Marilyn Monroe wore this legendary white dress in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. The Marilyn Monroe’s white dress, created by the talented costume designer William Travilla, became a global phenomenon thanks to one iconic scene. It was this scene that cemented the dress as a cinematic icon. In the scene, Monroe, wearing the famous white dress, stands over a subway vent, and the air from the vent lifts the dress, revealing her legs. This moment is regarded as one of the most recognizable images in 20th-century cinema. The dress became an integral part of pop culture and one of the most recognizable costumes in film history.
Little-Known Designer
William Travilla, though already an Oscar winner for the costumes in the 1948 film Adventures of Don Juan, was still relatively unknown when he began working with Marilyn Monroe. Their collaboration started in 1952 with the film Don’t Bother to Knock. It was the first of eight films for which Travilla designed costumes for Monroe. He later claimed to have had a romance with the cinema icon, though it was never confirmed.
The famous white dress Monroe wore in The Seven Year Itch was designed in 1955 while Travilla’s wife was on vacation. This creation became his most famous achievement, though rumors swirled that Travilla didn’t design the dress himself but had bought it from a store. The designer always strongly denied these claims.
Famous Scene
The white dress appears in the iconic scene of the film, where Monroe, accompanied by her on-screen partner, leaves a movie theater on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. After watching the film Creature from the Black Lagoon, Monroe hears the sound of a subway train. Stepping onto the subway grate, she asks, “Oooo, do you feel the breeze from the subway?” as the air lifts her dress, revealing her legs. This simple scene became one of the most recognizable moments in film history.
Initially, the scene was to be filmed on location in Manhattan on the night of September 15, 1954. However, Monroe’s presence and the film crew attracted large crowds of fans, making filming impossible. As a result, the scene was ultimately shot in the studio.
This scene is often compared to a similar moment in the 1901 film What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City, where a similar effect was achieved with a subway grate. However, Monroe, in her white dress, was far more sensual and attention-grabbing.
“Lost Collection”
After Monroe’s death in 1962, Travilla did not make the dress available to the public. For years, he kept it along with other costumes he had created for the actress, away from public view. Rumors even emerged about a “Lost Collection”. Only after Travilla’s death in 1990 did his collection, including the famous white dress, come to light and enter the private collection of Hollywood memorabilia owned by Debbie Reynolds at the Museum of Film.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Reynolds admitted that the dress had changed color from white to ecru due to the passage of time. “As you know, it’s very, very old,” she explained.
In 2011, Reynolds decided to auction Monroe’s dresses in a series of sales. Before the auction, it was predicted that the white dress would sell for 1-2 million dollars. Ultimately, the dress sold for a staggering 5.6 million dollars, including a 1 million dollar commission.
Design
Marilyn Monroe’s white dress is a classic example of a cocktail dress, made from light ivory-colored fabric. Its design perfectly reflected the fashion trends of the 1950s and 1960s. The bodice, with a deep neckline, fastened at the neck, was composed of two layers of gathered fabric that joined at the neck, revealing the shoulders and back.
The bodice transitioned into a waist, highlighted by a delicate belt ending in a bow on the left side. Below the belt, the dress flared into a gathered skirt that reached mid-calf. On the back, there was a zipper and small buttons fastening the dress at the neck.
Reception and Legacy
Monroe’s husband, Joe DiMaggio, wasn’t a fan of the dress, but he recognized its importance to his wife’s legacy. In the years following Monroe’s death, images of her in this dress appeared everywhere. The dress was featured on posters, in films, and even in animations – it appeared on the character Fiona in Shrek 2.
Glamour.com magazine declared this dress the most recognizable in film history. The company Mattel created a Barbie doll dressed in a replica of it, and Marilyn in the white dress was immortalized on a postage stamp in Somalia.
In July 2011, an eight-meter statue in her famous Marilyn Monroe’s white dress was unveiled in Chicago, cementing its place in popular culture.
In 2016, actor Willem Dafoe recreated the famous scene in a Snickers commercial aired during the Super Bowl, further highlighting the enduring popularity of the dress.
