A Famous Little White Dress

One of the most iconic dresses of the twentieth century must surely be Marilyn Monroe’s halter neck that she wore in Billy Wilder’s film The Seven Year Itch. Those famous photos show the dress blowing up in the air as Marilyn stood over a sidewalk grating, revealing her legs and her double-strength white knickers. (One pair was too see-through apparently.) The shooting of this scene was the catalyst of her separation from her jealous husband ballplayer Joe DiMaggio. The dress was auctioned for $4.6 million in June 2011. That white dress cost a few people a lot.

Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe in that famous scene from The Seven Year Itch

My white chiffon dress, on the other hand, cost only $30 from a charity store. While it is also pleated, it’s not quite the same as Marilyn’s dress, I like the shape more – it’s cut on elegant Grecian lines rather than Bombshell. It also has a waist-tie (hidden at the back), though it is black. I wore it to my family’s Christmas lunch last year.

Read more about the shooting of this famous scene of The Seven Year Itch at Arts-Stew.