Marilyn Monroe’s Iconic White Halter Dress From The Comedy Film “The Seven Year Itch” Left Its Mark On Her Marriage And Hollywood History As A Whole, Eventually Selling At Auction For $4.6 Million
One of the most iconic moments of Marilyn Moneroe’s career was when she posed in a white halter dress over a subway grate for a scene in the comedy film, “The Seven Year Itch.”
The scene depicts Marilyn’s character sheepishly trying to hold down her flowing dress as air comes up from the subway grate, and although it’s only a brief moment in the film, it quickly became one of the most iconic scenes in film history.
The dress in the scene, which William “Billy” Travilla designed, was intricately made out of rayon-acetate crepe, which is a fabric that was weighed down enough for when Marilyn was walking around but light enough so that when the breeze came up from the grate, it lifted.
Not many people know this, but the filming of that legendary scene was quite public. It was shot on September 15th, 1954, around 1:00 am.
Marilyn stood on the corner of New York’s Lexington Ave and 52nd Street, and it allegedly took the film crew three hours to get the scene just right.
Many spectators looked on as they shot the scene, and little did they know they’d be witnessing one of the most famous scenes in movie history.
Marilyn was very classy on set and always found ways to ensure she didn’t expose herself too much during the shoot for both the camera and the spectators.
Unfortunately, the scene drastically affected Marilyn’s personal life. When the scene was being filmed, she was married to famous New York Yankees player Joe DiMaggio. Joe allegedly was very controlling of Marilyn and easily became jealous.
So, when he saw the scandalous dress scene on the set of “The Seven Year Itch,” he angrily stormed off.
Tatiana Morozova – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Later that day, Joe and Marilyn allegedly got into a massive fight at their hotel, and they quickly filed for divorce by October.
After Marilyn’s tragic death in 1962, Billy Travilla kept the white dress locked away along with a series of other costumes he had designed for Marilyn.
When he passed in 1990, a sketch of the dress was sold for $50,000, and famous actress Debbie Reynolds bought the actual dress for only $200 to add to her collection of film memorabilia.
However, Debbie was eventually forced to sell the dress because of financial issues, and it was sold at auction for $4.6 million, which was the most money spent on a film costume.
Every year, hundreds of people don dupes of the iconic white dress to become Marilyn for Halloween or do an impression of her at a party. It’s hard to think about Marilyn without thinking of the white dress; it will forever live on in history.
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