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Lot 0354
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Marilyn Monroe "Subway" dress, from The Seven Year Itch
Item Details
Description
Marilyn Monroe "The Girl" ivory pleated "Subway" dress by Travilla, the most recognized costume in film history, from The Seven Year Itch. (TCF, 1955) Ivory rayon-acetate halter dress with pleated skirt. Handwritten label "1-27-1-8171 M. Monroe A-734-12." Worn by Marilyn Monroe as "The Girl" in one of the most iconic images of film history in The Seven Year Itch, when she stood above the subway grate and uttered that famous line, "OOOH isn't it delicious?" The Seven Year Itch storyline, unlike some of Monroe's earlier films, held no promise as a costume showcase. It was not a period piece and had no dance routines. Yet this was to become the vehicle for Travilla's most famous dress design, in bias-cut crepe with a halter top and sunburst pleats. "So I wondered what could I do with this most beautiful girl that Marilyn was to play to make her look clean, talcum-powdered, and adorable," Travilla mused. "What would I give her to wear that would blow in the breeze and be fun and pretty? I knew there would be a wind blowing so that would require a skirt." [Hollywood Costume Design by Travilla, Maureen Reilly]. The fabric Travilla chose was an ivory colored rayon-acetate crepe, heavy enough to flow beautifully as Marilyn walked but still light enough to blow up in an interesting way. A fabric very hard if not impossible to get now, the closest is georgette. Travilla never normally used man-made fabric but this posed a challenge with pleating as 100% natural fabric would not hold such stiff pleats, so for all his pleated creations a special fabric had to be made with just a small amount of man-made fiber in it to maintain the structure. Acquired by Debbie Reynolds directly from Twentieth Century-Fox during the "pre-sale" when she bought all of the Marilyn Monroe wardrobe from the studio prior to the auction in 1971.
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Marilyn Monroe "Subway" dress, from The Seven Year Itch

Estimate $1,000,000 - $2,000,000
Jun 18, 2011
See Sold Price
Starting Price $1,000,000
33 bidders watching this item
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Ships from Beverly Hills, CA, United States
Profiles in History
Profiles in HistoryCalabasas, CA, United States471 Followers

DEBBIE REYNOLDS: The Auction

Jun 18, 2011 3:00 PM EDT|
Beverly Hills, CA, USA
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0354: Marilyn Monroe "Subway" dress, from The Seven Year Itch
Sold for $4,600,00034 Bids
Est. $1,000,000 - $2,000,000Starting Price $1,000,000
DEBBIE REYNOLDS: The Auction
Jun 18, 2011 3:00 PM EDT
Buyer's Premium 23%
Lot 0354 Details
Description
...
Marilyn Monroe "The Girl" ivory pleated "Subway" dress by Travilla, the most recognized costume in film history, from The Seven Year Itch. (TCF, 1955) Ivory rayon-acetate halter dress with pleated skirt. Handwritten label "1-27-1-8171 M. Monroe A-734-12." Worn by Marilyn Monroe as "The Girl" in one of the most iconic images of film history in The Seven Year Itch, when she stood above the subway grate and uttered that famous line, "OOOH isn't it delicious?" The Seven Year Itch storyline, unlike some of Monroe's earlier films, held no promise as a costume showcase. It was not a period piece and had no dance routines. Yet this was to become the vehicle for Travilla's most famous dress design, in bias-cut crepe with a halter top and sunburst pleats. "So I wondered what could I do with this most beautiful girl that Marilyn was to play to make her look clean, talcum-powdered, and adorable," Travilla mused. "What would I give her to wear that would blow in the breeze and be fun and pretty? I knew there would be a wind blowing so that would require a skirt." [Hollywood Costume Design by Travilla, Maureen Reilly]. The fabric Travilla chose was an ivory colored rayon-acetate crepe, heavy enough to flow beautifully as Marilyn walked but still light enough to blow up in an interesting way. A fabric very hard if not impossible to get now, the closest is georgette. Travilla never normally used man-made fabric but this posed a challenge with pleating as 100% natural fabric would not hold such stiff pleats, so for all his pleated creations a special fabric had to be made with just a small amount of man-made fiber in it to maintain the structure. Acquired by Debbie Reynolds directly from Twentieth Century-Fox during the "pre-sale" when she bought all of the Marilyn Monroe wardrobe from the studio prior to the auction in 1971.
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