27red lip, leaving her neighbor utterly yet understandably enchanted.
12:31This dress often lives in the shadow of another legendary white dress from the same movie, but it's beautiful in
12:37its own right and deserves some recognition, too.
12:41You alright?
12:43Oh sure, fine, fine.
12:45Well, goodnight.
12:47Number 7. Floral Dress
12:50Shortly after signing with 20th Century Fox, a fresh-faced early 20-something Monroe posed for this photo shoot to
12:56show off her new look.
12:57Unlike most of the other outfits we've discussed so far, this one exudes a more youthful innocence.
13:03While it does still emphasize her slim waist, it's more reserved than the style she would later become known for,
13:10perhaps reflecting a time of transition for the young star.
13:13The satin gown, with its floral embroidery and puffed sleeves, only served to frame her natural beauty, while the demure
13:19silhouette allows her star quality to radiate around her.
13:22Number 6. Making denim fashion in The Misfits
13:27This is an outfit we've probably all worn before, jeans and a white button-down.
13:31But somehow, Ms. Monroe takes this basic uniform and makes it into something so cool we can only aspire to
13:37look this put together.
13:39Marilyn wasn't exactly famous for wearing pants, and when she did, it was often a cropped trouser or cigarette pant.
13:45Still, it's wonderful to know things.
13:47But in the movie The Misfits, her final completed film in fact, her usually glitzy and more glamorous style was
13:53notably more laid-back and casual.
13:55A vibe exemplified by this combo, which is completed by cowboy boots and belt.
13:59Marilyn was a style icon and tastemaker, and as such, she was one of the first women to make denim
14:05fashion.
14:06With the added Stormrider's denim jacket by Lee, this low-key Levi's look became iconic and influential in its own
14:13right.
14:14I thought they were used for riding or for...
14:16I'm not sure they used to be.
14:18Number 5. The Silk Gown with the Fur Stole
14:22This entry takes us from the most casual to the most glamorous.
14:26Exemplifying the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's golden era, Marilyn arrived at the premiere of the musical movie Call Me
14:32Madam in an outfit suitable for royalty.
14:34This is your television premiere, is it, Marilyn?
14:37That's right. It feels almost like making pictures.
14:39The sleeveless, silk figure-hugging gown with matching opera-length gloves and fur stole was quite the showstopper.
14:46She wasn't even in the movie, and it's hard not to think that all eyes were on her.
14:51Marilyn dressed like the icon we know her to be, and if there were any doubts about her superstardom before,
14:57then this dress certainly put them to rest.
15:00Number 4. The Sleek Gold LeMay Dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
15:11Although she only wore this dress in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, we couldn't pass up the opportunity
15:17to talk about it.
15:18Ginger Rogers wore a similar dress in the 1952 movie Dreamboat, which may have inspired Marilyn's look as she reportedly
15:24fell in love with the gown when she visited the set.
15:26I had no idea you'd be here tonight. Nothing was planned. I merely saved and did what was in my
15:32heart.
15:32The scene-stealing dress may have also awakened the green-eyed monster in Joan Crawford, who allegedly called it vulgar.
15:39The plunging neckline, open back, and gold pleats were considered daring at the time, and barely made it past the
15:45censors.
15:46Of course, Marilyn didn't make a name for herself by blending in with the crowd.
15:50Number 3. The Happy Birthday Mr. President Look
15:54Mr. President, the late Marilyn Monroe.
15:57Everything about this moment is cemented in cultural history, from the breathy vocals to the iconic location and, of course,
16:05the dress designed by Jean-Louis.
16:07Happy Birthday Mr. President. Happy Birthday to you.
16:18The nude-colored fabric was embroidered with 2,500 rhinestones and was so form-fitting that she couldn't wear anything
16:25underneath.
16:25Sadly, the day of this celebration, May 19, 1962, also marks one of Monroe's final public appearances, as less than
16:34three months later, she was found dead in her home.
16:36In 2016, the dress sold for a record-breaking $4.8 million, surpassing the previous record that also belongs to
16:44this fashion icon, for another dress that may or may not be on this list.
16:49Number 2. The Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend Ensemble from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
16:54A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend.
17:04Considering how famous this dress became, it's crazy to think that this was actually costume designer William Trevia's Plan B.
17:12After a scandal involving some nude photos she took pre-fame, Trevia was instructed to make a less revealing costume
17:18than the showgirl number he had initially planned.
17:20Men grow cold, as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end.
17:30The strapless, shocking pink dress with matching opera-length gloves, oversized bow at the back, and punctuated with diamond accessories
17:38became a legendary addition to movie history.
17:41The Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Best Friend
17:54As well as becoming an icon of costume design, the look has been celebrated in popular culture and lovingly imitated
18:00by many, perhaps most famously by Madonna.
18:03Because we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.
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18:37Number 1. The Iconic Subway Great Dress from The 7-Year Itch
18:41It's hard to imagine a dress reaching higher levels of infamy than this one.
18:46In the movie, Monroe famously stands over a subway great, allowing her white dress to blow upwards and expose her
18:52legs.
18:52Ooh, do you feel the breeze from the subway? Isn't it delicious?
18:58While the style of the dress reflected the fashion of the era, the halter neck and close-fitting material are
19:04synonymous with Monroe's personal style.
19:06In the 90s, it joined Debbie Reynolds' private collection of Hollywood memorabilia, before being auctioned off for the at-the
19:12-time record-breaking $4.6 million, plus $1 million commission in 2011.
19:18This cocktail dress is responsible for one of the most famous and defining images of the 20th century.
19:24Which Marilyn look would break the internet today? Tell us in the comments.
19:28M
19:29M
19:29M
19:30M
19:32You
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