Marilyn Monroe Captivated At The 1951 Oscars But Her Dress Nearly Derailed The Night
Brides pray nothing goes wrong with their wedding dresses, but for fashionable movie stars, their version of the big day is the Academy Awards, and, no doubt, they share the same anxieties regarding their red carpet looks. Well, as bad luck would have it, when Marilyn Monroe attended the 23rd annual Academy Awards in March 1951, things didn't go so smoothly for the "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" star. Monroe wore a black off-the-shoulder, tulle-laden ballgown designed by costumer Charles LeMaire to the ceremony, the same one pictured here from the year before. Monroe was invited to present the Best Sound Recording Oscar, but right before she was set to take the stage of the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, she noticed that her dress had somehow suffered a sizable rip down the side.
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In tears, Monroe of course refused to go out in a less-than-pristine dress. It was down to the wire, and due to the fashion snafu, host Fred Astaire was going to have to introduce an award with no one to present it. Thankfully, a seamstress was on hand to speedily stitch Monroe's dress up, enough for her to go on stage, anyway. Mama always said you should have a needle and thread handy. Of course, it's a good thing all this happened before the Academy Awards started being televised in 1953, or we can bet Monroe's torn tulle would've gone down as one of the worst award-show wardrobe malfunctions of all time. Instead, her legacy of stylish looks remains — unlike her gorgeous gown — intact.
When it came to fashion, Marilyn Monroe had 'zero interest in following trends'
The Oscars mishap wasn't the only time something Marilyn Monroe wore garnered whispers. Who could forget the white-dress-meets-subway-grate moment from "The Seven Year Itch"? And Marilyn Monroe paid no mind to royal fashion rules when she met Queen Elizabeth in 1956, opting for a low-cut, cleavage-baring gown. Today, Monroe's signature sultry look is basically its own genre, showing up everywhere from Halloween costumes to high-fashion runways. At the time, however, not everyone thought her style was destined to be iconic. In 1954, following her divorce from Joe DiMaggio, Monroe left Hollywood for Connecticut to stay with photographer friend Milton Greene and his wife, Amy. Milton and Amy thought her look needed refining and wanted to create a cohesiveness between her super sexy public image and her off-duty messiness.
In the book "Marilyn in Manhattan: Her Year of Joy," author Elizabeth Winder explained that Amy set off on giving Monroe a makeover, complete with outfits from Anne Klein, trips to Manhattan department stores, Italian shoes, and sweaters that weren't two sizes too tight. Winder wrote that Monroe "felt alienated by 'respectable' high fashion," per an excerpt published by Vogue. She added, "At the same time, she had zero interest in following trends. A dress, however beautiful, would always just be a flattering frame. It was her face, her body, her hair and skin that were on show. That's why she always favored neutrals." Rare throwback pics of Marilyn Monroe prove she wasn't always a blond bombshell, and it seems she was always figuring out how to establish a signature style that truly fit her.